How Did I Even Get Here?

Why should we even care about what's in beauty products? Here's my story and why I think companies should have more transparency (and what I plan on doing until they do).

Do you really know what is in that product you shmear all over your face every day, twice a day religiously? Or what about your favorite fragrance that makes you smile when you inhale it deeply?

Beauty Products are "FDA Regulated" Not "FDA Approved"...What Does That Even Mean??

“Under the law, cosmetic products and ingredients do not need FDA premarket approval, with the exception of color additives.” [1]

Upon further investigation the FDA's authority over cosmetics comes through the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA) & the Fair Packaging and Labeling Act (FPLA). The FDCA prohibits adulterated or misbranded (unsanitary/poisonous/contaminated) cosmetics from being sold. There is also a list of prohibited and restricted ingredients.[2] Though when compared with EU's list of over 1000 banned ingredients...it does make me question why such a large difference between the two organizations?? But anyway, the other aspect is the product's labeling. The FDA has specific rules about the labels being misbranded.[3] There is a whole lot of additional information on those links below, if you are interested in reading the details. But the end of it all is basically this: companies have a lot of leeway in what they use to manufacture cosmetics and if we the consumer want to avoid certain detrimental substances we need be educated and aware of the ingredient list on the products we use. Be Your Own Advocate!! Please take a look at this article from EWG (Environmental Working Group) that discusses more of these ingredients. They also have an online database that rates personal care products and ingredients - it has been very helpful for me to reference this when deciding whether to buy something - or make it myself...

My Experience...

A year ago if you had told me I'd be slowly getting rid of all of my traditional, chemical filled beauty products, I would have said you were out of your mind and someone must have taken over my body. I had friends over the years who had fragrance sensitivity and tried to limit their exposure to certain chemicals and honestly - I'm ashamed to say that I assumed it was just in their head. So knowing that and my background in the beauty industry (check out my 'About' section...) one may wonder how I went from a 3 tiered cart full of products to a cabinet of natural butters, oils, and other DIY ingredients...

One night, I had bought a perfume that I had been wanting for months - I was celebrating something and decided I'd treat myself. I spritzed it on my wrist at the store and fell fully in love with it. I shopped for roughly another 30 minutes. On my way to the car, I noticed I had an odd headache but brushed it off assuming it was just from a storm that was passing through the area. I do get occasional migraines, but this didn't feel like one of them. I got home and my husband commented on how good I smelled and I reveled in what a wonderful decision I made to purchase this perfume. (Who doesn't want their partner to think they smell good?)

Fast forward to that night in bed...my headache had gotten much worse. I felt very sick. Sweaty. Light-headed. Dizzy. Nauseous. My eyes burned, I kept feeling like I had to cough, and my chest was tight. I couldn't understand what was wrong with me. I thought about waking my husband up - because something just was not right. I kept thinking about if I came in contact with anything that would have caused this. The only thing that was new to me was: the perfume. My mind immediately went on high alert, "I'm not one of those people with scent allergies!!"...I jumped out of bed and washed my arms thoroughly. After laying there for about 30 minutes I started to feel a little less sick. I realized that I had been having a reaction to my new perfume. "OMG what are they putting in there?!"

...and then I did the worst thing you can ever do in these situations...I started Googling. I was shocked. Phthalates. Acetone. Parabens. Benzaldehyde. I kept finding scientific studies linked to nervous system damage, kidney damage, intestinal issues, hormonal and metabolic effects. Now I am no scientist/doctor, but I do know that any bodily processes tied to the endocrine system are quite delicate and that chemicals that are endocrine disruptors can have extremely detrimental effects on our bodies. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much that night. As I have continued to read more about the synthetic chemicals used in beauty products I am deeply disturbed that more of these things are not restricted and most people have NO IDEA what they are applying all over themselves. (I didn't.) Over the years, I have seen the gravity of what we put in our bodies (which is an on-going struggle and not in the scope of this blog), but I never thought much about what I put on my body.

With my industry knowledge and my desire to live more naturally, I am making my own/finding safer and healthier product alternatives to traditional products. I realize that, as often is the case in life, we strive for our best, but the our best is never absolute perfection - that just isn't possible. I don't know that I will ever be able to totally give up certain things (here's looking at you grey hairs), but thankfully some companies are catching on and trying to formulate products without all the junk. But there is a lot I can do myself, so I'm becoming a DIY'er...lol...

And that is what this blog is all about. My journey making homemade non-toxic beauty products and discovering product brands who lead with transparency and genuine care for other's health. I hope that this blog serves in the least, to bring some level awareness to beauty product ingredients, and best case, encourages people to avoid (to the extent possible) theses harmful ingredients.

References

[1] The United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act § 721 (FDCA); FDA, FDA Authority Over Cosmetics, https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-laws-regulations/fda-authority-over-cosmetics-how-cosmetics-are-not-fda-approved-are-fda-regulated#:~:text=FDA%20can%20and%20does%20inspect,the%20FD%26C%20Act%20or%20FPLA

[2] The United States Federal Food and Drug Administration; FDA, FDA Authority Over Cosmetics,https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-laws-regulations/prohibited-restricted-ingredients-cosmetics

[3] The United States Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act § 721 (FPLA); FDA, FDA Cosmetics Labeling Regulations, https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/cosmetics-labeling/cosmetics-labeling-regulations