Wash your hands!

Now here is an article published by CNN that talks about how drugs can get into our system by just touching money, that is if you handle a lot of money on a daily basis. Our skin absorbs the particles that we come in contact with just by touching something... I posted this article to illustrate how quickly our skin absorbs something. The same goes for bacteria. Bacteria often breeds in moist and hot environments so the humid summer month are perfect for contracting a summer flu for example. Wash your hands frequently especially if you are touching foreign objects or come in contact with many people in order to stay healthy...

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/08/14/cocaine.traces.money/index.html

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Sunscreen

While yesterday's post was about absorption through our skin, today's post is what our skin is absorbing through sunscreen lotions. Please don't get me wrong, I love my Hawaiian Tropical sunscreen but maybe it is just me, sometimes I wonder how safe these lotions are even though they are enhanced with "time-released vitamin A, C, and E"... I will eat extra portions of fruits, vegetables, dairy, and meat...

These are the three main ingredients of my Hawaiian Tropical sunscreen that smells so lovely of coconut:

Octyl Methoxycinnamate (octinoxate) is an organic compound found in lip-balms and sunscreens. This compound can cause photoallergenic effects, can cause endocrine disruption (natural hormones / chemicals in the body that carry messages across the body to repair tissue and manage growth could be interrupted). It is usually combined with another ingredient because once it is exposed to sunlight, it's functioning decreases.

Octyl Salicylate received a score of 4-6 (just as Octyl Methoxycinnamate) compared to titanium dioxide that received a low score of 1-4 on the Skin Deep Cosmetic Database. It is also an organic compound found in sunscreens. Since octisalate (or octyl salicylate) is an insufficient UV-filter on it's own, it has to be combined with something else. When exposed to the sun, octisalate degrades hence is less functioning.

Both octinoxate and octisalate are penetration enhancers, meaning, they are faster absorbed by the skin.

Titanium dioxide, a natural mineral that can safely be used as sunscreen. It is a white, opaque pigment that is used in a variety of ways... from food (white food coloring E171) to tattoo pigment to ceramic glaze to cosmetics where it can be used as thickener as well as functions as sunscreen. Titanium dioxide protects the skin from ultraviolet light. While titanium dioxide itself is considered toxic as the radicals are carcinogenic, fine or coarse titanium dioxide covered with silica or alumina is safe to use for infants and those who have sensitive skin.

Here are some links for more information:

Environmental Working Group

The Organic Make-up Company

Skin Deep Cosmetic Database

After reading up on all the ingredients, it leaves me to wonder why I should put two ingredients on my skin if they are not even doing their job so to speak. I decided to make my own sunscreen lotions with the safest of all evils, titanium dioxide and coconut and almond oils.

Good luck to all sun-lovers!!! May your skin be happy :-)

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Food for Thought

Just the other day I posted about the importance of hydration and exfoliation. While sea salt is a great exfoliator, someone who has high blood pressure needs to be cautious not that the sodium from the sea salt raises the blood pressure levels. Now why is that? Our skin absorbs through the thin layers everything that we put on ourselves... creams, lotions, beauty masks, perfume, and scrubs even if we do not leave them on for long. Because of the fact that our skin absorbs things easily and readily, it is that transdermal skin patches like birth control or smoking cessation work. Our skin absorbs everything whether it is medication or a synthetic chemical put into a cream to make it last longer. While these chemicals may not cause immediate harm, they nevertheless may poison us from the inside with extended use.
Of course, there is no way to avoid everything that may not necessarily be good for us. Chemicals are used in our environment, in foods, in cosmetics, practically wherever we go and are. Some are even necessary while some are not. Not everything that you see on a store shelf is of high quality. It is made in high quantity and in order to do that, chemicals are included to make the products last longer. Now maybe it is just me but I am always skeptical of something that lasts a very long time after it's been opened. Wonderbread comes to mind and so does my cream jar that I had purchased over 12 month ago and it is still good to use (not that I will but if I would want to, I could. Scarry...) That leaves me to wonder what is in that cream that makes it last so long. In an article that I found on EcoVoice (see link here) it says that "chemicals used to preserve cosmetics are far more toxic, and cause many more reactions, than the bacteria they are supposed to protect us from." The same is true for fragrances... a low grade and cheap essential oil can cause a headache. While a high grade essential oil may be more expensive, the benefit will outweigh the cost. So please be aware and careful about what you put on your skin!!!

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