M2.2/M2.4 Personal Care Products

I looked up two products that I use on a daily basis, my Dove Clinical Protection deodorant and my Aveeno Active Naturals Stress Relief Moisturizing lotion. Both of these products have a safe place in my home and are a part of my daily beauty routine. About 6 months ago I made the switch to Schmidt's Natural Deodorant after hearing about the harmful effects of aluminum, but I never felt it worked as well as the other deodorants out there. I gave it a fair shot before switching back to my original deodorant. I also steered away from other moisturizing lotions because I liked the idea that the Aveeno brand was more natural and I loved the lavender scent associated with the "stress relief" portion of the lotion advertisement.

 After reviewing both of these, I am having mixed emotions about the score level of both. For reference, here is the scoring scale.

The Dove Clinical Protection deodorant received a score of 3 out of 10. Three is the lowest number provided in the "moderate hazard" range. I am surprised the score of this deodorant is not higher considering all of the news I hear that using deodorant with aluminum in it can cause breast cancer. In fact, in regards to concern for cancer, this deodorant ranks "fair". It seems that the highest score the deodorant has is a score of 8 with its fragrances. All of the other ingredients linked to the product seem fairly low. With this information, I will look for deodorants linked with no added fragrances and try to look for a deodorant without aluminum. I will try to use the Schmidt's natural deodorant as often as I can and save the clinical protection for longer days and nights out. It is important for everyone to know how deodorants are ranged so that we are not affecting our body in any negative way. Particularly since deodorants are used daily in nodal areas of the body.

The second product I reviewed was the Aveeno Active Naturals stress relief moisturizing lotion with an overall score of 3. I use this lotion daily after a shower. While it had no cancer relating effects, the fragrance also showed it as a score of 8 - showing concerns of allergies/immunotoxicity, organ system toxicity, and ecotoxicology! The benzyl alcohol ingredient had a score of 5 showing imunotoxicity organ system toxicity, and the petrolatum showed a score of 4 with organ system toxicity. With this information, I will look for other products I can use in place of my lotion and do some research on the ingredients on this website. Between the two products, the lotion I am most surprised about because it had more number of toxic ingredients in it. I will likely not use this product again. It is important for all of us to be aware of the products we are using and choose products better for our environment and our health.


Response to Safe Cosmetics 101 Youtube Video
This video was a wonderful and very educational video to watch about the products we use on a daily basis! It was shocking to me when Jane Hooligan talked about that the word "organic" or "natural" has no real standard. It is also so shocking to me that baby products have such harsh carcinogens in the product. Thinking about all products that create suds or bubbles can be carcinogen because of the byproducts it holds, I am now going to start doing more research on the products I and my future children will use. The thing that makes me a little bit relaxed is that by 2015 Johnson and Johnson was to remove all carcinogenic ingredients. I think it is so important for us to all be advocates. I am glad she is doing this educational video and spreading awareness to retail stores and parents towards the Safe Cosmetic Act.