We live in an increasingly technological world, and, just as our food is increasingly subjected to processing and the use of various chemicals such as flavourings, colourings, and preservatives, so too are the cosmetics that many women use, to a considerable degree. This has raised concerns amongst some health experts about possible adverse long term risks to health, for although only small amounts of chemicals are used in cosmetics, these products are used virtually every day and the effects could be cumulative. It is certain that many chemicals used in cosmetics are either potentially carcinogenic (cancer provoking), or irritating, and that they can be absorbed through the skin from creams, soaps, and make-up products, finding their way into the bloodstream and body tissues. The fact is that we just don’t know what the effects of these chemicals in the body might be over time.
The obvious solution to this problem is to avoid any cosmetic or personal hygiene products that contain synthetic ingredients and use only those made from natural substances like shea butter, argan oil, olive oil, lavender, and other various plant derivatives. The main problem is that some cosmetics apparently don't necessarily list all their ingredients so there is no real way you can check their safety. This means that your best option is to stick to cosmetics made entirely from natural ingredients, and that have been tried and tested over hundreds of years. The French make some of the best natural cosmetics, or cosmetiques naturels as they would put it, and this is your best guarantee of safe products that are just as effective as those containing chemicals like azo dyes, aluminium hydroixide, benzoates, dibutyl phthalate, and formaldehydes, for example. All these chemicals are suspected of being bad for our health and we should not be exposing ourselves to increased risk by using them when there are perfectly good alternative natural products that don’t contain them.
Many women find their skin condition improves once they switch to more natural cosmetic and personal hygiene products because the skin is no longer subjected to constant irritation from one chemical or another. Problems such as allergic reactions, acne, and dermatitis can often be relieved this way and so it is worth seeking out natural products. Rather than increase your exposure to various potentially harmful chemicals by using heavily advertised cosmetics why not opt for more natural products such as moisturizing cream with vitamin E, an antioxidant, or argan oil for the hair, obtained from Morocco, and which gives the hair a natural, softness and shine? They can usually be found by searching online, and a good company like la Roulotte a Savon will ship your products efficiently to you, in France or wherever you are in the world. (more...)