| 2. Radio and TV ads
In 30 seconds or less, you'll hear all the
wonderful benefits you'll receive from choosing their products
– softer, silkier, healthier hair; smoother, younger-looking
skin and more. Manufacturers spend a lot of money trying to convince
you to buy their products. Don't jump up and rush to the store after
seeing or hearing one of their compelling ads. They're not telling you
everything you need to know.
3. Celebrity endorsements
Companies pay celebrities a lot of money to
endorse their products. They hope you'll think that because the celebs
say wonderful things about their products, you'll want to use them too.
Don’t fall for this.
4. Samples in the mail
What better way to get you to try their product
than to give you a little bit to test on yourself? You get to
experience first hand how the product smells, feels, lathers, absorbs,
etc. Now while you may like how it smells, performs and the result you
get, you still don't have enough information to assess the health and
safety of the product.
5. "Natural" on the label
This suggests that the product is made of
ingredients from natural sources. However, there are no industry
standards for what "natural" means. The product may contain all natural
ingredients, just a few natural ingredients added to a synthetic
product or no natural ingredients at all.
6. "Organic" on the label
Beware of products that claim to be 95%, 90% or
some other high percentage organic on the label. According to cosmetic
chemist Paul Lieber, it's physically impossible for more than 30-40% of
the ingredients to be organic, unless it's organic oil. Why? Because
typically 60-70% of a product is water and water cannot be certified
organically grown, even if it's distilled or processed with organic
herbs or essential oils.
7. Hypoallergenic
This doesn't mean the product won't cause allergic
reactions. There are no standards defining hypoallergenic. It just
means the manufacturer believes it's less likely to cause allergic
reactions. In many cases, it's not even tested; only fragrances are
removed.
8. Pretty labels
Manufacturers spend a lot of money designing
labels to make you think their product is natural, herbal, healthy and
will do amazing things if you use it. The truth is ... the
information on the front of the label doesn't tell you anything about
the health and safety of the ingredients inside the package. Don't base
your decision on what's on the front of the label.
9. The ingredients list
This is the most important piece of information
that you absolutely must read before you buy any product. The
ingredient list is where you find out if the product really contains
safe and healthy ingredients or not. This is NOT what the
manufacturers wants you to read on their labels. That's why they make
it so tiny you need a magnifying glass to read it. Buy one and carry it
with you in your pocket or purse. Take it out when you're trying to
read that microscopic print.
10. Incomplete ingredient
lists
Many companies, because of increased consumer
awareness of the ingredients in skin care products, will list only the
known herbal and healthy ingredients on their website or in their
advertisements. If you don't read carefully, you may think that what
they list is the complete list of ingredients in the
product ... that is until you buy the product and read the
full list of ingredients on the label. Beware of this deceptive
practice.
Now, you may be wondering how you're supposed to
know if the ingredients on the label are safe or not. Most of the
ingredients are not listed in plain, understandable, everyday language.
Well, you don't need to hire your own personal cosmetic chemist. There
is a simple solution. Dying To Look Good is an easy-to-use book,
written in plain, understandable language, that classifies ingredients
in cosmetics and personal care products according to safety and lists
products that are safe and healthy to use. If you check the ingredients
on all product labels before you buy with the list of ingredients in
Dying To Look Good, you will be able to confidently choose products
that are safe and healthy.
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