Lipstick, Safe Ingredients, and Breast Cancer Prevention for National Lipstick Day!

Today is National Lipstick Day and I LOVE lipstick! It has always been my go to way to spruce up my look. In middle school I would head to the Clinique counter to try a new color and get a free gift - BTW, how many free Clinique bags did you collect over the years?

You may be wondering what National Lipstick Day has to do with toxin free living? 

I don’t know about you, but lipstick was one of the first makeup products I switched. I couldn’t stand the thought of not only wearing but actually ingesting lipstick with questionable ingredients - ingredients linked with hormone disruption, skin irritation, or cancer. No thank you!

Not only do I love lipstick, I also love organizations that share in my mission of educating and advocating for change. The Breast Cancer Prevention Partners are leading this movement through science, advocacy, and education. Their Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is spreading the important education of paying attention to the ingredients in cosmetics - something you know I stand behind! 

If you haven’t yet seen it, I encourage you to check out this video, a quick synopsis from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics on why choosing safe products is so important.  

Along with education, BCPP focuses on advocating for systemic reform around exposures related to breast cancer and they create scientific reports highlighting research to further support this cause. Policy change causes systemic change, a much greater impact in reducing the number of chemicals affecting us and the planet.  

As I hope you know, my mission with Detox by Design is to help women change their every day routines to be healthier and more toxin free, so I’m thrilled that Crunchi has partnered with BCPP. Today’s National Lipstick Day donation is a great way to both spread the word about the great work done by BCPP and provide funding to BCPP through simply buying a lipstick.

So grab your favorite shades today, ladies and wear your lipstick loud and proud! 

I’ll be wearing Marilyn!

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:

• Parabens

• Fragrance/Parfum

• PEGs

• Grapefruit Seed Extract

• Methylisothiazolinone

• Phenoxyethanol

• Triclosan

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!

Mrs. Meyer's Products... Have I Been Greenwashed?

Have you ever been greenwashed? I know I definitely have!

There’s something about a beautiful label that draws me in. That’s what it’s designed to do, after all! 

Marketers use clever labels and popular phrases to catch the eye and make the sale. When those phrases are focused on clean and eco-friendly living but the product itself isn’t exactly as clean as the label, that’s called greenwashing.

In fact, I created my Safe Products Shop to make it easier for people to find truly safe and health products without being greenwashed! You can check it out here:

What is Greenwashing?

Greenwashing is when a company markets or presents itself as an environmentally conscious or that their products are safe and healthy - but in reality they aren't.

When I see terms like…

• Vegan

• Green

• Eco-friendly

• Non-toxic

• Cruelty Free

• Natural

• Hypoallergenic

• Free of… (parabens, preservatives, aluminum)

My greenwashing radar turns on. Most of these terms are unregulated and hold no real meaning.

Healthy living has become trendy. Marketers are paying attention, redesigning labels, and creating new product lines to fill this niche. I’ve been teaching about this for years in my Facebook group Detox by Design Insiders. Come join the conversation!

Or if you’d like to get my FREE Toxin-Free Living Guide, to get started on going green and toxin-free grab it <<HERE>>.

What about Mrs. Meyers???

Let’s chat about a brand that greenwashed me (and maybe you too)…

Mrs. Meyers:

• Super cute packaging

• Inspired by grandmotherly figure Mrs. Meyers

• They claim: “All of our cleaners are made with plant-derived ingredients, essential oils, and other thoughtfully chosen ingredients.”

• Sold on websites like Gove Collaborative and Thrive Market

But when you look past the clever marketing, are the ingredients truly safe? 

I spent a little time looking into each of the ingredients listed for the Basil Dish Soap. 

Here is a diagram of the ingredients listed on their website. I listed the rating next to the ingredient for those ingredients rated lower than a B by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) . 

Six of the ingredients are rated a C or D! Additionally, the ingredients disclosed in “fragrance” are all rated a C and many aren’t even rated by the EWG. 

Also, Mrs. Meyers isn’t exactly a small family owned business. The parent company is SC Johnson. 

As I admitted earlier, I was totally greenwashed by Mrs. Meyers! I’m so glad I have the knowledge to choose safer products, not just those that say they are.

Once you start paying attention, you’ll see greenwashing everywhere!

Let’s Support Ethical Companies!

Transparency is important to me! I get very irritated when a company actively misleads customers. 

When we buy products, we are financially supporting the company and their product. This is why I created my own online store to make it easier for you to support companies that are doing the RIGHT thing.

Yes, it takes more time to determine which products are safe. Yes, it’s confusing to analyze an ingredient label. 

That’s why when I find companies I trust, I stick with them. (And I keep checking up on them to make sure they haven’t been bought out and reformulated their products.)  

While it may take more time to determine which products are safe and eco-consciously produced, it is important to do! Making informed purchases supports transparent and ethically minded businesses. 

So the next time you shop, look beyond the label and dive a little deeper. You might consider researching:

• If the brand is owned by a larger parent company or corporation.

• Where the product is made.

• How the ingredients are sourced.

• And if the ingredients live up to your personal safety standards

Greenwashing is tricky! I know because I’ve been tricked myself before!  If you’re ready to fully detox your home and stop getting greenwashed, check out Detox by Design | The Home Method. In this online course I teach you everything you need to know and walk you through detoxing your home room by room. It’s the perfect solution to stop procrastinating and finally detox your home for good.

Or simply shop the products I’ve researched, the same products I use in my home with my family.

Have you been greenwashed before? How did you feel when you realized you’d been misled?

"What!? There Are Parabens in This? But My Doctor Recommended It!" Parabens 101

So on Sunday, I was chatting with a new client during a virtual visit. (We’ll call her Sarah to keep her anonymous.) Before our call she sent me some photos of what she’s currently using. As I looked them over I immediately knew that Sarah might have some surprises during our call.  

You see, I’ve known Sarah for a while. I know for a fact that she’s really been trying to choose safer products. This fact was evident from her photos. There were some products that were totally safe and there were others that I used to use too...of course, that was before I started diving deep into ingredient analysis and product safety. Now, I wouldn’t touch those products with a ten foot pole.

Sarah was shocked when she read the ingredients of her current face wash. When I asked if I could share her story with you she said, “Yes! That facial cleanser blew me away!”

So what ingredients were on that label? Parabens. Yep, and lots of them!

If you’re not familiar with this common preservative, here’s some more info for you…

Parabens are often used as a preservative in health, beauty, and personal care products. The name paraben includes any chemical with “-paraben” within the name, like methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben and isobutylparaben. Parabens are used worldwide and the health concerns include endocrine disruption, cancer, and developmental and reproductive toxicity. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has the best breakdown of research on parabens that I’ve found.

But back to our story about Sarah, honestly, I wasn’t surprised that there were parabens in her facial cleanser. It’s a super common preservative and if you’re not actively paying attention to ingredients, IT’S EASY TO BE FOOLED!

Opening Sarah’s eyes to the fact that her “doctor recommended” facial cleanser included a potential endocrine disruptor is exactly why I started Detox by Design. This information is important. EVERYONE deserves to know ingredients to look out for and which products aren’t safe.

I feel confident knowing that Sarah now has the information she needs to make safer purchases. AND she has a safe swap shopping list in hand so she’s prepared to swap out her products when she’s ready.  

Nice work, Sarah! You’re on your way to making informed, healthy purchases for you and your family!