How Safe are Your Products?

Do you ever wonder if your shampoo is going to give you Cancer?

Now that I have a child, I think about that kind of stuff all the time. Though it's become a bit controversial, I trust the findings of the Environmental Working Group's website called the Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database.

I discovered this website recently and was surprised to find that many of the products I'd carefully chosen for my family were not as safe as they had seemed. For example, my Herbal Essences shampoo is no safer than my 2 year old's Burts Bees wash (great to know after using it for 2 years almost exclusively). Other finds were not so surprising: Self tanners are terrible as are the most common sunscreens (stay away from Coppertone!). Regular body lotions are also pretty awful, with many containing ingredients that have been known to cause Cancer.

The website makes it clear that they evaluate products based on the ingredients contained in them, and not the products themselves. They are also careful to say that an individual's reaction will be based on their level of exposure to the ingredients and their individual susceptibility. Like every other resource out there, the Cosmetic Safety Database offers useful information. As consumers, it's our job to educate ourselves and then use our own brains to figure out how to apply it to our lives.

Based on the findings from this site, along with my own experience, I would like to recommend the following products as safe and useful:

Badger Balm Lip & Body Balm (yum!)

California Baby Aromatherapy Bubble Bath (it's not just for the kiddos)

Earth Mama Angel Baby Pregnancy Pampering Kit (they also make wonderful and completely safe baby products)



Aquarella water based nail polish (because regular nail polish is about as toxic as you can get)

I haven't yet found a lotion that I feel good about, so we've been using a jar of coconut oil. We have to warm and melt it in our hands first, but it works just as well as anything and smells delicious!


Check out your products at the Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database and see what you think.