Did you know that the average woman applies 500 chemicals a day to her body? Is that crazy? But it’s true. For years, we’ve been told about the “bad stuff” hiding in our wonderfully scented lotions and cosmetics. What’s worse is that our children are exposed to them every single day as well.
Everything you put on your skin is absorbed directly into your bloodstream and carried throughout your body. That’s how powerful skin absorption is, it’s the same reason more and more medicines now come in patch form. So when you apply nourishing, plant-based ingredients, your body benefits. But when you apply synthetic, toxic ingredients, those travel through your bloodstream, too.
The Problem with Common Skincare Ingredients
Most mainstream skincare and haircare products are filled with parabens, sulfates, silicones, PEGs, and synthetic fragrances. For example:
- Parabens (Methyl, Propyl, Butyl, Ethyl): known to be toxic and cause allergic reactions.
- Synthetic fragrances: can contain hundreds of unlisted chemicals under the guise of “trade secrets.”
- Thickeners & emulsifiers: create creamy textures but offer no benefit, only potential harm.
Companies use these ingredients not because they’re safe or effective, but because they’re cheap, extend shelf life, and create appealing textures or scents.
Some brands now market themselves as “natural,” but often only highlight what they don’t contain (parabens, sulfates, mineral oils, etc.), while still including plenty of other harmful synthetics.
The National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health reports nearly 900 toxic chemicals are currently used in cosmetic products. And the Cancer Coalition concluded that cosmetics and personal care products pose one of the highest cancer risk exposures to the public, even higher than smoking.
The Simplicity of Plants
After years of personal research, the answer became very clear: the simpler the product, the better.
You don’t need chemicals on your skin and hair. Nature provides antibacterial, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory ingredients that are both powerful and safe.
- Essential oils penetrate cell membranes, delivering oxygen and nutrients directly to cells.
- Plant oils like coconut, almond, apricot kernel, and sesame deeply moisturize while supporting skin barrier function.
- Herbal botanicals like chamomile, lavender, frankincense, and rose have been trusted for centuries to calm, repair, and beautify the skin.
Plants are living substances filled with vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and fatty acids that our bodies recognize as nutrition. Synthetic ingredients, by contrast, are lifeless and often treated as toxic invaders by the immune system.
As one passage explains so well:
“Plants are living substances. They contain a vital life energy. It is what differentiates living matter from synthetically derived matter. Plants are composed of the same vitamins, minerals, amino acids, essential fatty acids, enzymes and hormones that we are. Our body recognizes plants as nutrition.”
The Cost of Synthetic Chemicals
When synthetic ingredients enter the body, your liver and immune system must work overtime to eliminate them. Over time, this can deplete your energy and weaken your body’s defenses. A stressed liver creates ripple effects across the immune system increasing your risk for allergies, asthma, autoimmune conditions, and chronic illness.
That’s why it’s so critical to:
- Read every skincare and cosmetic label.
- Avoid products that are only half-natural.
- Choose whole-plant, truly natural formulations.
Because when it comes to skincare, if you wouldn’t eat it you probably shouldn’t put it on your skin.
🗝️ Key Takeaway
Your skin is your largest organ, and it absorbs what you apply. Choosing whole-plant, natural skincare nourishes your body from the outside in, while synthetic ingredients deplete your health and energy.
Recommended Sans Product
Made with honey powder, a natural humectant and antibacterial powerhouse. It’s proof that applying your “fruits and veggies” to your skin really does work.
