As a mom of two, my kids’ health and what they are exposed to are one of my top priorities! I’ve invested so much time researching the best sunscreens and lotions to put on their skin. But never really put too much thought into what I’m putting on my body. Every day I expose my skin to anywhere from 6-12 products, many of which are absorbed into the skin. And while I can read the ingredients and research each one on my own, I’ve found a resource that does all the work for me!
The Environmental Working Group has thoroughly researched and tested thousands of products in order to identify potential health concerns. Each product receives a rating based on the ingredients with 1 being the safest and 10 being an indication that you should avoid the product. Along with the rating, each product has a summary page with a view of how high the cancer and allergy risk is. This truly is a one-stop site for getting a quick read on whether a product should be avoided (particularly when looking up kids products!)
I ran some of my regularly beauty products through the search and was astonished that my foundation scored a 7 on the scale! A product that I wear everyday day, all over my face for 14-16 hours a day? You bet I am shopping around for a safer alternative.
And while I’m not completely giving up all of my makeup just because it doesn’t score a 1 on EWG, I’m still striving to find alternatives that work well for my skin and have even a slightly better rating. My mascara rates as a 4 on the scale, so I’ve been looking through the 2 and 3 ratings for some suggestions of others to try. It’s not always possible to eliminate chemical exposure, especially if you’ve found a product that works wonders for you – but you should always be informed of the risk and explore safer alternatives.
I’d highly recommend downloading the EWG app – it not only has the searchable database for cosmetic and body products, but also one for food products. So quick and easy to use! PLUS if you are out shopping, you can just scan the bar code of a product and the database will find the rating for you.
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