A few years ago I had blepheritis.

It’s an annoying, irritating and painful skin complaint that affects the eyelids.   Basically, the oil ducts get blocked so the skin dries out, flakes and cracks.

Not only does it look awful, but it also hurts.

Anyway, I discussed the problem, with an eye specialist at the hospital who advised me to put some diluted baby shampoo on a cotton bud and rub it along the bottom lashes of my eye.

Apparently, that’s standard advice.

I did as I was instructed

It stung, but I assumed as it was a very well known baby shampoo, there would be nothing in the product that could actually do any harm.

Silly me!

The only way I could read the contents on the bottle was with a magnifying glass, and here’s what I later discovered

•    Aqua
•    Coco-Glucoside
•    Sodium Lauroamphoacetate
•    Sodium Laureth Sulphate
•    Citric Acid
•    Polysorbate 20
•    PEG80 Sorbitan Laurate
•    PEG-150 Distearate
•    Polyquaternium-10
•    Sodium Benzoate
•    Parfum
•    C1 47005
•    C1 15985 (FPT 0859)

Apart from the Aqua (water) and the Coco-Glucoside, which is a plant extraction and makes a soapy lather when mixed with water, the remaining ingredients are all known contaminants, irritants, allergens and potentially carcinogenic, which makes them an odd choice for a baby shampoo don’t you think?

The bottle stated – “NO MORE TEARS formula is as mild to the eyes as pure water”.

I don’t think so somehow.

Sodium Laureth Sulfate is supposedly a milder cousin of the Sodium Lauryl Sulfate used to clean garage floors, and I’ve read a major health concern with SLS is the damage it can do to the eyes!

Great , eh?

Anyway, I was reminded of this the other day when I received an e-mail from MaryEllen Tribby of Working MomsOnly.com .

She’d written about the dubious contents of the exact same baby shampoo I’d used, and  also pointed out many ingredients in most soaps, lotions and hair products on the market today are loaded with unhealthy chemicals, as well as “by-products” from the distillation of petroleum to produce gasoline.

These chemicals pose a real danger to health, including cancer and yet they are largely unregulated.

I’m well aware of this, which is why I now use certified organic skincare, etc.

Now, I know a lot of people dismiss the need to be cautious as a lot of old tripe,  and a ploy to get people to buy the more expensive really natural and organic products.

They’re  happy to use whatever they find on the supermarket shelves, especially if it’s perceived to be a bargain.

However, that may be false economy.

I admit I used to be exactly the same, and never paid any attention to what was in a product.  The appeal was usually the price, because back then  I assumed anything in the shops was SAFE.

It isn’t!

Infact, I’ll bet your bathroom is one of the most dangerous rooms in your house.

We’re all contaminated with pesticides, household and industrial chemicals, so much so, our babies are born with them in their systems.

Constant contaminant poisoning has been linked to the development of asthma, cancer, digestive disorders, hormonal imbalances, diabetes, obesity and many other health issues.

Our bodies just don’t know what to do with all these synthetic chemicals, and they build up inside our blood, fat tissues, muscles, bone, brain online ampicillin and other organs.

Companies spend millions of dollars promoting their supposedly “safe” products.  They use attractive, energetic, fit, fun-loving models, or famous celebrities to subtly online amoxil suggest if we use that particular product we can become like the person in the advert.

It’s a great psychological ploy, and is very effective marketing,  but it still doesn’t alter the fact their products are mostly synthetic chemical laden concoctions.

To them it’s just a money thing.

Health doesn’t come into it.

Many companies even disguise their chemically derived artificial ingredients in words that sound like nature, AND they use the word “natural” a bit too freely.

Again, it’s clever psychological marketing, and it’s no wonder people mistrust the companies who genuinely do produce natural and organic products.

The only real way to ensure you’re not putting the wrong stuff on your body is to read the labels and a very general rule of thumb is if you can’t pronounce it, and you wouldn’t want to eat it, DON’T put it on your body.

Since your skin is the largest organ in your body and absorbs 60% of whatever you put on it, you want to be careful what you use.

Even the fumes can be dangerous.

That’s a particular problem  for hairdressers.

Not only do many of them handle strong chemicals when they shampoo, condition and colour their clients hair, but also they breathe in the toxic fumes.

I’m sure you’ve been in a salon and been accosted by ammonia and the fumes from hair spray haven’t you?

Another thing to think about is perfumes

During the college holidays I went over to France from UK on the ferry.  Needless to say I checked out the Duty Free shop and was amazed how many different types of perfumes there are.

The testers were all out and people were spraying the different fragrances on themselves, not looking to see what was in them first.

Rarely are perfumes made from anything other than lab generated synthetic toxic chemicals all mixed up together, and it’s not surprising they affect a lot of people.

Mike Koenigs of Traffic Geyser fame often interviews people, but one of his stipulations is they mustn’t wear perfume or aftershave.

Apart from the fact it affects his ability to interview, because the smell can sometimes be incredibly overpowering and might not appeal to his personal preference, but also because he knows unless it’s made from pure organic botanicals, or comes from a pure essential oil, it’s toxic.

You might want to consider that the next time you’re thinking of giving perfume as a present for someone you care about!

Anyway, there are safe natural and organic alternatives available, and yes they do cost more than their lab produced counterparts, but for me it’s a price worth paying.

If you want to listen to some webinars and grab some free reports about toxic chemicals you can go here -

http://www.bestorganicsforhealth.com/webinars.html

•    President’s Report Links Chemicals To Cancer
•    Skin Care Industry’s Billion Dollar Lie
•    Ten Toxics You Can Toss Today
•    Toxic Ingredient Directory

Yes, it is my site, but you don’t have to buy anything.  Just educate yourself.

At  the end of the day the question is this …

How much do you value your health?

Take care.

Jean