It’s been a few hours since you started looking up the ingredients of this lotion.
All 22 of them. Why is a simple lotion full of chemicals you can’t pronounce?
You didn’t expect it to take this long – but then you clicked and clicked and clicked on one link after another, one website after another.
Different websites say different things…
You are now completely confused, so you take a break from your research project for now.
We’ve all done this:
You finally buy a lotion at Target (or any other store) because it is “hypoallergenic” and “for sensitive skin” and “free of parabens” … but then you come home and take a closer look at the ingredients …
And there are still chemicals you can’t pronounce!
You check the Environmental Working Group Skin Deep database, but it makes you even more overwhelmed.
And Think Dirty seems to say something completely different.
Why on earth is this happening?
Here’s the truth – it is not your fault!
Sadly, there is little protection of consumers by the US government. Under the FD&C Act, from 1938 – 2016, the FDA banned only 11 ingredients from use in cosmetic products.
Whereas over 10,000 ingredients are used in cosmetic and personal care products.
Most importantly, neither the FD&C Act nor the FDA require cosmetic products or ingredients to be tested for safety before they are sold to consumers.
And, the FDA does not have any authority to recall products that numerous people complain about.
For example, if the FDA knows that a product causes allergic reactions in a large number of people, the FDA cannot ban or recall the product.
You might have heard about class action lawsuits alleging hair loss, hair damage, scalp burns, and cancer from cosmetic products.
By the way, even the FDA warns that the term “hypoallergenic” is not defined and regulated and, thus, “consumers have no assurance that such claims are valid.”
In the meantime, the average American woman puts over 168 chemicals on her body every day and many of those chemicals are linked to cancer, infertility, miscarriage, poor infant and maternal health outcomes, obesity, asthma, sensitization, allergic reactions, and many other serious health concerns.
Furthermore, anybody can start selling skincare and beauty products – literally, anyone! Even people without any education in the field of ingredient safety and ingredient contaminants. Then they go and write blogs contributing to the misinformation on the Internet.
Yes, you’re trying to be a mindful consumer and purchase products based on their ingredients, not the hype and advertisement. So, you read the ingredients, but feel defeated by these long lists of unpronounceable terms – they just don’t make sense! How on earth are you supposed to know whether they’re SAFE?!
You need a better way to shop for shampoo, conditioner, lotion, cream, foundations, makeup, sunscreen or other cosmetic products!
And now imagine a different scenario:
You pick a lotion (or any other product) and in a matter of a few seconds, you can decide if it’s safe or harmful – how does that sound?
It’s possible with this SUPER EASY method!