Heavy metal and I'm not talking music here - where heavy metals are found, how they affect our health, and how we can limit our exposure

You may be familiar with lead and mercury as heavy metals to avoid, but there are many other places to avoid heavy metals.

Heavy metals are found all around us. In the water we drink, in the food we eat, and in the products we put on our bodies. There are some that are essential to our health, like selenium and zinc, but at higher levels, some can cause acute toxicity or at lower levels, harm over time. Heavy metals can bioaccumulate, meaning they can build up within our bodies over time.

While we may not be able to remove all exposures to harmful heavy metals, we need to be careful in the products that we choose so we can reduce our exposure as much as possible.

Heavy metals have been linked with cancer, the toxicity of organs, and toxicity of the reproductive, immune, and nervous systems, and can cause developmental delay.

Unfortunately, US regulations of heavy metals is less strict than in most developed nations.

My interest in toxin-free living started with the knowledge that not all toys are safe, and some toys contain lead. The Consumer Product Safety Commission regulates toys, but unfortunately toys are proven safe before they are sold in stores.

Ceramic dishes and pottery often contain lead and other heavy metals. I’ve been concerned in the past about vintage dishes, like the “radioactive red” fiestware, but didn’t realize that even modern ceramics and dishes often contain unhealthy levels of heavy metals within the glaze. Check out Lead Safe Mama for more info.

Heavy metals are also often found in personal care products like:

Lipstick and lipgloss
Whitening toothpaste
Eyeliner
Nail polish
Foundation
Sunscreen
Eyeshadow
Blush
Concealer
Moisturizer
Eye drops

Heavy metals won’t necessarily be listed on the product label, but are instead contaminants of the ingredients within the product. Ingredients to look out for include lead acetate, chromium, thimerosal, hydrogenated cotton seed oil, and sodium hexametaphosphate.

While we can absorb heavy metals through the skin, it is also important to limit the amount of heavy metals within the products we put on our lips because we in ingest those products as well.

My favorite skincare and makeup line is Crunchi because they third party test for heavy metals, their products perform fabulously, and they minimize their use of plastics and prioritize eco-friendly packaging. If you’d like guidance on which Crunchi products are my favorite, you can email me at megan@detox.design or learn more in my Facebook group Detox by Design Insiders.

Resources:

http://www.safecosmetics.org/get-the-facts/chemicals-of-concern/lead-and-other-heavy-metals/

https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/lead-poisoning-and-health