Primal Life Organics Blog — articles

The year flew by and I recently thought: “Before Resolution, I need a Revival!!” In just a few short weeks, we will have made it through the holiday season! Whew! The house guests and visits from friends and family will slow down, we’ll be finished with the hustle and bustle of gift giving, meal and […]

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“I wear make-up almost every day.  I did not know that my favorite products were polluting my body with chemicals that can make me sick.  I did not know the colors came from mica…a chemical  known to cause cancer!  I refuse to put chemicals on my face to make me beautiful that also could cause cancer, clog my pores, and essentially destroy the very thing that I was trying to beautify!

So I did something unusual — I created a line of Colors made from real food and plant sources.  Now I feed my skin antioxidants that actually help fight cancer by destroying free radicals!”  -Trina Felber RN, BSN, MSN, CRNA, CEO of Primal Life Organics

We women put it on our faces every single day. But how often do we really stop to think about what is in the products that we routinely put on our face? My honest answer was never.

Once I began my research, however, I was less than impressed with the quality of the products that I was using on a regular basis. A quick Internet search revealed that it was impossible to find an ingredient list for the commercial foundation I had been using for a long time. So, I had to peel off the label on my bottle because the ingredients are listed on the inside of the label – the sticky side that you can’t see unless removed.

Out of the 25 listed ingredients, 23 of them were completely unrecognizable to me, and 11 of them were almost impossible to pronounce! The only two that were familiar were water and synthetic wax. Less than half (11) of those ingredients are scored as a zero by the Environmental Working Group (EWG), meaning that they have not been found to be toxic or hazardous. Six of them are scored in the moderate hazard category, and there is even one scored in the high hazard category.

The purpose of the EWG is to “serve as a watchdog to see that Americans get straight facts, unfiltered and unspun, so they can make healthier choices and enjoy a cleaner environment. We use the power of information to create cutting-edge research and advocacy that transform government policies and the marketplace in order to conserve land and water, produce and use energy responsibly and ensure that food and consumer products are free of harmful chemicals” — Environmental Working Group. Their website harbors a plethora of little known research on the harmful chemicals that we encounter every day through the products that we consume.

So looking deeper into my ex-foundation, I found that the moderately hazardous ingredients included propylene glycol, cyclopentasiloxane (CPS), PEG/PPG-18/18 dimethicone, titanium dioxide, talc, and mica. Do you know what any of those are or how they can harm you? Let me enlighten you.

CPS may be associated with environmental toxicity, organ system toxicity, ecotoxicity, endocrine disruption, and neurotoxicity (so it can negatively affect your environment and ecosystem, as well as your organs, your brain, and your hormones).  Propylene glycol has been shown to be linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive issues, allergies/immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, endocrine disruption, as well as being associated with contact dermatitis and contact urticarial (rashes). PEG/PPG-18/18 dimethicone may be contaminated with potentially toxic manufacturing impurities such as 1,4-dioxane. Talc can be contaminated with asbestos fibers, posing risks for respiratory toxicity and cancer. Mica may be linked to endocrine disruption, organ system toxicity, cancer, ecotoxicology and neurotoxicity.

But the two most alarming ingredients found in commercial make up – propylparaben and methylparaben – are considered great health hazards because of the overwhelming evidence to back up the risk factors associated with them. These mimic estrogen and can act as potential endocrine (hormone) system disruptors. There is also strong evidence that they are an immune toxicant or allergen. These are considered highly hazardous according to the EWG, to the point where their concentration is restricted in cosmetics. But if the risk is so real that their quantities have to be limited, then why are they being used at all?

I know I’ve only scratched the surface of the potential toxins in one specific commercial make up product, so I want to encourage anyone and everyone to go to the EWG website and look up your preferred cosmetics, as well as the ingredients in them. What are the risks associated with some of the ingredients? I realize you only use a tiny amount of make up with each application, but do you wear it every day? If we are reading our food labels to ensure that we are not putting toxins IN our bodies, shouldn’t we be reading personal care labels to see what we are really putting ON our bodies?

Primal Life Organics was created to offer the option of Paleo Skincare (skin-food as we refer to it).  Paleo denotes earth-given nutrition for both our insides and our outsides.  Using Paleo skin-food provides the skin with healing, nurturing and moisturizing elements in the form of oils, essential oils, food and plant sources as well as the dirt itself (clay).  Primal Life Organics introduces Primal Colors- Paleo makeup sourced from the earth.  Toxins, chemicals, preservatives and fragrances NEVER find their way into ANY of our products.  Primal Colors is made FRESH when ordered- ensuring the most nutrient dense ingredients.  Our color palate is created by mixing food and plant sources, such as cranberry, beet root, hibiscus flowers, cocoa and spirulina with dirt.  No additives, fillers or chemicals.

We invite you to try Primal Colors.  Please view our Primal Colors instructional videos.  These video thoroughly explain how to obtain the perfect look without harming your skin with chemical make-up. We always welcome questions and our Primal Colors Specialist, Carrie, can be contacted via carrie@primallifeorganics.com.

Paleo embraces Nature.  Nature embraces Primal Life Organics.  Primal Life Organics embraces Primal Colors.  The Re-Generation of Makeup.

Paleo makeup is now available to compliment your lifestyle and your complexion!

For those interested in additional information, click here for an article from EWG on the topic of chemicals in cosmetics

Written by Carrie Perkins
Primal Colors Specialist
carrie@PrimalLifeOrganics.com

What’s the best thing about new Primal products?! All new, better for you ingredients to love! We’ve packed our newest skincare products with exciting skin foods like fruit extracts, Vitamin C, caffeine and garlic!

Wait? PLO has new stuff?! See what you’ve missed this month. Keep on the lookout, we’re always coming up with

Diversifying our Diets In this day and age, it’s incredibly difficult to find wholesome skincare products you can trust. PLO ingredients are so closely recognizable to the foods we eat and clays we see in our gardens, we’re tempted to eat them!

Fruit Extracts and Vitamin C. A double team of two, new exfoliating facial scrubs and skin polishers will keep your skin looking polished, all night long. Dirty Ex @ Midnight and Dirty Ex Sweet Revenge boast antioxidant protection from natural Vitamin C that helps firm the skin and improve collagen. A fruit blend to rival your breakfast smoothie, (extracts of mango, grapefruit, papaya in @ Midnight and pineapple, apple and guava in Sweet Revenge) will fight breakouts, dry skin, premature aging, inflammation, cellulite and skin discoloration — basically, all you need to make that Ex wonder why he ever left you alone on the dance floor.

Caffeine. No, this probably won’t cure your headaches when you’re cutting back on coffee — BUT caffeine crystals in Dirty Ex @ Midnight and Dirty Ex Sweet Revenge will calm puffiness in your skin and temper those fine lines and wrinkles.

Garlic? We know what you’re thinking, “I can get enough garlic just walking in and out of an Italian restaurant!” As healthy as garlic is for you to eat, it has incredible properties that are also great for your skin. The active properties within garlic make it a wonderfully natural antifungal and antibacterial. Vitamins A and B, organic iodine and sulfur, among others, mix with essential oils in Funki, Primal Life Organics’ Primal Foot Repair to help anyone struggling with post-WOD athlete’s foot.

And bad health begins there, too! Almost everything we put in our bodies, for better or worse, has an effect. And it all starts in your mouth!

We all work hard to maintain our overall health – we go to the gym, eat well, listen to our doctors and take steps to manage our stress (or try!).  But have you ever thought that a little extra effort to maintain your oral health could affect your overall health? Probably not; but the connection between oral health and overall health is surprisingly strong.

Bacteria: Where it all begins. Bacteria in our mouths can cause infections, which can lead to inflammation and cause our gum tissue to break down. Over time, this can become a chronic problem and lead to gum diseases like gingivitis or periodontal disease.

Then it gets really sticky. Poor oral health has been linked to diabetes and heart disease, strokes, among other serious problems (check out the Mayo Clinic’s list). Why? Because when your gums break down, are infected or inflamed, your body responds (in come the white blood cells). This can trigger arterial inflammation or blockages (heart attack) or arterial plaque, which research has tied to strokes.

On the whole. Take a holistic approach to your health by starting where it all begins – your mouth. Primal Life Organics Dirty Mouth Boost Primal Gum Serum can help replenish the natural oils in your mouth – not just for your teeth, but for the health of your gums and mucous membranes, too.  The 11 essential oils that make up Dirty Mouth Boost help reduce the culprits (bacteria) in the mouth that lead to chronic inflammation, fungal and viral infections (cold sores), gingivitis and denture stomatitis (inflammation of the mouth).

Anti-what? Antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, antiviral, antiseptic and anti-infection are just a few of the plusses of the oils found in Dirty Mouth Boost. Organic tea tree oil mixes with a stimulating blend of lemon, peppermint, clove, lavender and cinnamon with the anti-inflammatory properties of eucalyptus ad myrrh. Organic cypress serves as an astringent, antiseptic and a homeostatic to stop bleeding gums.

Seriously, what more can you ask for? Primal Life Organics offers Paleo, organic, and natural solutions for your overall health, all made from ingredients you can trust. If you haven’t heard from Kimberly, read her Dirty Mouth testimony here.