Safe Skin Care Guide

Jolene Hart, Beauty Editor
Going au naturel? That's how we like it when it comes to our cosmetics and skin care in general.

Get ready to knock off the nastiest ingredients from your personal care products. We are going to guide you through it every step of the way.

Did you know that women apply an average of 12 products and 515 chemicals daily?

Our best bet for reducing our exposure to questionable chemicals is to ditch ingredients that come with a reputation for health risks. Duh right? You'd be surprised how many people ignore these risks for the sake of their beauty.

Below will give you a taste of the biggest red flag ingredients that you won't find in our Healing Lifestyles & Spas product recommendations, or in our personal beauty regimens. For the complete list, take a look at our Safe Skincare Guide which is housed on our site.

Phthalates: these chemical plasticizers disrupt endocrine function and have been linked to health concerns as far-ranging as early puberty and liver cancer.

Triclosan: skip this ingredient in your antibacterial products. It may harm thyroid function and encourage drug-resistant bacteria.

Formaldehyde: this potentially carcinogenic ingredient is already banned in several countries, but you can still find it in some hair and nail products.

Sulfates: these bubbly ingredients, like sodium lauryl sulfate and sodium laureth sulfate, give many shampoos their well-loved sudsing action, but they may be carcinogenic.

Parabens: these chemical preservatives (with names like methyl-. ethyl- and butylparaben) mimic estrogen and have been linked to breast cancer.

Now it's time for us to provide you with a comprehensive Safe Skincare Shopping Guide because we undersand it can get confusing. Keep your beauty regimen clean and green by skipping these 15 RED FLAG ingredients when you hit the cosmetic aisle. Be sure to bring this list with you every time you shop for cosmetics!

For more tips and articles like these, visit HealingLifestyles.com.