Naturopathic Source

There are so many chemicals in body products and make-up it's unbelievable. For this post I am going to focus on make-up and on body products in another one.

Chemicals applied to the skin are absorbed into the bloodstream. It may not seem like a lot, since your face is not a big place, but it all adds up over time. Also, there are many ingredients in regular make-up that are also not good for your skin. Two of the biggest are talc and mineral oil/petrolatum. Talc dries out the top layer of your skin and has also been shown to have tiny little fibers in it that are similar to asbestos. Talc is related to ovarian and lung cancers -- body powders are the worst culprit with respect to talc but it is also found in face powders (many other products as well but too long a list to get into here). Mineral oil and petrolatum (similar to petroleum jelly) form a waterproof barrier on the skin but also lead to clogged pores and dry out the skin by depleting it of the fat soluble vitamins such as A, D and E.

Also, many chemicals in eye makeup are concerning. In my opinion, putting any chemical on such a sensitive area such as eyes -- so invaluable and so close to the brain and so delicate -- is scary.

The list of chemicals in makeup is a black hole of information and so I am not going to list them here. If you'd like more information just Google "make-up chemicals" and more than you thought possible will pop up. A great website with tons of information about makeup ingredients is www.ewg.org. There is also this great article from the Townsend Newsletter for Doctors and Patients.

Okay, so on to the practical stuff: what make-up to use. As I looked through the ingredients list on these, none of them seemed 100% perfect, but they all have minimal to no chemicals. Check out the following brands:

Pur Minerals - One of my favorite brands. Foundation/cover-up is in pressed powder form. Looks great, covers well and the eye shadows and eyeliners stay on all day. The foundation/cover-up is clean ingredient-wise, but there are some chemicals in the eyeliner. Overall, very few chemicals. Not all face colours are available in Canada. Website lists all ingredients.

Bare Escentuals - Fantastic brand, widely available (sold at Sephora) and tons of choice in terms of colour for face, eyes, lips etc. Face base and cover-up are in loose powder form. Face colours range from very fair to very dark and coverage is excellent. Tons of colours for both eyes and lips. Website does not list ingredients.

Dr. Hauschka - Great brand, makes liquid foundations and cream concealers. Website does not list ingredients.

Jane Iredale - One of the most natural brands. Coverage is good. Lots of colours for both eyes and lips. Website does not list ingredients.

TC