When my children were very young, we became label readers, trying to find safe foods for their sensitivities. It was an overwhelming learning process and I was shocked at what I found and at how many undesirable ingredients were in their food. I was shocked to learn that some products we had been consuming, if sold in some European countries, would have to contain warning labels because of their unsafe ingredients, but in the U.S. were considered safe. I also learned that manufacturers would make a safer product for European countries while we continued selling and consuming the less-safe alternative here in the U.S.
After learning about our food and finding safer alternatives we turned the lens on our personal care products. I began by using the website EWG.org to learn about safety ratings and ingredients. I had often purchased products with "natural" or "safe" on the label so we thought we were off to a good start, but soon learned that this was not giving us the whole picture. I knew I needed to learn more about exactly what was in each bottle or container and boy was I shocked!
I was frustrated to find that many of our trusted products were full of unsafe ingredients - with known or probable carcinogens like formaldahyde, BHA, BHT or with synthetic fragrance which can be a hormone disruptor. This was just a fraction of what I discovered.
I was also disappointed to learn about the lack of regulation of products in the United States. I (incorrectly) assumed that the products I was using on my tiny babies were considered safe and were rigorously tested, but it turns out that only 11 ingredients are banned in personal care products in the U.S. compared to nearly 1,400 in Europe. I was shocked to learn that the federal law that governs the multi-billion dollar beauty industry was passed in 1938, and since that time 10,000 new chemicals have been introduced! I felt fooled by the clever marketing of products labeled "natural" or "green" once I learned that those terms don't have any regulated meaning. I was angry that I had spent years rubbing these products all over my young, sensitive children and even more years using them on myself.
Armed with this knowledge I went out to my local stores or shopped online hoping to replace my current products only to find it nearly impossible to do. I was exhausted by the investigative work that it seemed to require to find safe products for my family.
I was so relieved to learn about Beautycounter - both its products and mission. Beautycounter maintains a Never List - a list of ingredients you will never find in their products and an explanation as to why. Beautycounter also rigorously screens every potential ingredient for safety looking for potential hazards like cancer, developmental toxicity and hormone disruption. Beautycounter also sources ingredients responsibly using over 80% organic, natural, or plant-derived and aiming to use non-GMO, U.S.-based ingredients when possible and does not test on animals or ask others to do so.
I am excited to be a part of the Beautycounter mission - to get safe products into the hands of everyone - and am excited to share it with you to help make your journey easier and safer.
To learn more, visit
http://www.beautycounter.com/jenanderson1/ and shop the link anytime. Contact me with questions and stay tuned for more great Beautycounter information!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZfV91Ybmnc
