Originally published August 19 2005
Cosmetic companies are turning to more natural ingredients
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Cosmetic companies are starting to avoid the long list of harmful chemical ingredients and turn to more people-friendly and environmentally-friendly ingredients.
Americans slather, scrub, polish and perfume with wild abandon, choosing from an array of gels, creams, pastes and foams.
Fortunately, today more and more cosmetic companies are looking for ways to avoid long lists of chemical ingredients and are starting to create products that are better for our bodies and the planet.
Your body is intimately familiar with the alphabet soup of ingredients in your body care products.
All chemicals penetrate the skin, some in "significant amounts," says Ruth Winter, author of A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients.
Allergies - ranging from itchy skin to burning, watery eyes - are common reactions to cosmetics, according to the American Academy of Dermatology.
Some cosmetics can make it difficult to breathe, especially for asthmatics.
Toluene, a chemical detected in every fragrance sample tested in a 1991 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) study, can trigger asthmatic attacks and cause asthma in healthy people.
A 2003 study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found more than 116 different chemical compounds, including dioxins (byproducts of chlorine that have been linked to cancer) and phthalates that impair our reproductive function, in a wide range of personal care products used regularly by adults and children.
� Choose PURE ESSENTIAL OILS, Lose SYNTHETIC: Choose oils that have been steam-distilled or pressed from the petals, leaves, rinds and barks of plants.
� Choose SAFER PRESERVATIVES: Grapefruit seed extract; phenoxyethanol, potassium sorbate, sorbic acid, vitamin E (tocopherol), vitamin A (retinyl), and vitamin C (ascorbic acid) cause the least irritation and fewest allergic reactions.
� Lose FORMALDEHYDE: Formaldehyde is used in nail polish, nail hardeners, soap, shampoos and deodorants as a cheap fungicide and preservative, but researchers have found that formaldehyde causes cancer in rats, damages DNA.
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