The Atrium

I'm the type of person who tries to be conscious of what I eat, how much I exercise, and what products I use on my skin and in my hair. The first two are fairly common concerns – most people I know think about what they eat and how much exercise they get. However, these same people think nothing of picking up whatever lotion is on sale or the perfume that smells prettiest. That these products are jam-packed with unpronounceable ingredients isn't an issue for most. However, since I've made a rule not to buy food with ingredients I am unfamiliar with, it seems wise that I should do the same with beauty products. After all, it is being absorbed INTO my skin. It's not as if it magically disappears, right? It's going somewhere.

Previously, I assumed that the FDA approved all of the ingredients in cosmetics, shampoo, fragrances, etc. for safety. However, according to The Environmental Working Group (EWG), “the government cannot mandate safety studies of cosmetics, and only 11 percent of the 10,500 ingredients FDA has documented in products have been assessed for safety by the cosmetic industry's review panel.” Little did I know, many of the chemicals in products I use every day have been linked to scary things like birth defects and cancer. Of course, there is a lot controversy about whether or not scientific studies are accurate-- groups on both sides of the issue say the other side is biased, blah, blah, blah. That discussion is for another day, another blog entry.

Since I'm a bit of a “Nervous-Nellie,” and I'd prefer to not take my chances, I've decided to slowly eliminate these chemicals from my life. Luckily, to make shopping little less stressful, EWG had created a searchable site for skin care products. It's called Skin Deep, and can be searched by product type, brand, or ingredient.

You all know what comes next, right? There are great books on cosmetics available at the GRPL libraries!