What goes in your (and your baby's) body?

I know reading the labels of cosmetics products including lotions and cremes can be excruciatingly painful, but you really should know what you're putting on your body! Not to worry. The environmental working Group (EWG) has a fantastic cosmetics database where you can search for brands or particular ingredients to assess safety. It's easy to use, give it a try at http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

Also use common sense, the FDA dictates that all cosmetic ingredients must be written on the label in order of concentration. That means you can also have a general idea of how much exposure you are getting to each ingredient. This goes for both good and bad ingredients. For example, Shea butter is a great plant extract. Not only is it an excellent moisturizer, it is full of vitamins A and E and can have healing (particularly for chapped lips or wrinkled skin) as well as anti-inflammatory properties. You may see a lot of lotions and cremes that claim to have shea butter in them, but where is it on the ingredients list? Is it below 15 other petroleum based chemicals?

Avoid cosmetics that contain dangerous chemicals (even in small concentrations) such as phthalates and parabens. All hydrOtion products are free of phthalates, parabens, BHA and other toxins. www.hydrotion.com

Perhaps even more disturbing is a new study showing 300 contaminants in the umbilical cord blood of new born babies. This video is an eye opener (just under 2.5 minutes).