Most people are unaware of the prevalence of chemical flame retardants all over their homes and workplaces. From mattresses to furniture to electronics, polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or PBDEs slow down the burning of flammable materials. But at what cost? PBDEs are persistent organic pollutants (POPs) — once they get into your body, they stay there […]

OK, let’s resume this list. In my last post, I left off after 6 ingredients: fragrance, triclosan, formaldehyde releasers, parabens, FD&C colours, and PTFE + PFOA. So on with the list: 7. polyethylene glycols (PEG): PEGs are used as penetration-enhancers, dispersants and texture-modifiers in cosmetics, lotions, toothpastes, etc. Usually listed as PEG-100, PEG-20, etc. on […]

Every day, most of us slather on multiple “products” for our bodies: shampoo, conditioner, soap, shaving cream, lotion, lip balm, perfume, deodorant, multiple makeup products, etc., etc., etc.. What we don’t always think about however, is what’s in all those things. Today’s mainstream body care products are nothing like what our grandparents used. They are […]

After talking about it for years, this blog is finally going live! As I mention in the About section, environmental health is an emerging field of scientific research. Ten or fifteen years ago, very little was known about the health effects of everyday items and products around us. Things we apply to our bodies, put […]