A few months ago, Sophie asked if she could use Joslyn’s “fancy” face wash. Jos handed her the bottle and watched her squint at the back label.
“Mom, why does this have so many words I can’t pronounce?”
Good question, kiddo.
That night, after she went to bed, I started actually reading the ingredients in our bathroom products. Shampoo, lotion, toothpaste, deodorant—turns out our medicine cabinet was full of chemicals I wouldn’t want to eat, but we were slathering them on our skin every day.
Here’s what blew my mind: your skin absorbs whatever you put on it within 30 seconds, and it goes straight into your bloodstream. We’re so careful about buying organic food, but then we rub petroleum-based chemicals all over our bodies.
The skin is your largest organ
This seems obvious once you think about it, but I never really considered it. Your skin isn’t just a barrier—it’s actively absorbing and processing everything you put on it.
Which means that “harmless” lotion might be delivering a cocktail of endocrine disruptors directly to your system. Every. Single. Day.
The ingredients that made me throw stuff away
After doing some research, I went through our bathroom with a garbage bag. Here’s what sent me on a cleaning spree:
Parabens
These preservatives are in 85% of personal care products. They prevent mold and bacteria, which sounds good until you learn they can interfere with your hormones and have been linked to breast cancer cell growth.
Look for anything ending in “paraben”—methylparaben, propylparaben, etc. They’re hiding in everything from shampoo to shaving cream.
Phthalates
These make products more flexible and help scents last longer. They’re also endocrine disruptors linked to developmental problems, obesity, and asthma.
The sneaky part? They often hide under the word “fragrance” on labels, so you don’t even know they’re there.
Triclosan
This antibacterial agent was supposed to keep us super clean, but the FDA banned it from hand soaps in 2016 because studies showed it might mess with hormone regulation and contribute to antibiotic resistance.
It’s still lurking in some cosmetics and toothpastes though.
Formaldehyde
Yes, the same stuff they use to preserve dead things. It’s in some nail hardeners, hair products, and moisturizers. It can cause skin irritation, worsen asthma, and in high doses, increase cancer risk.
Synthetic colors and fragrances
Those pretty colors in your products? Often made from coal tar or petroleum. The “fragrance” that makes your lotion smell like tropical paradise? Could be a mixture of dozens of unlisted chemicals.
Sophie’s question about unpronounceable ingredients suddenly made a lot more sense.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS)
This is what makes your shampoo foam up. It’s in 90% of foaming products, but it can irritate eyes, skin, and lungs. Worse, it can combine with other chemicals to form carcinogens.
What we switched to
I’m not saying you need to make your own soap from goat milk and lavender (though props if you do). But there are simple swaps that make a huge difference:
- We started buying products with short ingredient lists and recognizable words
- I use the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database to check products before buying
- We switched to fragrance-free versions of most things
- For basic stuff like moisturizer, we use coconut oil or simple products with minimal ingredients
The reality check
Look, I’m not trying to scare anyone into living in a bubble. We’re exposed to chemicals everywhere, and our bodies are pretty good at dealing with low levels of toxins.
But when I realized we were voluntarily rubbing endocrine disruptors on our skin multiple times a day, it seemed like an easy fix. Why add unnecessary chemical exposure when there are cleaner alternatives that work just as well?
What Sophie taught us
Kids ask the best questions because they haven’t learned to accept things just because “that’s how we’ve always done it.”
Sophie’s innocent question about ingredients made me realize we were being more careful about what went in our bodies than what went on them. Now Jos and I read labels for everything, and honestly, the products with simpler ingredients often work better anyway.
The bottom line
You don’t have to become a clean beauty zealot, but it’s worth paying attention to what you’re putting on your family’s skin every day. Start small—maybe swap your body lotion or shampoo for something with fewer mystery chemicals.
Your skin is working hard to protect you. The least you can do is not poison it in the process.
— Derek
To your health!
Derek Opperman
Chief Wellness Officer at LifeUP
“I help parents reclaim their energy — not just physically, but emotionally too. Because when you feel better, everything in your life lights up: your parenting, your patience, your purpose. My approach is about small changes that ripple out into big transformation.”
