So, I guess a good place to start is with a few ingredients to stay away from.  Here we go....

Talc. Right now, this is a big one for me.  It is in so many products, too many products because it is cheap. The problem is that it is toxic. It has been linked to causing ovarian cancer in women.  In my opinion, it's just the beginning. It is in so many beauty products and we must be diligent to review everything and replace it with items that are cleaner, better. Why wait for it to be linked to brain, eye, mouth, throat cancer? 

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate or Sodium Laureth Sulfate.   This product strips the skin of its natural oils which destroys its natural protection barrier. Dry skin, irritation and allergic reactions are common. It can also be very irritating to the eyes. Inflammatory skin reactions include itchy skin and scalp, and exasperate eczema and dermatitis. FDA knows it is harmful and puts limitations on how much can be in a product. But it is in shampoos, face & body washes, detergents, bath soaks/oils/bubbles, hand soap, mascara, hair color, baby soap, exfoliants, shaving creams...the list goes on and on...so if you have been diagnosed as having contact dermatitis...look at your products and I bet you'll find you are being overloaded with this bad guy. 

Chemical Sunscreens.  Oxybenzone, Octinoxate, Homosalate, Octisalate & Octocrylene. The first listed is considered the most hazardous, althougth the FDA studies find insufficient data to stop its use,FDA study found blood levels 438 times above cutoff for systemic exposure, detected in nearly every American & found in mothers’ milk. Not only that, weak estrogen, moderate anti-androgen & associated with altered birth weight in human studies, and it has relatively high rates of skin allergy.  The others are not as highly toxic, but don't let that fool you. They all have been found in the bloodstream and mothers milk, disrupt different hormones and cause skin allergies.  Please, switch to Titanium Dioxide and/or Zinc-but be mindful to not use sprays as TD is not good to inhale. Please note, TD was not found in the bloodstream, zinc was but at less than 0.01% skin penetration in human volunteers. If you are worried about the minerals being nano particals, please don't.  The few studies that have been done still show they are not making it into the bloodstream, so sleep tight and use your mineral sunscreen!

Parabens.  Let me just post this from an EWG article, WHAT ARE PARABENS, AND WHY DON’T THEY BELONG IN COSMETICS?, from April 19th, 2019, By Tasha Stoiber, PhD, Senior Scientist.

'Parabens are a group of chemicals widely used as artificial preservatives in cosmetic and body care products since the 1920s. Since cosmetics contain ingredients that can biodegrade, these chemicals are added to prevent and reduce the growth of harmful bacteria and mold, increasing the shelf life of the product. The concern with these chemicals is that scientific studies suggest that parabens can disrupt hormones in the body and harm fertility and reproductive organs, affect birth outcomes, and increase the risk of cancer. They can also cause skin irritation. Moreover, studies have detected parabens in nearly all urine samples taken from adults in the U.S., regardless of demographic (Ye 2006).

Given the endocrine disruption capacity and documented female and male reproductive harm, coupled with the potential for repeated lifelong exposure, it is clear that long-chain parabens (isobutyl-, butyl-, isopropyl- and propylparaben) should not be used in personal care or cosmetic products. Further, products can be made without these chemicals.'  

So, pretty clear we should not have parabens in our products, yet, many lines still have them and what baffles me is a lot I see are used at medical spas.  Why? Well, what I've been told is they are disputed a report done that found parabens in breast tissue stating it was not done correctly.  The problem I have with this is there seems to be continuing tests/reports being done to keep this going and now so many companies put it in their tag lines that they don't use them, so, sorry, but I don't want them and I hope you don't, too.  They are cheap, convenient and often keep products longer so....yeah...

To be continued....