We’re now three months into the new year and I’m sure many of us have created new years resolutions that involve either eating healthier, being more active or simply living a healthier and more productive lifestyle overall, but what about the cosmetic side of healthy living that often gets over looked?

When we think about living a healthier lifestyle we usually take a look at what we’re putting into our bodies through our eating habits and how regularly we exercise, but what about what we’re putting into our bodies through the many products we come into contact with on a daily basis? When we apply products such as shower gels, creams, lotions and perfumes etc onto our skin, it only takes a few seconds for our skin cells to absorb the ingredients in those products where they’re then passed around our bodies through our blood system. The thing is, majority of the products that we apply to our skin and scalps on a daily basis are full of synthetic chemicals and toxins which build up in our bodies and can impact our health.

After becoming involved in natural hair care I started to read the ingredients listed on the back of labels and pay more attention to what’s actually in the products that I used not only on my hair but also on my skin. I noticed that when I bought mainstream beauty/skin care products they were often filled with loads of chemicals that I couldn’t pronounce let alone know what they were. I also started to notice that just because something is labeled and marketed as ‘gentle’ it doesn’t necessarily mean that that product IS gentle, for example when my little brother was a baby I found ingredients that I avoid myself in his popular brand of baby shampoo. For this reason I now use Organic Virgin Coconut Oil on my skin instead of creams/lotions as I didn’t and still don’t see the point in using a bottle full of chemicals when I can use something natural and full of real nutrients.

Last year I came across this free app called Think Dirty that I want to share with you guys. They are partnered with charities such as Breast Cancer Fund to help connect the dots between the prevention of breast cancer and the exposure to chemicals in our every day environments. Think Dirty App allows you scan the barcode of your cosmetic products using the camera on your smart phone and that product is then rated 0-10 based on how toxic it is due the ingredients it contains. A rating of 0-3 is green and “does not contain any known controversial or harmful ingredients”, a rating of 4-7 is amber and means “ingredients may have moderate long-term health impacts” and a rating of 8-10 is red stating “ingredients have serious long-term health impacts”.   The app then lists the ingredients that the product contains one by one and rates each of them with a description so you can see which ingredients are the most toxic, how/why and what health problems they can cause. I tried Think Dirty App out for myself and the only downfall is that a lot of the barcodes I  scanned couldn’t be found on the system. I believe this may be because I’m in the UK but apart from that I found it very interesting to see how ‘clean’ my favourite products were.

So, the next time you decide to jazz up your lifestyle a bit and become healthier don’t forget to look into not only what your physically putting into your body food wise, but also what you’re allowing to absorb into and travel around your body when it comes to skin/hair care products.

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