Colors in personal care, The Ignored Toxic.
First things first so why Are Dyes Added in the First Place?
Dyes are added to products for a number of reasons including a means to hide discoloration as products age, even out the natural coloring in a product, give a product a color that might make it more appealing, or to differentiate between scents in a product line (orange for citrus, green for mint, etc.) Many companies like to use dyes because they are cheap, long-lasting, and can give their products a more pleasant appearance. But in reality, dyes can be detrimental to your skin and health.
Here’s the thing: even if you think a product is “natural” but its visual appearance is a bright or eye-catching color, it likely contains an added dye. Products like mouthwash, toothpaste, lotion, body wash, soap, deodorant, makeup, hair dyes, shampoo, and conditioner (just to share a few!) can all contain some type or form of dye. They can also be found in a range of consumer products ranging from cough syrup and contact lenses to cereal and clothing.
Can you believe we have been feeding our infants and toddlers with this, i mean they just stepped into the world and BOOM load them up, lather them, bathe them, feed them toxins toxins toxins.
REMEMBER AESTHETICS AND PRETTY STUFFS ARE NOT WORTH YOUR OR YOUR LOVED ONES HEALTH. We have been blinded by colors and fallen into the trap of pretty while we all know that looks can be deceiving.
Why are Dyes Harmful?
Most dyes are made with a combination of 20 or more chemicals in order to achieve a particular shade. These chemicals are synthetically created from chemically refined petroleum by-products, acetone, and coal tar. The safety of these dyes is highly controversial. Would you want to take a bath in that? I know i would’nt.
Dyes cause some type of negative reaction to your skin or body. This may appear in the form of sensitive skin, redness, itching, eye irritation, neuro-toxicity, cancer risk, skin irritation, rash, eczema and hyper-pigmentation to name a few. This is especially true for dyes in cosmetics and personal care products.
Remember: products that you put on your skin — your body’s largest organ! — get absorbed into your cells with some amount reaching your bloodstream.
How to find if your product contains it?
Labelled as colorant, dyes, pigments, lakes and aluminium lakes.
Dyes will usually be listed near the end of a long ingredient list.
Any product with the words FD&C (Food, Drugs and Cosmetics or D&C (Drugs & Cosmetics) contains an added dye. FDA-certified color additives have special names consisting of these prefixes. Sometimes you’ll see “CI” (Color Index) after FD&C or D&C. Certified FD&C colors have been approved for use in food, drugs, and cosmetics; D&C for drugs and cosmetics, but not in food.Quick Tips on Added Dyes:
Keep an eye out for blue#1 yellow #6, Red #40, and Green #3 as these are the most controversial and potentially harmful dyes used in the market today.
Even if a product claims to be “natural”, always double-check the ingredients list.
Dyes can be harmful to your skin and your body. Go dye-free to avoid slathering on unwanted toxins.
ANDDDD HERE IS THE BIG NEWS some “natural/herbal” companies don’t even label them at all!! but the looks speak louder than words don’t they? And as i said they can be deceiving, So if it is pleasing to the eye, look the other way.
Check out my ig post regarding the same. I even wrote a poem for it lol, hope you enjoy.