what's in your makeup?

A few years ago, I watched something that changed the way I thought about my makeup. My mom and I have been long time fans of Dr. Oz and I just so happened to tune into his program on a day when he was discussing the ins and outs of an average woman's makeup bag. I remember being totally floored by so many of the products he was mentioning as harmful and unsafe. The scariest thing is that companies who produce makeup are only required to list the intended ingredients in a product, which means that some seriously harmful agents could be living in our makeup and we may not even be aware of it. On top of that, there are no guidelines for makeup to be certified 'natural' or 'organic.' I don't know about you, but this came as a shock to me. In particular, there are 3 makeup products that are notorious for being the most dangerous and I think some of them will surprise you!
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1. Mineral Powder is the most dangerous of all the makeup products. The particles in mineral powder are so incredibly small (and that's why they work so well!) that they can actually seep into your lungs and scar them. These same kinds of particles are present on construction sites and workers are required to wear face masks so they don't ingest these dangerous particles. Although there has been no correlation between the particles in our makeup and sickness, the same particles on construction sites take 10 to 30 years to show damage within the body.

Safer Alternatives: Liquid based foundation with shimmer, cream blush and bronzer, and pressed powder.
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2. Anti-Wrinkle Cream is dangerous because it penetrates very quickly into the skin. It reaches the blood vessels and is absorbed by them, which can be really dangerous. The most dangerous ingredients in anti-wrinkle creams are irritants. These are often scents such as lavender and peppermint. Products that say that they reduce wrinkles could actually be encouraging them. Finally, products that claim to work like botox or to remove wrinkles immediately are sharing false information. An anti-wrinkle cream is not capable of doing that.

Safer Alternatives: Make sure your new anti-wrinkle cream is color free and fragrance free. Also look for creams that contain vitamin A (often called retinol/retinois on ingredient labels), vitamin C, and alpha hydroxy acid.
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3. Lipgloss contains petroleum jelly, which is not safe for eating. In the course of a decade, women who wear lipgloss will consume 7 pounds of petroleum jelly. Some research shows that petroleum jelly could possibly cause cancer. In the European Union, petroleum jelly has been banned unless it is super pure.

Safer Alternatives: Look for lipgloss with zinc oxide, try gloss made from beeswax, and always put sunscreen on your lips before applying any other kind of lip product.
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Here's a book that was mentioned during the segment, which talks much more extensively about the secret world of makeup. I was honestly surprised by a great deal of information that Dr. Oz brought up.  It makes me sad that many of these facts are not common knowledge, especially because plenty of people probably don't think they're harming themselves when they apply their makeup in the mornings. You can read more about this segment here.

* I wrote a similar post about three years ago, but felt it would be pertinent to bring it up again! We have to look out for one another. :)