According to the Safe Cosmetics Action Network, loopholes in federal law allow the cosmetics industry to put unlimited amounts of chemicals into personal care products with no required testing, monitoring of health effects, or labeling requirements. While some cosmetics companies have conceded that their products contain trace amounts of additives that have been found to be hazardous, they often argue that the amounts are negligible. But when you consider how many beauty products you use in a single day, over the course of your life, negligible amounts are still a cause for concern.
Elina Fedotova, a cosmetic chemist with spas in Kalamazoo and Chicago, couples her background in science with traditional holistic principles to produce corrective organic skin care products, which she manufactures by hand. This approach requires Fedotova to create fresh products in small batches on a weekly basis, giving her the flexibility to adjust ingredients for individual client's needs. The ingredient lists on her products include herbs, oils, fruits, and flowers, among other certified organic items. Products including cleansers, toners, exfoliators, masks, serums, moisturizers, and more are available at her spas and through professional skincare offices.
"What we put on our faces should be as safe and pure as the food we eat. It should be like a fresh meal for your face!" said Fedotova. "During my educational seminars for aestheticians, I like to swallow a spoonful of one of my masks or creams to make this point. After all, if a lotion isn't safe to eat, why would we think it is safe to put on our skin?"
While we may think of our skin as a barrier, we readily absorb chemicals through it, so it's important that what we put on our skin is safe. According to Natural Pure Organics, "Recent studies have shown that we may actually acquire more toxins through skin absorption and inhalation than through the foods that we eat ... When you rub chemicals on your skin, they can pass straight through and enter your bloodstream within minutes."
Some may fear that "gentle" or "all-natural" products won't yield the results they seek. In 2012, however, Chicago magazine named Fedotova's Corrective Herbal Facial "Best of Chicago." Natural, organic ingredients can be equally effective when compared to their chemically engineered counterparts. For example, the Elina Organics' Fruit Peel is a blend of organic fruit extracts and enzymes, which are naturally rich in skin-enhancing alpha hydroxy acids and antioxidants. Why are other companies using synthetic chemicals, then? Fedotova explains that products made from natural ingredients don't look like what we have come to expect; they are not smooth, white, and creamy. The synthetic chemicals provide the look and feel that we expect, even though they may not what is best for our skin, or body, as a whole.
For more information about Elina Organics, click here.
