You may be hearing a lot lately about parabens…but what are they and why should we be concerned about them? Parabens are a group of preservatives used in over 25,000 cosmetics and personal care products. Which of these items do you think contain parabens? Shampoos, conditoners, make-up, tanning oils, styling mousse, body wash, toothpaste, tooth whitening products? All of them do. If you check your label, anything that contains the word “paraben” is a product you should discontinue using. I stopped using any product containing this toxin years ago and when I check ingredient labels now, if I see parabens, I put it down.

Parabens are artificial ingredients that the body readily absorbs. Studies show that parabens can affect hormones and mimic estrogen (and too much estrogen is not a good thing, for women OR men.) Excess estrogen has the potential to cause breast cancer, in fact, parabens were found in breast cancer tumors of women and in urine of people tested by the CDC (so the body does retain it.) Parabens are so prevalent in personal care products today that more boys are being born with deformed reproductive organs. In fact, a study recently done on fish in the Potomac shows that male fish are being transformed into “intersex fish” – male fish born with female characteristics.  This is nature’s way of warning us to stop using parabens in our products. It is something pregnant women should most definitely avoid.

Many companies are finally admitting to the dangers of parabens and are offering paraben-free products. Just be sure to read the rest of the ingredients, because they may still contain some toxins. So I give you this challenge: Go check the labels of some of your products. I guarantee that most, if not all, will contain parabens….and leave a comment here to let us know if you’ve decided to ban parabens from your products!

If you’d like to read more about these “intersex” fish, click here to read the NY Times article: “It’s Time to Learn From Frogs.”

Click here for safe skin care: Dr. Mercola’s paraben-free, organic body butter.

Check out this informative news story regarding toxins in cosmetics today (parabens are mentioned.) It’s a must watch!

   Today is my birthday and the thought came to mind that if I could give myself a gift of $200 to spend on any beauty product I wanted, what would it be? It didn’t take me long to figure this one out. I would give myself the gift of organic beauty and health (they do go hand in hand.)

   My absolute favorite products contain natural, pronouncable ingredients that I can identify. They contain no sodium lauryl sulfate, propylene glycol, methlyparaben, benzophenone-4 or artificial fragrance. They are preserved with only natural substances like citrus seed extract and vitamins A,C, and E. O.K., by now you probably skipped down to the part where I say which company I am talking about! It’s Aubrey Organics,  a company that started in Tampa, Florida and now is carried online and in natural health stores everywhere. Besides being so natural and safe, the other thing I love about this company is that the products are grouped according to skin type and you can use the whole set of products. They make fragrances, make-up and many more personal care products too!

   My favorite product I am using right now is  Rosa Mosqueta Moisturizing Cream. It smells great, fresh and clean and moisturizes dry/combination skin very well. While in the shower, I wash my face with the Rosa Mosqueta bar soap. My other faves include the Natural Misset, which is an herbal hairspray that gives you light hold (no helmet hair here!) I cannot go without my Green Tea clarifying shampoo either. I try to use this at least twice a week. It really does remove buildup from other shampoos and styling products! On other days, I use the Blue Chamomile Hydrating Shampoo. It leaves your hair so soft (with a very pretty, natural fragrance too.) To finish up, I use GPB Protein conditioner ( I tend to have knotty hair so I comb it through while still in the shower.)

   Throughout my organic journey, I intend to try ALL the Aubrey products and I will not hesitate to share what I find with you. In the meantime, if you use Aubrey products, I would love to know what you think!