So the alarm goes off and your day begins… You hop in the shower, slather on some great smelling shower gel, work shampoo and conditioner into your hair, wash your face, towel off, then moisturize your body and roll on some deodorant. Now for some face-time – maybe you splash on some toner, slap on some moisturizer, add sun block for safety, and last but not least you top it all off with your favorite two-minute makeup routine and you’re out the door.

But wait a minute.

During this daily process you’ve likely exposed yourself to hundreds of dangerous chemicals. Your skin is highly absorbent – as the largest organ in your body it takes everything in and gives it a lift into your bloodstream. Next stop is all your organs and cells. Those products you just put directly on your skin –they each have several dozen ingredients, many you can’t pronounce, and most of which you have no idea what they do. Sure, you know about the dangers of synthetic chemicals, but it’s all so confusing, so hard to keep track of everything, so hard to know all you need to know, and so time-consuming to scrutinize every single product. And what if the green option doesn’t really measure up? We all know what that’s like – no one needs another beauty crime in their daily life.

Help is on the way!

I'm here to provide you with some easy to follow advice, some very helpful resources, and some great ideas for greening your beauty routine. We are going to look at the baddies, the eco-fakes, my favorite resources, how to read labels, and how to make shopping stress-free.

The Ten Most NOT Wanted Ingredients:

Getting a little bit of knowledge will take you a long way. You gotta know who the enemy is and what you’re dealing with so you can navigate your way to better beauty purchases. Here is your list of the Ten Most Not Wanted:

1. Sodium Lauryl/laureth Sulfate is found in shampoos, body washes and toothpaste, and is a known skin irritant. This chemical is particularly nasty because it is absorbed through the skin and retained in the heart, liver and brain for long periods of time. It can cause damage to the eyes, even when absorbed through the skin. Exposure can lead to coughing, headaches, nausea and vomiting. Absolutely keep it away from children.
2. Parabens are used as preservatives in cosmetics, and are known to cause irritation in sensitive skin. They have also been found to cause heart tissue problems over an extended time period, and are suspected to influence breast cancer, as they mimic estrogen. Studies have found high levels of parabens in breast tumors.
3. Phthalates are often listed as DBP and DEP in nail polishes, deodorants, shampoos, hair gels, hand lotions, and more. Phthalate exposure in early childhood has been associated with altered hormone concentrations (affecting reproductive development), as well as allergies and eczema. Phthalates are often used as carriers for fragrance ingredients, and because the FDA allows fragrances to be classified as a “trade secret”, phthalates are often not listed on the ingredient label, showing instead as simply “Fragrance”.
4. Formaldehyde contaminates personal care products when preservatives release formaldehyde over time in the container. Common ingredients likely to contaminate products with formaldehyde include quaternium-15, DMDM hydantoin, imidazolidinyl urea and diazolidinyl urea. In a study conducted by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics on 28 children’s skin care products, 23 (82%) contained formaldehyde at levels between 54-610ppm. Formaldehyde is a known carcinogen, can cause allergies and has been banned from cosmetics in both Sweden and Japan.
5. Lead is often found in lipstick and is a proven neurotoxin that has been linked to brain damage and miscarriages, as well as learning, language and behavioral problems. One third of the lipstick brands on the market exceed the FDA limit for lead in candy: 0.1 parts per million. Over the course of a lifetime, we swallow a fair amount of lipstick - nine pounds according to the Environment Working Group. In August 2009, the FDA’s own study found lead in all 20 lipsticks it tested. Recent science indicates there is no safe level of lead exposure.
6. Synthetic Colors, also known as FD&C colors, are mostly derived from coal tar. The FDA has banned many from food because they are carcinogenic and toxic, yet they still remain in cosmetics.
7. Synthetic Sunscreens contain chemicals that accumulate in body fats and in mother’s breast milk. These chemicals mimic estrogen and can cause hormonal changes within the body such as increasing the size of the uterus. These chemicals are found in big brand sunscreens and should absolutely be avoided, especially if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. The chemicals to avoid are: 4-Methyl-Benzylidencamphor (4-MBC) , Oxybenzone, Benzophenone-3, Octyl-methoyl-cinnamates (OMC) , Octyl-Dimethyl-Para-Amino-Benzoic Acid (OD-PABA), and Homosalate(HMS) .
8. Mineral Oil & Petroleum Jelly (Petrolatum): Mineral oil is a petroleum by-product that coats the skin like plastic, clogging the pores. It interferes with skin's ability to eliminate toxins, promoting acne and other disorders, and it slows down skin function and cell development, resulting in premature aging. Mineral oil and Petrolatum are used in many products – baby oil, cold creams, Vaseline, Aquaphor to name a few – and they can easily be contaminated with cancer causing PAH's (Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons). Manufacturers use petrolatum because it is unbelievably cheap.
9. Synthetic Fragrance chemicals are responsible for causing most adverse reactions to personal care products. These irritants and allergens cause rashes, coughing, sneezing, and dizziness. Numerous skin care products that claim to be fragrance free contain masking fragrances to become neutral in scent, and so still contain fragrances
10. 1,4-Dioxane is a suspected kidney toxin, neurotoxin, and respiratory toxin that I often present in bath products for kids as well as the leading "natural" and "organic" brands. 1,4-dioxane is a byproduct of a petrochemical process called ethyoxylation, which involves using ethylene oxide (a known breast carcinogen) to process other chemicals in order to make them less harsh. For example, sodium laurel sulfate – notoriously harsh on the skin – is often converted to the gentler chemical sodium laureth sulfate by processing it with ethylene oxide – and this can result in 1,4-dioxane contamination. More than 56 cosmetic ingredients are associated with the contaminant 1,4-dioxane.

If you want more, Teens Turning Green offers a great reference list called the Dirty Thirty. It’s a list of 30 chemical ingredients potentially linked to cancer. Many have been banned in Europe because of suspected toxicity. However, here is where things get really interesting - many big manufacturers reformulate without these chemicals for the European market, but continue to use these potentially dangerous chemicals here in the US because they can. The FDA has banned just nine chemicals from cosmetics compared to the European Union, which has banned more than 1,000.

Beware the Eco-Fakes

Say you go to the store and find a product that says Natural or Organic. Should be fine, right? Yep, if only it were that easy. Unlike the food industry, there are no legal standards for organic or natural personal care products sold in the United States. Behind the scenes are large corporate marketing budgets with slick packaging and realms of psychographic data that would make Freud cringe. If the toxins didn’t motivate you to do your homework, then this fact surely will: the largely unregulated cosmetics industry has publicly assessed only 11 percent of the 10,500 ingredients in personal care products.

Here is one of hundreds of possible examples that there is no truth in advertising for the big brands – Clairol Herbal Essences claimed until recently to offer an "organic experience." However, there isn't much about this product that is either herbal or organic; it contains more than a dozen synthetic petrochemicals and has a moderate toxicity rating in Skin Deep database (more on that later).

Interestingly, a lawsuit was filed against many personal care and beauty companies whose products have the word "organic" in their name, yet don't have a single certified organic product in their formulation. These companies include: Hain Celestial Group's Jasön Pure Natural and Organic and Avalon Organics, Kiss My Face Corp, Levlad LLC's Nature's Gate Organics, YSL Beauté Inc.'s Stella McCartney Care 100% Organic Active Ingredients and Physicians' Formula Holdings' Organic Wear. For a full list of organic “cheater” brands, go to http://www.organicconsumers.org/bodycare/index.cfm.

Stress-free Shopping

But wait, I hear you say, how do I find products that are truly organic/natural AND work? We may switch household cleaners with little risk of nothing more than having to clean that mess again. But if our makeup doesn’t perform, it’s tragedy. We want and expect organic products to work as well as their toxic counterparts. So how do you find them? I’ve got a strategy for you:

1. Use the Skin Deep cosmetics database at www.cosmeticsdatabase.com to do your homework before you buy. This searchable database works by matching the ingredients in more than 25,000 personal care products with 50 toxicity and regulatory databases. Here you can research the products already in your home or find safer products before you hit the store.
2. Make sure a product you buy is certified through the USDA's National Organic Program. To be certified, a product cannot contain petro-chemicals and must contain tat least 95 percent organic ingredients.
3. Find a legit green personal care website which carries a selection of brands. They evaluate every ingredient so you don’t have to. Just make sure their policies are legit! Many offer free samples, money-back guarantees and friendly, knowledgeable people to talk when you want to know what to buy and what will work for you. One I particularly like is Organic Beauty Now (organicbeautynow.com).
4. Ask a friend, fellow mom, your mom’s group, or me. We’ll tell you what we know, what we’ve tried, and what works. You can probably find someone who has done the legwork for you and is more than happy to share what they know.
5. Baby steps – hey, I know you’re busy. tell yourself it’s OK to take it one step at a time! Pick a category like a new lipstick or new bubble bath, then do the research and find something that works. Once you’ve mastered it, move on to the next. Better yet, why not get a group of pals together and assign everyone a product area?

Your Mission, if You Choose to Accept it…

Go forth and be green and gorgeous. Go look at the labels on your Bubble Baths, Shampoos, Moisturizers, Facial Cleansers, Toothpastes, deodorants, and makeup! Show your body some love, and the environment too!

How are some of the ways you might start greening your routine today?

In support of your inner glow,
Robeen