After my miscarriage, I decided to go through all the products I use, one by one to see if any of them deserved replacing for the next time around.
One of things maximally used was a sesame body oil (from Neutrogena). I had bought this a long time ago from Costco, ironically because a pregnant woman had raved in her reviews that it had helped prevent stretch marks. Most annoyingly this never had an ingredient list printed on the back. I finally got around to running a google search for its ingredients this weekend and I was shocked.
One of the things it contains is butylated hydroxytoluene, and look at the data on it!
BHT (BUTYLATED HYDROXYTOLUENE) - Fragrance ingredient, masking agent. Known human immune system toxicant. Strong evidence suggests it is a human skin toxicant. Animal studies show skin irritation, brain and nervous system effects and endocrine disruption at low doses. Tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results. Animal studies show reproductive effects at high doses.
Another is propylparaben.
PARABENS (BUTYLPARABEN, METHYLPARABEN, PROPYLPARABEN) Preservative. Animal studies show reproductive effects at very low doses. Studies show endocrine disruption at low doses. Animal studies show brain and nervous system effects at moderate doses. Strong evidence suggests they are human skin toxicants. Tests on mammalian cells show positive mutation results. Parabens were found in breast cancer tissue.
I used to slather oodles of this on my skin daily! So much of it used to go directly on my belly, inches away from my child! All of this crap is fat soluble which means it CAN enter your system when applied on the skin!
Won't ever know if this caused my loss and anyway its water under the bridge, but the lesson I've learned- check EVERYTHING you use.
Good websites to investigate your products:
http://srcommunitymarket.com/greenlight/harmful.pdf
http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com
http://www.goodguide.com/categories/152788-general-products
It always surprises me to find out the ingredients of products that are supposed to be good for us, or at the very least safe!
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this. It's sooo helpful. Now I'm off to go look through all my toiletries! I have a feeling a lot will be thrown away.
ReplyDeleteTiara, I never really stopped to think about all of this. You can get by with a lifetime of carelessness when its just you, but once you are in this process, everything else changes.
ReplyDeleteHopefulcc, best of luck. I've found a very good alternative for face products (Evan Healy if you looking), and I have a list of moisturizers that look decent too, need to find one I love. I'm finding that the one thing that I will have issues with is hair products, the chemical laden stuff really works for me, and it was found after a lot of trial and error:(
Jay... thanks for letting us know. I have to check out all my products too. I feel healthier eating organic food also.
ReplyDeleteWhat?!? How is it even legal for something like that to not have a warning label! YUCK! Thank you so much for posting this!
ReplyDeleteYeah, it's scary. I think that it is probably ok because most women go on wearing moisturizers and cosmetics while pregnant. However, I don't use any of it. I keep looking but can't seem to find a moisturizer that doesn't have all this crap in it. So I'm risking stretch marks... I AM still wearing antiperspirant, though... hmm. Should I quit?
ReplyDeleteLeslie, Leslie, for moisturizer I'm going to use plain Jojoba oil when next pregnant, and when not, I got this lovely body oil from Trillium Organics. Feels very good, but its got too many different oils and I'm not sure if all of them are safe.
ReplyDeleteFor deodorant, I think the safest thing around is probably Tom of Maine's unscented deo stick.
http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/product/46588/Tom%27s_of_Maine_Deodorant_Stick_Unscented/
The book "Slow Death by Rubber Duck" is an excellent source for info about 7 of the top toxins in our environs and how to avoid them. It makes me feel pro-active as often as it makes me feel fearful of what I can't control!
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