CBC GEM: TOXIC BEAUTY + WHY YOU NEED TO WATCH IT

I have been given the opportunity to sit down and watch Toxic Beauty on CBC GEM.  CBC GEM is CBC’s new streaming platform that you can watch hundreds of shows, movies and live TV.  I live for a good documentary so when I had the opportunity to share my immediate reactions after watching Toxic Beauty, a topic I’m already eager to learn more about, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity.

I feel I am mindful when it comes to the products I am using in my home and on my children but I haven’t been diligent about the products I’m using on face and body. This documentary made me want to rethink it all.  I pay close attention to if they are vegan and cruelty free but didn’t realize the effects some of these ingredients can have on my own personal health even in small quantities.

I come from a family that is affected by cancer.  My mother and father are both cancer survivors, my aunt is a cancer survivor, one of my uncles is currently battling cancer.  It is in my genetics–but is there more to it?  Are there other factors that are stimulating my already existent genetic predisposition?  I have spent a lot of time researching and understanding the direct connection between diet and health but is there anything more I need to know? 

I am the type of person who doesn’t want to live my life in fear, but I do like to be aware and make changes involving factors I do have control over.  Toxic Beauty has definitely increased my awareness. I am so inspired to make changes and I am walking away feeling very grateful I watched it.  

I knew that the integumentary (nails, skin, hair follicles) system’s main function is to provide protection and act as a barrier but I was also forgetting that our skin is our bodies largest organ.  A little bit here and a little bit there can ultimately make a difference.  I’m feeling motivated to make change, encouraged to control what I am able to, and even more passionate about spreading the message.  I believe we need to educate ourselves and make appropriate changes where we personally feel comfortable making them.  

I am not striving for perfection as I do believe the stress and worry can ultimately be harmful but I am walking away wanting to be mindful and ready to implement some major changes.  I want to choose safer options not only for my children but for myself and my husband more often.  

When I first became a mother and heard some of the baby products on our shelves weren’t regulated and weren’t safe for our babies–I honestly didn’t believe it.  How could something so important not be regulated? I knew celebrities and some of congress had been trying to advocate for changes when it came to the regulation of beauty products but this documentary really helped me understand just how little regulation there really is.   The more I read, and researched the more I cared and wanted to make sure I did my best to be an advocate for their overall health.  I also think another important message I was reminded of from the documentary is that just because it is natural, doesn’t mean it isn’t a hormone disrupter or could negatively be affecting our health.  I also think back to my experience with unexplained infertility and it is intriguing to think there has been a connection between the products we are using and infertility.

Learning the products I am personally using could potentially be negatively impacting my health feels violating.  We purchase these products with the trust that the ingredients in them are safe and won’t negatively impact our health so it almost felt unrealistic that this was still a reality in 2020.  I feel like watching this documentary happened for a reason even if I wasn’t completely unaware.  I cannot wait to share some of the products I’m switching out and loving in replacement of some of the more toxic options I’ve been using.  Definitely watch this documentary, let me know your thoughts and also let me know some of your favourite makeup brands that are safer options.  Love being able to learn new things and implement some changes for the better.

Thanks for reading and I know you’re going to love watching it,

xx Eleni