Awareness about the makeup we use and its toxic chemicals

Introduction:

This post is intended to create awareness and make better and safer choices about the personal care products and makeup we use on a daily basis.

I was very intrigued by this topic in my Women's Health class this semester and thought that I should write some posts about it.

We need to be ourselves, feel and be naturally pretty and not be influenced by the media!

Most of our choices for makeup use and personal care products are heavily influenced by the media, advertisement, celebrities, magazines, our friends and peers, and even our boyfriends or husbands may give us insecurity for our looks; all of this causes us to put on "stuff" and look pretty.
What we need to do is satisfy ourselves, focus on ourselves and not others.
We need to make safer choices for a healthier body, have young-looking skin, and still feel pretty by using makeup without the toxic chemicals.

How many products do I use?

In a day, believe it or not, I use 2 personal care products, and hand liquid soap to wash hands and dishwashing soap to wash the dishes. I don't use makeup often, and if I do, I use it when I need to feel more prettier, sexier, or flawless. Those occasions are going out, when I put on contacts--I use mascara, eyeliner (or liquid eyeliner) and concealer to brighten my eyes and make them stand out.

In a month, I would put on makeup including foundation, mascara, lip gloss, concealer about 1-3x. Aside that I use shampoo and conditioner every other to three days, and shaving cream once a month to shave legs (hair grows slowly, plus its end of fall. Who is going to look at my legs?).

Here are some alternatives I use. 

I use Alverde foundation and mascara (which you can only find and buy at DM stores in Europe. If you have a friend in Europe, or will be traveling to Europe I strongly suggest to buy this vegan product. It is my FAVORITE, it is safe, cheap, and looks great. I have to buy some once I am able to-that is why I am not using makeup until I get some Alverde.

Also,
I use Sea Buckthorn Oil for a face moisturizer and on the neck. I also take Evening primrose oil by mouth to improve my skin and reduce acne. I also open the gel capsule and apply it to the skin. You can also buy the oil in a bottle, but I like to do it this way. Evening Primrose Oil contains Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids found in fish oil. It is good for skin disorders such as acne and eczema. It is also beneficial for other uses. I take my vitamins/supplements daily including vitamin d 1000mg by vitamin shoppe (take about 7,000mg to 10,000mg in a week because there is decreased sunlight), vitamin c 1000mg sustained release by vitamin shoppe (take about 7,000mg to 12,000mg in a week to boost and maintain strong immune system and fight colds), also fish oil and women's multivitamin by vitamin shoppe that I take daily.

What you can do....

It is really tough to be a woman because we are socially brought up to feel pretty among others and men. When you do your nails, hair, and makeup, we often forget that there are MANY TOXIC CHEMICALS.
You can start by decreasing, and replacing toxic chemicals found in makeup and personal care products with safer ingredients.
BECAUSE...the majority of illness, allergies, cancers including as breast cancer are proven by environmental scientists that illness and different types of cancers in women are environmentally caused. Some nasty toxic chemicals you should watch out for and read about *not limited to these* are parabens, sulfates, talc, lead, phtalatates, sulfates, human carcinogens (cause cancers).

I'll post more information about what these chemicals are soon.
For now here is a video that is very informative about toxic chemicals, and making better and safer choices.

Some of the industries are already taking out toxic chemicals. However, the FDA is not doing a great job at this. There is a new law that is trying to be passed to take out toxic chemicals in products. Europe is ahead of America because they have already taken out many toxic chemicals out of makeup and personal care products. (I will also post more information about this soon. For now, it is the first post to introduce the topic).

It is very important to do individual research, educate yourself and others to make healthier and safer choices which will be benefit our health.

You can also read more about this on The Story of Cosmetics: Myths & Facts .

How many products do you use in a regular day?
Were you ever aware about how many toxic chemicals are in your shampoo, lotion, mascara (eye allergens), or lipstick (lead)?
Which products do you use? 
Try using EWG to see the toxic levels of your products and find a safer choice. I also suggest for you to research what the ingredients are in the products you use.

Some sources for you too look at to learn about making safer choices and see the toxicity levels in products. EWG Cosmetic Database http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ is a great source.
You can also search basic terminology and ingredients on www.google.com

Will post more.