Those of you who have seen me around the net and know me a bit are well familiar with my stance on the toxins we’re being exposed to everyday. It’s hard – make that impossible – to avoid all of them but we can do a lot to limit our exposure to them.
My research has always turned up statistics that claim most of us are exposed to about 175 chemicals every day. I’m in the mind that these estimates are just way whacked out low. Between chemicals in our air, water, food, soil, clothes, bedding, carpets, furniture, cleaning products, makeup, shampoos, soaps, housing structures, manufactured products, and so on, I’m thinking we have become not much more than chemical sponges. It’s no wonder that whoever isn’t dying of cancer is dying of coronary issues or diabetes, and if those three aren’t killing someone, something else besides good ole father time is usually at work – even if it’s just the chemicals the pharms are feeding someone for insane reasons that they create to keep people eating their chemicals.
There is really only one defense in a chemical laden environment and that is to learn exactly what chemicals are out there and where they hide. Then you find ways to avoid them. When house cleaners became toxic nightmares, there was nothing to stop us from using salt, baking soda, and vinegar to clean with. They work just as well and are actually cheaper – so why the rush to buy all the poisonous ones? Mostly it resulted from people just trusting that government agencies like the FDA would protect us from the corporations that line their pockets. Oops. Well, that didn’t work for us.
There are a few organizations, though, that actually recognize that chemicals cause diseases. They are not afraid to talk about it and are not afraid to point out where they are and what they can do to us. Of course, it takes citizens to unite against anything they find out to get chemicals banned, but we can’t do that until we know what is out there.
That’s why I’m putting this link up for all of you. The Center on Disease Control has made a list of chemicals that are out there, where they are and what they do. It took them well over 500 pages to list them. 500 pages. You still think you’re exposed to less than 200 chemicals every day? Anyway — the link I’ve posted below takes you straight to that report, so put on your reading glasses, click that link, and prepare to be absolutely amazed and scared crapless. Serious – you couldn’t think of fiction this frightening.
From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/exposurereport/pdf/FourthReport.pdf
Go download your copy of this free report today and find out what you might want to be missing.
After I published my articles about soap, I received a question/comment about soap stripping the skin of natural oils. I thought this was an important issue, so here’s my answer to that one.
Will Soap Dry Your Skin Out?
There seems to be some information floating around about the danger of soap drying out skin. The issue can be a confusing one because of all the propaganda that the skin and hair care product industries have distributed in their attempts to sell their products. Unfortunately, much of the information out about soap drying out skin is not real helpful to those who want to keep youthful skin or returned damage skin to health. A quick look at the issues involved with soap use should clear up your skin questions pretty quickly.
Our bodies produce and coat our skin with natural oils. These oils are important in the functioning of our skin cells, but it can cause a few problems for skin health, too. This fact is more important to understand today than ever before. At one time our earth was natural and pure. Today we are exposed daily to over 6,000 toxins in our food, air, water, and living environments. Today we are seeing increases of bacterias and viruses which continue to become more dangerous as they become more immune to our efforts to kill them. As these elements keep hammering our skin to gain entry to our bodies, our skin’s health becomes more and more important to, and more difficult to, maintain and optimize.
Just as oils in our cupboards become rancid, so will the oils on your skin due to exposure to harmful elements. While the oil on our skin is vital to our health, it also makes a great adhesive for environmental toxins and germs. Many toxins do not merely adhere to skin, they actually soak into the body from it and thus gain entry without being filtered through our liver and other detoxifying organs. Toxins that gain entry to the body via skin are therefore much more toxic than those we ingest through our food and water. Germs also adhere to skin oils and multiply, some finding entrance through areas in which the skin integrity is compromised and through our pores. As long as oil which has collected these elements stays on the skin, your body is in a very compromised state. Skin oil needs to be washed off frequently to get rid of the collection of these toxins.
It is also, at this point, important to understand the purpose of soap. The purpose of soap is not to moisturize. It is to clean. A good soap made without toxins will do just that. Anti-bacterial ingredients are not necessary, and actually are poisonous and can cause much havoc to your liver and other vital organs. You do not need anti-bacterial agents. Soap should merely be a tool to help wash away oils contaminated with toxins and bacteria. Choose your soap very carefully and make sure you know what every ingredient in the soap does and make sure it has no toxic chemicals. Wash your skin with a wash cloth, soap and water. Once you are done, you need to moisturize and you need to do that without fail.
Do not fail to realize that skin needs moisture to stay supple, too. Moisture and oil must not be confused. Right after washing you skin will feel and look just a little plumper from the water used to wash. That water will evaporate rapidly though, leaving skin dry and tight. By adding a layer of moisturizer right away after washing, you can avoid that dryness. If you have dry skin, you may want to use a bit of oil after washing, but it is best to let the skin breathe naturally and replace the oils from your own metabolic process. If your skin is dry, that is a signal that you need to fix what is wrong with your metabolism. If your metabolism is running smoothly your body will replace the oils you washed off fairly quickly. Eating enough of the essential oils for your body goes a long way to maintaining the correct flow of oil to coat your cells. Omega 3 oils from krill oil and raw, ground flax seeds will provide vital oils for your body to use to replace skin oils.
Another issue with washing skin is that it takes time for your skin to metabolize Vitamin D3 you get from sun exposure. If you know you can get more sun exposure daily to keep a layer of this vital vitamin/hormone on your skin, washing will not set you back on your supply. If you know you are going to be unable to replace that layer daily, you might have to choose between hearty washing and just a light wash with plain water for a day or so until you can get more sun exposure so as to get rid of as many toxins as you can without disturbing your Skin’s vitamin D resources. If you have been exposed to a lot of toxins, you might well decide to wash heartily and take a Vitamin D3 supplement that day. Make sure you study the facts about your needs for this vitamin and how to take it for maximum absorption. Skin without enough Vitamin D will not stay healthy very long – and neither will any other part of your body.
Natural skin oil is vital to good skin, but once those oils become polluted, they do nothing more than harm your body. Washing your skin with non-toxic soap is a very important part of any skin care regime. It’s not a non-toxic soap that hurts your skin, it is not continuing with a good after wash care regime that will cause any negative long-term effects that you would see from washing alone.
©2010; Sally Taylor: Sals Secrets Revealed
Reading through the vast amounts of literature available about makeup, now and again you will find an article surfacing denouncing makeup as being bad for your skin. The reasons vary from chemicals to clogging pores. While the reasons to “go natural” seem to make sense, many struggle between the idea of health and what they see in the mirror in the au natural state. If you are one of those who struggle between appearance and health, you can relax a bit. Using makeup doesn’t need to be a one way road to self destruction.
The first notorious reason given for not wearing makeup is that many are loaded with ingredients which are not healthy. Many are, but there are also many which are now made with only safe ingredients. The best of these are those which are not tested on animals. Think about that. If a product is being tested on animals, you automatically have a red light. If ingredients are safe in the first place, there is no need to torture our fellow creatures to make sure that it will not harm us. While I strongly advocate these makeups because of my devotion to animal rights issues, it just makes sense to use products that are known to be harmless in the first place. Why would anyone want to take risks like that? Always use products that don’t need testing on animal to determine their safety.
Of course, the safety of the product isn’t the only health issue people see connected to wearing makeup. Makeup covers skin cells and gets into the pores making it hard for skin to breath. There is no getting around that one, however, there are actually times that the coat of makeup on your skin can have some benefit. If you are going into areas such as large cities where the air is polluted, your skin is going to get a coating of pollution. You can check that fact by washing your skin well before going into the city. As soon as you get home soak a washcloth with some hydrogen peroxide and wipe your face and neck with it. Look at the color of the dirt coming off your skin. Dirt is not soot black, it is brown. It’s a safe bet, however, that the residue on your washcloth is soot black.
The black residue on your washcloth is the soot from the city air and is loaded with toxins. These toxins coat your skin and clog your pores just as a coat of makeup will do, but unlike well chosen makeup, they can damage your skin and body. While it is your skin’s job to protect you from these toxins, it is far from a bad idea to protect your skin from them. Putting a coat of makeup over the skin will provide a layer of protection for your cells and keep the toxins out of your pores. Eventually these toxins will leak through, but the makeup buys you some time and protection until you can wash them off. It is still a good idea to clean your skin and pores thoroughly as soon as possible.
If you are going out to areas which are not extensively polluted, it is still a good idea to go without makeup and let your skin get some fresh air and sunlight. By that I don’t mean you should slather your skin with sunblock. Some sunblocks will clog pores just as handily as pollution and makeup, but sunblock is not good for your skin at any level whether it just sits on your skin or absorbs into it. Many sunblocks have ingredients which are much more harmful than any ingredients in makeups. Not only are you dowsing your skin with carcinogenic toxins when you use them, you are also inhibiting your body’s ability to produce Vitamin D. This vitamin is vital not only to healthy skin, but lack of it has been found to be a culprit in the development of eleven different cancers and scads of other diseases and ailments. Sunblock also goes an extra measure to hinder the body’s natural production of melatonin which can cause a whole new array of health nightmares for you. So what do you do if your skin is sensitive to burning?
Take a good makeup foundation with you when you go out. For outdoors recreational use you will want to choose a foundation that has zinc oxide in it. If you can’t find one, you can make your own sun block by mixing your foundation with zinc oxide. Making your own sunblock in this method will allow you to avoid damage from sun without having the painted clown face that zinc oxide on its own can produce. That’s probably not the look you want to achieve on a date to go hiking.
Let your skin get some sunlight so your body can produce Vitamin D and melatonin. You will want at least a half hour of natural sunlight before you put anything on it to protect it from burning. Give your skin as much time to breath naturally as possible before applying the foundation to it but never let your skin burn. Burning causes major skin damage no matter what else you are doing or are not doing to protect it. Make sure you put a good coat of foundation over any areas of skin that are exposed and likely to burn. If you find that the foundation you are using doesn’t work well, you might want to find another that does a better job for you.
There are times that it is better to go without makeup and let your skin breath naturally. Even world class models do not “paint up” on a full time schedule. Sometimes just a coat of mascara can enhance your appearance enough that you can feel comfortable not wearing a coat of foundation for just quick trips out of the house or visits with friends. A quick analysis of the environments you will be going into will give you an idea of whether it is better to go natural or with a layer of makeup on your face. It is a wise idea to spend some time every day without any, but if you have chosen your products well and are diligent about cleaning them off and giving your skin time to breath there is no reason why you can’t “paint the barn if it needs painting”.
2007-2008 © Sals Secrets Revealed
It is commonly held to be true that soap and water should never be used on the face or neck. This myth was started, and effectively so, by skin product manufacturers. It is not only nothing more than myth, it can also be harmful to your skin to believe it.
Skin care product manufacturers make a lot of money selling you cold creams and “special” cleansers deemed to be good for your skin. They have gone through much expense to make women believe that soap will destroy your skin in order to get you to opt out of buying that bar of soap and buying their products instead. If you take a look at what they are selling, however, you will find that what you are buying is a lot of problems for your skin down the road that you will need more products to correct. Unfortunately, as your spending escalates, your problems do as well.
Cold creams are an unfortunate purchase for anyone. Not only do many of these contain toxins, which in themselves can ruin skin integrity, they also are a terrific way to clog pores and choke skin cells, and some even provide excellent breeding grounds for bacteria and fungus to grow. To reverse pore clogging and remove film you need more products to effectively get the creams off of your skin and out of your pores. While you can remove the creams with some astringents, toxins from the creams will absorb into your cells and tissues where they will not be so easily removed. If the cream is actually toxin free they will not remove toxins from your skin completely as the cream itself will leave a film residue on your skin. Astringents can be purchased to remove the creams. These actually will do nothing more than what manufacturers say you should avoid using soap for in the first place. Now you not only have absorbed any toxins the creams may contain, you have also spent quite a bit more than you needed to. It is a vicious and expensive cycle.
Cleansers which work more like soap, such as body washes, are actually not any better than soap and may also contain harsh chemicals or toxins. Those without toxins are not much different than soaps without toxins – just more expensive. If you have an endless supply of cash that might not bother you. As for me, I’d rather have the extra money to spend on other wants rather than wash it down my bathroom drain. The amount I can save buying an inexpensive bar of non-toxic soap instead of a non-toxic body wash will buy me a month’s supply of a supplement that will work to rebuild my collagen to keep my skin integrity solid and beautiful.
The truth is soap is made to clean your skin. That is what it does. It was not meant to moisturize skin. That is why you need to use a moisturizer after you wash your skin. You may have been warned that scrubbing with a wash cloth will pull your skin and cause it to wrinkle. Nonsense. If your skin integrity is good it can take a bit of scrubbing. If your skin is stretching from a bit of scrubbing you need to pay attention to your skin integrity rather than buy more cleansing products. Scrubbing helps ex-foliate and remove debris from the surface of pores so it is actually good for your skin to scrub a bit. If you scrub too hard, of course, you can cause raw patches, but you don’t need to scrub hard if you are keeping up with proper daily and weekly skin care.
Some soaps are harsher than others and you will want to use soaps that do not irritate your skin. Make sure to read the ingredients of the soaps you purchase to make sure you are not using soaps with toxic ingredients. Remember that high prices do not necessarily mean a safer product. Some soaps also can leave a bit of a film on your skin. Soap film can be easily removed with just a splash water with vinegar or salt mixed into it, so soap films are not as big of a problem as manufacturers would like you to believe. Soap film is more easily washed away than many residues from cosmetic products.
Once you dry your face and neck be sure to use a moisturizer. You would need the moisturizers if you used cold creams which always require astringents to remove properly as well so you are not losing ground. Soap is not meant to moisturize, so if you are buying soaps that promise to do that you are wasting your time. As stated, some soaps are milder than others, but soap is on your skin for just a moment and any moisturizers in soap would be washed off before they have time to penetrate. A good moisturizer is one that is water soluble and absorbs quickly. If you have dry skin, you might also want some emollient oils in your moisturizer. If your skin is oily, make sure you are using just plain moisturizers. As with soaps, make sure you buy a moisturizer with no toxins. Health food stores will have many – but do not assume just because you found it in a health food store it is toxin free. Check the ingredients and if you have questions, leave it on the shelf.
Never – never – never use ANY product that is anti-bacterial. Bacteria can be washed away effectively with soaps, which is how a soap works against bacteria in the first place. If you are worried about bacterias, rinse with vinegar or salt water which both effectively work against bacteria and fungus without exposing you to poison, which is what “anti-bacterial” agents are.
When planning what to use to cleanse your skin with – remember what your goal is. It is to clean your skin. That is what soap does. Do not confuse the goal of cleaning with the goal of moisturizing, fighting wrinkles, or clearing acne. There are ways to do all of the things you need for your skin using natural items kept in most households. You can find out all of these methods in Secrets of Beautiful Skin and Hair Revealed.
2007-2008 © Sals Secrets Revealed
Dehydration is one powerful skin wrinkler. People that understand how aged that dehydrated skin looks often take recourse by drinking at least 8 glasses of water per day. It is a shame they don’t take as much thought in checking to make sure the water they drink is not fluoridated. Even small amounts of industrial (sodium, silica) fluoride will quickly ruin every effort a person makes to keep their skin looking young and smooth.
While low levels of natural (calcium, magnesium) fluoride can be ingested with no real notice, industrial (sodium, silica) fluoride is what is being dumped into our water. This form of fluoride, even in very small concentrations, is poisonous and damages your body’s collagen system. Collagen is a protein that is produced in specified cells. Some cells produce collagen which forms fibers that give structural support to the skin, tendons, ligaments, and muscles. Some cells will produce collagen that is mineralized and, along with calcium, builds bone and tooth enamel. Fluoride in amounts as minute as 1 part per million disrupts the sythesis of collagen and induces mutation. The cell will then try to compensate by producing more collagen, but because the collagen is imperfect it does not function as intended.
As the body loses it’s ability to control the production of collagen, it also loses the ability to determine which collagen should be mineralized and which shouldn’t. This loss will result in the mineralization of skin, muscle, and other tissues that should be fibrous. Wrinkles are the result. Bone and tooth collagen which should be mineralized often is not and so subsequent bone and tooth malformation and loss sets in as well.
It is highly important, not only to youthful health, but to the maintenance a youthful appearance to avoid ingesting fluoride. In light of current scientific findings about fluoride much acitivism is now going on attempting to halt the fluoridation of water. While many towns and cities are ceasing the practice, there are still many more which are fluoridating water than not. Your local water provider will tell you the amount of fluoride they are dumping into your tap water. Some well water will also contain fluoride from natural rock sources. Have your water tested even if you are not using city water sources. It takes only 1 part per million to cause damage. If your water contains a lesser amount, do not be fooled into thinking that it is safe.
There are many other sources of fluoride in our diets other than water. Because the effects are bio-cumalative, it is important to restrict the amount of fluoride you are getting from all sources. Sources that contribute in major ways to your fluoride intake include toothpaste, teas (with instant and decaffeinated teas being extremely high), mechanically boned chicken, soda pop, ready to drink fruit juices, wine, beer, Teflon pans, salt (in some countries), processed cereals, and grains. Fluoride pesticides are also presently widely used and it is important to wash your fruits, vegetables, and grains before eating them.
If you have fluoride in your water, you need to get special filters to get rid of it. Not all filters will get rid of fluoride. When you buy a filter, make sure it specifically removes fluoride. Reverse osmosis systems are the best for fluoride removal, and a whole house system should be considered. Remember that you bathe in your water too, and skin is absorbant. Eat as naturally as possible, but wash your vegetables and fruits well before eating them. Avoid processed foods that contain high levels of fluoride. Remember that fluoride will accumilate over time and the best way to control a dangerous build up is to not ingest it in the first place.
While you can’t keep fluoride out of your diet completely, if you value radiant, youthful skin, and your whole body health as well, it is vitally important that you limit your fluoride exposure as much as possible. With DOW Chemicals putting increasing pressure on the EPA and FDA to allow increased intensity in fluoride pesticides you may even consider joining a local or online fluoride activitist group to help in the fight against fluoridated water and pesticides.
By keeping control of the amount of fluoride you ingest, you will find your efforts to keep your skin supple and smooth will become much, much easier and your overall health will improve greatly.
2007-2008 © Sals Secrets Revealed
The dangers of sunscreen chemicals have been well hidden for decades. Sources the public relies on for protection have been funded in various ways by sunscreen industry moguls to keep them from leaking information about the dangers of products. Funding of FDA and academic events, research, grants, and other such support have come from the very industries who should be being scrutinized. Lucrative lobbying campaigns have resulted in favor for this dangerous industry. Whistle blowers have lost jobs and been discredited.
Truth has a way of leaking out, though. Especially when illnesses and environmental damages reach pandemic proportions. And they have. Professionals around the world are finding out the truth and, one by one, are joining forces against these diseases and their causes. Knowledge is becoming public that the proliferation of melanoma can be linked to sunscreen usage – the very item corporations have falsely advertised as a method to fight this cancer. Major lawsuits have been waged against sunscreen manufacturers because of their libelous advertising practices. Nothing much has been done about stopping them from producing dangerous products, however. Even if these companies are prevented from claiming that sunscreen can prevent skin cancers, they area still being allowed to use very dangerous chemicals to make their products. While some of these chemicals have been banned in Europe, America is thus far only making plans to stop the use of a few of them.
Concerned professionals and organizations are now standing up and speaking out about the results of new studies initiated to uncover the reasons for the extreme rises of disease in our societies and malformation becoming prevalent in wildlife. What they are finding, and telling, can turn the tide of the pandemic levels of many diseases which now threaten entire populations.
It is now being revealed that melanoma is not caused by sunshine. Furthermore, studies on ozone conditions and cancer revealed that the Ozone layer has nothing to do with cancer cases, which were on a rapid increase even when ozone layers were not diminishing. Ozone layers were fine, but people were not getting out in the sun without sunscreen any more, thanks to faulty information about sunshine. Now we know that melanoma cases are highest where sunscreen is most widely used and in people who get the least sunshine. American College of Preventative Medicine also agrees that there is no proof that sunscreen prevents skin cancer. The professionals within this organization have gone further to proclaim that that the increases of skin cancer in the last few decades may actually be aggravated by the increase of use of sunscreen.
Other professionals studying the diseases which are becoming pandemic now have concluded without question that sunshine is good for us. We cannot maintain health without the vitamin D3 of which our main source is sunshine. Chemical sunscreens make our bodies unable to absorb this vital substance which acts as vitamin, hormone, and genetic regulator. Vitamin D3 is quickly being recognized as one of our body’s most important nutrients, perhaps THE most important. Not only do chemical sunscreens promote Vitamin D3 deficiencies, they also expose us to many toxic chemicals which are able to absorb through our skin into our bodies where it can cause many forms of damage that Vitamin D works against. The chemicals also leech into our environment and are causing dangerous mutations in other life forms according to experts at the EPA, who are now raising alarms about toxic chemicals in sunscreens.
The chemicals in sunscreen work in several ways against your health besides depriving you of Vitamin D3 (as if that wasn’t bad enough). Many of the chemicals are strong producers of free radicals, which lead to cell and DNA damage which can lead to cancers. Some chemicals are mutagens and cause more direct damage. Other chemicals in sunscreen have estrogenic properties that can lead to mutations in reproductive systems and organs, disease in reproductive organs, and gender confusion in both humans and the wildlife which becomes exposed to the chemicals as they are spread into the environment. The EPA is warning that the reproductive mutations caused by these chemicals may be threatening extinction in some species. Other sunscreen chemicals cause forms of dermatitis. In fact, sunscreen chemicals are the number one cause of photoallergic contact dermatitis.
These chemicals can’t always be washed away. Many of them absorb through the skin and become stored in fat cells where they build up over time. They also are absorbed by fetuses. Many of the sexual change in males which are becoming common are now thought to have been the result of mothers being exposed to some sunscreen chemicals while pregnant. These changes include undescended testicles, small penis sizes, and feminization of behavior. The EPA is making the same findings in wildlife exposed to the same chemicals.
Many countries are illegalizing the use of some of these hazardous chemicals and opting to use natural substances instead. The USA has promised action against some, but are not so quick in protecting citizens. It seems a bit strange that chemicals listed as hazardous enough to need specialized disposal methods are allowed to be dumped into products that people are meant to slather unto their skin. In evidence of the FDA’s failure to protect us from these harmful chemicals, we must be alert and protect ourselves. The following list of chemicals used in sunscreens tells how these chemicals work against your body.
Cinnamates, Octyl Methoxycinnamate (OMC): Hormone disrupters, DNA damage.
Ethylhexyl p-Methoxycinnamate: High incident of contact irritation, non-comedogenic.
Salicylates, Octyl Salicytate (OCS): High incident of contact irritation.
Para-aminobenzoic acid, PABA: Mutigen, carcinogen, dermatitus, muscle weakness,
Padimate-O, Octyl Dimethyl Paba: Mutates in sunlight, damages DNA, carcinogenic, photosensitizer
Octocrylene: Photosensitizer, causes indirect DNA damage, blamed for increased melanoma in sunscreen users in comparison to non users.
Oxybenzone, Benzophenone, Benzophenone-3: Attacks DNA, carcinogenic, mimics estrogen. Disrupts endocrine system. Contributer to melanoma in sunscreen users.
Avobenzone: Highly carcinogenic.
If you use sunscreens, you should be very careful to avoid these chemicals. If substances are in the ingredient list that you are not familiar with, look them up before you use them. Start by checking MSDS Chemical data sheets. These sheets are used by industry and will indicate toxicity of a chemical even when the FDA allows it to be used in products. Always beware of ingredients banned in some countries. Stick to products containing natural ingredients. Our bodies are more conditioned to detoxifying natural substances than chemicals – however, still be aware that “natural” is not always the same as “safe”. If you are pregnant and apply a chemical sunscreen it is important to remember that many of the chemicals you are applying to your skin will be absorbed by your unborn child as well. When you wash the chemicals off, remember that they will end up in the environment where wildlife will be exposed to them. It is one thing to make a mistake on your own behalf – it is another to expose those who have no voice in the matter.
Make sure you get enough sunshine to produce adequate amounts of Vitamin D3 for your system. Vitamin D3 from sunshine is non-toxic. You can now get Vitamin D3 supplements, but sunshine is still the preferred source. Twenty minutes of daily sunshine is adequate to provide enough Vitamin D for your system to function correctly. Ten minutes of exposure is enough to trigger the release of melanin, which tans your skin and protects it from sunburn. Once you have enough sunshine, cover your skin to avoid sunburn. Take protective clothing with you when you go out that will allow you to cover up when you have had enough sun exposure or plan to be out of the sun in a sensible amount of time to avoid burning.
Humans evolved under sunlight. Sunlight is a vital nutrient. Common sense about sun exposure and what chemicals we are exposing ourselves to is needed in the effort to stem the pandemic spread of avoidable diseases, mutations, and environmental damage our populations now are experiencing.
2007-2008 © Sals Secrets Revealed
