Personal Care Products Addiction's Guide
Are you confused about what personal care products you should choose? With so many product brand name, knock-off, natural vs. organic, scents and so on it is no wonder our bathrooms are filled with various products enough for an army to use.
Being a woman, I have to admit that my collection has gotten a little out of control also; I am just as bad as anyone else. It is hard walking into a store and not knowing what to look for in a product to assure your purchase is top quality while also not breaking your bank account. Here are the things that everyone should be cautious of when buying products:
1. Avoid Phthalates: Phthalates are usually found in synthetic fragrances. Try finding products with essential oil fragrances or unscented products to keep away from phthalates. Products that contain phthalates should be thrown away from your current stash of products because studies have shown that this chemical (which is a chemical compound usually found in plastics) can cause liver damage, damage to the lungs and even ones kidneys.
2. Safe Preservatives: All products must contain a certain amount of preservatives to allow the product to keep its shelf life. Without any preservatives all our personal care products would need to be placed in a refrigerator. I am not sure about you however I am not about to place a fridge in my bathroom anytime soon. In addition, a product without preservatives will prevent bacteria, fungi and most types of yeasts from forming in the products. A healthy alternative to preservatives is sodium benzoate which is a natural preservative found in cinnamon, apples, cranberries and so on.
3. Use Cleansing Alternatives: Many products can irritate or cause SLS (a health risk) even for those skin types that are not usually sensitive. There are gentle forms of cleansing and foaming agents so why not take advantage of them. Look for sodium myreth sulfate for body washes, soaps and hair products; sodium lauryl sarcosinate, decyl glucoside, or cocamido propyl hydroxysultaine in shampoos; and sodium cocoyl glutamate in dental products for safe usage.
4. Gentle Foam Products: Foam products are what give your personal care products those tiny bubbles that everyone enjoys. Look for in the product label for products with ingredients that end in MEA instead of DEA. These two types of ingredients have coconut oil as a natural base which is safe for the body however DEA is harsh to the skin and hair. These DEA products are what make your hair and skin dry and flaky. So go with the MEA ingredients such as lauramide MEA.
5. Plant Ingredients: Keeping products as natural as possible is always the best plan for shopping. My usual plan of attack that I teach to others I if you can pronounce it- most likely it's a plant product. Products that have active compounds are roots, plants, flowers, herbs, minerals, enzymes and other vitamins from the earth. Going natural takes the guess work out of shopping.
6. Natural Moisturizers: Natural moisturizers usually come in the form of cocoa butter, shea butter, aloe and panthenol. All of these natural ingredients help increase NaPCA which is what gets your skin to retain moisture.
7. No Animal Testing: Look for products that do not contain animal by-products or ones that are not tested on animals. Many non-testing companies are joining along with the Coalition for Consumer Information on Cosmetics. These products will show a leaping bunny logo on the package.
