When we are shopping, I think we all try to make the best decision we can regarding the food we eat and the products we use. Compared to a few years ago, the amount of people now that are questioning what they put in and on their bodies has grown ten fold. People are starting to ask questions, and your personal care companies? Well! They don't like it.
When I go shopping, I am always looking at the ingredients in things I pick up. I refuse to put anything in, on or around my body that is going to do me harm. I have a family now and I plan to be around a long long time for them (touch wood).
But what makes this really hard for people that haven't been subjected to the information I have sought for, for many years now, is uneducated sales people. Is it the sales people and their lack of knowledge? Or is it actually companies that don't provide full training on their staff BECAUSE they don't want us to know?
So today I want to talk about hidden nasties! They're the worst kind of Nasties.... because well, They're hidden 😏😏😏 ... what can I say... they wear sneakers... for sneaking!
So theres one word in particular to look out for when you are shopping for your personal care products... and that word is 'Natural'. What a beautiful word isn't it! It embodies everything that Mother Nature has worked so hard to provide us with, and we can seek comfort in knowing that Mother Nature is all bottled up for us in this beautiful little package that we will then rub on our skin to make us glow! Because this little bottle says 'Natural'. Right? WRONG. Big and Fat and Wrong.
My point today is just because something is labelled 'Natural' or someone says its 'Natural' - DOES NOT MEAN ITS NATURAL. And more often than not, is extremely far from Natural.
This post is important for anyone who is trying to go chemical free and make better informed choices... because Marketers, uninformed sales people and companies that are trying to pull the wool over our eyes are the worst and can and do take us as consumers for granted.
So I have one word for you as a prime example! - Jericho -
Today while walking through Eastland I was stopped by this Arabian prince typed fellow (gorgeous looking man) who was pulling out all the stops to buff my nails... I politely declined as I had bought their products AGESSSS ago and literally never used them... (talk about an impulse buy!) Anyhoo - he left me with his colleague who began to grab my arm and put a 'microdermabrasion' product onto my skin. I said "please don't. I don't put chemicals on my skin." He said "'oh you lovely girl you dont worry because this wonderful product is Natural!" I laughed and thought ok and I humoured him. He rubbed the stuff on the inside of my wrist and wiped it off and was showing me how smooth my skin was. And then proceeded to show me the jar. I said -" so you say this is Natural? " "Yes, Ma'am" he replied. I asked to look at the ingredients. NOT ONLY is the ingredient list a kilometre long... most of its ingredients I couldn't pronounce - which is the first thing you should notice whenever buying a product. If you can't pronounce it and you dont know what it is - its most likely a chemical. And if the list is really long, move on! The more ingredients... the less Natural a product is (in most cases). Then, while browsing the extensive list of ingredients I came across the WORST offender. The word "Fragrance". This ONE word... ONE measly hidden little 9 letter word - is filled with up to FIVE THOUSAND chemicals! Yes you read that right.... 5,000! F I V E . T H O U S A N D. CHEMICALS. in ONE portion of this product. This is confirmed by the AAD who says they are "used in heavy rotation". This is also confirmed in an article written by Melissa at www.wellandgood.com. So 5,000 chemicals in one ingredient, let alone all the other things that no one in their right mind could pronounce, in that list which was a kilometre long. And If I'd of bought that product, my skin would have absorbed 60% of what I'd put on it. That's an absolutely enormous influx of chemicals directly into my blood stream, just because I want to moisturise.
I responded to him straight away - "I thought you said this is natural?" he said "it is!" And pointed to a couple of Dead Sea ingredients. One was salt. I said ok, "can you pronounce these other ingredients for me please?" He said "no." And I said "thats because you aren't a college professor. All of these are chemicals - and wherever you see the word Fragrance that in itself means there is potentially up to 5,000 chemicals."
He was completely shocked.
I said "this is why I'm careful with what I put on my skin."
He actually apologised to me. In his exact words - "I'm so sorry for doing that to your skin." I said to him - "its fine - I feel sorry for you having to touch this all day."
My point being is sales people are just that. Sales. People. They do not generally know what they are selling. So always put your investigative goggles on when purchasing ANY products to make sure they are safe for you and your family.
Most of the chemicals in personal products let alone in the word Fragrance are carcinogens, and cause hormonal imbalance. You can read more about your personal care products causing hormonal imbalance HERE
So be body smart... and choose well.
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