“Clean beauty” is a rather loose term that describes beauty products that are free of harsh chemicals or other ingredients that could be harmful towards human or environmental health.
What so many people don’t know is that many common beauty products have ingredients and chemicals in them that can be harmful in more ways than one. Brands that are known to have toxic ingredients in their products include Burt’s Bees, NARS, Cover Girl, Maybelline, and Chanel.
Oftentimes these products can cause skin irritation, acne, hormone imbalances, and even worse; cancer.
Not all labels have accurate information about what goes into their product. The beauty industry is actually self-regulated, which makes it almost impossible to tell if a product is okay to use based on the label itself. Unfortunately, the FDA is unable to recall harmful beauty products as the only case for this would be if the manufacturer steps forward.
Parabens and fragrances are just a couple major ingredients in several beauty products to look out for. Parabens are used in products to prevent growth of harmful bacteria, but we’re learning that the chemical itself can be a larger issue. Parabens have been shown to mimic estrogen in the human body, which can lead to obesity, hormone-related cancers, and reproductive organ harm. Fragrances often contain phthalates, which are linked to cases of breast cancer, type 2 diabetes, reduced sperm count, infertility, and cardiovascular diseases.
It’s important to know where to look when researching information regarding beauty products. Goop.com and thedetoxmarket.com are two trusted websites that focus on clean beauty products for consumer use.
