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Article Top 2 ingredients to avoid in your skin care

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As a Mum and Personal Trainer, I like to set a good example to my family and my clients – I like to practice what I preach.

I eat clean 95% of the time, I exercise most days with a variety of strength/conditioning and cardio and I also believe that what you put on your skin is just as important as what you put in your mouth.

Why would you eat healthy, but then put a load of chemicals on your body? It really is easy to change this habit. When you look at the ingredients on cosmetics, skin care, body care products, it can be pretty daunting, so I thought I would start with the top 2 ingredients that I think you should start avoiding now:

1) Parabens

These nasty chemicals are linked to a wide range of health concerns such as skin irritations, fertility issues, cancer. For example, ‘longer-chained’ parabens can apparently mimic oestrogen, which can disrupt our hormone system.

Parabens can be found in a wide range of cosmetics, skin care and body care products as a preservative, so make sure you look out for ‘Parabens’ on the label or ingredients list of everything from cleansers, moisturisers, serums, creme’s, toothpastes and more.

2) Phthalates

This nasty little chemical is usually found in anything from nail polish to perfume/fragrances to plastics.

They can also disrupt our hormones (and we certainly don’t want that, they already go through enough!). They are also linked to things like an increase risk of birth defects affecting the reproductive system and can damage sperm cells. Make sure you look out for phthalates on product labels. The word ‘fragrance’ on labels can be another word for a combination of chemicals that potentially include phthalates.

I know that we are all time poor and unlikely to have time to research & educate yourself on all the nasty chemicals we are exposed to every day in the products you buy, so I thought I would do some of the work for you!

So to start off, take baby steps – eliminate Parabens and Phthalates and in your skin care, body care and cosmetics and you will instantly be living a healthier life for you and your family.

If you are looking for skin and body care products that don’t have any of these nasties in them (there are lots of other chemicals that aren’t included too), click here and check out the products for yourself.

Remember it’s not just what you put in your mouth, it’s what you put on your body also.

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Comments

  • I have strong cancer rates in my family so I am very mindful of this sort of thing

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  • Some sunscreens contain parabens.
    In actual fact the only difference between kids and other sunscreens is Kids are fragrance free. Also those which contain fragrances have unnecessary chemicals which have a negative affect on your skin., possibly your general health as well. I made enquires at some pharmacies and was given the sam,e information at all of them. I wanted to be sure they weren’t just promoting certain brands.

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  • I am currently using a moisturiser whose main ingredient is snail slime :/ I don’t think it’s working. I combine this with Vaseline Intensive Care….be cause it smells nice. I will be checking the labels for these nasties!

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  • Thanks for the share.

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  • Cool! That’s interesting! Thanks for sharing this!

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  • Thanks for the great advice!

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  • There’s so many more yucky chemicals. The more we cut out the better!

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  • it s so really awesome exellent

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  • It’s surprising how many nasty ingredients you find in top brand skin care products!

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  • You know i was having a little experiment with myself, at 50, and yes raging hot flushes, but i think you are right, whenever i applied my OLD moisteriser my hot flushes would rage, so eliminated most of these two nasty chemicals from my makeup regime.

    • Well done, If you want to have a look at my Arbonne site, check out http://www.amandaferguson.arbonne.com – all products are nastie free! They have a huge range available too – make up, cleansers, anti angling, moisturisers, baby range, nutrition etc. Happy to answer any questions too

      • My niece has just become an Arbonbe seller. I now know where to go for great skin care choices

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  • Got to remember those P’s.

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  • Interesting article and very informative – thanks for sharing

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  • Another two to look out for. I have been having issue with my skin lately so am trying to get rid of as many chemicals as possible – would prefer that than add more with creams etc

    • Great job on getting rid of the nastie chemicals. If you want to have a look at my Arbonne site, check out http://www.amandaferguson.arbonne.com – all products are free of nasty chemicals. They have a huge range available too – make up, cleansers, moisturisers, baby range, nutrition etc. Happy to answer any questions or send you some samples too.

    Reply

  • Interesting, will try and eliminate these nasty off my body, thanks for your informative article.

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  • Yep these are in so many products these days!

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  • Wow didn’t know about this, thanks for the information.

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  • Hi, I would love to talk to your beauty therapist about Arbonne, I am sure she would love it. Any chance you can email me at amanda@amandaferguson.com.au?

    Reply

  • I didn’t know about these nasties……….I’ll need to check my products I think!!!

    • Definitely have a look, if you have any questions, let me know. I would love to help you find some nastie free products!

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  • I onder whats in my cream, cetaphil

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  • I have been turning more to natural products.I’m using a great face moisturiser by Swisse, an Argan facial moisturiser. it has no parabens, is petrolatum and silicone free, no synthetic fragrances or colours. My skin feels and looks moisturised and fresh. We don’t need these chemicals in our products.

    Reply
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