A friend recently asked my input on a shampoo and conditioner that she was using and that she liked. This reminded me that it’s been a long time since I talked about safe and healthy skin care products, so today we’re going to look at this important part of healthy aging.
In 2012, when I wrote the book “Beautiful Sexy Skin for Women Over 40,” I started my research in a couple of big grocery stores as well as Walmart. I spent the day checking ingredients on all the soaps, shampoo, face creams, etc. It was an enormous task, but the thing that amazed me the most was that were NO products that didn’t have at least two ingredients that you would not want to rub on your body…
For instance, Phenoxyethanol is an ingredient in jet fuel AND in many items that women put on their face. When I asked a scientist mentioned in one of the studies that I read at the time, why this is included or needed in these products, he simply said that the amount in one facial cleaner was less than 1%, which is safe and allowed for use on skin. He had no answer, however to my question about the other six products with this ingredient that a woman also puts on her face at the same time, which is seven times the percentage allowed and clearly over the limit. He insisted that the products were safe, got angry, and hung up.
This was just one of the many ingredients that can cause allergic reactions, dry skin, canker sores, and have even been linked to cancer.
In the years since I wrote my book, there has been much more publicity on the harmful chemicals and ingredients in skin care products, and there are now more products on the market that are not as harmful. Some are even sold in Walmart. Many women are more savvy about their skin care products now.
A good place to check if you want to take a look at your own soaps, shampoos, makeup, etc. is the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Skin Deep site. They rate each ingredient and include more information about that rating as well.
I find that sometimes going back to basics is best. In this case, bar soaps do not have as many harmful ingredients. The soap that I use is bar soap. I have found that liquid soaps have too many chemicals in them. My bar soap is made by One With Nature; it’s their Dead Sea mineral soap. It lathers up just fine and has zero harmful ingredients.
Also, the shampoo I use is from Puriya and has one ingredient on the maybe list for people with allergies, but everything else is fine.
Here’s a link if you want more information on my book or these products.
Meanwhile, please take what you put in or on your body seriously. As we age, we want to do everything possible to keep ourselves fit and healthy.
This week I’d like to gift two people my “Beautiful, Sexy Skin for Women Over 40” e-book, so the first two who hit reply and ask will receive the e-book!
Best of Health,
Kathi
