I have fair Irish skin and all my life I've tried to tan it . I spent a tremendous amount of time in the sun using iodine mixed with baby oil ( supposed to tan your skin no matter what). It worked. I got the tan I desired but paid a tremendous price for it.
Five years ago I was diagnosed with melanoma. Luckily it was caught in time and surgery removed it.
However, it shook me to the core and I started reading everything I could get my hands on about skin cancer (and also started monitoring my sun exposure).
I bought a book called NOT JUST A PRETTY FACE...the ugly side of the beauty industry. What an eye-opener!
Did you know that there is lead in lipstick? dioxane in baby soap? coal tar in shampoo?
The $35billion cosmetic industry is so powerful that they have kept themselves unregulated for decades. Well you can't sweep things under the carpet forever. After a while you begin to notice the bulges.
With the rise in breast cancer and the resulting deaths, women especially are beginning to educate themselves. Although the major multinational companies are fighting for the right to use hazardous chemicals in their products, small entrepreneurs are building businesses around health and justice.
I am one of them. A couple of years ago I started my own website where I sell only natural personal care products and cosmetics.
After using these products myself I haven't had any problems with skin cancer. In fact the precancerous cells that my dermatologist found on my face a few years ago have all disappeared.
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Marie Farren