Are Your Personal Care Products Releasing Toxic Gases?

I opened the cabinet door and there was a strong odor of ammonia gas. I couldn't figure out what could be causing it. I'd been looking in there over and over again for weeks trying to figure out what was causing this toxic smell.

I had some old containers from vitamin samples which had been thrown out long ago. I was saving the containers. Some day I'd wash them and reuse them. Were they the problem? I threw them all out.

It didn't change a thing.

I had some really neat-looking empty plastic bottles from healthy, natural soap and lotion I was saving to reuse later. Were they the problem? I threw them all out.

Nothing changed.

I had an old homeopathic kit that I bought 15 or 20 years ago and never used. I couldn't imagine that this could be the problem, but I was running out of things that might cause this terrible toxic odor. So I threw it out.

I was right. It was not the problem.

I had some soap, lotion and shampoo that I used when I explained about the toxic ingredients on product labels. I didn't have them that long, maybe a year or so. They did have a perfumy scent that was common in most of the personal care products on the market with synthetic chemical ingredients. But I never figured that the ammonia odor would be coming from them. But they were the last things in that cabinet that could be possibly giving off an odor. So I threw them out.

The next day I opened the cabinet door, and by George, the odor was gone!

Now, I'm sure that the only reason I detected the odor is because the products were stored in a closed cabinet and the odors were trapped in a small space and were allowed to mix. Only one of the products contained ingredients from ammonia compunds, one of which was ammonium lauryl sulfate.

Ammonia is toxic if inhaled. It's classified as hazardous by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). It can cause permanent damage.

How many products are you using with harmful chemicals that are giving off toxic odors and you're breathing in these vapors day in and day out - including perfumes? Worse yet, you're using these chemicals directly on your skin. They're getting absorbed into your bloodstream and they ARE adversely affecting your health.

Find out how to protect yourself from the harmful chemicals in your cosmetics and personal care products.

Choose some healthy products here.