Dr. Brett Hill - Eat Think Move Chiropractic

Did you know that women who use make-up on a daily basis can absorb over 2kg of chemicals into their bodies each year?

Everything you apply to your skin, scalp or other body parts is absorbed by the body's bloodstream. In fact putting chemicals on your skin is actually far worse than ingesting them, because when you eat something the enzymes in your saliva and stomach help break it down and flush it out of your body. When you put these chemicals on your skin however, it is absorbed straight into your blood stream without filtering of any kind.

So what exactly are you 'consuming'? More than a third of personal care products contain ingredients linked to cancer and many products labeling themselves as 'organic' are nowhere near meeting the requirements to be certified organic. If a product is genuinely natural, it will have a short shelf-life and you should be able to eat it!

Many beauty products have only been on the market for a very short time. Of the nearly four million synthetic chemicals in your environment, less than one percent of these are known well enough to be able to ascertain their safety.

The aluminium in deodorant has been linked to breast cancer, so try an aluminium-free alternative or 'body crystal'. Check the packaging of your creams, sunscreens and cleansers - if they contain parabens, look for more natural alternatives. And avoid sodium lauryl sulphate in your shaving creams, soaps, shampoos and body washes - it contains 1,4-dioxane, which is suspected of causing damage to the central nervous system, liver and kidneys. As for cosmetics, try those made from rock minerals which are devoid of nasty fillers such as talc, alcohol, dyes, mineral oil and petroleum, and won't irritate the skin.

Despite what the big beauty companies tell you, there are no magical shortcuts to beauty. Rather than focusing on a myriad of products and superficial beauty, it's a good diet, exercise and decreased stress that are going to help you look younger for longer.