Eye Opener: Environmental Working Group

Last week in my Women's Health Issues class we actually had a speaker come in and talk to us about herbal supplements as well as cosmetics, and what they do to our bodies.  Naturally I was excited to use the Environmental Working Group website to check out one of the many products I put on my body.  I chose to look at my lotion that I use quite frequently, especially during the winter, which is the St. Ives Aloe & Chamomile Lotion.  

I have to say that I wasn't sure what to expect, but I certainly wasn't ready for the website to tell me that out of a spectrum from 1-10, ten being the worst, my lotion is ranked 7, which is extremely bad!  Ingredients in this particular lotion are linked to developmental/reproductive toxicity, violations/restrictions and warnings, allergies, immunotoxicity, and a variety of other problems.  Can I say SCARY!!!
There are many ingredients that I found in this lotion to be quite harmful such as propylene glycol , which has to do with irritation to one's skin, eyes, and lungs.  Also petroleum , which acts like a "fake" estrogen in one's body leading to too much estrogen which has been linked to colon, prostate, and breast cancer.
I'm sure that if I started entering in all the different kinds of products that I put onto my skin I would be really shocked by how bad they are!  For now I think I am going to learn from this experience and whenever I run out of my lotion, I will try and find a different kind that is an overall better product for my body!