Do you know what's lurking in your cosmetics?

I'm not a girly-girl. Meaning, I'm not all that frilly and prissy. A little... to be sure. I am definitely a woman who enjoys her femininity. But I'm not too fussy about it. Like many women, I like to look nice and to smell nice. It makes me happy. It makes me feel attractive. And it connects me to my sexier nature. I'll be honest, I'm not usually feeling too pretty when I'm bumming around in sweats and a t-shirt with no make-up and no smell-good on. I may be confident but I'm not feeling my absolute best. (and sadly... I've been spending far too much time bumming around)

But, at the end of the day, my confidence shoots up when I have my face made up well, my skin is well-moisturized and smelling sweet and tasty. Sexy looks good on me...

Since my diagnosis, I have been wondering about the additives that are in lotion, nail polish and make-up. During chemotherapy, my oncologist advised me not to use certain things on my body like hair dye and nail polish. My oncologist and my radiation oncologist suggested certain lotions that I could use to help with my skin changes and that wouldn't irritate my post-chemotherapy sensitive skin.

Cosmetics is a huge industry in this country. Women and men spend billions of dollars every year in order to look better, feel better, smell better... and for the most part, we don't give a second thought to what's in our products. I think on the one hand, we're sort of ignorant about what is actually going into our products. But also, we rely on our government, the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) specifically, to protect us from harmful additives.

If you'll review the chart below, you will see a lot of words that are probably in the items in your bathroom. I don't know why companies are allowed to continue to use these items -- I'm guessing because they extend the shelf-life of the products which is a plus to the profit line. Check it out for yourself... and then consider using items that don't include these ingredients.

PS... I had to shake my head. Musk? C'mon son! How's a girl supposed to get her sexy, sultry on and musk is linked to cancer? Sheesh!

C'mon son!

The Connection Between Cosmetics and Breast Cancer (pdf)