Tips on Tossing the Ghost Toxins, EDCs, PFAS, and Getting Fabulous Results

It’s a spooky season out there ~ but it isn't in here! 👻

We're shedding the toxins and enjoying the benefits of a mask (the botanical facial mask, not the spooky kind of mask). 😉

Let's jump right in.

How to avoid those spooky chemicals in our care products and get fabulous results. 

If you're already familiar with our Qēt Botanicals' treatments, then you know that we believe in full transparency. We fully disclose every drop of every single ingredient that we use in our handmade treatments. 

We keep our ingredients friendly and ghost-free. Ghost free? Yes, ghost free. 

Read on.

 

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What do we mean by 'ghost free' labels and ingredients? 

We use no words like 'trade secrets,' 'proprietary ingredients,' 'perfume', 'aroma' or 'fragrance.' Just one of these words could literally mean dozens and dozens of synthetics, or spooky invisible 'ghost' ingredients. 

We don't believe in ghosts in our treatments. You know the ones... those hidden ingredients found in those 'catch-all' words above. A brand will list an ingredient name that is not really an ingredient at all. That single ingredient is actually a collection of chemicals that are lumped together and tagged with a name. 

These 'catch-all' words are usually a synthetic and lab manufactured ingredient that can contain dozens of chemicals all bound together and given one name.

For the brands that use a single word to describe a cluster of chemicals, it definitely looks better (and maybe even cleaner!) than listing the dozens of additives that make up that one 'catch-all' word.

Let's remember that if we use a product with a spooky, catch-all name, we're introducing all of those ingredients into our skin and system. No good! 👎

Those spooky ghosts hidden in our skincare might look like someone we'd like to get to know better, but they often come with hidden not-so-friendly side effects.

Those little ghosts are tempting... they often come in pretty little packages and promise a lot. They can be hard to resist ~ especially when they're cute and they make us want to join them.

 

Buh-bye ghosts... we're getting smarter, and healthier, without you! 👏 😊 

 

How about those EDCs and PFAS? What are these?!

The most common EDCs include cleaning products, laundry and home fragrances and perfumes, and cookware. However, skincare and personal care products can also contain hidden EDCs, or endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Boo! 👻 

What do EDCs do? In the simplest terms, they mess with our normal hormone function. This can lead to numerous internal side effects, a change in our sleep and health. Yes, this can even cause skin sensitivities, breakouts, and other skin issues.

 You may have also heard of the PFAS, which in everyday terms are referred to as 'forever chemicals.' These 'forever chemicals' are a grouping of over 4,700 synthetic chemicals that are still found in major beauty brands cosmetics and skincare. These forever chemicals don't break down naturally. This means they sit in our surroundings and environment and keep accumulating over time. Their side effects have been linked to a weak immune system, various sicknesses, and even cancer. Blech!

🌟 Enter the good guys! I've been a fan of EWG since 2004, as a brand Qēt Botanicals has been a member of EWG (Environmental Working Group) since we launched in April 2013. We're also a part of their EWG Verified program. Together we're all fighting against having these EDCs and PFAS eliminated in our care products as well. 💪 

There are numerous articles on both EDCs, and here's just one article on PFAS (from the British Beauty Council) which are available for you to dive into.

The bottom line is this... we work hard to keep our treatments clean, healthy, and effective. We're here to help you find the right ingredients and treatments to safely nourish and care for you, your skin, your hair, and your entire body.

And... we're here to make you aware that these little ghosts are out there. 👻

Are there actually hidden 'ghosts' in personal care products?

Yes. Did you know that it's an honor system for a company to list their ingredients from the most to the least, as well as listing every ingredient? We have to take their word for what's on the label.

Until we learn and research this, the average person, like many of us, doesn't know that there can can be many hidden chemicals in any given product out there. That's because a company doesn't have to disclose them. Talk about a spooky ghost! 😱 

We're very proud to have our affiliations with the EWG and it's EWG Verified program, Healing Lifestyles, Think Dirty, the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, and Green Business of Green America.

With these affiliations we're held accountable for not only our ingredients in their entirety, but also the quality and percentages of ingredients we use, the labeling that we provide, and the manufacturing and clean practices we do every day. 

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Chemicals of Concern ~ This is a Great List! 👍

Take a look at this. It's is a great resource of chemicals to avoid and where they're hidden from our friends at the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

The list includes a quick explanation of various chemicals and toxins that should be avoided if possible. 

There are many, many more chemicals that could be included. The above resource is a perfect place to start when when purging the toxins from our homes. 

 

Below: our Suite Accessory Kit: an organic washcloth, bamboo mask brush, wooden mask bowl, and a bamboo scoop for those masks and even exfoliants. Lovely eco friendly additions to your daily exfoliants or weekly masks... for a 'suite-est' experience. 😍 

 

Our Treat & Enhance Facial Suite: The sampling kit offers generous trial sizes of our Lavish Serum Salve, Spot Serum, Honey Cream Mask with Active Manuka, Green Tea Mask with Raw Cacao, and Hydra-Rose Eye Serum. $45.

 

Even the littlest treatments, like our bee free Lip Balm with Green Tea & Vitamins, should be free of hidden ghosts, too! 😘

Customer Reviews 

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐   "Good morning. It is always a pleasure working with Qet. I am always impressed with the products, the packages are a pleasure to open, and the customer service has gone above and beyond to impress me. Thank you for being such a great company!" ~ N. 

👇 😄  And this might be our funniest review... 😄 👇

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐   "Ahhhhh - I should just give up drinking and come in here instead!" (she laughed and said with a happy sigh as she relaxed and inhaled the aromas of the products while in the Skin Studio...)."  ~ Sandra

 

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Good for you ~ you're here!

It's never too early, or too late, to reach for clean care products. Even if it's just a one or two product swap, that's a great first step!

I get questions about how I tossed the toxins all the time. If you've chatted with me about this, or read a previous blog or two, I did my biggest chemical purge in 2010.  

Sitting down with my computer I went through a handful of my everyday care products (moisturizers, cleansers, eye treatments, acne treatment, deodorant, lip care, hair products) and wrote down every ingredient on a clean page on my system. That list was loooooong. 

I printed out that list, went to EWG, and highlighted every ingredient that was an allergen, an endocrine disruptor, a carcinogen, and anything potentially harmful.

Then, as painful, and as glorifying as it was all at the same time... I tossed every skincare, body, and hair treatment that was potentially harming me. It was a big toxic dump, and it felt great! 

I wish I still had that list because it was full of yellow highlights on those questionable ingredients. Keep in mind that I was already using "clean ingredients," at least that's what I thought was clean. Eeek! 

Also... know that it's just as important to feed our body from the inside with clean ingredients. My Rosacea, auto immune, and sensitivities may always be something I have to manage, but keeping my care products clean and knowing my food triggers also makes a HUGE difference in my skin.  

You're here, and that's the first step. Keep taking those steps in the right direction, enjoy the walk along the way (and a pumpkin or two!), and keep chiseling away at your clean-up. The results can literally be health changing. 🧡

  

Below: I almost stepped on a pumpkin... it caught me off gourd.  😉

 

Healthy Regards!

 ~ Lisa

 

~  fresh  ~  authentic  ~  sumptuous  ~

~  non-toxic, organic ingredients, proven, and high-performing ~

~  effective, award-winning botanical treatments made without compromises ~

 

 

Above: Our Affiliations and Awards || Leaping Bunny Cruelty Free,  EWG Verified, EWG Skin Deep, Beauty Shortlist Awards, Member of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, Healing Lifestyles Earth Day Clean Beauty Awards, USA Love List, Green America Certified Business, Think Dirty Award Recipient, CertClean Clean Beauty Award