Using an average of six traditional, personal care products, men are exposed to 85 chemicals every day.  

Few consumer products contribute as many chemical exposures as cosmetics and other personal care products. Each day, men use an average of six personal care products that contain 85 different chemicals.[1] Many of these products are applied directly to the skin, the body’s largest organ, and where ingredients can be absorbed directly into the bloodstream. 

Personal care product chemicals can also enter the body through inhalation, ingestion and internal use, and pose the same risks as food chemicals. In addition to the risks posed by intentionally added ingredients, personal care products can be contaminated with heavy metals, including arsenic, cadmium, lead, mercury and nickel.[2]

While many consumer products are subject to heavy government oversight, the cosmetic industry is not. Under the current law, the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has little authority to review chemicals in cosmetics and other personal care products. You can find article after article of large, name-brand companies that have been found to have chemicals in their products.

So, what should you do? Read the labels! Even many companies that claim to be natural could have harsh chemicals in their products. If reading the label is too much to ask, don’t worry some companies like ours have already done the work for you.

Guy Lively products contain no harsh chemicals, parabens, phthalates, sulfates, GMOs and more. We’ve scrutinized every ingredient and have some of the cleanest natural products available on the market. You can compare for yourself!

So, next time you’re at the store or shopping online, consider what might be in your personal care products.  

[1] Envtl. Working Grp., Exposures Add Up- Survey Results (2004), http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/2004/06/15/exposures-add-up-survey-results/.
[2] Marcy Laub, Skin deep, Harvard Univ. (2015), https://green.harvard.edu/news/skin-deep.