That’s a question the majority of the population don’t ask when shopping for cosmetics. They read the labels claiming “Natural”, “Sensitive”, “Anti-Aging” etc, and they buy it. And the horrifying thing is, these labels actually mean absolutely nothing—little did we know that companies can legally put just about anything they like on the label and there’s very little regulation on this. In fact, the FDA itself states that it does not screen cosmetic product labels and that there is no approval process—it is purely up to the manufacturer to put whatever it wants on its labels. Even the words “For Sensitive Skin”, “Hypoallergenic” and “Fragrance-Free” mean nothing. They are completely unregulated marketing gimmicks! Pick it up and read the ingredients, research what the long words that you may otherwise skip over mean, and you’ll see for yourself that it still contains fragrance (often disguised as other names) along with all sorts of other harsh ingredients someone with sensitivities or with acne should NEVER put on their skin. But the ingredients in your cosmetics can cause things much more sinister than acne. You can hear it straight from the horse’s mouth on FDA.gov, “Neither the law nor FDA regulations require specific tests to demonstrate the safety of individual products or ingredients. The law also does not require cosmetic companies to share their safety information with FDA.” You will also find a statement on that page proclaiming that the FDA does not approve cosmetics to be fit to sell before hitting the stores, nor do cosmetics need FDA approval…ever. Oh, and by the way, next time you’re shopping at a natural store and think you’re safe while in the beauty aisle there, think again. Even the word “Organic” on a cosmetic label requires only 10% of the ingredients to be organic, and the product likely still contains synthetic chemicals that can cause bodily harm.
Many widely-used ingredients in mainstream cosmetics (both for women AND men) are much worse than “bad for your skin”.
They have been proven to cause cancer. And they cause reproductive harm, organ toxicity, and so many other things it would make your eyes glaze over to write them all out. So the number one concern you need to have with most of the cosmetics you see on the shelves, and almost all of those brands masquerading as “All Natural” too, is cancer. I could go through all of the ingredients you need to avoid and why, and you could try and remember all those long, tongue-tying words and spend hours at the stores reading all of the labels (which trust me I’ve done), only to have wasted your time. Alarmingly, all the toxic ingredients proven to cause cancer and poison your body are in almost everything in the cosmetics aisle—carcinogens, which are substances that can cause cancer, are on the labels of products you probably trusted up until now. So instead I’m going to introduce you to a discovery of mine, that may very well change your life.
So what to do?
If anyone has researched natural, organic beauty products the most, it’s me. I have a plethora of sensitivities and allergies and have been researching natural alternatives for all of my adult life. I can’t even count how many “100% natural” and “uber sensitive” products still gave me reactions, and how many “green” products still had harsh, dangerous chemicals in them. I eventually gave up on the world of cosmetics and about 6 months ago had to ditch everything entirely. Though sometimes I would still get a burst of motivation to do a bit more research (in addition to the 1,000 hours I’d already done). One day, I stumbled across a blog about the oil cleansing method (oil is your new best friend by the way), and from there stumbled onto a website called Primal Life Organics. I found out that the company was founded and owned by a nurse and Eco-mamma, and all of the products were homemade fresh to order, non-GMO, organic, wildcrafted, contained no preservatives or any additives of any sort, and were all vegan, Paleo and gluten-free. Everything was made purely from oils, food, and clay. Including the makeup, which was far from your typical “mineral makeup” (which by the way is actually toxic), instead, they’re made from clay and colors from food like beets. This company was as natural as you could possibly get without making it yourself from scratch. NO chemicals? I was amazed. I decided to try a bunch of products, and with low expectations just in case, because this was probably too good to be true. And then a miracle happened. I didn’t have any allergic reactions, not any skin irritation in the least. What?! That was unheard of for me. And my skin drastically improved in appearance. I was shocked. I had finally found products that not only agreed with my skin but that I could trust to be natural, safe and healing. I needed to share this.
Find a truly natural and organic product.
Primal Life Organics (PLO) makes everything you could possibly need, from face washes and serums to soap and shampoo to shaving cream and deodorant. And everything comes with a guarantee to being as natural as nature makes it. And how did I not know this, but PLO has even appeared on ABC, CBS, NBC, and Fox on “Health and Wellness Today”. Who is behind this amazing company?! I found out her name was Trina, and she fascinated me so much I had to learn more about her. I found out that the inspiration for her products came from a terribly traumatic event in her life. When she was pregnant with her first child, she was devastated by a miscarriage. Trina and her husband were so shocked because they were so healthy, or so they thought because they ate healthily and exercised regularly. So Trina started to look into everything about her lifestyle and environment to make sure this would never happen to her again. She and her husband tried to get pregnant again, and they got lucky. Trina says, shortly after she found out, “I happened to glance down at my moisturizer, and I think this was the first time that I literally read the ingredients because it was from a natural organic company that I trusted. And what I read astounded me. I identified that there were chemicals and toxins in my moisturizer and I knew that these ingredients could cause harm not only to me but to my baby. These chemicals could cross the placenta and affect the development of my little girl, and I was devastated, so I literally completely unplugged from Big Cosmo.” “I started researching, looking for products that were safe, and when I couldn’t find what I was looking for I decided that I would make my own. I was 39 and I had acne, very oily skin, and psoriasis on my legs. When I started putting my own skin care products on my face, my acne disappeared within about 2 to 3 months. My oiliness went away, and my skin condition completely cleared up. Then I started to send them to my friends just to see what they thought, and I got the same feedback. I started to think, ‘Gosh, this is really amazing.’” Trina’s handmade products have become so widely loved she has a team of 15 people now making the products and she ships out over 4,000 packages a month. She’s also written an international best-selling book called “Beauty’s Dirty Secret”. And she’s committed to educating the world about the toxic dangers of mainstream products and hosts webinars and podcasts where you can learn anything from the dangers of mainstream toothpaste to healing skin conditions. But most importantly, why you need to stop using commercial skincare and what it is doing to you.
What comes into contact with your skin is so earth-shatteringly important.
What you put on your skin should be as safe and natural as something you would eat (and don’t think processed foods, which just slowly make you sick on the inside. Diet plays an equally huge role in your health). Would you eat something, say broccoli for example, if it was 12 months old? If a beauty product is over 12 months old the only reason it’s not riddled with bacteria and mold is because it’s riddled with preservatives. And there’s an easy solution to this; if you use only fresh ingredients, and use the product while it’s still fresh, then you don’t need all of those toxic preservatives. But human beings have evolved to desire convenience and let that desire outweigh their logic and regard for their own health (think fast food chains for example). So we speed faster and faster towards a completely convenience-driven and vanity-obsessed race where health is of little consequence in our continued search for “happiness”, ironically while focused on having no wrinkles and taking the perfect selfies, instead of awakening to higher consciousness and healing our bodies and our Earth. True healing will come from within, from remedying at the source, not smothering ourselves with temporary fix-alls. Informing yourself and taking a stand for your health and the ones you love are going to be the only ways to get there. Trina speaks wise words—most people aren’t concerned enough about what’s in the products they use, and that’s mostly because we trust these companies to have our best interests in mind. But they don’t. Money is their main interest. And the sicker and more in need of these products we feel the more they are raking in. The government does not prohibit the use of dangerous chemicals in personal care products, and ingredient safety is not regulated and neither are cosmetic marketing claims. Federal law actually allows companies to leave some chemical ingredients off their product labels, many of which are hazardous chemicals (you can read the EWG’s cosmetic myth-busting article citing all of these facts here).
It’s up to you as an individual to take a stand for your health, because no one else will.
Going 100% natural, and I mean natural, which excludes most cosmetics you can buy on shelves, is going to make a huge impact on your health. And it’s going to change your life (and may very well save your life). The only way to stop the penetration of dangerous chemicals into your skin is by ditching the toxic world of mainstream beauty products and cosmetics completely (including mainstream household products). Buy only handmade products from a person or company you know and trust, which has a face, is a human being, and not a money-hungry corporation. Or, make it yourself from organic, wildcrafted ingredients. Never again will I put commercial lotion onto my skin or brush with commercial toothpaste, because I want to live a full life, free of cancer and illness. And I refuse to feed money to companies so greedy that they will shamelessly pull the wool over the eyes of the world to make as much profit as they can. Together we can build awareness, snap out of our dreamlike state of consuming, and start making a difference in our lives, our health, and the world. The first step starts with you—in a decision to make a change.
