I went to one of those home party’s, you know what they are. The invitation you get from your friend that makes you cringe. The party you can’t miss because she’s your BFF and she’ll kill you if you don’t show. Purchasing something out of guilt is what friendship is all about right?

This party was different.

I walked away feeling disgusted with my lack of knowledge and my shared public ignorance.

A small ember of glowing light flickered to life inside me, by the end of the week my mind was a towering inferno of swirling information and fiery wisps of anger.

I was so worked up I decided, after conferring with my husband, that I needed to be in a place to share this message with others and offer them a solution.

I became a direct sales consultant.

What message could make me, an introvert at heart, go into direct sales?

In 2008, at the age of 14, Ava Anderson saw a report on hazardous chemicals in the blood of teenagers that directly reflected the products they were using on their skin. The study had been conducted by the Environmental Working Group (EWG). She researched products on the Cosmetics Database created by the EWG and began removing all harmful products from her parents and grandparents homes, much to their chagrin. They wanted replacements, and with a lot of research Ava could not find a full line of products that had a “0″ hazard score out of the 0-10 scale used on the Cosmetics Database.

Trying to find safe products had become a full time job and she was becoming angry that so many products claimed to be natural and safe but were actually toxic. After 8 months, with the help of her family, she came to the conclusion that she needed to make a fully non-toxic line of skincare, with the promise that if any ingredient ever becomes more than a “0″ that product will be reformulated.

They felt the best way to get out the important health message of the products was to do direct sales instead of having items sitting on shelves of a store and I couldn’t agree more. Ava Anderson Non-Toxic is the first full line of non-toxic skin care.

A few tidbits of information:

Europe bans 1,342 toxic chemicals from personal care products. US bans just 9!

Manufacturers must clean up their products for European distribution, but leave the toxic chemicals in for US…. because no one is stopping them.

The FDA has no oversight. The people who “oversee” personal care products are a committee of executives from the biggest personal care product companies themselves. The committee makes their own rules and posts them as “guidelines.” Adhering to them is optional.

According to Dr. Samuel Epstein, Former Head of the Cancer Prevention Coalition, and author of TOXIC BEAUTY, “It is more dangerous to put a product on your skin than to eat it.”

Our skin is our largest organ.

What we eat gets detoxified by our bodies. When chemicals are put on the skin, they do reach the bloodstream. Think of trans-dermal medicinal patch drug delivery systems, like a nicotine patch, estrogen patch or seasickness patch.

Adults have, on average, 485 chemicals in their blood. The average woman is exposed to approximately 250+chemicals each morning. (EWG, Environmental Working group)

Disease in this country is up way beyond genetic incidence! Environmental toxins are being blamed, and they are everywhere in our environment. We can’t control genetics….we can’t control the air … but we can certainly control what we eat and drink and what gets to our blood stream directly by what we put on our skin.

Manufacturers can legally hide hundreds of toxic chemicals in the word FRAGRANCE without listing them on the ingredient label. They call it a “trade secret.” The Environmental Working Group has randomly tested products off the shelf and found “phthalates” in more than 72% of the products tested, yet not listed on a single bottle. (EWG)

Studies link phthalates to cancer, autism, ADHD, infertility and more. (Dr. Philip Landrigan, Mt Sinai) In 100% of scientific studies, phthalates cause genetic mutations.

Other red flags and blaring sirens you can find on your ingredients list: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, anything starting with PEG, or ending in –ETH or paraben

Getting to know your product labels with the support of the Cosmetics Database will help empower you to make healthier decisions.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As soon as I got home from my friend’s party I checked the products I was using against the Cosmetics Database and saw that they were moderate to high on the scale.

As were my kids. I was poisoning my own children. Now if you are a mom, you know one thing, you do whatever you can to protect your children. I was angry that I assumed buying kids products meant that they were non-hazardous. The last thing I want is to be pumping hormone disrupting chemicals into my childrens blood!

I did the same with my Mom, one of her products, a simple face wash made by Equate was immediately thrown in the trash! She promptly ordered the skincare line and the hand and body lotions.

I am in the process of replacing all of our health and beauty products with Ava Anderson Non-Toxic.

Pictured above: Eye-Makeup Remover, Toner, Cleanser, Sugar Lip Scrub, Moisturizer, Exfoliator

Pictured above: Shampoo, Conditioner, Hand and Body Lotion, Shower Gel, Moisturizing Hand Soap, Moisturizing Hand Soap Refill, Lip Balm

They also have make-up featuring lip glosses, lipsticks, blush and foundation.

Not only are these products non-toxic, they are fabulous products that really work and smell great!

Check your products against the Cosmetics Database and see for yourself.

I think you might be surprised by what you find, especially in the products you use on your children on a daily basis.

You just might become as angry as I have and decide to do something about it.

If you want to replace your hazardous products or even become a consultant email me at veronica@mayangelstar.com or go to my site Ava Anderson Non-Toxic