Business is a great teacher – and because I am in the business where I get to talk to a variety of people, I learn a variety of stuff too.
For instance, what are you feeding your skin?
No, I don’t mean the food you eat, though that counts too.
I know I am big on makeup and cosmetics. I mean, which girl or woman isn’t? I started out with Avon cosmetics because my bestie’s mom was selling this when I was a 10 year old girl. We used to try on Avon lipsticks and lip balms at her home. Then of course came other brands such as Maybelline and ZA because as teenage girls, we couldn’t afford the high-end stuff like Estee Lauder or Shiseido.
Now that I am 35, I suddenly am worried that all those years, I didn’t know what I was feeding my skin with!
You see, working with an organic skincare company means that I get to educate myself more and what I learnt is frightening! (I help guide them to blog and teach them all I know. This is a great learning experience for me too as the more I teach, the more I know what I didn’t know before!)
Frightening because all these years, I have been feeding my skin utter rubbish.
For instance, did you know that most companies touting certified organic does not mean what you think it means? Certified organic does not mean it is natural. I know this sounds mind-boggling but it is true. It is a marketing ploy as more people are concerned over their health. So if I see ‘certified organic’, it must be all natural and all organic and all safe right?
Wrong!
As excerpted from February’s monthly newsletter from Paul Penders Company, here is what ‘certified organic’ really means:
The “certified organic” ingredients in such products are more often than not simply coal tar-derived or anilines – poisonous substances that have been linked to cancer. In the U.S., in fact, some “certified organic” colors may not be used around the eyes because the FDA believes that they are dangerous to the skin. Other “certified organic” ingredients have been linked to cancer.
So what’s the alternative? What you should be looking out for is inorganic colors in cosmetics. Again, I am no expert in this area so I quote the newsletter: Inorganic colours are derived from natural sources (e.g. clay, carbon deposits, mica and silica) or are simply synthesized. Inorganic colors do not have health risks as “certified organic” colors and therefore do not require certification.
Also did you know that you have harmful chemicals in your shampoos? Dubai has banned some 17 shampoos which contain Dioxane 1.4 which is a carcinogenic agent. Worse, Himalaya Herbal – one of my fave shampoos – is one of those banned shampoo brands! Yikes. I always thought the Himalaya Herbal range was pretty good.
So these days if you see me without lipstick, you know why. Coz I am freaking scared of ingesting cancer-causing agents!
How about you? Are you worried about what’s inside your cosmetics and skincare?