So, you’re detoxing your body from toxins with a cleanse, but did you know that toxins can also be found in your skincare products and cosmetics?
That’s right – despite your hard efforts to purge toxins from the inside out, the skin care products that you put on your skin may be working against you.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to spot toxic skin care ingredients and what they may be doing to your health. We’ll also show you how to find safer products to use on your skin.
What Skin Care Ingredients Are Toxic?
It’s easy to forget that our skin is an organ just like our lungs, liver, and stomach. However, skin has a very important job because it acts as a protective barrier, keeping out harmful elements from our external environment so they don’t come in contact with what’s inside our bodies.
The problem is that skin also absorbs what it comes in contact with. So, if you’re applying toxic products to your skin (makeup, lotions, body soap, etc.), then these ingredients can make their way into your bloodstream where they create more toxins for your liver to try to filter out.
In fact, our skin can absorb 60 percent of what you apply to it – and more sensitive areas of our body – like our face and armpits – can absorb up to six times this amount.
Skin care products that contain toxic ingredients can act as endocrine disruptors, causing endocrine and reproductive problems. Some toxic skin care products are even linked to cancer.
In addition to being toxic and human carconegonics, many synthetic skin care ingredients can be highly inflammatory, leading to skin problems when you use them topically, such as dryness, psoriasis, eczema, rashes, inflammation, and more.
Your immune system responds to these toxins just like it responds to any potential threat in your body. Don’t think that toxins in your skin care products don’t do harm just because you’re not ingesting them!
How To Find Non-Toxic Skin Care Products
You can spot toxic ingredients in your skin care products by looking at the ingredients label, just like you would check the label of the food you eat for refined sugars and processed grains.
Then look up your product’s ingredients on the EWG Skin Deep Database, which is a great resource that ranks how safe your skin care ingredients are based on their toxicity levels.
The EWG uses a rating system of 1 to 10 to determine the toxicity of an ingredient. Ratings of 0 or 1 are considered clean, safe, and non-toxic while higher ratings are more toxic.
It’s super easy to use the EWG database. All you have to do is type in the ingredient in question and it will provide you with a detailed list of information and potential dangers.
The following is a list of toxic skin care ingredients to avoid due to toxicity, based on the EWG:
● Phthalates
● Parabens
● Sodium lauryl sulfate
● Propylene glycol
● Coal tar dyes
● DEA
● Dibutyl phthalate
● Preservatives that release formaldehyde, such as Hydroxymethylglycinate, DMDM hydantoin, Imidazolidinyl urea, Diazolidinyl urea, Bronopol (2-bromo-2-nitropropane-1,3-diol), 5-Bromo-5-nitro-1,3-dioxane, and Quaternium-15
● Unidentified fragrances
● PEG compounds
● BHT and BHA
● Silicones
● Sulfates
● Triclosan
Another thing you’ll want to watch out for is products that are labeled as ‘natural,’ ‘organic’ and ‘clean.’ Despite appearing to be healthier for you, these products are not regulated by any standard industry, meaning that they may still contain ingredients that are toxic for skin.
Try to look for products that contain plant-derived ingredients, which are less likely to cause irritation and increase your exposure to toxins. Examples include essential oils and vitamins derived from whole fruits and superfoods.
You can also make your own non-toxic skin care ingredients at home using anti-microbial items you have in your own pantry, such as essential oils, olive or coconut oil, sea salt, and herbs.
This can be a great way to reduce your exposure to skin care toxins while also saving money by using items that you already have at home!
Final Thoughts
During a detox, we usually focus on what goes in our bodies. But what goes on your body is just as important because your skin can absorb toxins through your skin care products.
