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24 Cosmetic And Personal Care Ingredients To Avoid

July 28, 2020 9

The personal and beauty care market is completely unregulated by the FDA. There are many chemicals that are put into the products that you may use every day on your face, hair, nails, and body that have the potential to cause frightening health consequences.

I have put together a list of the most common chemicals that are found in everyday conventional products that you probably use. This way you can take the health of your body into your own hands.

1. Bismuth Oxychloride
Reason for Concern: causes itching, breakouts, and general irritation as it is a heavy metal.
Found in: products with a pearlescent finish.

2. Ethyl Acetate
Reason for Concern: Irritant to the eyes, skin, and lungs. Vapors may cause dizziness and drowsiness and it is highly flammable.
Found in: mascara, perfumes, nail products, and tooth whiteners.

3. Hydroquinone
Reason for Concern: respiratory intoxicant, suspected to cause a skin disease called ochronosis, and may cause cancer.
Found in: skin lightening products.

4. P-Phenylenediamine
Reason for Concern: may cause cancer, neurological and endocrine damage, asthma, and is a respiratory irritant.
Found in: shampoo, hair dyes, and hair sprays.

5. Toluene
Reason for Concern: liver and kidney damage, can be toxic to infants and children and potentially may cause cancer.
Found in: nail products and hair dyes.

6. Sodium/Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate (LSL)
Reason for Concern: skin irritant and alters skin structure allowing chemicals to deeply penetrate the skin.
Found in: toothpaste, sunscreen, perfumes, shampoo, conditioner, whiteners, and moisturizers.

7. Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT)
Reason for Concern: causes neurotoxicity, eye, and skin irritation.
Found in: lipsticks, fragrances, moisturizers, lotions, shampoo, conditioner, foundations, and acne treatments.

8. Parabens
Reason for Concern: skin irritation, rash, dermatitis, or allergic skin reactions.
Found in: shampoo, conditioner, whiteners, lotions, insect repellents, and liquid skin and hair products.

9. Diazolidinyl Urea
Reasons for Concern: linked to cancer and endocrine system disruption.
Found in: fragrances, shampoo, conditioner, sunscreen, foundations, eye make-up, lipsticks, and liquid hand soaps.

10. Diethanolamine (DEA)
Reason for Concern: toxic to the immune system, irritant to skin, and may form carcinogenic nitrosamines.
Found in: shampoo, body wash, cleansers, bath oils, bar soaps, moisturizers, deodorants, body scrubs, and hair sprays.

11. Formaldehyde
Reason for Concern: known human carcinogen, potentially toxic to human immune, respiratory, reproductive, and cardiovascular systems.
Found in: nail products, hair dyes, deodorants, shampoo, soaps, shaving creams, and gels.

12. Petroleum and Petroleum By-Products
Reason for Concern: may cause allergic reactions, contains impurities that cause cancer and liver toxicity.
Found in: creams, lotions, styling gels, eyebrow pencils, mascara, lip products, and liquid powders.

13. Phthalates (Dibutyl Phthalate, (DBP) Diethyl Phthalate
Reason for Concern: damage to liver, kidney, and lungs.
Found in: fragrances, hair sprays, nail polishes, deodorants, hair gels, lotions, and moose.

14. Talc
Reason for Concern: respiratory irritant
Found in: baby powder, blush, eye shadows, face powders, deodorants, and soaps.

15. Prophylene Glycol
Reason for Concern: alters skin structure and allows toxic ingredients to penetrate the bloodstream, skin irritant, and may cause allergic reactions.
Found in: shampoo, conditioner, body washes, toothpaste, moisturizers, colognes, deodorants, nail polishes, and eye shadows.

16. Triethanolamine
Reason for Concern: may form carcinogenic compounds and it is one of the most potent cancer-causing agents.
Found in: shampoo, lotions, creams, and soaps.

17. Butylated Acetate
Reason for Concern: causes skin dryness and cracking.
Found in: nail polish and treatments.

18. Triclosan
Reason for Concern: may cause cancer and reproductive toxicity.
Found in: liquid hand soaps, body wash, toothpaste, and lipsticks.

19. Synthetic Fragrance
Reason for Concern: neurotoxicity, allergies, and immunotoxicity.
Found in: moisturizers, shampoo, conditioner, cleansers, body washes, hair dyes, deodorants, styling gels, and facial treatments.

20. Methacrylate Monomers (MMA)
Reason for Concern: causes skin, eye, and respiratory irritation, with the potential to cause neurological damage ranging from headaches and dizziness to memory loss.
Found in: most artificial nails.

21. Lactic Acid, Glycolic Acid, AHA (Alpha hydroxy acid), BHA (Beta hydroxy acid)
Reason for Concern: developmental and reproductive toxicity.
Found in: anti-aging, moisturizers, and acne treatment products.

22. Padimate-O, PABA
Reason for Concern: irritation of the eyes, rashes, and allergic reactions.
Found in: sunscreens and hair dyes.

23. Cocomide DEA/Lauramide DEA
Reason for Concern: may form carcinogenic nitrosamines
Found in: shampoo, body wash, cleansers, bath oils, liquid soaps, bar soaps, and moisturizers.

24. Coal-Tar Colors (FD and C or D and C)
Reason for Concern: known human respiratory toxin and possible cancer risk.
Found in: shampoo, psoriasis relief liquid.

Check out Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database from The Environmental Working Group. It is a searchable database of toxic ingredients in cosmetic and personal care products.

5 Green Tips For Eco-Friendly Drinking & Dining

July 27, 2020 2

There are many ways to make your dining and drinking experiences more eco-friendly. Here are a few from Green Chic: Saving the Earth in Style, read on, and then leave your own tips!

1. Eat Local Foods:
Knowing where your food comes from is great for conversation and also good for your local farmers, economy, and the earth.

2. Ditch Processed Foods:
Choose whole recognizable foods that are as close to their natural state as possible, instead of refined foods.

3. Buy Organic and Biodynamic Wines:
Organic grapes are grown without chemical fertilizers or chemicals. This means that the fertilizers and chemicals won’t get into the air, water, soil, or your body! 

4. Support your Local Micro-Brewery:
Cold ones are made from barley, hops, and sometimes wheat – conventionally these ingredients are grown using herbicides, pesticides, and fungicides. Choose a local organic or biodynamic brewery to support instead.

5. Fair Trade/Shade Grown Coffee:
Only drink coffee that is shade-grown, Fair Trade Certified, and Organic. It is really easy to find in your local markets these days. It is important because it helps to prevent the deforestation of the rain forest. Several decades ago farmers found that if you cleared the lovely canopy of the rain forest to grow coffee in the sun, it would grow faster. However cutting down the rain forest to do this, is a horrible idea.

How do you make your dining and drinking experiences greener? 

Eco-Friendly Tips to Help You Go Green in the Kitchen

July 27, 2020 1

In today’s society, people are becoming more aware of the impact their actions have. Whether it’s thinking more about what they’re putting in their body or how their actions are affecting the environment, more and more people are making better choices. In fact, 67% of millennials say they enjoy ordering healthy food when they’re out to eat. But while it’s easy enough to make healthy food choices, people also should be making good choices at home. And with these few simple tips, homeowners can be more eco-friendly in their kitchens.

One of the easiest ways to be more eco-friendly in the kitchen is to start exploring reusable packaging options. This is easy enough to do when you go grocery shopping if you bring your own shopping bags and buy unwrapped food products. And if you do have to buy packaged items, consider choosing environmentally-friendly packaging. Fortunately, more and more companies are implementing eco-friendly packaging, especially seeing as how the 2016 West Rock Consumer Insights Study found that 45% of consumers have chosen a product due to its eco-friendly packaging.

You can take using eco-friendly packaging even further and find ways to reuse items already around the kitchen as well. For example, you can reuse glass containers like wine bottles. And with 949 million gallons of wine being consumed in the U.S. in 2016 alone, chances are you’ve got a few of them laying around. So instead of getting rid of them, get creative and use them as vases, decoration, or to even store other food or drink items. Reusing whenever you can is a great way to be more eco-friendly in the kitchen.

A big contributor to non eco-friendly kitchen practices is using harmful cleaning supplies. Harsh chemical cleaners can not only be bad for the environment, but bad for your health as well. With that in mind, it’s important to consider alternative cleaning supplies that won’t harm you or the environment. Products like baking soda, vinegar, lemon juice, and chemical-free soaps are great to use to clean the kitchen in a safe and harm-free manner.

And last but not least, one of the best ways to be more eco-friendly in the kitchen is to compost! Even if you try to keep your food waste to a minimum, there’s always going to be something that can’t be eaten. Whether it’s eggshells, coffee grounds, or vegetable scraps, it can still be harmful to the environment to throw these items away. But if you choose to compost them, you’ll be helping the environment — and your garden, if you have one. There are tons of different ways to compost, so you can easily find one that fits well with your lifestyle.

While going completely green around your home may seem impossible, it’s important to start taking baby steps. The kitchen is a great place to start because there are several ways to be more environmentally friendly with food and kitchen supplies. So if you’re looking for ways to help the environment, keep these eco-friendly tips in mind.

3 Advantages of Driving an Eco-Friendly Car

July 26, 2020 0

These days, hybrid cars are becoming more and more popular. Simply put, a hybrid car has two engines, an electric one and a conventional one that runs on gasoline. The electric motor powers the car at lower speeds, while the gas engine powers the car at higher speeds.

This hybrid technology has existed since the early 1900s, but it has only started gaining popularity in the last decade or so. Now that drivers are starting to understand the way they work and their advantages, more people are drawn to them. For those of you still wondering, here are some advantages of driving an eco-friendly car that may sway you to the other side.

Environmental Benefits

Obviously, an eco-friendly car will have environmental benefits. However, many people don’t understand what those benefits are. For starters, hybrid vehicles have fewer emissions. Hybrid cars use much less fuel than traditional vehicles, and they can go the same distance with substantially less toxic emissions. For example, the hybrid Prius 46 has an 11 gallon tank, allowing the vehicle to travel up to 600 miles before refueling.

Cost Effective

On the same note, when you have to fuel up less, you are spending much less money. Most hybrid cars can get up to 50 miles per gallon, which is almost unheard of for traditional gas engines. These cars are very attractive for those who have long commutes or like to travel. Hybrids are also much more effective in retaining gas in bumper-to-bumper, rush hour traffic.

Higher Resale Value

There are several reasons that hybrid vehicles have a higher resale value than traditional cars. First, they are made in smaller batches, making them much rarer. This plays the classic game of supply and demand. Secondly, gas prices are pretty much always rising, so more and more people are looking to purchase hybrid cars. It’s safe to say that you will get your money’s worth when you go to sell your hybrid.

Hybrid cars are growing much more popular in recent years, and that’s a great sign for the environment. About 20% of people buying used cars don’t test drive them first, and they probably won’t have to if they are buying a hybrid. Knowing these advantages could convince almost anyone to purchase a hybrid.

How Do I Recycle This? 7 Weird Items That You Can Recycle

July 25, 2020 5

You are recycling plastic, paper, and cans at home and that is great! Now, what do you do with the things that you want to recycle but your recycling center won’t take? Here are some ways to recycle those hard to recycle items and reasons why you should.

1. Cell Phones:
Cell phones are hazardous waste because they contain Mercury, Lead, Arsenic, and Cadium. If thrown in with your trash, they can cause environmental contamination including combustion and leakage into the ground, water, and soil. Unfortunately, only 2% of cell phones are recycled. Check out Earth911.org to find a local cell phone recycling drop off location or mail them to:

Recycle My Cell Phone/Collective Good
4508 Bibb Blvd Suite B-10
Tucker, GA 30084

2. PC’s, MP3 Players and Cameras: 
You can trade these items online at My Boneyard or Venjuvo. You can also get store credit for them at Radio Shack or Office Depot.

3. Plastic Bottle Caps: 
Plastic Bottle Caps are made of a different type of plastic that can’t be easily recycled. You can drop them off at your local Aveda Store.

4. Plastic Bags and Film: 
More and more retailers have in–store bins to collect your film, plastic shopping, produce, and Ziploc bags. To find a local drop off location in your area visit Plastic Bag Recycling

5. Plastic Packing Peanuts:
Locate a shipping company in your area that can reuse your plastic packing peanuts at Loose Fill Packaging. Then in the future, try to use companies that use compostable peanuts.

6. Worn out Athletic Shoes:
Nike will take your old worn-out athletic shoes and turn them into Nike Grind, a material used in
sports surfaces at Nike Reuse A Shoe

7. Rechargeable Batteries:
Once your rechargeable batteries are no longer chargeable (after about 1,000 charges) send them to RBRC for recycling.

Are there items that you need help recycling? Drop me a line, I will be happy to help!

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