Most consumers give little thought to the recognized allergens,
probable carcinogens, hormone disrupters and synthetic
industrial chemicals that have been inadequately tested and yet,
can be found in the formulae of our skin and body care products,
shampoos, conditioners, cosmetics, perfumes, infant body care
products, etc. These products line the shelves of high-end
department stores, drug stores, specialty retailers, and natural
health retailers. With media reports warning of the toxic soup
most of us bathe in daily, the ugly side of the cosmetic and
personal care industry is on the radar of consumer groups such
as The Breast Cancer Fund, Think Before You Pink, Environmental
Working Group, The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, as well as
concerned physicians and scientists.

The public believes that the industry is regulated by a federal
agency that insures toxic chemicals are not added to the
products we use many times daily. So, you might wonder, who is
responsible for regulating the personal care industry and
looking out for consumer health and safety?

The cosmetic industry will direct you to the Food and Drug
Administration (FDA), the FDA will direct your query to the
Cosmetics Ingredient Review (CIR) panel, and the CIR will share
all the wonderful research they are conducting in the name of
safety for the consumer. The problem with this picture is the
CIR panel is funded by the giant mainstream personal care
products companies whose ingredients and products must pass
their review prior to entering the marketplace. These well
recognized companies continue to use known or suspected toxic
ingredients in their product formulae.

Of the FDA’s $800 million annual budget, less than 1% is
allocated toward regulating the cosmetic industry. Neither the
FDA nor any other government regulatory body actively assesses
the safety of cosmetics before they are placed in the
marketplace.

Testing for Safety?

According to Darin Stechman, Clinique’s brand representative,
“Product safety has always been a top priority at Clinique
Laboratories, and is ensured through state-of-the-art testing
methods.” However, this testing, according to Stechman, does not
include tests that establish long-term toxicity potential,
carcinogenic properties, systemic absorption properties or
chronic effects of daily use. Instead, large, mainstream
cosmetics companies focus their research and both human and
animal trial tests on assessing pre-marketed products for only
allergenic reactions and skin irritations. Beyond skin eruptions
and rashes, emerging science suggests that untold numbers of
cosmetics and personal care ingredients may be silently and
insidiously promoting cancer, disrupting women’s reproductive
functions and causing birth defects.

According to Susan Roll of the Massachusetts Breast Cancer
Coalition, “one third of personal care products contain
ingredients classified as possible human carcinogens.” Hence,
chemicals such as acrylamide (in foundation, face lotion and
hand cream) linked to mammary tumors in lab research;
formaldehyde (nail polish and blush) classified as a possible
human carcinogen by the Environmental Protection Agency; and
dibutyl phthalate (industrial chemical commonly found in perfume
and hair spray) known to damage the liver, kidney and
reproductive systems, disrupt hormonal processes and increase
breast cancer risk, are widely used by mainstream skin care and
cosmetics manufacturers. Known by hundreds of long, intimidating
chemical names, these ingredients are in the products we use in
our daily personal care rituals.

It’s the daily grooming ritual that is of greatest concern.
These toxic ingredients are absorbed by our skin and into our
bodies. The cumulative exposure to a myriad of personal care
products containing carcinogens, mutagens and reproductive
toxins has not been assessed.

The Ugly Side to Pretty

Many believe that by purchasing products marketed as “natural”
and “organic” from health stores, high-end department stores and
other specialty retailers, they are guaranteed toxin-free
ingredients. Unfortunately, major loopholes in federal law allow
the $35 billion cosmetics industry to police itself, allowing
unlimited amounts of toxic chemicals into personal care products
with no required testing, no monitoring of health effects and
inadequate labeling requirements.

According to Janet Nudelman, coordinator for the Campaign for
Safe Cosmetics, “The U.S. government, in relation to the FDA,
has not been on the side of consumers and has not been on the
side of public health.” This is obvious since cosmetic industry
representatives serve on government panels that are looking into
the consumer safety issue they are supposed to be regulating.

How to make Healthy Choices.

Since the CIR is funded by the well known cosmetic manufacturers
and the FDA allocates so little funding toward regulating the
cosmetics industry, how can the consumer confidently make
healthy choices when purchasing personal care products?

Since 2000 The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a team of
scientists, engineers, policy experts and lawyers, have
dedicated countless hours examining data, scientific studies,
and performed their own laboratory tests to expose threats to
your health and the environment, and to offer solutions. Their
web site, www.ewg.org provides practical information you can use
to protect yourself and your loved ones.

The EWG analyzed the health and safety reviews of 10,000
ingredients in personal care products. They discovered that
there is very little research available to document the safety
or health risks of low dose repeated exposures to the chemical
mixtures in these products. According to the EWG, the absence of
this data should not be mistaken for proof of safety. The more
these low dose chemical exposures are studied, the more is
understood that they can cause adverse effects.

Based on their findings, the EWG has developed Skin Deep
www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep, a sophisticated online rating
system that ranks brand name products on their potential health
risks and the absence of basic safety evaluations.

Janet Nudelman, of The Safe Cosmetics Campaign, says she uses
Skin Deep regularly to look up ingredients in personal care
products to find the safety reading. Her decision to purchase a
product is based on the results.

In recent years, organic and 100% pure and natural products have
become available from such companies as suki’s, Farmaesthetics,
GratefulBody, Affusion, Monave, Earth’s Beauty, Simply Organic,
WildeWood Naturals, Munchskins and more.

The health and safety of you and your loved ones is your
responsibility. Read the labels of personal care products
closely. If there are ingredients that you are not certain
about, write them down and do a quick search to insure they are
safe for use by you and your loved ones.

References:

Breast Cancer Action www.bcaction.org

Breast Cancer Fund www.breastcancerfund.org

The Make-up Labyrinth. Shauna Dineen, E The Environment
Magazine, November-December 2005

Environmental Working Group www.ewg.org

www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep

Safe Cosmetics www.safecosmetics.org

Plus size wedding gown, shopping doesn’t have to be
traumatic. Shopping for your plus size wedding gown can be so
much easier if you know in advance which styles will flatter
you. Dress Slimmer on your Wedding Day with Body
Fit and Style. The following is an excerpt from Plus
Size Bridal Guide. Hourglass Figure - Also called X shape,
Curvy Shape: You have the easiest shape to dress. You can
call attention to your waist. Soft fabrics are very flattering
to you. If you are tall, your defined waist creates balance. If
you are short, you may want to de-emphasize your waist a little
so you don’t look chopped in half. You would accomplish this by
wearing a plus size wedding gown with vertical lines that curve
in at the waist instead of a dress that has an actual,
horizontal waistline. You are curvaceous. Celebrate it!!!!! The
hourglass figure can easily wear ball gown, sheath or a-line
style wedding gowns.

Rectangular Figure - Also called H Shape, I Shape, and
Straight Shape: Because your silhouette is straight up and
down, you would want to create waist definition with vertical
lines that curve in. Princess seams work well for you. Fitted
bodices with a slightly dropped waist, Basque waist or v-waist
work well for you, as well. Anything that gives the illusion of
a waist without a horizontal line at your waist will work well
for you. Empire waistline is your friend. You can wear sheaths,
empire style, raised waist, a-line, Basque waistline, dropped
waist. Avoid gathered or heavily pleated fabric at the waist. If
you are in the upper plus sizes, you might look in evening wear
and look for a white beaded gown in the tunic and skirt style.

Apple Figure - Also called O Shape, Circle Shape or Round
Shape: This is the most difficult shape to dress. Your
figure is visually larger or wider above the waist and narrower
around your hips and thighs. Think vertical lines. Avoid
anything that creates an actual horizontal line at the waist.
Some a-line in the skirt is ok if it falls in a nice, soft
drape. No crinolines. Avoid gathered or heavily pleated fabric
at the waist. Empire style and soft drape a-line styles are your
best choices. If you could find a two piece gown with a straight
skirt and a tunic style top, this would work very well for you.
You might look in evening wear and look for a white beaded, lace
or crepe gown in this style, especially if you wear the upper
plus sizes and just not feeling comfortable in any other style.

Pear Figure - Also called A Shape, Triangle Shape:
Wonderful pear shaped women have a waist - sometimes a tiny
waist. You can wear bodices that are fitted and defined. You can
even have a gown with a horizontal line at the waist. You can
wear a-line or anything that flares out. A fitted bodice that
comes to a V in the front elongates your slim upper body and
makes the skirt just flow over your hips and makes them
disappear. Sometimes, however, a pear shaped woman can have very
small or sloping shoulders. You may need to add some small
shoulder pads (fabric store) to hold the shoulders up. Avoid
straight skirted gowns. They will pull across the hip area. And
you may read somewhere that empire style works for pear shape,
but I disagree. Empire style hides your greatest asset - your
little waist. A-line, defined waist ballgown, or Basque styles
will look great on you.

Plus size bridal shopping can be a wonderful and exciting
experience. By knowing your body type, you can easily shop at
online bridal shops. By choosing the right design for your body
type, your perfect plus size wedding gown will arrive at your
door ready to make you the beautiful bride you always dreamed of
being.

One point can’t be emphasized enough. Weight loss takes time
after pregnancy. A sensible goal would be to lose 1-2 pounds per
week, particularly if you are looking for the weight you gained
to stay off.

Eating a well balanced diet and partaking in regular exercise
are the critical success factors for weight loss after
pregnancy. Fad diets will not work, and may actually work
against you in the long run.

Exercise is a vital component of weight loss after pregnancy.
Many people simply are not able to lose the weight they gained
unless they exercise, particularly if there metabolism has
slowed at all in the months post partum.

If you are getting exercise on a regular basis and eating well,
but still not losing weight a year or more after you give birth
to your baby, seek out the advice of your health care provider.
There are a number of conditions that may arise after delivery
that can contribute to weight gain, none the least of which are
thyroid abnormalities which are sometimes very common after
pregnancy.

Remember also that every person is unique, and all women will
respond to an exercise and fitness plan differently. You may put
two women on the same program that have the same amount of
weight to lose, yet there results will ultimately be different
depending on a number of personal and biological factors.

The point here is that you should not compare yourself to
others! Remember that as long as you are eating well and
exercises, you are creating a lifestyle of healthy living that
will ultimately benefit you individually as the unique person
that you are.

And finally, remember to stay positive. Society puts far too
much pressure on women to lose the weight they gained during
pregnancy. There is no rush, you will lose the weight and feel
great in the process. In the meantime be sure to be good to
yourself, reward yourself for your successes no matter how
small, and remember to smile from time to time!