Thursday--Spa Day

I received an email a day ago from a trusted source (actually a work at home mom source) that talked about a mother who had discovered that she was taking such good care of her baby girl that she was actually poisoning her!  Here is a list of items found in most personal care items that are toxic and are absorbed directly by your skin and what damage they actually do:

Here's a "top-ten" list of the most toxic types of substances in skin care products Dr. Sears' Wellness Research team identified - and the dangers they pose to your health:

 

Chemicals Commonly Found In Commercial Sunscreens	Dangerous Side Effects
1. Parabens	"Endocrine disruptors," these gender-bending chemicals mimic estrogen, upset your hormonal balance, and can cause various reproductive cancers in men and women
2. PABA (may be listed as octyl-dimethyl or padimate-O)	Attacks DNA and causes genetic mutation when exposed to sunlight
3. Mineral oil, paraffin, petrolatum	Coats skin like plastic and clogs pores, trapping toxins in, slows skin cell growth, disrupts normal hormone function, suspected of causing cancer
4. Sodium laurel, lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate (sometimes listed as "from coconut" or "coconut derived"	Combined with other chemicals, it becomes nitrosamine, a powerful cancer-causing agent; penetrates your skin's moisture barrier, allowing other dangerous chemicals to enter your bloodstream
5. Phenol carbolic acid	Circulatory collapse, paralysis, convulsions, coma, death from respiratory failure
6. Acrylamide	Breast cancer
7. Octyl-methoxycinnamate (OMC)	Kills skin cells
8. Toluene (may be listed as benzoic, benzyl, or butylated hydroxtoluene)	Anemia, low blood cell count, liver and kidney damage, birth defects
9. Propylene glycol	Dermatitis, kidney and liver abnormalities, prevents skin growth, causes irritation
10. PEG, polysorbates, laureth, ethoxylated alcohol	Potent carcinogens containing dioxane

You probably use them on your body every single day of your life. And since your skin is the largest organ of your body, these nasty chemicals go straight into your bloodstream.
Once they get inside of you, they mimic estrogen, disrupt your endocrine system, and throw your hormones out of whack.

So, that said, it makes even more sense to look into the possibility of making some of these products yourself--you have control over the ingredients and the method of manufacture.

Here is a link to a site that has numerous recipes for all types of personal care items.  Check out some of these at The Spa Index.  Another site that has many recipes to make your own personal care items is Craft Bits.  I know I will be looking these recipes over and seeing which product I want to make for myself as a way to "get my toe in the water" so to speak.  If it is as easy as they say, then I may go whole hog and make everything I use--actually I won't have to because my oldest daughter is now making me lip balm and soap.

Try some of these out and then let me know your results, won't you?  I would love to hear what worked and what flopped and what you think went well.  Talk to me, please!

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