A Guide To Reading Your Ingredient Labels - And Why You Should Do It
Do you truly know the ingredients in the products you use on your skin? It may come as a surprise to some when finding out just what synthetic ingredients can do to your body and the environment long-term. How does the US differ from other countries in regards to what’s allowed in our wellness products? It’s a shocker.
While there are many reasons to get to know your ingredients, one of the main concerns is that many commonly used synthetic ingredients in skincare and home cleaning products are Endocrine disruptors, which means that they interfere with your body’s hormones. According to Dr. Nasha, “Endocrine disruptors can play many tricks on the body. They have a hand in increasing production of certain hormones, decreasing the production of others, imitating hormones themselves, turning one hormone into another, binding with hormones, and interfering with hormone signalling.” Why does this matter? While it is unclear if endocrine disruptors cause cancer, there are many synthetic ingredients that have been linked to cancer. This is not to scare you, but to make you aware of ingredient lists before making a purchase!
Degree Women, Dry Protection, Anti-Perspirant & Deodorant, Fresh Ingredient list
Degree Women, Dry Protection, Anti-Perspirant & Deodorant, Fresh : Ingredients Explained
How does Circular Bodies fit into the equation?
All this talk about synthetic ingredients and endocrine disruptors may have some of you wondering why this is being talked about via a community that values organic, natural ingredients and products that are synthetic free and toxic chemical free. Here at Circular Bodies we want to educate our community on the importance of ingredients.
Because we are aware of the risks linked to synthetic ingredients, we decided to take a different approach at Circular Bodies. With the knowledge that the earth has all the ingredients we need to take care of our health, and thanks to a long history of ingredient safety (through ancient medicines and healing practices), we created formulas that are not only synthetic free, but deeply study to make sure they benefit our health and the health of our environment.
Take a look at Our 4 Sustainability Pillars to better understand how we perceive all that mama earth has to offer.
Are ‘natural’ beauty products all they claim to be?
Finding truly clean wellness products can be really difficult. Many beauty and wellness companies market products as“non-toxic” and “natural” because they want to appeal to the environmentally-conscious community that is ever growing. Although this sustainable messaging is present in many brand campaigns, many are using these values as a selling strategy and not really doing the work to protect the environment. This practice is called greenwashing.
How to avoid falling into the greenwashing trap? The first step toward understanding the real benefits and risks of a product is to take a look at the ingredient list before making a purchase. Can you pronounce all of the ingredients listed and know where they are in your products? Are these ingredients ethically sourced, biodegradable and organic? We hope this post helped you understand a bit more about ingredient sustainability.
Waste Beyond Ingredients:
Waste goes beyond your ingredient list, it also happens at the product's packaging stages. What does your shampoo come in? Does it come in a single-use plastic bottle? What about your body wash? Or your face wash? All these containers add up, and you’re just one person-imagine all of the United States and then imagine the waste produced globally.
What happens to all this single-use plastic? Nothing. It will NEVER biodegrade under normal circumstances, the most plastic can do is break down into tiny particles called microplastics. These microplastics cause ocean pollution and soil pollution. It is important to consider every part of the product's journey to make a fully informed decision on ‘natural’ beauty products, as we want to make sure to protect our health and the health of the environment.
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