Since we are in the summer season where we show more skin, I thought this would be a good time to talk about how to make sure you are using clean skin care, hair care products, and cosmetics.

I have had several clients recently who have skin issues such as psoriasis, eczema, and acne.  When people are having trouble with leaky gut and digesting food, they often times have skin issues too.

Many times if you heal your digestive system that will take care of your skin care problem, but not always. Usually what is going on with your skin, hair, and nails is a direct reflection of what is happening inside your body.

Part of the wellness puzzle is also making sure you are using clean products on your skin, hair, and nails.   We tend to get so focused on what we are eating and making sure our food is clean, that we forget to take a look at the ingredient list for our hair products and skin care.

We trust the beauty industry to have our best interests at heart and like the food industry, that isn’t always the case, so we have to educate ourselves and be our own advocates for health.

If you are a person who has a sensitivity to gluten and dairy you need to make sure you don’t have those ingredients in your skin care and hair products because that could definitely cause your skin to flare up.

There is a website and a couple of apps that will help you a lot as you try to navigate the world of safe skin care, hair products, and cosmetics.

The website I love to help me make informed decisions about the products I use is EWG which stands for Environmental Working Group  https://www.ewg.org/

Environmental Working Group is the watchdog for skin care, hair care products, water, cleaning products, and a multitude of toxic things that can harm us.  EWG is a non-profit and their mission is to educate people and help them “live healthier lives in a healthier environment.”

 EWG has two Apps for your phone that you can download, one is called The Dirty Dozen.  Once you download the App you can view the twelve dirtiest vegetables and fruits.  If you click on strawberries for example, it will tell you why they are listed as a Dirty Dozen and the pesticides and gases that are being used to grow them.  On this same App they have the Clean Fifteen and they list the fifteen cleanest fruits and vegetables.  This App is a big help when you are shopping because you can pull it up and then make a decision whether to buy conventional or organic produce.  Once you read about the chemicals and gasses they  are putting on the Dirty Dozen fruits and veggies you will probably want to buy organic!

The other app is is called Healthy Living powered by SKIN DEEP.  This is a great App and all you have to do is scan the bar code on your product and it will tell you how it rates and if it is a safe product for you to use.  This App will help you decide if your skin care and hair care products are safe and non-toxic.

My website posts focus a lot on healthy food and healing on the inside, but it’s really important to make sure you are using clean products for your skin and hair too!

Do yourself a favor and start taking a look at the products you are using and find out what all those chemical names in the ingredient list are. You will be glad you did!