When it comes to fertility, what we put on our body is just as important as what we put inside it. Choosing toxin-free skin care that's “edible” (i.e. safe enough to eat) is critical to ensuring we maximize our chances of the best pregnancy possible.Whilst you may be quite aware of the reasons that optimal fertility relies upon a healthy daily diet, it may not have been brought to your attention that your personal care products are equally as important. FROM THE MOMENT WE WAKE UP IN THE MORNING TO THE TIME WE HOP BACK INTO BED, WE USE COUNTLESS PRODUCTS, MANY OF THEM TOXIC, ON OUR SKIN. Think about your daily beauty routine. Most of us will have a shower, using a bath soap, shower gel and/or exfoliant. We may wash our hair with a shampoo, conditioner, perhaps applying a mask or treatment prior to this. We will then proceed to dry ourselves, apply deodorant, moisturise our body apply a serum to our hair and brush our teeth. From there our face skincare procedure will take hold. This may involve cleansing, toning a serum, eye cream, face cream or face oil. I have already noted 16 products that may have potentially been used, and our makeup has not even been applied! Depending on how makeup dependent we are we may be using anywhere between 5 to 15 products on our face (primer, foundation, concealer, under-eye concealer, eye shadow, eyebrow liner, eyeliner, mascara, illuminator, blush, bronzer, lip pencil, lipstick, gloss) which amounts to over 30 products having been used and we have not even left our homes leaving a lot of room for chemical exposure. Edible Beauty skincare was born from my strong desire to provide men and women with a pure, luxurious skincare range that was also fertility and pregnancy friendly. There are a few reasons that you want to be looking out for skincare and personal care products that are good enough to eat:
WE ABSORB OVER 60% OF THE INGREDIENTS WE PUT ON OUR SKIN*#. OUR SKIN IS THE LARGEST ORGAN IN OUR BODY AND IT IS PERMEABLE. THIS MEANS THAT WHEN WE APPLY SKIN CARE LOTION ON OUR SKIN IT DOES NOT JUST SIT ON THE SURFACE OF THE SKIN. Rather, it will penetrate through the skin barrier into the blood where any toxins present in the products may contribute to hormone disruption, lowered immunity, allergies/intolerances and toxin overload.
Our body absorbs what we put on our skin. If our bodies are absorbing what we put on our skin, it makes sense that our babies are also taking it in. Studies show toxic chemicals are found in the umbilical cords of babies.
Toxins in skin care may contribute to infertility. One of the key ingredients commonly found in skin care products are perfluorinated chemicals, better known as PFC’s. Contact with these PFC’s has been attributed to causing a variety of infertility issues. Women with higher-than-normal levels of PFC’s have a 60-154% higher risk of infertility than those who have normal levels##. Men are also not immune to the harm of PFCs. Products used by men, including skin creams, deodorants and sprays, may contain the same high levels of PFC’s as women’s products. PFC’s can affect male fertility by decreasing the volume, overall health and motility of sperm.
Chemicals found in skin care are endocrine disruptors. One of the main reasons why toxins in skin care affect fertility is that they mimic natural hormones, creating endocrine disruption and hormonal imbalance.Many of these toxins are termed xenoestrogens as they have the ability to bind to our oestrogen receptor sites, disrupting the function of the endocrine system. PFCs form part of a larger category of xenoestrogens.
The best way to ensure that you are using pure and fertility friendly products on your skin is read each ingredient on your personal care product ingredient list as if it were something that you might put in your mouth.
*Brown et al. 1984. The role of skin absorption as a route of exposure for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in drinking water. Am J Public Health. Vol, 74(5), 479–484. | #Robinson et al. ,2000.The Importance of Exposure Estimation in the Assessment of Skin Sensitization risk. Contact Dermatitis. Vol. 42, 251-259. | **Environmental Working Group. 2005. Analysis of tests of 10 umbilical cord blood samples conducted by AXYS Analytical Services (Sydney, BC) and Flett Research Ltd. (Winnipeg, MB). | ##Fei, C et al. 2007. PFC and foetal growth. Environ Health Perspect. Vol. 115(11), 1677–1682Infographic & Baby: Edible Beauty | Images: Camila Cordeiro & Sydney Jackson - Unsplash