DIY Label Analysis - Learn the Basics of Label Reading
Label reading is something I do for my Detox by Design clients, but there’s a DIY version I’m happy to teach for free!
Why should you analyze and ingredient label?
Toxic body burden is the cumulative amount of toxins in the body. These come from what we expose ourselves to every day, like:
AIR FOOD WATER WHAT WE PUT ON OUR SKIN
The level of a person's body burden is affected by their age, gender, disease status, nutritional habits, and genetic makeup. Dose, time between exposures, duration of repeated exposures, and interaction with other chemicals also contribute to an individual's personal factors.
Our bodies can process some toxins, but if overburdened, they accumulate in the organs and tissues of the body.
In essence this is why paying attention to ingredients and choosing safe products is so important. We don’t want to overburden our bodies with unhealthy elements.
As my greenwashing post shared, we can’t exactly trust product packaging, can we?
How can you determine if a product is safe?
The first thing I do when considering whether I want to buy a product is check the ingredient label. First I look for these ABSOLUTELY NOT ingredients:
Then I search the EWG Skin Deep Database to see if they have a rating for the product. If they do have a rating, then I make sure it is the same version as the product currently on the market and determine if the product and the ingredients meet my personal safety standards.
And if the product isn’t in the EWG Skin Deep Database… then I enter every ingredient into the database and determine if the ingredients individually are up to my safety standards.
That’s a quick glimpse into my process. Yes it takes time and can be a bit annoying, but it’s worth it!