Dying To Look Good Excerpt #47

Permanent Makeup

Permanent makeup is the process of infusing natural, mineral pigments under the skin’s surface. This micropigmentation, a kind of tattooing, is designed to last many years.

But the convenience has its risks. The pigments used can be toxic and cause adverse reactions. According to the FDA, there have been numerous reports of adverse reactions, associated with a considerable number of Premier ink shades.

The inks and pigments used in permanent makeup are classified as cosmetics and color additives, which are subject to FDA regulation. However, the FDA has not regulated their use and has left it up to local jurisdictions. The FDA is just starting to look into the safety issues.

The FDA has two lists of approved colors for cosmetic use,

• those subject to batch certification, which are the FD&C, D&C and Ext. D&C colors
  
• those exempt from batch certification

None of the approved colors are approved to be injected into the skin, as is done with permanent makeup.

Next time, "Risks Associated With Permanent Makeup"

Get the benefits of ALL Dying To Look Good has to offer now!

Healthy Baby Care Products

Most people think baby products on the market are gentle and safe, because after all, they're made for babies. Right?

Well, not exactly.

They're made for babies. That part is correct.

But safe...

Did you know that when the Environmental Working Group did their survey of 7500 personal care products in 2004, they found ingredients in baby products that

• may be linked to cancer
  
• are known to disrupt the endocrine system
  
• are skin sensitizers
  
• may be toxic to the immune system
  
• may cause reproductive harm
  
• are classified as penetration enhancers (they cause the body to absorb more of the product into the bloodstream)
  
• are highly toxic

So, just because a product label says it's safe and gentle doesn't meant that it's so.

So how do you find out for sure?

You read the list of ingredients, in the tiny print on the back of the label, that's so small that you frequently need a magnifying glass to see it.

If you're a chemist, you'll have no problem understanding what all that "Greek" means. If you're not, you can get Dying To Look Good to help you interpret what each ingredient is and whether it's safe or not.

You can also shop on DyingToLookGood.com. We make sure that the companies we list on that page offer safe and healthy products. If they don't you won't find them there.

You can also check out the DyingToLookGood.com Product of the Month. This month we feature healthy baby products.

You can be sure you're getting healthy products when you shop on DyingToLookGood.com or when you follow the advice in Dying To Look Good.

Dying To Look Good Excerpt #46

MSG In Your Personal Care Products Continued...

MSG is hidden in many products, besides food, that you use every day, including:

• cosmetics and personal care products
  
• soaps
  
• shampoos
  
• conditioners
  
• cosmetics
  
• nutritional supplements
  
• medications
  
• vaccines

You can identify MSG in your personal care products by reading the label and looking for specific ingredients that are always or often sources of hidden MSG.

MSG is always in ingredients like

• hydrolyzed proteins
  
• amino acids
  
• yeast extract
  
• nayad (potent yeast extract)
  
• glutamic acid
  
• glutamates.

MSG may also be in or be the result of

• processed proteins
  
• enzymes
  
• carrageenan.

These are the most likely sources of MSG in your personal care products. For a complete list of ingredients containing MSG, see truthinlabeling.org/hiddensources.html.

For more information on hidden sources of MSG, see truthinlabeling.org/II.WhereIsMSG.html.

Next time Permanent Makeup...

Discover how Dying To Look Good can help you make sure the products you choose are free of MSG.

Dying To Look Good Excerpt #45

MSG In Your Personal Care Products

MSG is short for monosodium glutamate, but it also applies to processed free glutamic acid (glutamic acid that has been freed from protein through a manufacturing process or fermentation). I’m sure you’re aware of MSG in food, the effects it can cause and the controversy surrounding its safety. But did you know that MSG could also be hidden in your cosmetics and personal care products?

When you use products on your skin that contain MSG, it’s absorbed directly into your bloodstream.

MSG is a neurotoxin, which means it crosses the blood-brain barrier and the placental barrier and excites nerve cells to death. Because it affects the brain directly, it can cause a wide variety of symptoms from asthma attacks, skin rashes, behavioral problems, depression and migraine headaches to epilepsy and Alzheimer’s.

Even more frightening is that MSG is much more harmful to infants and children because, in some, their blood-brain barrier does not fully develop until as late as puberty. As a result, it’s a lot easier for neurotoxins to cross the blood-brain barrier in infants and children and cause more serious reactions than in adults. Even a fully developed blood-brain barrier is considered by neuroscientists to be leaky at best.

More next time...

Benefit now from all the health saving information packed into Dying To Look Good.

Learn more about Dying To Look Good.

Dying To Look Good Excerpt #44

Micronized Minerals Continued...

Studies have shown that ultrafine particles can penetrate the skin, enter the cell and cause DNA damage. There is concern that this could possibly result in skin cancer. These studies have been done on titanium dioxide.

As of 2005, "The National Toxicology Program is developing a broad-based research program to address potential human health hazards associated with the manufacture and use of nanoscale materials," using existing testing methods and developing new methods to "adequately assess potential adverse human health effects."

Currently, the FDA’s National Center for Toxicological Research and the National Toxicology Program’s Center for Phototoxicology are conducting research "to examine the potential dermal toxicity of nanoscale materials." In this study they are investigating titanium dioxide and zinc oxide.

Based upon the studies being done and in development, it appears that not only are micronized minerals not well defined and not adequately tested, but also, the technology necessary to adequately test them for safety has not yet been completely developed.

Discover more health-saving information in Dying To Look Good.

Dying To Look Good Excerpt #43

Micronized Minerals

Micronized minerals are emerging on the marketplace in natural cosmetics and sunscreens. Many companies promoting natural cosmetics are extolling the benefits of micronized minerals in their "all natural" make-up. Some cosmetic products are promoted as 100% pure micronized minerals.

But beware! There are research studies that suggest caution when considering the use of micronized mineral cosmetics.

Micronized minerals, also known as ultrafine or nanoparticles, are mineral pigments where the size of the particles has been reduced. In general, particles are classified according to size as coarse, fine or ultrafine. Micronized particles, the ultrafine or nanoparticles, are 100 times smaller than coarse particles and 25 times smaller than fine particles, according to etcgroup.org.

According to the FDA, there is no official definition of "micronized," but they refer to these particles being less than 250 nanometers, and they also regard nanoscale titanium dioxide as "micronized titanium dioxide."

More next time...

Shop for mineral makeup from safe and healthy crushed minerals, not micronized.