The Truth about Acne Products

What would you think if I told you that some people use engine degreaser to wash their hair, rust remover to cleanse their face and aircraft deicer to moisturize their body? You´d think only someone crazy would do that, right?

Wrong. You are probably doing the above, day in and day out.

Most personal care products contain toxic chemicals that are being absorbed through your skin, into your blood stream, and are building up inside vital organs. In time these organs become highly toxic (like a toxic dump site) and stop functioning normally.

On television, radio and in newspapers, people are encouraged to pick up such things as acne products, cleansing creams, night creams, daytime moisturizers, face foundations and so on.

On television, radio and in newspapers, people are encouraged to pick up such things as acne products, cleansing creams, night creams, daytime moisturizers, face foundations and so on.

Manufacturers of commercial acne products use cheap ingredients that harm human skin. Preservatives and chemicals are cheaper than natural substances so it makes sense to use them. Once these chemicals and preservatives are added to the product it automatically pro-longs its shelf life, thus making it more profitable for the manufacturer.

Let´s take a closer look at some of the most common offending chemicals found in branded products. Grab your favorite products and check their labels to see if you can find any.

Interesting Facts

The average woman applies more than two hundred chemicals a day to her body, (men somewhat fewer), most of which initiate an immune response.

Over an average lifetime over 150 lbs of toxic chemicals are absorbed directly into the blood stream through the skin.

Just one square inch of skin contains 100 sebaceous glands and 600 sweat glands that are used for absorbing / releasing.

In this day and age of chemical overload, it is absurd to think that toxic abuse is not affecting our health and contributing to problems like acne. The very same products that are suppose to help keep your skin smooth and your hair shiny could even by contributing to the acne in the first place.

Herbal Essences Shampoo ­ A fine example of toxic products

One of the most interesting personal care products on the market is Herbal Essences Shampoo by Clairol. We think this product is deceptive because it's trying to exploit the word &herbal& to imply that the shampoo is healthy, even though it is primarily made with the same ingredients as every other shampoo. The first three ingredients, for example, are: water, sodium laureth, and sodium lauryl sulfate. Plus, the product contains all sorts of other ingredients that I personally would never allow to touch my skin (like methylchloroisothiazolinone or MIT). Think the color of the shampoo is from the herbs? Think again. Three other ingredients in the shampoo are Yellow #5, Orange #4 and Violet #2. Again these are potentially dangerous chemicals. Once you realize what truly safe and natural products are, you´ll never go back to products like Herbal Essences.

Why doesn´t the government ban all of these toxic products?

Because the FDA, which is responsible for regulating these products, spends almost no time, money or effort actually investigating the safety of such products. Instead, the FDA spends the vast majority of its time approving new prescription drugs.

These disease-causing chemicals are going to remain quite legal in the use of personal care products for many years to come. Why? You can bet that the manufacturers of these products will fight against any attempt to regulate or outlaw these toxic chemicals. That's because the chemicals are convenient for such manufacturers. It's all about their profits rather than protecting your health.

According to an investigation by the Environmental Working Group:

51 percent of products on the market contain at least one ingredient linked to cancer

57 percent of all products contain &penetration enhancer& chemicals that can drive other ingredients faster and deeper into the skin to the blood vessels below

74 percent of all products contain ingredients that may contain harmful impurities like known human carcinogens, according to FDA or industry reviews. Impurities are legal and unrestricted for the personal care product industry

99.7 percent of the ingredients found in 14,086 common branded products have not been assessed for safety

Combine the dangerous ingredients from the labels of all the products you use or are exposed to in one day, including laundry detergents, house cleaners, exhaust fumes, cosmetics, etc, multiply these by how many times you use them or are exposed to them in one day, multiply this by seven and then by 52 weeks, and then by how many years you have been alive plus how many years you think you'll live. Now consider if you really want to continue allowing millions of chemicals into your body, or if you want to go organic and thrive on nature's offerings.

Food for thought

If we stood on a street corner with a bottle of colored liquid, and told you that liquid contained a toxic chemical that caused neurological disorders, hair loss and eye cataracts, would you buy that product from me and scrub it into your scalp under warm water? I doubt it. But what if we did a professional advert on TV for the same bottle of colored liquid, this time with glossy packaging. Would you buy it from us then?

Stop letting big corporations profit from poisoning you

We encourage you to learn the truth about these products and switch to acne products made with safe ingredients. Using certified organic products only is the only way to know what you are using is completely safe and beneficial to skin problems like acne.

If you´re willing to look, you´ll find plenty of 100% natural products to meet all of your personal care needs. Back in 2005, the organic skin care market in the USA alone was worth over $18 billion! Compare this to just $5 billion in 2000 and you have proof that more people all over the world are saying yes to organic.

Our recommended organic personal care product suppliers are:

Green People

Love Lula

One Group

Related Reading

Drop-Dead Gorgeous
By Kim Erickson - ISBN: 0658017934

A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic Ingredients
By Ruth Winter - ISBN: 0609803670

Cosmetics Unmasked
By Dr. Stephen Antczak & Gina Antczak - ISBN: 0007105681

Useful Links

Campaign for Safe Cosmetics

EWG > Skin Deep