Spring Clean Your Beauty Routine!

Spring cleaning is about clearing space - and gaining peace of mind. By letting go of what's not needed and not helpful, we make way for a new and better, healthier life.  

The very process of letting go reinvigorates our strength, ability, and resolve to be our best self. New energy and focus make it the perfect time to create healthier habits.  

...So much of the time we think about spring cleaning our house, car, or garage. But as Jim Rohn reminds us, "take care of your body, it's the only place you have to live." 

"Eat right and exercise" is a common mantra for optimal health. And when it comes to food, Americans are starting to embrace the idea that "eating right" comes down to eating whole foods, and getting rid of processed foods and preservatives. What many people don't realize - is that what you put on your body, is as important as what you put in it.  

Your skin is your body's largest organ - and since it's porous, it absorbs whatever you put on it. That's why instead of taking pills, doctors often prescribe skin patches as a more efficient and effective means of absorbing medicine directly into your bloodstream.

The skin care products we use can be food to nourish and revitalize our bodies, or the equivalent of junk food, which we all know by now - lead us down a path to poor health, including illness and disease. 

The good thing is that eliminating toxins from your skin care is easier than you think.  With this guide, in less than an hour, you will be on your way to healthier skin and - a healthier you!

Spring Clean Your Skin Care Routine - Eliminate These 7 Toxic Ingredients! 

Check the labels on each of your skin care products, if they have any one of these ingredients, they belong in the trash --- Not on your body!  

#1 Parabens 

Parabens are the most common synthetic preservatives in cosmetics. In fact, they are found in 85% of all personal products. These estrogen-mimicking chemicals may be more dangerous at lower doses than previously thought, according to a new study published online October 27, 2015 in Environmental Health Perspectives. Research links them to breast cancer, endocrine disruption, & reproductive toxicity.

On labels, parabens are often listed with the prefixes: ethyl-, methyl-, propyl-, isopropyl-, butyl- or isobutyl. 

#2 Sulfates

Originally used as industrial degreasers, are now a common ingredient added to face wash to make it foam. The most common sulfate you'll see on ingredient lists is sodium laurel sulfate. One of the problems with sodium lauryl sulfate is that it strips the skin of natural oils, causing oil glands to be overstimulated. This has the effect of causing acne and breakouts - the very thing we're trying to avoid by cleansing! What's even worse - like parabens, sulfites have been deemed hormone and endocrine disruptors, linking them to cancer.  

On labels look for: Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) / Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES)

#3 Artificial Colors Including FD&C Color Pigments

Many artificial colors come from coal tar - a known carcinogen banned in the EU, but still used in North America. FD&C Red #4 is no longer available for use in US foods because it has been linked to cancerous cells in the adrenal glands and urinary bladder. --However, you will still find them in dry skin treatments and hair products. Not surprisingly, many of these pigments cause skin sensitivity, irritation and rashes.

On labels look for a color plus number, i.e. FD&C Red No. 6.

#4 Petroleum By-Products 

Mineral oil is a colorless and odorless oil that’s made from petroleum. It's a by-product of the distillation of petroleum to produce gasoline. Mineral oil and other petroleum based ingredients are "comedogenic,” - meaning they can clog your pores and increase the risk of acne and blackheads. Not only that! They contain known carcinogens.  According to recent studies there is strong evidence that mineral oil and petroleum hydrocarbons are the greatest contaminant of the human body.

Check labels for petrolatum based by-products including mineral oil, petroleum jelly (Vaseline), liquid paraffin, light liquid paraffin, propylene glycol and baby oil.  

#5 Artificial Fragrances

Those two words can mean any combination of over 3000 chemicals, many of them toxic. It's a loop hole in the law that allows cosmetic companies to hide ingredients they use to create artificial fragrance. Don't be fooled. If you are wanting fragrance - make sure it's organic; essential oils work great!

Often times just listed as "artificial fragrance", also look on labels for Phthalates & Diethyl phthalate (DEP) benzene derivatives, aldehydes, & phthalates.

#6 Artificial emulsifiers

Any ingredient that helps keep unlike ingredients (such as oil and water) from separating is an emulsifier. In skin care products, synthetic emulsifiers are usually a combination of petroleum and hydrocarbon derivatives. As mentioned above- these chemicals are carcinogenic in nature. There are natural alternatives - jojoba, olive and hemp oil do the job just as well, and instead of being toxic - they actually provide healing properties to the skin. 

Watch for these ingredients on labels: DEA/TEA/MEA:abbreviations for monoethanolamine, diethanolamine, and triethanolamine.

#7 Oxybenzone

is a common chemical ingredient in sunscreen and many facial foundations. It penetrates the skin, then increases the production of DNA-damaging free radicals when exposed to light. Oxybenzone has been found to accumulate in fatty tissues and is linked to allergies, hormone disruption, low birth weight and cellular damage which is a precursor for cancer. 

Oxybenzone is by far the worst of the ingredients listed on sunscreens, though stay away from Octinoxate (Octylmethoxycinnamate) as well!  

According to EWGa non-profit, non-partisan watchdog organization, "The European Union has banned or restricted more than a thousand chemicals in cosmetics; the Food and Drug Administration has taken action on only 11."  

The reality is, consumers need to check labels to ensure their skin care products are non-toxic. Labels that claim "natural" and "plant-based" can be chalk-full of chemicals. 

As with foods, look for ingredients in skin care products that you can recognize - such as honeybeeswax, and olive oil!  --And always choose organic!!

Rest assured, Honey Girl Organics is the cleanest, most pure skin care line on the market. Honey Girl Organics upholds the highest standards, using the best ingredients nature has to offer: USDA Certified organic honey, beeswax, propolis and pollen, all sourced from holistically managed Hawaiian bee hives. Honey Girl Organics is completely free of parabens, sulfates, petroleum by-products, and all artificial colors, fragrances and preservatives of any kind. 

Your health is paramount and Honey Girl Organics was created with your health in mind!  

So, now that you're done reading-- get spring cleaning!  ;) 

 

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