Ladies Who Launch: Moms - Beware! Is It Beauty Or Cancer That Is In Our Bathrooms

As a pregnant lady myself, this blog submission turned my radar on high alert. I've known that your basic store-bought white lotion has chemicals that get absorbed by your skin. I've heard that shampoo's with sulfates aren't so good for you. I intuitively know that make up, with all its colors, must have something subversive going on to produce a red or blue that turns heads. But Ladies Who Launch member Rosemary Anthony lays it down and doesn't mince words - simply put, there's not too much room for confusion after reading this. The majority of beauty products out there spell danger. Maybe a good rule of thumb might be....if you can't pronounce it, maybe you shouldn't be using it? Huh, how revolutionary.

Amy Swift, Editor in Chief, www.ladieswholaunch.com

*** Moms: Be Aware! Is It "BEAUTY" or "CANCER" That Is In Our Bathrooms?
I'd like to create a little scenario that will awaken your senses and hopefully make you think twice before the daily rituals of making yourself clean, fresh and beautiful for the day in your bathroom.

As we wake each morning from our children greeting us or our alarm clocks buzzing, we slowly step out of bed, turn on our showers and stand under the warm, soothing pellets of water massaging our bodies. We start our morning routine by gently scrubbing our bodies with Ammonia, Formaldehyde and Phenol. We next reach for our shampoo to suds into our scalps some Sodium Lauryl Sulfate ... and keep in mind a great deal of us already have some form of color in our hair. While rinsing out our shampoo, we generously apply a nice dose of Propylene Glycol, and while that is permeating our heads we decide to massage and shave our legs with A-Pinene.

Once our relaxing experience in the shower is complete, we reach for our towels to dry our bodies and unknowingly start spreading around a layer of Contaminant Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PHAS) on our skin. Then, ever so softly, we dust our bodies with a lovely dose of Asbestos Substances. Let's not forget to spray scented Aluminum under our arms (for what we think is a fresh, clean scent), and brush our teeth with FD&C Blue #1, SLS, Resorcinol, Saccharin and Fluoride, with a trace of triSodium Phosphate. This is typically followed by gargling and rinsing to the splashes of Ethanol and Phenol Alcohol.

We set and style our hair and finish it off with a healthy dose of Polyvinylpyrrolidine (PVP) ... which slowly seeps into our lungs. Sitting in front of our well lit mirror, we gently apply a thin layer of Phenol Carbolic Acid, Dioxin, Methylparaben, Butylparaben, Ethylparaben and Propylene Glycol all over our face -- because goodness knows, we must get rid of those tell tale lines.

Since we have an important meeting today, we must be sure to wear foundation and a little FD&C Red #3, not to mention some eye-Iron Oxide to look extra pretty. We continue on by lining our eye lids with a little toxic Ascorbyl Palmitate and extending our lashes with a simple stroke of bacteria & Polyvinylpyrrolide (PVP). Our lips are beautifully colored with a dab of Benzo-A-Pyrene and some Benzo-B-Fluroanthene, and then we douse ourselves with a spray of our favorite scent that is loaded with Toluene and Benzaldehyde.

This is all accompanied with a little carcinogenic Nitrosamine, NMPABAO, on our face, arms and legs, to help block those dangerous rays from the sun. Aaahh, we are now ready for the day! We feel simply radiant, and as we look in our mirrors we really like what we see ... a "breathtaking" kind of beauty. STOP! THINK ABOUT THIS! What is the price we are paying for beauty? In order to create this "look" on a daily basis, we are slowly and consistently KILLING ourselves.

Through my work and my web site, I have been trying to enlighten and educate everyone that what we put on our skin absolutely absorbs into our bloodstreams. All the chemicals mentioned above are slowly but surely seeping into our bodies on a cumulative basis, day after day, year after year.

I want you all to try this simple experiment: Get a fresh clove of garlic, cut into it, and rub it all over the bottom of your foot. Just TIME how long it takes for you to actually taste it in your mouth. I am dying (not literally) to hear your comments on this experiment below.

Please understand that our skin is not a barrier that keeps all these chemicals and ingredients out. Rather, our skin absorbs everything that we apply to it. Consider the therapy hormone patch or the nicotine and diet patches that are adhered to our skin's surface. Do you know why these therapies work? Because our skin is as porous as a sponge.

Here are some very interesting facts that I want everyone to remember:

1. At least 3 personal care products are used on our infants and children daily.

2. Men use 10 personal care products daily.

3. Women use 6 cosmetics and 13 personal cosmetics daily. And during the day, they re-applied and used over and over again.

4. Assuming that "mainstream" products each contain at least 2 carcinogens, which are cancer-causing agents, daily exposure to AVOIDABLE carcinogens is:

· Six for infants and children
· Twenty for men
· Thirty-eight for women

5. Even though the ingredients are listed on the labels of the products we buy, the manufacturers don't bother telling you which of these ingredients may pose a risk to cancer. There are simply no warnings.

6. It is unthinkable to me that parents would knowingly continue to expose their infants and children to these dangers, let alone themselves. We, as a whole, are constantly exposing ourselves to possible health risks.

Please -- read labels and never take for granted what the beauty and cosmetic industry wants you to believe! This is particularly important for those of us who are care takers of others (children, relatives, etc.) We as a collective group need to protect those closest to us, our loved ones. Make the choice today and make a healthier change for tomorrow!

Rosemary Anthony, Owner and founder of Love Me Baby Me

Comments

[ldelp84227]

I am happy t o see such an informative post. I use to use all of these cosmetics, also the detergents and softner that are on our towels we rub on our bodies, the cleaning products, etc. until I became ill with a chemical induced asthma. I never knew our products were dangerous or that our skin is our largest organ. Why would these companies be aloud to put whatever they want in our products and not even have to prove they are safe. I even have trouble near baby lotions, wipes, shampoo. How can this be possible. I have read documents where Bush did not want our products regulated like the EU Government recently started doing fo their people. There is a safe version for EU and the US gets the more dangerous version. Maybe because the EU Gov't provides health care and they are trying to eliminate more illness. When will our country stop giving us cancer, asthma, autism, and many other unnecessary illnesses for the sake of money. I use unscented products such as Dove unscented, Tide unscented, baking soda for many uses, vinegar and fresh lemon. My house is clean and I look pretty young for 53. You don't need all that crap. I can't work though because you go out and many people are loaded with these products. When someone leaves a room and their scent remains for sometime something is wrong. It is worse than cigarettes. Think about the children with asthma. Linda

[Lesscancer]

HuffPost's Pick

Good post Amy Swift!

There are many opportunities to eliminate unnecessary and preventable environmental exposures that either are suspected and or known to be linked to cancer.

Never before have we had more cancer.

This year 1.4 million people will be hearing the devastating news that they to have cancer. 



Scientist tell us that 70-80% of all cancer is linked to the environment (as opposed to heredity); meaning that most all cancer comes from outside of our bodies. This of course reflects some behaviors to include smoking.

However, cancer is not an unlucky roll of the dice, but rather is manufactured.



Everyday more than 1,500 men, women and children die of cancer in the U.S.

This year two classrooms of children and or approximately 46 school children every school day in this country will be diagnosed with cancer. 



I think it can be different, I think we can have a world of less cancer.

But beyond what I think- there is sound science and data that suggests it can be different. There can be less cancer.

While the cure can never be underestimated-we must expand our view of cancer to include prevention.

There are things we can do in our own homes, schools and work to remove and or reduce those everyday items we assume are safe.



We are in a place where all of us can make change with the choices we make. 


Bill Couzens Founder lesscancer.org

[Lesscancer]

Good post Amy Swift!

There are many opportunities to eliminate unnecessary and preventable environmental exposures that either are suspected and or known to be linked to cancer.

Never before have we had more cancer.

This year 1.4 million people will be hearing the devastating news that they to have cancer. 



Scientist tell us that 70-80% of all cancer is linked to the environment (as opposed to heredity); meaning that most all cancer comes from outside of our bodies. This of course reflects some behaviors to include smoking.

However, cancer is not an unlucky roll of the dice, but rather is manufactured.


Everyday more than 1,500 men, women and children die of cancer in the U.S.

This year two classrooms of children and or approximately 46 school children every school day in this country will be diagnosed with cancer. 



I think it can be different, I think we can have a world of less cancer.

But beyond what I think- there is sound science and data that suggests it can be different. There can be less cancer.

While the cure can never be underestimated-we must expand our view of cancer to include prevention.

There are things we can do in our own homes, schools and work to remove and or reduce those everyday items we assume are safe.

We are in a place where all of us can make change with the choices we make. 


Bill Couzens Founder www.lesscancer.org

[cheverlycats]

I was recently diagnosed as hypothyroid and after learning the damage that flouride can do to my thyroid, I started taking inventory of what I use that contains it.....more than I realized and way more than I need. it's scary!

[Chrisallalone]

"If you can't pronounce it, maybe you shouldn't be using it . . . " I took a lot of chemistry courses and therefore can pronounce all these words. Does that make them okay for me?

I'm no booster for chemicals. I use very few of these products and I find it plausible that there are risks to heavy use. In fact, I'd appreciate more information. But I get frustrated with arguments (which seem to be made with special frequency to women, by the way) that essentially say, "Because the words are big and scary, the products themselves MUST be bad and scary." What do names prove? Some of these compounds sound bad to me. But others, like ascorbyl palmitate (a form of vitamin C), don't suggest anything negative at all. I have even been known on occasion to appreciate the merits of ethanol.

I would like authors to respect my intelligence by telling me relevant information -- what the health risks of these compounds are, what concentrations pass the skin barrier, what the consequences are of those amounts of exposure, how they compare to exposure from other sources, whether they accumulate in the body -- rather than trotting out the big scary words, which by themselves prove nothing. Then there might in fact be "not too much room for confusion."

[nyscof]

Fluoride is neither a nutrient nor required for healthy teeth. If you want to avoid an unnecessary toxic chemical (read the back of the tube), avoid fluoridated toothpastes.

Avoid fluoride from your drinking water. Hydrofluosilicic acid is a waste product of the phosphate fertilizer industry that is allowed to contain trace amounts of lead, arsenic, mercury and other contaminants by NSF International which regulates water additives.

Modern science shows that fluoridation is ineffective at reducing tooth decay harmful to health and a waste of money.

1,700 professionals signed a statement urging Congress to stop water fluoridation and hold hearings to hold government officials accountable for encouraging fluoridation in the face of growing scientific evidence of harm and ineffectiveness.

Abou12,000 individuals support them. Please join them by signing the online petition here:

http://congress.FluorideAction.Net