No more chemicals, please
The average woman applies 515 synthetic chemicals on her body each and every day in her makeup, beauty and grooming products.
That's scary.
Our skin is our largest organ. It's porous. What we put on the outside gets absorbed, it makes its way into the inside.
5280 reports that state Representative Diane Primavera, a cancer survivor, has introduced House Bill 1248, also known as the Colorado Safe Personal Care Products Act. The bill takes its inspiration from the European Union, where hundreds of chemicals have been banned. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, meanwhile, opposes only a handful of the toxins.
I'm trying to bring my personal number down.
One change I've made is in my skincare routine. I have to smile when I say that, because the truth is, I never really had a skincare routine. I used Oil of Olay and washed my face with the same soap I use in the shower.
Then I discovered EnPointe Skin Solutions -- a skincare line developed by Denver plastic surgeon Christine Rodgers. In full disclosure, she is also a client of mine.
Being a plastic surgeon, she obviously knows skin. But then she was diagnosed with breast cancer, and couldn't find any products that were free of chemical offenders like sulfates (sodium lauryls), soys (controversial hormone mimickers), phthalates (the ingredient that makes plastic pliable, especially harmful to kids), parabens (preservatives) or human growth factors (found in many high end beauty products to stimulate cell growth -- only they can't differentiate between skin cells and, say, tumor cells), that were still effective.
Let's face it: unless you're in your 20's with perfect skin, most organic skincare products won't do much for you. And if you live in the dry, super sunny, high desert climate of Colorado, forget it.
So Dr. Rodgers made her own skincare line. It's full of natural botanicals that have well known skincare properties, and it has a lot of science behind it too: peptides and antioxidants and ingredients to regenerate skin cells, without uncontrolled cell growth.
I started with her Balance Clarifying Cleanser -- I was having post-partum hormonal breakouts, and the girls in her office were horrified to hear I was using the same soap I used on my body. "No, no, no", they said, you cannot use that harsh soap on the delicate pH of your face. Take this."
First of all, it smells delicious. I know, this should be the least of my concerns, but... yum, it smells good. Second, I noticed a difference in my skin within a few days -- and so did other people. The breakouts cleared up, the dullness went away, and even the dry, flaky skin went away, and this is a cleanser for oily skin. Go figure.
From there, I moved on to Pas de Trois Age Delay Eye Solution -- I was starting to get eye crinkles -- that also magically erased those dark sleep-deprived circles.
And I use Bravo Daytime Hydration with SPF 30 every morning.
Finally, I had to try the Pirouette Bamboo Microderm -- because everyone who tries it raves about it.
Dr. Rodgers is so sure you'll like her products, she's giving away samples of a trio of products. Get it here!
How about you? Do you avoid chemicals in your beauty products?
I completely agree! I try to use organic and non-chemical makeup and cleaners but it's tough and expensive to find them. I love the look of nail polish but stay away because I feel it's really toxic.
Getting rid of synthetics is important, but unfortunately the way the Colorado Safe Personal Care Act is worded, it will ban many natural and organic products too. You can find out more about that at http://bit.ly/bUbfAt or Google the name of the act and read some information at many other blogs.