There are a number of reasons to start using all natural, organic beauty products. Outside of hygiene purposes, one major reason that people use bath and beauty products is for skin care health. They want their skin to look beautiful and glowing. Believe it or not, many commercial beauty products actually contain ingredients that are believed to have negative health benefits and some even have negative effects on the skin.
When you use organic products, like virgin coconut oil for example, you can lessen your exposure to some of these harsh and possibly dangerous chemicals. Interestingly while these chemicals are contained in products that people use daily, some are actually considered "probable" human carcinogens by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). This means that there have been studies which showed that they could possibly cause cancer.
Not only this, but when you read your products' ingredients labels, keep in mind that they are listed by highest concentration. So, items listed first compose a larger amount of the product that items listed after. Below are just two of the scary ingredients you may find contained in your current bath and beauty items.
DMDM Hydantoin - This is a cheap and extremely commonly used preservative. It contains formaldyhyde which is considered a possible carcinogen--and yes, it's the ingredient use in embalming fluid. It is known to cause a number of allergic reactions, including dermatitis--a distinctive rash or inflammation of the skin. Along with this, people who use products containing this ingredient often experience nose and throat irritation, headaches, and fatigue.
Ethoxylated Surfactants - These can go by many names: polyethylene, polyoxyethylene, and polyethylene glycol. These chemicals are not only considered to be possibly carcinogenic, but a chemical called dioxane--a by-product produced when ethoxylated surfactants are processed--are actually known carcinogens.
Along with these, other common chemicals that are found in bath and body products include parabens, phthalates, and SLS. They also go by a number of names. You can learn more about each by checking out some of my past articles.
One thing you may notice when doing further research on these chemicals is that they are often referred to as "low-cost" or just as "cheap." And that is a primary reason why they are used by beauty companies--because it is cheaper for them. However, while using these ingredients might help to keep the price of their products down, investing in them may not be worth it for you considering the problems that they are believed to cause.