'We look good, we smell good, but we have just exposed ourselves to 200 different chemicals a day through personal care products.'

U.S. News and World Report

Inside your own personal space are hundreds of harmful chemicals housed in your hair care, skin care and cosmetics.

Millions of dollars are spent every year on products designed to adorn the outside of our bodies. Many of these products make us look and smell good, but at what price?

Closer examination helps us discover that most of these products are filled with chemicals - chemicals that if handled by themselves, according to the Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) would require the handler to wear rubber gloves, boots and safety glasses.

These chemicals are hazardous and many are being linked to fatal diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes and sterility! They are hazardous and yet we continue to put them on our body day after day after day. Have you ever wondered why?

Maybe it's because the cosmetic industry is self regulated meaning that they set the guidelines, control their tests, and determine what health requirements are necessary before a product can be sold. Most cosmetic companies are more interested in making money than preserving your good health. Maybe it's because we don't really believe the studies. Maybe it's because we just don't know what to do. No matter what the reason, the problem still exists and unless we do something about it, we will end up suffering the consequences of our ignorance.

If the manufacturer has a vested interest in the product, the decision will be weighted towards the manufacturers' benefit and their recommendation may not necessarily be for the best good of the consumer.

What can we do?

The simple answer is to buy only Toxic Free products () that do not contain harmful chemicals or cause further damage to the skin. Look for products that contain the toxic truth seal.

Unlike the cosmetic industry, those products that contain the toxic free seal must meet the standards dictated by the Toxic Free Organization. This organization requires that every step of the process - that means the planting, growing, harvesting, processing and manufacturing of a product must be accomplished under circumstances that are absolutely toxic free.

The agency reviews every aspect of every ingredient from seed to finished product. If the ingredients have met these stringent requirements, that is, if they have been handled in a truly toxic free environment, they can bear the ToxicFree seal of approval.

POPULAR BUZZ WORDS

Although there are many popular buzz words in the market place today, we are only going to be talking about three. Here they are.

1.Pure

2.Natural

3.Non-Toxic

The very name makes these words sound like the product should be healthy for you, right? That's the deception.

Although some products may really contain mostly pure or natural ingredients, that doesn't mean that they will be healthy for your skin.

For example, strychnine is natural, but when taken internally it is deadly. In fact, it could even be pure, but that still doesn't fix the problem - it only exacerbates it. Let's discuss the three words mentioned above one at a time.

Pure:

The dictionary's definition of Pure is 'unmixed or unpolluted'. 'Absolute'.

The Cosmetic Industry's definition of Pure is: Any product containing any ingredient or portion thereof that could be traced back to a pure or original origin. In other words, if there is a 'trace' of something original in there, you can call the whole product pure. I hardly think this makes the product 'unpolluted' or 'absolute'.

Natural:

The dictionary's definition of Natural is: 'Pertaining to, in accordance with, or determined by, nature; Being or found in its native state'. 'Not artificial'.

According to the Cosmetic Industry, you can proudly display the 'natural' label if at least 5% of the ingredients are derived from a natural source. This means that you could have one ingredient that has a minimum of 5% of that ingredient that has come from a natural source and that is enough to meet the labeling requirements to call the entire product 'Natural'. That means your product could be 5% natural and 95% artificial and still be called 'natural'.

Non Toxic:

Webster's Dictionary defines Non Toxic as: 'not producing or resulting from poison'.

The cosmetic industry gives this definition: 'If no more than 49% of all laboratory animals that the product is tested on die, then you can call the product Non Toxic.' That means that the product could be 48.9% likely to kill you. I don't know about you, but I'm not willing to take those odds. That is a rather risky gamble with your health.

To further complicate the issue, we have no real hope for relief from the manufacturers'. Here is the reason why. The cosmetic/personal care industry is self regulating. That means, the only ones that are looking out for the consumer is the manufacturer of the product. Let me explain it this way.

If I was manufacturing a new product and I wanted to put the label Non Toxic on it, I could begin a test on my laboratory animals. Let's say that I had planned on running the test for 10 days. On day one, a few animals were dead. On day two, a few more had died. On day three, 42% of all of the animals were dead and over 50% of the ones that were still alive looked really sick. I could at that time abort the test and claim the name of Non Toxic on my label since less than 49% of the animals tested on died before the conclusion of the test. Now, I could go out the next day and discover that 75% of all of the animals tested on had died, but because that many had not died before the end of the test, I could still claim the title of Non Toxic.

Seven Arrows Color Connection has spent years developing Toxic Free products. To learn how you can replace the toxins hiding in your bathroom with a better Toxic Free solution, visit our site at a You will also see a complete listing of our Toxic Free products and the ingredients in our products. If you do not notice a substantial difference in the look and feel of your skin and if you are not completely satisfied with our products in the first 30 days, we will refund your money 100% ... no questions asked.

The first in a series of 3 articles provided by Seven Arrows Color Connection and The Toxic Truth Website ( ).