Yes, I said that correct. I can’t un-know what I now know.

By no means does that mean that I know everything, but what I am slowly starting to open my ears and eyes to is decades of our nation growing, but not following along with laws and regulations.

I never thought I would be a “crunchy” mom.

It’s a huge responsibility to raise a little one and when I learned that our bodies absorb 60% of what we put on it – did you know your skin is your largest organ – directly into your blood stream it gets you thinking.

So why should I put harmful things on him, or myself when I cuddle him as much as I can, if I can avoid it.

Here are just a few things that I can’t un-know:

1. Did you know the word “fragrance” or “perfume” is an umbrella for over 4,000 ingredients?* This means that any company can put ANYTHING in to a product and label it as “Fragrance” – the kicker is they can keep said ingredients secret because that umbrella allows for “proprietary information” to be housed under it.
   One of the MANY ingredients that can be used includes methylene chloride – a known carcinogen, and banned by our own FDA in the late 1980s, but no regulation exists due to the fragrance umbrella term. What do you think about added “fragrance” now?
2. Did you know that the FDA hasn’t passed a law governing the health and beauty industry since 1938. That bill is also only 2.5 pages long… I know for a fact there’s not enough in those 2.5 pages to keep up with the industry today.
3. Did you know there are more than 80,000 chemicals on the market today. Many of them do not have any safety data – most specifically those used in the health and beauty industry.
4. The kicker, and maybe worse of all. Did you know that the FDA does not have the authority to remove harmful ingredients from the products that we put on our bodies and the bodies of our babies. Even if they found out what ingredients were hidden in products they couldn’t do anything about it!
5. How about the fact that the European Union bans close to 1,400 chemicals in the product formulas of personal care products, plus regulates the levels of another 250 products. Canada has banned close to 600 and the United States has banned thirty – three zero – from the products we absorb in to our blood stream day after day.

There is more, much more, but to me these are the biggies. The lack of regulation is the root of the problem and something that I am committed to helping change.

This is the biggest reason I believe in Beautycounter. We are a company founded on a mission, we don’t have a mission just because it’s cool. We believe in education first before producing products. However, I am 100% confident in the products we produce because not only are they well performing, but they are safe.

Beautycounter has prohibited the use of more than 1,800
questionable and harmful chemicals in our products.

The Never List is our list of ingredients that you will never find in our products. I have the coolest story about our process to confirm this, but will have to save that for another post. 🙂

In addition to creating standards for ourselves Beautycounter is being recognized industry wide. We are proud to have been recently re-certified as a B Corporation with a score of 95—our highest rating ever and a 14-point jump from two years ago.

The B stands for Benefit, and it means that, unlike the traditional corporate structure, we consider people, the planet, and profits equally. We use the power of business to help solve social and environmental problems by voluntarily meeting rigorous standards of transparency, accountability, and performance. Becoming a Certified B Corporation is a difficult accomplishment, and we did it right from the very beginning.

To be certified as a B Corporation, a brand must meet high standards of social and environmental performance, accountability, and transparency. We are pleased to participate in this growing community of more than 2,000 Certified B Corps from 50 countries and over 130 industries working together toward one unifying goal:

to redefine success in business.

I could talk all day about the amazing things that Beautycounter is doing for the industry, but for now what can I help with? Are you ready to switch over your beauty products in your home? Are you curious about how to get involved with our movement and mission? What questions can I answer for you? I am here to help, educate and cheer as we join together to change one law at a time.

Sources:
Fragrance
Beauty Industry
B Corporation
Beautycounter