Jane Houlihan's Chemical Connections: Troubling New Science allowed me to begin thinking about the long-term effects of the personal products that I use on a daily basis.I thought about when she said "you want to look good, and you want to feel good," a statement that has so much truth when you're at the store and thinking about the perfect item to either make you feel "cleaner" or more "sporty," or even "sexy."
I looked back on all of those times that I had breakouts, or that my hair suddenly became dry, or even when I needed a quick remedy for dry skin. There are always those moments when the phrasing on the packaging is the only piece of the pie that I take into consideration before throwing down money on a lotion that is just going to save my life. Just breaking down that phrase "save my life" is causing me to shake my head just thinking about how little that product is actually doing in regards to saving, as opposed to damaging. While I now try to take active steps in researching that which is either going to go into my body or on it, I will admit that there were many times, and sometimes even now where the most effort I put into a product before buying is calculating the sales tax.
Thinking about all the new chemicals that enter the market everyday, and the growing long-term effects that are associated with exposure to these chemicals, it is insane to think about just how well I will be able to keep up with all of the new possible threats to my life (or after viewing this presentation, my sperm count).
Miguel,
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree that we need to make a more conscious and informed effort when it comes to buying our own products. I have bought body mist for years so that I can smell nice but after taking this class I realized that I should be smelling like nothing if I want to smell clean. I want to eventually have children and if I continue to pollute my body with things that can leaving lasting effects on my reproductive organs then I might not be able to have a healthy baby, let alone get pregnant. We all need to buy things that are good for us and not smell like anything.