Chemical Safe Skincare Campaign

When we think of the Women’s Institute we usually think of cake sales, flower arranging or even the movie Calendar Girls. How things change.. the WI are avid campaigners for safe chemicals in our everyday products.

They have linked up the WWF to campaign against harmful chemicals being used in cosmetics, toilteries and cleaning products. The WI believe that harmful chemicals are widely used in skincare and cleaning products and many of them contain chemicals which are known to have direct links to allergies, cancers, birth defects and other illnesses.

Is it too much to ask that harmful chemicals should be removed from all skincare and cleaning products? We don’t think so! We believe that information is key. Most consumers are unaware what ingredients are in their products and do not feel confident enough to read cosmetic labels. Chemical Safe Skincare have put together a simple screening list of ingredients that have been identified as potential skin irritants and can be easily avoided. Too many people search for natural, organic and sensitive skincare products and believe they are better for their skin and bodies. In some cases they are. But many make claims that aren’t supported so read ingredient lists carefully.

Imagine your body was so sensitive that it reacted to skincare products, perfumes, detergents, hand washes, shampoos, household cleaning products, dust mites and even air fresheners. For suffers of Multiple Chemical Sensitivity (MCS) this is a daily battle.

The list of substances that irritate MCS is long and varied and from a quick glance it is hard to imagine how you would carry out your daily tasks when so many irritating triggers surround us on a daily basis. Especially when they trigger chronic fatigue, headaches, dry itchy skin, skin rashes, breathing, digestive and throat problems.

Multiple Chemical Sensitivity suffers often find it very difficult having their condition diagnosed due to the wide variety of triggers and symptoms but the condition is receiving more recognition in recent years. The problem for most suffers is that most skincare and cleaning products on the market contain a cocktail of ingredients including foaming agents, harsh preservatives, colourings, perfumes and phthalates which flare-up sensitive skin and MCS. These ingredients when applied alone may not trigger the condition but when multiple ingredients are found in each skincare product used the condition can be exacerbated. Chemical Safe Skincare research has shown that the average woman uses 12 skincare products every day which contains more than 175 chemical compounds!

Most people with the condition have tried so many moisturisers, shampoos, shower gels and body lotions that have flared their condition that they end up washing with water.

Skincare products free from colourings, perfumes, harsh preservatives, drying foaming agents, phthalates, formaldehyde and alcohol should be used in order to reduce the risk of irritating MCS.

Did you know that the average woman uses 12 toiletries every day and applies more than 175 chemical compounds to her body in the process?

Greenpeace, the Women’s Institute and the WWF are so appalled by the ingredients which are widely used in skincare, cleaning products and in our homes that they have each their own campaign to highlight the issue.

We found the Greenpeace Chemical Home website not only informative but also very interesting as they examine well-known ingredients, used in skincare products and explain the effect they can have on the body. They included scientific reports they have carried out in order to prove their findings.

This website is well worth a visit - let us know what you think!