What about Skincare and why is it so important? As a former oncology nurse, I watched people of all ages in all walks of life battle the devastating effects of life threatening diseases like cancer. They all thought it would never happen to them.
Our bodies are incredible. While in medical school I was in awe of the millions of systems that have to work perfectly to make us function properly. At the same time, I was terrified to learn how many things can go wrong. So how does this relate to Skincare?
Another amazing fact about our body is that it can take a lot of abuse and recover. But as any well-tuned machine, there comes a time when the condition we’ve kept our body in over the years will determine how well it can fight off the effects of aging. For some it comes earlier than others. If we want our bodies to serve us well as we grow older, we have to serve it well. You’ve heard that we are what we eat. That goes for everything else we put into our bodies like the products that are absorbed through our skin.
Our skin is a living, breathing organ that is our first defense against elements. It’s a major line of defense protecting all of the vital organs working inside our bodies to keep us healthy. So, it makes sense to take care of the warrior that protects us. That includes things we should never put on our skin.
We all want to look our best and feel beautiful. That’s a good thing both physically and mentally. During the great depression the two industries that thrived were cosmetics and alcohol. Makes sense. “The average American woman puts between 12-20 chemicals on their skin 365 days a year, according to cosmetic and skincare expert Christina Anderson.
The cosmetic industry is monstrous. In more ways that you might imagine. More money is spent on cosmetics than on education. But it’s also monstrous because of the toxic chemicals in almost all of the skin “care” products we put on our bodies every day. That includes not only beauty products like make-up, but lotions, face and body cleansers, hair products, sun screens and much more. Kids products included! What’s really scary is that our skin has pores that absorb 60% of these toxins into our bloodstream within seconds every time we use them. Consequently, those harmful products circulate to every organ in our body.
In Europe over 1300 ingredients have been banned from being used in cosmetics. In the United States only 11. The last time the United States banned toxic ingredients in cosmetics was in 1938. It’s up to consumers to be educated about ingredients and read labels. That’s a huge responsibility.
A few years ago, when I started looking for a natural line of skin care and make up without the toxins, I discovered that I wasn’t the only woman concerned. Shortly, I found a company called Beautycounter that had just been started Gregg Renfrew after SIX years of research. She has quite an impressive history. After a short trial, I started using their skincare products full time. Immediately I loved the guiltless feeling I had everyday when I used them, and my skin started looking and feeling great! Friends were making comments about how healthy my skin looked. My daughter started using the products and after a few months her dermatologist remarked that her skin looked better than it had ever looked. So, Safe, Healthy and Beautiful too! I was in love with the skincare, but was still concerned about the make-up I was putting on my face.
It wasn’t long before Beautycounter introduced a safe, fashionable line of make-up that feels natural and CLEAN. Like their other products, I love the light transparent coverage, like it isn’t caked on. From hair to face to body, using products I know are safe and healthy not only makes my skin look great, but makes me feel great.
The good news is that Beautycounter also has products called Countermatch for us more seasoned women. Never say old. As we age our skin changes and needs replacements and a a little extra TLC. Countermatch meets those needs safely without chemicals or toxins.
Beautycounter is also on a mission to make the cosmetic field safer for everyone, which is why they have a safe kids and sunscreen line of products. They are active in fighting for legislation to regulate the ingredients used in cosmetics in the US.
One very helpful thing that this company has done is to make it easy forwomen to check product labels for harmful ingredients so that we can make safe healthy choices. Beautycounter has done their research and compiled their own trademarked list of over 1500 harmful or questionable products we should never put on our bodies called “The Neverlist.”
They have made it available in a pocket-sized version so you can always carry it with you.
I’ll be happy to send it to you. Just ask for it on the top of the page and I’ll send you a copy you can print out in both sizes. I love my friends and want you healthy and happy.
Be Beautiful. Be Safe!
To see a list of their safe and fantastic products click on Shop tab on the top Toolbar! After all, we are talking about life, family and friends when we talk about our health. Nothing is more important. Click here for more information! Someday you’ll thank me for this my friends!
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Below is a great story written about Beautycounter by Christina Anderson, a well-known successful make-up artist and skin care expert, with more helpful information.
Beautycounter Reveals Truth About Your Cosmetics…And It May Scare You
“The average American woman puts between 12 and 20 chemicals on their skin 365 days a year.” Sounds shocking, right? But stop for a moment to think about what your skincare routine involves each and every day: shampoo, soap, lotion, cosmetics — the list goes on. Your skin is your largest organ, absorbing up to 60 percent of what you put on it. But even more shocking — and upsetting — is the fact that 80 percent of the ingredients that are used in daily personal care products have never been tested for safety. The laws governing the cosmetics industry date back to 1938 … and haven’t shifted since.
Gregg Renfrew, founder of Beautycounter, has set out to change that. In the video above, Renfrew describes what moved her to start her cosmetics company. It all started when Renfrew, a mother of three, watched “An Inconvenient Truth,” which she describes as a “wakeup call.” The first changes she made had to do with what she was using in her home, from plastic lunch boxes and cooking pans to cleaning products. “Think about it,” Renfrew told The Huffington Post, “You use a toxic cleaning product in your bathtub, which seeps into the skin of your baby, and then into the pipes and finally, into the earth.”
As Renfrew overhauled the items in her home and on her kids, she realized that when it came to beauty products, what was available either lacked in efficacy or was “crunchy.” The more she realized, the more she felt that, as a consumer, she was being duped by the cosmetics industry.
Renfrew set out to speak to a chemist to understand what labels like “natural” and “safe” really mean. According to Renfrew, those labels mean nothing. Consider this: The European Union has banned 1,300 chemicals that are used as ingredients in beauty products. The US has only banned 11.
So what is the biggest offender? Lotion. “People are so concerned with avoiding pesticides in their food by eating organic, yet they slather chemical-ridden lotions all over their bodies,” Renfrew said.
Beautycounter has created a “NEVER” list of ingredients that they avoid at all costs, including animal fats (found in soaps, shaving products and lubricants); benzophenone, a possible human carcinogen found in sunscreen and nail polish; and formaldehyde, a human carcinogen found in shampoo and body wash and more.
Beautycounter is all about transparency. The products are chic and effective (all are vetted by natural beauty expert Christy Coleman) and they list every ingredient on the label, which is not required by law (and many companies don’t disclose all ingredients). Moreover, Renfrew is dedicated to the idea of empowering women through commerce. Beautycounter products are sold person-to-person, much like eBay. Renfrew told The Huffington Post, “We believe our story is best told person to person. We want to build a company that’s financially successful, but we are a social mission. We took the best of that independent sales force model and married it with social media.”
Are you aware/concerned about the ingredients in your beauty products? Are you ready to make a change?
When formulating our products, we prohibit the use of over 1,500 harmful or questionable ingredients.
At Beautycounter, we’ve committed to a health and safety standard that goes well beyond what is legally required in the United States. The Never List™ is made up of more than 1,500 questionable or harmful chemicals that we never use as ingredients in our products. This includes the over 1,400 chemicals banned or restricted in personal care products by the European Union, plus additional chemicals screened by Beautycounter and found to be of concern.
While all of our ingredients are sourced with a higher standard of safety and quality in mind, it is well recognized — and accepted by regulatory authorities around the world — that incidental, trace levels of a chemical may inadvertently be introduced in a cosmetic product due to the complexities of the supply chain and manufacturing process. At Beautycounter, we work incredibly hard to minimize — but unfortunately, can’t eliminate — the potential that a product may contain trace levels of a chemical from The Never List™.
