Guest Post by Sarah Clark, Breast Cancer Survivor
Hi, my name is Sarah Clark. And I’m a breast cancer survivor. I’m married with two kids, a 15-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl. I’m also a consultant and educator with Beautycounter. I wholeheartedly believe in healthy living and that knowledge is power. Whether it’s food, our environment or products we use on our skin every day – I’m all about supporting companies that are transparent and honest.
Currently, 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in the US, and that number is way too high. While I’ll never really know what caused my breast cancer (I have no genetic link), the thought of potentially harmful ingredients being in the products that I used, makes me really angry. We shouldn’t have to wonder if the cosmetics or personal care products we used, caused our cancer.
I was most surprised to learn that the labels on products don’t really mean anything in the US and that fragrance can basically contain a slew of ingredients that could potentially be harmful. Because fragrance ingredients don’t have to be disclosed, there’s no way to know what’s really in those products that contain fragrance. So, all the other ingredients in a product could be safe, but dangerous ingredients could be hiding in the fragrance.
We need federal cosmetic safety reform.
It’s frustrating to not know what’s really in the products we use and put on our kids. My search for safer products was the result of my son’s very sensitive skin when he was a baby and I couldn’t figure out why he’d still react to products labeled “safe”, “natural”, “sensitive skin.” It wasn’t until I heard about the lack of regulation in the US that it all made sense. Now, I try to educate everyone I can about the importance of being aware of what’s in the products they use.
Cosmetic safety reform affects every single one of us. What we’re using, what we’re putting on our babies and our kids, what our family members are using, none of us should be exposed to ingredients that are known to cause harm. Reducing our toxic load is important and not being exposed to endocrine disruptors (which are common in cosmetics and personal care products) is a really big deal for our developing children.
Having gone through 8 rounds of chemo and 20 radiation sessions last year, reducing the toxic load on my body while going through those treatments was very important to me. I used safer products and ate cleaner foods, and had little to no side effects, I think in part because my body didn’t have to filter out toxic ingredients and could just focus on the chem and radiation. Anyone who has been affected by cancer either personally or because of a loved one, should take care to avoid products with potentially harmful ingredients. It’s just not worth the risk.
It's time for a better beauty industry. We need your help!
Send a message to your congressional representative
Connect with Sarah
- IG: @betterhealth.betterbeauty
- FB group: better health.better beauty
- FB page: Beautycounter by Sarah Clark