If you wouldn't eat it, don't put it on your skin...

Your skin is the largest organ in the body.  I often talk about eating clean, and not eating chemicals and toxins, but it can also enter your body by what you slather on it. Your skin absorbs 60% of what you put on it. If you wouldn't eat it, why would you put it all over your skin.  Now, by that, I don't mean..Would it taste good? I mean, it wouldn't cause you harm to eat it :D

One of the first strategies you can use to improve your skin health is to make sure you are getting enough high quality omega-3 fats.

Your skin has three jobs. It protects, produces, and absorbs.  Your skin grows from the inside out, so your overall nutritional levels really matter. It is not only the largest organ, it is the thinnest with only 1/10th of an inch separates you from all sorts of toxins. Your skin is highly permeable, allowing what you apply to your skin access to your bloodstream (and thereby to the rest of your body)… That said however, caring for your skin is not just an inside job -- it's an outside job too.

Studies show that one-third of all personal care products contain at lease one ingredient related to cancer. That's nice.  Why do they do that ? Because, the chemicals are cheap, readily available and cause better absorption of the products in to your skin, nice....
If you know me, you know I love products and make up.  I have really started looking in those bottles of stuff I slather all over me.  When I did the diet at Dr. Rogers office, the papers said not to use lotions with oil in them and other ingredients, that it would actually interfere with your weight loss. Hmmmm......I had never thought about the oil in my products actually causing problems with my weight, but that made me start to look at this topic.  Not only do these things cause weight gain, they cause hormone imbalances, cancer, asthma, immune system issues and the list goes on and on.  We all wonder why we have so many health problems on the rise when we are eating, breathing, bathing, brushing, and slathering on chemical toxins. This goes for anything you put on your body..shampoo, deodorant, toothpaste, soap, lotion, make up.  The governing bodies say "a little bit" is not going to hurt you. How much of  " a little bit" do you use everyday. I use all of these items everyday.
Organic doesn't mean a thing, by the way.. You may assume that products with the word "organic" on them are safe to use, but they may still contain synthetic chemicals.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has certain requirements for an "organic" label. In order for a food to be labeled "100% Organic" it must contain only organically produced ingredients. To be simply "organic" it must consist of 95 percent organically produced ingredients; and to be labeled "containing organic ingredients" it must have 70 to 95 percent organically produced ingredients. The FDA has no such requirements when it comes to skin care products..

Here is a list of the bad boys to avoid  in your skin care items:

Mineral Oil, Paraffin, and Petrolatum -- Petroleum products that coat the skin like plastic, clogging pores and creating a build-up of toxins, which in turn accumulate and can lead to dermatological issues. Slows cellular development, which can cause you to show earlier signs of aging. Suspected cause of cancer. Disruptive of hormonal activity. By the way, when there's an oil spill in the ocean, don't they rush to clean it up -- fast? Why put that stuff on your skin?

Parabens -- Widely used as preservatives in the cosmetic industry (including moisturizers). An estimated 13,200 cosmetic and skin care products contain parabens. Studies implicate their connection with cancer. They have hormone-disrupting qualities -- mimicking estrogen -- and interfere with the body's endocrine system.

Phenol carbolic acid-- Found in many lotions and skin creams. Can cause circulatory collapse, paralysis, convulsions, coma and even death from respiratory failure.

Propylene glycol -- Used as a moisturizer in cosmetics and as a carrier in fragrance oils. Shown to cause dermatitis, kidney or liver abnormalities, and may inhibit skin cell growth or cause skin irritation.

Acrylamide-- Found in many hand and face creams. Linked to mammary tumors in lab research.

Sodium laurel or lauryl sulfate (SLS), also known as sodium laureth sulfate (SLES)-- Found in car washes, engine degreasers, garage floor cleaners... and in over 90% of personal care products! SLS breaks down the skin's moisture barrier, easily penetrates the skin, and allows other chemicals to easily penetrate. Combined with other chemicals, SLS becomes a "nitrosamine", a potent class of carcinogen. It can also cause hair loss. SLES is sometimes disguised with the labeling "comes from coconut" or "coconut-derived".

Toluene -- Poison! Danger! Harmful or fatal if swallowed! Harmful if inhaled or absorbed through the skin. Made from petroleum or coal tar, and found in most synthetic fragrances. Chronic exposure linked to anemia, lowered blood cell count, liver or kidney damage, and may affect a developing fetus. Butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) contains toluene. Other names may include benzoic and benzyl.

Dioxane-- Found in compounds known as PEG, Polysorbates, Laureth, ethoxylated alcohols. Common in a wide range of personal care products. The compounds are usually contaminated with high concentrations of highly volatile 1,4-dioxane, easily absorbed through the skin.

Dioxane's carcinogenicity was first reported in 1965 and later confirmed in studies including one from the National Cancer Institute in 1978. Nasal passages and liver are the most vulnerable. Dioxane is easily removed during the manufacturing process by "vacuum stripping". Warning: It is a synthetic derivative of coconut. Watch for hidden language on labels, such as "comes from coconut".

Many companies are making a change to their formulas.  ..click here for the complete list of
300 companies that have joined a group called Campaign for Safe Cosmetics that pledge to eliminate cancer-causing chemicals from their products. These companies include Burt's Bees, Kiss My Face and Avalon Natural Products.

I personally use YES to carrots and Tom's of Maine for several different products recommended by my dermatologist.

For Christmas gifts, I plan on making homemade, healthy items, I have a recipe for some scrubs and lotions and I will post them after I make them :D