Toxic Beauty

Elizabeth Reames
May 15, 2018
2 min read

Hello again and welcome back to the blog! I appreciate all the positive feedback and love that's been poured out from you guys as I embark on new adventures in my business. Your positive comments mean the world to me. Many of you have told me how informative and inspiring it's been to learn new tips and ideas on what to do with your hair. That is exactly my goal, so thank you.

Something that has been like a crusade for me over the last few years is informing my guests (or honestly anyone who will listen) about the potential harms of toxic chemicals in their beauty products. With a rise in awareness about the food, health and beauty industries shady practices, buzz words like paraben-free and sulfate-free are popping up on bottles everywhere. What are these ingredients exactly? Should they be avoided? I'm here to break it down for you, so you can have a "clean" beauty routine.

PARABENS: Preservatives used in moisturizers, shampoos, and conditioners

Parabens mimic estrogen in the body, so they can disrupt your hormones. This can lead to early puberty in young girls and also reproductive issues like infertility. Studies have also found parabens in breast cancer tumor tissue. These parabens have different prefixes, so check your labels for anything ending in -paraben.

PETROLATUM: Mineral oils, paraffin, and other petroleum based products

Coats the skin like plastic, clogging pores and creating buildup of toxins. They can slow cellular development speeding up the signs of aging. They are also a suspected cause of cancer.

SULFATES: act as a surfactant helping to loosen the grease and sebum from your hair and scalp.

So why do sulfates have such a bad rap? Some common sulfates are very harsh and can be extremely irritating to your skin as well as drying out your hair, and stripping your color. Other sulfates are harmless and made out of coconut and palm oils. So how do we know what to look for? I avoid anything with the ingredients sodium lauryl sulfate and ammonium lauryl sulfate, but you can also look for the "sulfate free" label on the bottle.

FORMALDEHYDE: what??? crazy right???

Can be found in shampoos and conditioners. A known human carcinogen, it's toxic to the immune and respiratory systems.

These are just the tip of the iceberg. Europe bans over 1000 ingredients from their beauty products that we don't. Check your labels. Educate yourself on what you put on your body because it is absorbed into your skin. I choose to exclusively use European companies for the beauty products in my salon and in my home because I know that the standard for what is in them is set so much higher. Are there chemicals that you avoid in your routine? Let me know what they are and why you are choosing not to use them in the comments below. I love to learn new ones that I can pass along to my family and clients.

Until next time.