Toxic Beauty

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Toxic Beauty is the title of a documentary that was in theatres earlier this year.   I was reminded of it recently when reading about how most sunscreens contain harmful chemicals.

Although many of us are aware of the chemicals used in the conventional products we put on our bodies, based on a couple of recent conversations, I thought a gentle nudge to make the switch might be in order.   

Photo by Diana Kadreva on Unsplash

Photo by Diana Kadreva on Unsplash

They know

What struck me most in Toxic Beauty was how the mainstream cosmetic industry (I'm including face, hair and body products) knows that the chemicals in their products are harmful, but they deny it.  A case in point is Johnson and Johnson, now facing close to 14,000 lawsuits in the US over it's talcum baby powder causing various cancers, with scientific evidence dating back to the 90's.   In March, a couple was awarded $29.4M in compensatory damages against J&J for reckless and negligent behaviour with respect to the use of the powder.  


And yet as recently as December 2018, the CEO of the company steadfastly refused to acknowledged any wrongdoing whatsoever. 

It's mind boggling.

One female character in the documentary goes to a lab and gets herself tested twice - once after using chemical free products, and once after using her regular products (note she uses a variety of products daily, for hair, body and face).  As one review of the documentary stated, the difference in the lab results were staggering.

Misleading words

What else stood out for me was the use of the words organic, natural and fragrance.

In many products, the words organic and natural are little more than marketing terms and can be very misleading.  Many of the products contain risky or hidden ingredients.  

Dozens of chemicals can be used in fragrances (often referred to as parfum in Canada), and the chemicals are not required to be listed on the product.  Not only that, the fragrance industry is predominantly self regulating so there is no accountability.

Always try to get unscented products, whenever possible.   This includes laundry detergent.   

It's coming at us in all directions

What's important to consider is the accumulation of the toxins and chemicals we ingest and absorb from all the different sources - what we eat, breathe and apply to our bodies.   Health Canada assures us that each individual product contains chemicals that are below harmful levels.  And yet there isn't testing done to measure the aggregate toxicity in our bodies, or, how these chemicals react with each other once inside our bodies.  

What we do know is the impact toxins can have on our body:

  • displacement of structural minerals such as calcium, resulting in weaker bones

  • damage to our organs, especially our detoxification organs

  • impairment of our ability to detoxify our body properly, as our detoxification organs are overwhelmed

  • interference with hormones and receptors, which can cause havoc in our bodies

  • damage to cell membranes, affecting cell signalling (ie - insulin signalling to cells to absorb sugar)

What to do?

A great place to start is on the EWG (Environmental Working Group) website.  They are the group behind the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 foods.   They have a comprehensive list of all types of body products they have rated.

Consider using shea butter, coconut, avocado, olive or sesame oil (NOT toasted!) as your moisturizer - good for face and body.   Ayurvedic approaches utilize these oils in their practices.

There are many websites suggesting DIY ways of using natural, inexpensive "base" products to create moisturizers, deodorant, soaps, conditioners, etc.

Lots of health stores carry good products, but be sure to read the labels because just because it's in a health store, it doesn't mean it's chemical free.  

Detox Market is also a great place to shop and very well versed in the many natural products they carry.   It is buy no means inexpensive, but personally I've made a conscious choice to cut back on all body products in general (no, you don't need to wash your hair every day!) and simply invest in a few key items that are important to me.

I know we can drive ourselves crazy getting too caught up in what we put on/in our bodies.  And, no, we can't protect ourselves against everything.  Rather, the point is that by knowing how we are exposed to various chemicals, it allows us to make informed choices as to where we want to cut back or make the switch, whether it be food or body products... or sunscreen.

If nothing else, consider buying unscented laundry detergent.  That's an easy place to start.   And while I'm on the subject of laundry, absolutely avoid the use the dryer sheets.   

In the meantime, please don't hesitate to reach out if you want to chat about taking your health to the next level.  I'd love to help.

Thanks for reading!   Happy Canada Day 🇨🇦 :)

gillian