What you're ACTUALLY putting on to your body and why you should detox regularly

by Tara Hanaphy June 16, 2015

We all know to some extent what we should be doing to be living a healthy lifestyle. We hear it every day and are constantly bombarded with it via social media platforms. Whether you're paleo, before 5pm vegetarian, or a raw vegan fruitarian, the message usually goes along the lines of this; eat more greens and veg, avoid sugar, exercise more, french fries and vodka are not your friends.

As a society we are becoming more conscious about what we put inside our bodies via the food we eat, yet we often overlook what we put on our body even though it may affect us just as much. It takes approximately 28 seconds for some chemicals we put on to our skin to enter our bloodstream. We wouldn't eat aluminium, yet most of us rub it on to our underarms everyday in antiperspirant.

There are a few main ingredients and chemicals we believe you should be aware of when purchasing anything you will use on your skin or body:

Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS) and Ammonium Laurel Sulfate

Used to create those delicious foamy bubbles in many bath and body products. Sure your bubbles do look amazing in your instagram bath selfies, but recent studies by the International Journal of Toxology report that Sodium Laurel Sulfate is a skin irritant and has "a degenerative effect on the cell membranes because of its protein denaturing qualities". Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate has also been linked to death in animals.

Parabens

Used for its preservative effects in skincare, sunscreen and cosmetics. Parabens have been shown to cause damage to your skin in sunlight and have also been linked to e ndocrine disorders resulting in breast cancer .

Fragrances

The broad term "fragrance" is included in so many cosmetic and body products ingredients. Unfortunately for us they are not legally required to list what that actual "fragrance" is. Who knows what you're actually putting on to your body. Some wacky scents rumoured to be used in commercial fragrances are as exotic as wood polish, edamame beans, champagne and even the dried rectum of beavers known as castoreum. Delicious. Yes, we are serious. Click the link if you don't believe us.

Triclosan

Used as a pesticide and antimicrobial in body wash and soap. The FDA has already concluded that it can cause problems for humans and hormonal disruption in animals.

Phthalates

Used to prolong that delicious scent of beavers butt... Ah, we mean prolong the scent of the "fragrance" as discussed above. It is included under the umbrella term "fragrance" on the ingredients list of you body wash, face wash, cosmetics and perfumes. Very little testing has been done on the effects of Phthalates on the body. Ignorance is bliss, right? Unfortunately for us, the studies that have been conducted do not point to great outcomes for us. Phthalates have been found to effect the male reproductive system in animals and also disrupt female endocrine system, promoting the early onset of puberty.

We could go on all day describing a ton of other chemicals but we don't want to bore you. Essentially, we believe 100% all natural products are always best.

So what’s the solution? Here at LeQure we are realistic and understand that natural deodorants usually suck, you want to smell nice (like beavers butt? Ok, last reference we promise) on your hot first date, you like bubble baths for your cute instagram pics and you're going to use sunscreen because ain't nobody got time for skin cancer.

Detoxify your skin and body on a regular basis to try and remove as many of those unpronounceable chemicals above. Hate cleansing? We have made the detox process easy for you with our Detox Bombs. Infused with potent antioxidants and detoxifiers, fulvic and humic acid, that have been researched and shown to actively bind to pollutants, heavy metals and toxins and remove them from the body. All you need is a tub to say goodbye to years of rubbing yourself silly in chemicals.