Blog
How Many Chemicals Are You Wearing?
Janelle Sorensen
Monday, January 25, 2010
A recent study in the UK found that the average woman wears over 500 chemicals on her body every day. Similar to the US, women douse themselves daily with perfume, moisturizer, lotion, and a wide variety of cosmetics that altogether contain hundreds of chemicals. Most of the women were completely oblivious to the number of chemicals they were putting on. Do you know how many you wear?
Take a moment to figure it out. Look at the labels of all of the products you use and count how many ingredients are listed. Then, add them all together.
Shampoo and conditioner = _______
Lotions and moisturizers = _______
Perfume or cologne = _______
Cosmetics = _______
Hair styling products = _______
Deodorant = _________
Other = ________
TOTAL = _______
Surprised? Most people are. But, don't take this number at face value. Here are some important points to consider:
1. Some of the ingredients may be present in several of your products, so your total number may not reflect the actual number of different chemicals you're exposed to.
2. "Fragrance" is considered a trade secret. So, manufacturers can use a wide variety of chemicals (sometimes over one hundred) to make up their signature scent, but they don't have to list them in the ingredients. Given this fact, the total number of chemicals you're wearing may be much larger than what you think it is.
3. All of the chemicals in personal care products are not bad, but there are a significant amount of commonly used ingredients that are especially risky to your health. Avoid products that contain: "parabens" (Methyl-, ethyl-, propyl- and butyl-parabens), coal tar colors (FD&C Blue 1, Green 3, Yellow 5 & 6; D&C Red 33), Diethanolamine (cocamide DEA, TEA and MEA are related ingredients that can be contaminated with DEA), Nonoxynol or nonylphenol ethoxylate, phthalates (can be listed as DEHP, DHP, or DBP5 or hidden in "fragrance"), DMDM hydantoin, triclosan, sodum lauryl and laureth sulfates, toluene, formaldehyde, PEGs, and anything with "glycol" or "methyl." Learn more about these chemicals and find safer products in the Environmental Working Group's Buying Guide and print a Healthy Shopping Pocket Guide, so you always have the information on hand.
It's hard to eliminate everything on this list, especially if you can't afford all the certified organic products. I've been trying to cut back and substitute in simpler, safer products for years, but I'm still wearing over 100 chemicals after my daily regimen (though, many of those chemicals are natural and only a couple of products I use contain anything listed above). I'm not perfect. I try to focus on switching what I can, using fewer products in general, using less of what I use, and even trying to make my own.
What's your regimen like? Are you willing to share how many chemicals you're wearing everyday?
MORE: Watch this short video from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.
Image Courtesy of Jorg Weingrill / CC BY-SA 2.0
Posted by Janelle Sorensen on 01/29/2010 at 12:46 PM
Thanks Jen!
Posted by Jen on 01/26/2010 at 05:11 PM
Love this blog! Thank you for sharing, I will be tweeting this along! :) Blessings, Jen
More comments:
Get Answers
View All
Read and Learn
It's the trusted guidebook for the Next Generation of Parenting "...that every single parent needs to read..."
PICK UP A COPY
Now In Paperback!
Archives by Month
What We Read
Posted by Sheila Faherty on 02/10/2010 at 05:40 PM
This is exactly what I teach people every day! I have made it my mission to get this extremely important information out to everyone I know and spread the word! Please spread the word and buy these completely toxic-free products where every ingredient in every product is rated a zero on the Toxic Scale! They are absolutely fabulous and the only true solution in the U.S. for this problem. They will be coming out with other product lines soon that will also be a zero on the scale. These toxins and chemicals in our products are completely unnecessary and harming us and our children. Go to: www.AvaAndersonNonToxic.com/sheilafaherty to find out more and purchase these lifesaving products.