In 2015 I watched the documentary Stink! It was overwhelming and exhausting and eye-opening but most of it was educational. It was a journey about a dad who was upset that he purchased pajamas for his daughter online and they arrived with a chemical smell. He had lost his wife to breast cancer and he was interested in exploring the many day-to-day chemicals that we unknowingly put in our bodies on a daily. Of course, he got the runaround when it came to finding out the source behind the chemical smell but thank heavens he had the means and resources to get it tested. After watching this documentary the year it was released, I huffed and questioned why things were the way they were and if we were expected to Google all these ingredients for all the things that we don’t understand.

The cool thing about it is that we don’t have to Google all the ingredients. Tiktok introduced me to Yuka and I scanned everything in my bathroom it turns out that about five products don’t contain harmful parabens, sulfites, or endocrine disruptors. Endocrine disruptors mess with our hormones and can be found in so much stuff that it’s nearly impossible to avoid them.

This was eye-opening for me because some of these chemicals are banned in other countries but America runs heavy on capitalism so none of this is regulated. Some chemicals are linked to reproductive health and thyroid issues. Why is it so easy for these companies to sell products with all these harmful chemicals? Why do we accept not knowing how to pronounce these ingredients as “I’m just not knowledgeable enough?”

What am I doing to do my part for my health? I’m looking into some of the ingredients of things down to body wash and hair products as our skin and scalp are supposed to be barriers keeping us safe from toxic stuff. I’m making it a priority to be intentional because I know that anything that says “fragrance” as an ingredient is most likely not good for your body. And since we only get one body it’s important to go out of our way and keep it safe since the beauty industry won’t.