Okay, don’t freak out. But at the same time, this is important wisdom that you will never forget after reading this post. Please share this information with your family and friends.
First, we’ll talk about the four things to consider about chemical absorption, and then we’ll talk about your daily shower.
Chemical Absorption
1 – Method of consumption: If you read [PART 2] of my READ THE LABEL series, you’ll know there are four methods of consumption. Meaning, things enter your body through 1) digestion; 2) inhalation; 3) injection; and 4) through the skin. How you are exposing yourself to a product may increase the chance of absorption. In other words, drinking hair gel will have a different toxic affect and absorption in your body compared to using it in your hair.
2 – Concentration: How much of that product we are putting, and at what concentration. Is that chemical being diluted, or is it being applied/inhaled/digested/injected at 100% concentration?
3 – Time: This is so important, how long you allow a chemical to stay on or in your body increases the toxic absorption. The example I give here is using bleach cleaner. If you mop your floor with bleach, you should be diluting it per the instructions on the container. So what if you accidentally splash your leg while mopping the floor? Well you should immediately go wash your legs. If you wait to wash your leg till after you’re done mopping the kitchen, the longer time that chemical has had to absorb through your skin, breaking the sebum layer, and entering into the blood stream.
Now, think about the same scenario happening if the bleach wasn’t diluted. What if it got into your eyes? Have you stopped to consider the vapor from bleach, and that you’re inhaling it the entire time/and post cleaning?
What if you’re not using a chemical as strong as bleach? What if it’s your favorite lemony scented wood cleaner or window cleaner … often times, we over look the fact that many of these products have a “fragrance” or “scent” (which by the way is almost always petroleum based) that creates fumes that we inhale and that irritate our eyes.
4 – Frequency: How often you are exposing your body to those chemicals. Is it daily, hourly, monthly?
The combination of these four factors will determine how much absorption you’ll experience with the chemicals to which you are exposed. By the way, it’s worth mentioning that this method of evaluation is used in Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Federal Drug Administration (FDA) regulations and assessments of chemicals and their safe use, even in industrial applications.
Your Daily Shower
Hopefully everyone is staying clean, but let’s be clean without putting our health in danger. In an average shower we use shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, shaving gel, etc. Think about how many ingredients are used to make up each of those products. Stop reading this and go read your labels. Meet me back here when you’re done!
Okay, so each product probably has 10+ ingredients, many of them you know, most you have no clue, right? In my upcoming posts, I’ll talk about some of these ingredients individually. But for now, the point you need to know is, if you’re exposing yourself to these products daily (frequency) for 15 minutes (time) and applied on body/hair (method of consumption) but don’t forget, the hot water creates a vapor for these chemicals (method of consumption). That’s 5475 minutes a year you are spending putting chemicals on your body. AND THAT’S JUST THE SHOWER! And how many chemicals did you count again??
This is your intervention. Take steps to eliminate exposure to these chemicals by stopping them cold turkey. It’s like going on a permanent product diet. Be smart, this is your family we’re talking about.
Stay tuned for more excerpts from my presentation “READ THE LABEL: Understanding Natural and Organic Skin Care.”
Written by Dahlia Kelada, from her presentation READ THE LABEL: Understanding Natural & Organic Skin Care © 2013 All Rights Reserved