TOXIC BEAUTY: What makes you beautiful can makes you sick



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Skincare, cosmetics and makeup have become part of our everyday lives. Most women (and even some men these days) cannot think of living without their bottles of creams, lotions, serums, masks, shampoos, foundation, lipsticks, eye liners and mascaras.

However, you'll be surprised (or if you're like me, horrified) to know that in our attempt to achieve beauty, we are actually intoxicating and poisoning ourselves, slowly, bit by bit each and everyday.

Was doing some googling on toxins in beauty products and this article jumped out. It says

"Research by Bionsen, a natural deodorant company, found that the average woman's daily grooming and make-up routine means she 'hosts' a staggering 515 different synthetic chemicals on her body every single day."

WOW. 515 different synthetic chemicals on our body every single day? Are they sure?

All the shampoo, hair sprays, eyeshadows, foundation, lipstick, nail polishes, are killing us slowly each end everyday. When I was reading this article, I did a quick check on my supplies, and I'm sad to find that alot of my everyday products do contain these chemicals. Well, I read this article some time back, and I'm now slowly trying to change my products or reduce the use of products that I don't really need (which is why I rarely go for manicures anymore). I have to admit. It's a tough journey. Ever since I learnt about how harmful all these synthetic chemicals can cause us, I tried to read the ingredients list of almost everything I buy. and it's sad to know that it is so difficult to find products that are really free of these chemicals. Don't believe me? Go grab any of your shampoos, powder, facial masks or whatever, and take a look at the ingredient list. Very likely you will see ingredients like Sodium Lauryl Sulphate, Talc, Fragrance, Methyl Paraben etc.

I remembered when I was young, my parents always say "whatever that is applied outside is ok" since we are not eating it. but I learnt that this concept is so wrong. just because we are not eating it does not mean we are not ingesting it.  When we apply all these "things" that contains toxins and chemicals, they can get into our system through our pores, and into our blood stream. so it is really NOT OK.

Here are some ingredients you should learn to register in your brain, and avoid when choosing your cosmetics and makeup:

imidazolidinyl urea, diazolidinyl urea, methyl paraben, propyl paraben, butyl paraben, ethyl paraben, petrolatum, propylene glycol, PVP/VA copolymer, stearalkonium chloride, synthetic colors, synthetic fragrances, talc, diethanolamine (DEA), monoethanolamine (MEA), triethanolamine (TEA), dioxane, 2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1, 3-diol (bronopol), benzalkonium chloride, butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA), butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT), chloromethylisothiazolinone, and isothiazolinone.

You'll realize all these ingredients sound so alien and complicated that it's even hard to pronounce and recognize. Honestly, I'm only able to register a few of the simple ones like whatever-paraben, petrolatum, talc, fragrance. so my trick is if I see a list of ingredients I don't understand, I'll try to avoid it. but, you will soon realized it is SO FREAKING DIFFICULT finding products without these chemicals. It's not about price or brand. At first, I thought it's the drug store brands trying to "cut cost", hence they use these chemicals. but NO. Big High-end beauty brands include these ingredients too. A simple example is "talc". Go take a look at Watsons and Sephora. You'll find it's a huge challenge trying to find powder without talc. I didn't believe it when my beauty therapist told me. but she's right. there are products without talc. but you really need to look hard. will share some of the more toxic-friendly products I've found in later articles.

Infographic from dailymail showing most worrying chemicals found in the products and possible side effects. credits: dailymail

These may not kill you immediately. but as these toxins accumulate in your body, and could not flush out in time, they will cause harm to your body, killing you slowly.


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