I don’t usually ask for you to take political action, I’m just not that overt about my politics.

But there’s an important bill that needs our support in DC.

When I heard about it I immediately sent my representative a letter. And you can too.

Why you should care…

There are major gaps in the federal laws that govern beauty and personal care products. The current law is only 2.5 pages long and is over 80 years old. I’m pretty sure there have been some changes in the way cosmetics have been produced in those 80 years.

Representative Jan Schakowsky introduced the Safe Cosmetics and Personal Care Products Act of 2019 (H.R. 4296), finally adding stricter regulations including:

Banning over a dozen of the worst chemicals from cosmetics
Funding research into safer alternatives to toxic chemicals negatively impacting communities of color and salon workers
Requiring full disclosure of fragrance ingredients*
Banning most animal testing

*Fragrance/parfum is currently a proprietary term meaning that cosmetics companies aren’t required to reveal the individual chemicals included within the term

You can get more details about H.R. 4296 here.

I’m asking you to please take a moment and support this bill. Show Congress that we care about the safety of our products.

Each of us is an advocate every day. How we choose to spend our money is advocacy.

Buying organic vegetables - you’re an advocate for farming practices with fewer pesticides. Bringing your reusable cup to the coffee shop - you’re an advocate for creating less waste. Choosing a local restaurant - you’re an advocate for local commerce and supporting a family business.

Thank you for voting with your dollar and making smart and conscious decisions about the products and causes you support.

If you want more suggestions how how to get involved, check out my quick to do list.

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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!

It’s Time for Cosmetics Regulation Reform and You Can Help!

DIY Label Analysis - Learn the Basics of Label Reading