This is part 2 of my series about the little known toxins lurking in your everyday beauty products, and the safer alternatives to buying the cheap, big brands that are harmful to your body. If you missed it, here’s Be Beautiful Inside & Out, Part 1.

And here’s a quick reminder of why it’s important to buy cruelty-free products.

Toothpaste – Most people use toothpaste multiple times every day and never think there may be some serious toxins in a paste this is supposed to keep teeth healthy. Unfortunately, all the big brands contains a plethora of chemicals that do harm to the body. For years fluoride was touted as the end-all-be-all for strong pearly whites. I remember getting the fluoride foam treatment every time I went for a check up at the dentist. New studies show that sodium fluoride may be a possible neurotoxin, and the Food & Drug Administration now requires all toothpaste containing fluoride to label this warning on their product:

WARNING: Keep out of reach of children under 6 years of age. If you accidentally swallow more than used for brushing, seek professional help or contact a poison control center immediately.”

Ummm, great. So glad I swallowed so much of that foam treatment when I was a kid. In fact, it takes a very small amount of sodium fluoride to cause symptoms of acute fluoride toxicity. If there’s a warning label on something as simple as toothpaste, I’m going to assume I probably should find a better option. Aside from that, big brands also contain sodium hydroxide (the chemical name for lye and a toxic drain cleaner), titanium dioxide (a possible carcinogen), and PVM.MA copolymer (a highly irritating binding agent). Don’t forget about 2 chemicals I discussed in part 1 – triclosan (classified as a pesticide) and sodium lauryl sulfate or SLS (used in products like garage floor cleaners and engine degreasers). Oh, and those pesky dyes and additives, like FD & C Blue Dyes 1 & 2 are made from coal tar oil and synthesized from petroleum, and can still be absorbed into your body even if you don’t swallow your toothpaste. Scary! I currently use Xyli-White from Now Solutions. It’s free of fluoride, SLS, gluten, parabens, and all the other chemicals we just discussed.

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