Would you eat your skincare?

Fancy some formaldehyde and lead for breakfast?
 

Many people are unaware that there is no requirement for companies to disclose all the ingredients in a beauty product. But a 'trade secret' loophole allows cosmetic companies to use a generic term like 'fragrance' for any ingredient it wants to use.
 

A test conducted on 33 brand-name lipsticks, for example, identified 61% contained detectable levels of lead. But lead is not a great selling point, so not one of these companies had listed lead as an ingredient on the product.The skin is the largest organ in the body and absorbs up to 60% of the substances applied to it.
 

It is estimated that women who use make-up on a daily basis are absorbing almost 2 kilograms of chemicals a year into their bodies.  Many women use over 20 different products a day, bombarding themselves with hundreds of different chemicals.
 

Chemicals found in lipsticks, skin lotions and hair dyes have been linked with tumours, cell mutation, allergies, reproductive complications, endocrine disruption and cancer.
 

It may seem puzzling as to why chemical nasties are used in beauty products, when natural ingredients provide all the excellent skin care benefits your body deserves.  Predictably, it all comes down to profit.  It is a lot cheaper to fill up a product with synthetic ingredients than natural ones.  A chemical preservative for example, allows a moisturiser to be used for up to three years.  Lower production costs and a longer shelf life mean a cosmetic company can manufacture a product for less, and this saving is not necessarily reflected in the price.
 

But things are changing.  The public's demand for safer cosmetics is growing and some quality manufacturers are responding with safe and effective alternatives.  Living Nature, Antipodes and INIKA are leading the way, producing natural mineral and plant-based make-up and skin care products.
 

No matter what skin care products you use, natural or not, it is important to be informed.  If the ingredients on your cosmetics don't sound like breakfast, alternatives are available - safe, award-winning and 100% natural.