It’s Really Important to Educate Yourself About the Ingredients in Your Toiletries

One ingredient I would like to highlight that is in many toiletries is Parabens. They are in the lotions, creams, shampoos, conditioner, hair dyes, kinds of toothpaste you use {and more!} Parabens in toiletries can cause dramatic adverse symptoms and a decline in your overall health.

What we Put on our Skin Should be Something we Could Literally Eat

Any product I look at to purchase as a toiletry, I always scrutinize the label and ingredients for unwanted toxins and chemicals and, sadly, most products do not pass my test.

A Recent Eye-Opener About Toiletry Ingredients

Recently, I was at an event with a bunch of women friends and some of them were using products from a company that shall remain nameless. They were raving about these products for many reasons. This company touts “healthy,” toxin-free products. They use all the right words to make you think their product is truly safe and healthy to use.

All this talk and sharing piqued my interest of course.  Since some of the actual products from this company were at this event, the first thing I did was to pick one of them up to read the label to confirm if indeed they were using healthy ingredients.

Although I was not shocked, because a lot of companies make health claims but when you really dig and read ingredients you will find out they are in fact NOT healthy, most and close to all ingredients in this brand’s product were not at all healthy or toxin-free. In fact, it had some ingredients that I have stayed away from for years.

Regretfully, what I realized through this experience is that a lot of people really still are not aware of which ingredients are actually harmful and can cause endless amounts of health problems in an individual. If it says “healthy” or toxin-free they want to believe it.

To Help Bring Awareness, Let me Educate You About Parabens in Your Toiletries.

But before I do…

Do me a favor – find two or three products that you use daily that you think are decent for your skin or healthy for you.

Then, look at the label. Find out if any ingredients have the word “paraben” in it. They may start with Ethyl or Methyl, etc., but that’s ok, they’re still parabens.

If they don’t have parabens keep reading this article because guaranteed, you will find other products in your home that do contain parabens and you should be aware.

If your product has any kind of paraben in it learn below why you want to ditch it right now.

What is a Paraben?

They are a chemical compound that is widely used as a preservative in cosmetics, food AND pharmaceuticals. They are used to promote longer shelf life and inhibit bacterial growth in products.

Horrifying as it is, parabens have been found in breast tumor tissue and have estrogenic activity. When used as an ingredient in a toiletry and rubbed on the skin, they are absorbed through the skin and mucosal barrier of the intestinal lining – thus able to get into our bloodstream.

According to Heather White – the former Executive Director of the Environmental Working Group, “There are two classes of chemicals to always avoid – parabens and phalates.”

There are many more than just these two but these are ones that are the TOP ingredients to get away from.

The Short List of the Dangers of Parabens:

• Disrupt hormone function
• Endocrine disruptors
• Cause developmental and reproductive toxicity
• Cause allergies and immunotoxicity (toxins related to autoimmunity)
• Mimic estrogen and bind to estrogen receptors
• Have been linked scientifically to cancer, neurotoxicity (which can lead to neuro-autoimmunity like MS & Parkinsons) & skin irritation
• Have been found in breast tumors showing increased association with breast cancer

If that doesn’t make you want to throw you paraben filled product in the trash I don’t know what will!

Parabens Also Have Code Words Where They Hide

In a product that says “fragrance,” it is guaranteed that parabens are present.

Here are some other names of parabens (not exhaustive): Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Ethylparaben, Butylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Isopropylparaben, Benzylparaben, Calciumparaben, Potassiumparaben, Isobecylparaben, Hexamidinebiparaben, Hexamidineparaben, Sodiumparaben, 4-hydroxybenzoic acid, Undecylenoyl Peg-% paraben, Phenooxyehtylparaben, & Phenylparaben

Safe Toiletry Resources and a Rule of Thumb

One of my favorite resources that I use all the time, is EWG. Environmental Working Group (EWG) is a great resource to find out what those long-named ingredients actually are that you are reading on your toiletry labels among many other things.

One of my rules of thumb is if you can’t pronounce it most likely you can’t eat it either! This means it shouldn’t be going on your skin or in your mouth.

EWG rates ingredients and products on a scale from a 1-10 with 1 being the best and least toxic. I don’t allow any product into my house (or spend our money on any product) that has a rating of 2 or higher or has any of the known chemicals and toxins in it.  All of the above-listed parabens are rated at EWG so you can see which one(s) are in your product and how toxic they are. You can also find cited research where the problems have been found with particular ingredients.

Learn more about parabens here, here, & here.

Please Read Your Toiletry Labels

In order to avoid products with parabens, read your labels. Even if your product comes from a company that says they are health-conscious, toxin-free or green, be sure to dig deeper. Even organic products can have parabens in them!

Be aware, read labels, avoid any product that has any form of paraben in them. Your body will thank you in the long run. This is just one small step in ridding your home and body of toxins that can make you feel cruddy and sick but when you add up all the small steps they amount to something.

Heal Chronic Illness From Ditching Parabens

Years ago, once I started on the path to awareness of these awful ingredients and I started reading my labels, I was surprised at how many items I used that had health-damaging, disease-causing ingredients in them. I decided that I didn’t want to compromise my health with what I was putting on my skin.

It was just one facet I tackled to heal Hashimotos and it was very effective. It has been a journey and certainly worth while to get rid of all products carrying toxins in our home. My kids, husband and I are much healthier for it.

Tools to Help You Ditch the Parabens and Choose Healthy Toiletries

I have a Pinterest board that you can follow that has several cosmetic companies that have lines of toxin free products. You can find my Pinterest board here:

Safe Cosmetics and Skincare

I also created a workbook that will further educate you on many more harmful ingredients you’ll want to get rid of and show you how to replace them with health-promoting toiletries. See below to download the free workbook.

Throw your Paraben Filled Products in the Trash

Let me know in the comments if you were able to locate any product in your home with parabens? Did you throw it away or did you feel the need to keep it? If so, why? I love to know where my readers are coming from.

Cheers to a toxin-free, healthy life!