You may think that what you put in your hair doesn’t get into your body. Nail polish sits on top of your nails and never really gets into your bloodstream right? This body butter says all-natural and has a picture of a coconut oil and lavender, it’s good for you! Natural cosmetics don’t work. WRONG.

How many personal care products do you own? Don’t worry, no judgments here.

Hair care craze.

I have a head full of blonde/red crazy curls. At one point I probably owned more than 20 products for this mane. I tried everything. I was always searching for the “perfect product” that gave me “perfect waves.” To be honest, I never found either of them. I learned to stop trying to make my hair something that it wasn’t and embrace my God-given mane.

The struggle with skin.

I had really bad acne. As we all did, unless you were one of those blessed types. It was sensitive too. Still is. Although I can say that my mom started me young with this one. I used Shaklee for skincare which was great for me. Then the teenage years hit and oh the acne. I wanted something stronger to fix the “problems” and make me “prettier.” I went through Proactive, Neutrogena and even went to a dermatologist to get prescription strength medication.

Can ingredients with the ability to bleach towels, change skin color and cause allergic reactions actually be good for us?! 

Naturally, (no pun intended) I began to wonder what was in the 10,000 products that claimed to be great, sucked hundreds of dollars from my pockets and were requiring a lengthy beauty routine. The facts aren’t pretty.

First, let’s define an endocrine disruptor. 

Endocrine disruptor: chemicals that interfere with the bodies endocrine system. Also known as the system that controls your hormones. We know we have hormones, but do we understand their importance in our body? Any body system controlled by hormones can be affected by endocrine disruptors. This is what chemicals and ingredients can do to those hormones:

• increase or decrease production of the hormone
• change or imitate a hormone
• turn one hormone into another one
• interfere with hormone signaling
• tell cells to die prematurely
• compete with essential nutrients
• bind to essential hormones
• and accumulate in organs that produce hormones

All of these changes are possible with the ingestion of chemicals. These changes allow toxins into cells leading to cancer, tumors, thyroid issues, disease, disorders and problems reproducing. Endocrine disruptors have been questioned to be a driver in the rise in breast cancer and thyroid related disorders in women. If you didn’t know already, your hormones also have a huge impact on your brain and like I said above, control majority of your other body systems. Let’s just say, they’re kind of a big deal.  (EWG)

So, lets call them out. 

These are just some of the most “popular” endocrine disruptors found in millions of beauty, cosmetic and personal care products.

 

*Others to watch for: lead, BPA, sodium benzoate, SLS, PEG, Sulfates, Toluene, flame retardents, VOC’s, TEA, DEA

Anything you can’t pronounce or is longer than Eichelberger…or has an abbreviation that isn’t LOL.

You thought you were safe now knowing to watch for these ingredients. What’s funny, but not funny is that cosmetic companies catch wind that we are catching on so they change the name. Each ingredient could be listed under 12 different names and we have no idea. It may sound like things just got more complicated, but actually it got easier.

If you can’t pronounce it, don’t buy it.

Learn this phrase, love this phrase, use this phrase. OR do the research. A simple Google search will give you an idea of what it is. The EWG does a great job of keeping me informed of chemicals to watch out for. Check them out here.

You don’t have to be a chemist to know what is good and bad.

Test yourself. Read the two ingredients listed and ask yourself which one you think is safe.

1. Almond oil
2. Diazolidinyl urea (Spell check thought I meant Indianapolis hint hint…)

If you said almond oil is the safe ingredient you’re correct. See? You can do it.

Change can’t and shouldn’t happen overnight.

Start by choosing items that are most prevalent in your beauty routine. If it goes on your face or body every day, find something better. Don’t go into your medicine cabinet and do a good ‘ol swipe into the trash without making sure you have found a product you love to replace it.

When you do get to do the ‘ol swipe into the trash, you’ll be surprised at how amazing you will feel after. Natural beauty was always meant to be simple. Take care of your body with the resources we were given, not some synthetic material produced in a lab.

The lessons learned throughout my journey is this:

We forget that acne is normal and we try to mess with our bodies natural response to hormone changes. For me, I realized how damaging it is to seek a perfect face, body and flawless hair. Adding chemicals and a cabinet full of product isn’t going to make you happier and it certainly isn’t doing any benefit physiologically.

You know those problems that start on the inside, almost invisible, but when they surface they become unbearable? Think of your beauty philosophy in the same way. The repeated use of these products, though it might not seem to have an affect in our day to day lives, actually does. Toxins seep in and wreak havoc, bound to show their ugly face at any moment. And by that point it’s too late.

Consider health from the inside out, not the outside in. Do it for yourself. Embrace your natural beauty and don’t forget to smile, you’re amazing.

Love & Stuff,

KT

Oh, and if you’re looking for a way to replace them by starting in your kitchen, I got you. Stay tuned. I might have some homemade body butter up my sleeve. Literally and figuratively.