Have you ever walked by or sat by a woman who had so much perfumed lotion on you could swear she bathed in it? I have, and I always wonder “what she is thinking, the skin is a living organ, and right now it is suffocating, would you eat that lotion?” One of the things I advise my clients is to eat whole foods. The processed foods and preservatives are killing us. And, the care products we are using are doing the same thing. The average woman uses 12 personal care products each day, exposing herself to a total of 168 chemicals.
Kevin Donegan, a spokesperson for the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics says, "We aren't trying to alarm people, But we aren't talking about just a single exposure; we're talking about multiple products with multiple chemicals used daily for years." If you care enough to buy organic broccoli and steer clear of trans fats, it's time to start looking at the chemicals you put on your body, because your skin absorbs them with sponge like efficiency. Just as the pesticides on produce can be hazardous to your health, the chemicals lurking in your favorite shampoos, soaps, or lotions might be raising your risk of cancer, infertility, endocrine disorders, and more.
Not too long ago, the European Union passed a directive dictating that personal care products must be free of chemicals known or strongly suspected to cause cancer, genetic mutations, or birth defects. As a result, over 1,200 chemicals were banned. But almost all of them are still authorized for use in the United States. Believe it or not, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) does not require makers of shampoos, soaps, or deodorants to test products for safety before they're sold. Among the roughly 10,500 ingredients used in personal care products, only 11 percent have been evaluated for safety. If a chemical base plant moved into our area and threatened us with cancer, we would be all over fighting to get that plant out of the area. But, we don’t think twice about putting chemicals all over our bodies.
When a client comes to me (almost always with an illness) the four things I recommend for healing are, I teach them to meditate, I teach them to eat for their dosha, I teach them to connect their body with their mind through yoga, and, I teach them about self oil massage, using sesame oil. The sesame oil moisturizes the skin and hair, when oil, pure oil, not lotions or baby oil, is absorbed into the skin, it nourishes the skin, and dislodges toxins, that would otherwise stop the flow of life force (breath) in our system, yes, the skin does breathe. When something touches the skin, our consciousness is awakened and enlivened. It is the self oil massage that my clients like the best. (Go to my “The Skin is the first layer of Intelligence” on my blog to find out how to do the self oil massage.)
We are not machines, our bodies are traumatized when we eat junk foods, and they are traumatized when we put chemicals on our skin. As a general rule, when you look at the ingredient label on your beauty product, ask yourself if you'd serve a meal made from those ingredients to your family and friends. If the answer is no, pass.
The manufacturers are afraid that customers won’t like the look and feel of synthetic-free products. We like the sudsy, yummy smelling, pretty colors, of our products. Its the chemicals that give the products all that glamour. Isn’t it a shame we are so vain we will give up our health for a great smelling, sudsy shampoo.
Nancy Adams Certified Thai Yoga Therapist
Certified Yoga Instructor
and Ayurveda Consultant
These are my own thoughts. I sometimes take writings from others to support my own ideas.
