Healthy From the Inside Out
Your quality of life is directly impacted by the foods you eat and the beauty products you use. Everyday, we have the choice to fuel our bodies with what will enlighten us and cause us to feel better inside and out or consume that which will drag us down and keep us in a state of muddled clarity. For so many people in this busy society, it can feel stressful and cause anxiety to figure out the “best” things for our bodies. I opened an email this morning with the tagline “rescue for problematic skin” and it has me thinking about how often we are bombarded with products to fix our “problematic skin.” The truth is that no cream or cleanser in the world will help your skin if the diet isn’t right. That’s what this entire post boils down too is being mindful of what we use inside and outside of our bodies.
I am so thankful that eating healthy is becoming more and more mainstream. Everyone is coming around to learning more about what they consume on a daily basis and it couldn’t make me happier. On the other hand, it still shows me how behind we as a nation are about the damaging effects of the products we use on our skin. Skincare companies that publically speak of clearing acne with retinal, baby washes that say “sensitive skin formula,” and lipsticks that stay put all day are some of the most popular products I’ve seen lately on my social media. What’s sad is that these companies are appealing to your needs and wants but not sharing what happens to your body when you use them.
That skincare company that uses retinal doesn’t tell you that it’s linked to developmental/reproductive toxicity, biochemical or cellular level changes, and cancer. That baby wash that claims it’s for “sensitive skin” has ingredients that are linked to skin irritation. That lipstick that doesn’t wear off all day has ingredients linked to breast tumors, dermatitis, birth defects, hormone disruptions, allergic reactions + more. This is scary and it’s happening every single day.
Why should you care about what’s in your products? Whatever you apply onto your skin is absorbed from anywhere between 26 to a minute. Add up all the ingredients of all the products you use daily then multiply that by seven. That’s a lot of exposure to harmful chemicals on a weekly basis. A continuous build up of this in our bodies will cause a breaking point but you’ll never know when. Things like eczema, psoriasis, infertility, cancer and asthma are all connected to common ingredients in your personal care products. If you saw “formaldehyde” on a food label ingredient list, would you purchase that? So why do we feel like it’s ok for that same ingredient to be used on our bodies in our personal care products?
I’ve become even more passionate about safer beauty in the past few months because I won an incentive trip from Beautycounter to California and the experience put everything into perspective. I am so thankful that I have found a company that is actively lobbying for our rights in Washington, D.C. and who’s main concern is our health. Beautycounter has really stolen my heart and it’s really hard to not scream it from the rooftops every day. This issue is something that we should all care about because it affects every single one of us. If you’re looking at the foods you’re eating, then you should be doing the same thing about the lipstick you’re wearing or the body wash in your shower. Let’s make changes together! Little changes add up and make a big impact. A great place to start is by going to www.ewg.org/skindeep and typing in your products. Make a list of what you don’t want to use anymore and need to replace and I’ll help you find safer alternatives!
