The Toxicity of Skin Care Products

Many of our favorite well known skin creams contain  ingredients  that can be harmful to our skin and body. As we see with food, adding preservatives and chemicals help prolong the shelf life but they increase our toxic load. Since we easily absorb products through our pores, the preservatives, fragrances, stabilizers, artificial colors, and chemicals found in  many skin care products can have a  negative impact on our system. They can disrupt hormones and  cause skin irritation, such as allergic reactions and irritation to eyes and the respiratory system, and may contribute to cancer.The Environmental Working Group and American Cancer Society recommend avoiding products that have aluminum, fragrances and sulfates for everyday use. Sulfates can be useful in creams, lotions, and shampoo because it helps the product foam and lather allowing people to easily clean their face and hair.Specifically, the ingredients in Aveeno, Cetaphil and Cerave have been deemed as “toxic” for everyday use due to the ingredient sulfate as well as other ingredients that can be deemed as toxic of potentially harmful for people. Natural skin care products contain ingredients such as honey, argon oil, tea tree oil, avocado, coconut oil, shea butter, castor oil, and various other clean ingredients.