Let's Makeup!

We women sure like our makeup. Many are very attached to a certain brand or brands that we have fallen in love with. That is what happened with me with the Shaklee makeup. I didn’t consider myself a make-up type person but once I started using the Shaklee Minerelles makeup, I didn’t want to use anything else on my face. I found it was healthier for my skin to be wearing makeup than no makeup at all. I found that flaws in my skin as a result of sun damage and age gently disappeared as I used the anti-aging Enfuselle skin care and mineral-based Minerelles makeup. BUT…….Shaklee has temporarily discontinued their makeup line. As Shaklee worked to make the Minerelles the healthiest it could be for your skin, they found they continued to have quality issues. And in Shaklee quality style they decided to pull the product line from the market until we could get the quality up to Shaklee standards.

But in the meantime what I learned about makeup and harmful ingredients in some cosmetics has helped me become a smarter consumer. Cosmetics are completely unregulated by the FDA. Products that we put on our face, hair and nails contain many ingredients with potentially frightening health consequences. A great place to begin is to look at Skin Deep, the Environmental working groups website resource. there is a database for over 65,000 products. I encourage you to go there and look around. If you are wondering about your cosmetics, enter it in here and see what they have to say about its ingredients and if there might be anything harmful.

For example, Lead. You probably don’t need anyone to tell you that lead is toxic. We know that any amount of lead can cause damage to a children’s developing brain and the government has banned it from gasoline and house paint for years. The EPA has defined it as a possible human carcinogen and a known respiratory toxin. And where is lead in some cosmetics? Lipsticks and some hair color and conditioners.

One other: Parabens: This group of ingredients is widely used as preservatives to inhibit bacteria, mold and yeast growth. They act like estrogen, though, which may alter hormone levels and potentially raise your risk for certain cancers. Parabens are in many skincare and personal care items from liquid foundations, kids shampoos, moisturizers creams. Some brands to be cautious of are L’oreal, Avon, Body shop and AHAVA.

There is so much to say about safe cosmetics but I will leave it at this. Be careful. Remember that your skin is the largest organ of your body. Think about all the things you use on your skin each day from shampoo, hair products, moisturizers, makeup, body washes etc. Then think what would make your skin the happiest? To be bathed and nourished in nature and beauty. It may take you some time to find a cosmetic line that you like that fits all your ‘healthy needs’. I found it in the Shaklee makeup and continue to hold out hope that the line will come back, stronger and more beautiful than ever. But in the meantime I search,keep using the anti-aging Skin care from Shaklee, experiment with makeup and ask questions till I find what I feel is best for my skin and health. I encourage you to do the same.

    To Good Health,

Moyra "green" Gorski