What’s In Your Personal Care Items

There are already numerous articles written on the hazards of chemicals in personal care products. Even Senator Edward Kennedy has written several letters to Congress regarding the health risks associated with using cosmetics that contain cancer-causing ingredients.

Personal care products that have been taught to be beneficial to you may be the very ones that may contain chemicals that is posing a serious threat to you and your family’s health.

Believe it. Personal care products like soap, shampoo, lotion, toothpaste, and make-up usually contain cheap, synthetic chemicals and ingredients that are suspiciously harmful. . There are in fact more than 125 ingredients used on the skin suspected of causing cancer. 20 cause adverse nervous system reactions. And 25 are connected to birth defects. What you put on your skin penetrates and can enter your body.

Here are some things that the labels do not tell you about personal care products.

Fragrances. Just because it smells good doesn’t mean it is. Oftentimes, the first things a consumer does when trying a personal care product is to smell it. If the product smells good the consumer is much more likely to want the product.

Oftentimes also, the label on the product gives the illusion that the scent is natural. A picture used in the product will lead to the conclusion that it must have come from that source.

More often than not, this is simply not the case. Most fragrances are of synthetic origin. Fragrance on a label can indicate the presence of up to four thousand separate ingredients; many are toxic chemicals that cause or contribute to cancer. Manufacturers are not required to disclose the individual ingredients as they are considered trade secrets of their personal care products.





Reported symptoms are headaches, dizziness, allergic rashes, skin discoloration, violent coughing and vomiting, and skin irritation. Clinical observation shows that the chemicals on the fragrances of these beauty products can affect the central nervous system, causing depression, hyperactivity, irritability, inability to cope, and other behavioral changes.

It is therefore understandable why some countries have declared many scented products to be hazardous to public health. And have even gone to the extreme of banning the wearing of all cosmetic fragrances in most indoor public places.

Color Pigments. As with smell, looks can also be deceiving. Just because it looks pretty doesn’t mean it is.

Color pigments are used to make the product look attractive. It does not really serve any beneficial purpose for any part of the body. Color pigments found in personal care products are made from synthetic and chemical ingredients such as coal tar. They also contain heavy metal salts that deposit toxins onto the skin, causing skin sensitivity and irritation.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)

What’s In Your Personal Care Items / Dee Cohen

Dee Cohen is a social worker and yoga teacher. She incorporates chemical free products into her practice to enhance her clients’ health. Chemical Free Products