July 9, 2021
A better body wash and an alert about PFAS in your makeup.
Who says body wash has to be boring?
It just dawned on me that I double-cleanse my body as well as my face. My first round of washing involves a traditional bar soap, which I follow with a pleasantly-scented moisturizing body wash applied with my exfoliating Supracor Stimulite Bath Mitt. (I love this mitt because it can be used for dry brushing or in the shower—and the high-tech material won’t ever lose its structure or succumb to mildew.)
As for my second cleanse, I’ve been using Beauty Pie’s Super Healthy Skin Nourishing Body Wash, but when I went to re-order it, I discovered it’s backordered until July 9. That wasn’t going to work, but it just so happened that Kosasport launched their new Good Body Skin AHA + Enzyme Exfoliating Wash that week, so I saw it as a sign.
It turns out I gave myself a body wash upgrade, as this formula contains a blend of glycolic, mandelic and lactic acids and fruit enzymes to gently sweep away dead skin cells and smooth my skin’s texture. In addition to exfoliation, allantoin swoops in to condition and soothe my skin—and the lather is no joke. The jasmine-orange flower-vanilla-sandalwood scent is very faint (which is fine with me), but one of the best features (for me at least) is that it also helps prevent body breakouts. (The hubs has totally been using it as well.)
Now that it’s officially two-showers-a-day season down here in hot, sticky Florida, I’m glad this body cleanser has my back (and arms, legs, etc.).
An update about PFAS in your makeup
A few weeks ago I talked about a study published in Environmental Science & Technology Letters that found 53% of 231 cosmetic products purchased in the U.S. and Canada contained high levels of PFAS, a family of potentially toxic compounds that have no business being applied to our skin. When I wrote that post, no list of specific ingredients or products had been released, so there was no way to know if our makeup was affected. My only suggestion for playing it safe at that time was to consider restocking your makeup bag with known-to-be-clean products. (Did anyone do it???)
But in just two short weeks, the Green Science Policy Institute has issued a few guidelines to help you identify PFAS—however, there’s a hitch. Their recommendations only apply to labeled PFAS, and unfortunately the only way to get unlabeled PFAS (such as those in ambiguous ingredients like “fragrance”) out of our products is legislative action (but you can help). Despite this caveat, here are three ways you can protect yourself from PFAS that might be lingering in your makeup.
There’s an app for that!
Clearya is a free app and browser plug-in that analyzes product ingredients lists when you shop for products at retailers like Sephora, Amazon and Walmart—and it’s definitely worth the extra 10 seconds it takes to check before adding anything to your cart. BTW, the Green Science Policy Institute scanned the database and found almost 1,000 products from 120 brands with at least one PFAS. Thirty-four different labeled PFAS were also found, with the most common one being what we know as Teflon. (The Environmental Working Group’s SkinDeep database is another great resource.)Make your voice heard!
Legislative bills proposing a ban on PFAS have been introduced in the Senate and House of Representatives—but policy changes take time. Let your representatives know that this issue is important to you by filling out this easy form created by the Breast Cancer Action advocacy group.Speak up!
You can also ask your favorite beauty brands to commit to avoiding PFAS in their products. Tweet them, slide into their DMs or send an email through the “Contact Us” page on their website.
If you’re curious, here’s the full list of 34 PFAS the Green Science Policy Institute found in the Clearya database. The product categories make is much easier to narrow your search!
