It is no secret that our society and the media have established and proceed to advertise an idyllic, virtually inconceivable, commonplace of magnificence that ladies constantly decide themselves in opposition to and are at all times aspiring to realize.
With the appearance of available beauty surgical procedure and coverings, this quest has reached a brand new fever pitch. By one estimate, American girls spend virtually $7 billion {dollars} a 12 months on merchandise used within the pursuit of magnificence.
And we have all seen or heard tales of girls hooked on Botox or cosmetic surgery -some have had so many nips and tucks that their faces resemble cartoon characters and nonetheless they need extra! These excessive instances are the casualties of a well-liked tradition that’s saturated with photos of airbrushed, over sexualized, and completely coiffed celebrities and fashions that may make even probably the most assured of us really feel a bit of insecure or insufficient at instances.
The extent of this downside was documented in a 2008 report launched by the YWCA referred to as “Beauty At Any Cost”. The report underscores the substantial well being implications for girls on the limitless treadmill of “unrealistic magnificence attainment.” Via power and unhealthy weight-reduction plan, utilizing smoking as a weight-loss aide, taking pointless dangers throughout beauty surgical procedures, and absorbing unsafe chemical substances by means of cosmetics, girls are inserting themselves in precarious well being conditions to keep up some semblance of their idealized bodily selves. Women and ladies are at danger for lifelong well being issues – and the issues begin at an early age.
Add to the combination a $50 billion a 12 months unregulated cosmetics business that places limitless quantities of chemical substances into private care merchandise with no required testing or monitoring of well being results, able to revenue from these slender magnificence requirements to transform girls and ladies into life-lengthy prospects. Many of those corporations go to nice lengths to market to teenagers and “tweens” (8 to 12 12 months olds) as a part of this objective. Their emphasis is on creating low cost merchandise that attraction to this demographic with little or no regard for the potential well being or environmental impression of the chemical substances used to supply them.
Clearly, younger ladies and teenagers are extra weak and inclined to hurt than ever earlier than. Nevertheless, with a bit of steerage they’ll study to make safer, more healthy decisions for themselves and set an instance for his or her friends.
What are you able to do to assist the younger ladies and teenagers you understand keep away from falling into this lure? Listed here are some pointers that you need to use:
- The Buck Begins and Stops with You
Most youngsters are influenced by the behaviors and attitudes of their dad and mom and caretakers. So it is as much as you to set the bar for what’s acceptable. If you would like your daughters, nieces, or youthful sisters to undertake wholesome habits then be sure you are doing the identical. Have a look at your stock of cosmetics and private care merchandise and get rid of people who comprise elements which might be recognized to be dangerous. In case you’re undecided the place to start out, test the Environmental Working Group’s Pores and skin Deep Cosmetics Security Database out there on-line.
Their complete database accommodates over 25,000 cosmetics and skincare merchandise from each main corporations and smaller ones you might not even know. The merchandise have all been researched, catalogued, and ranked for security considerations primarily based on presently out there information on toxicity of their elements. The database additionally offers lists of the High 10 Worst and Finest Merchandise and Corporations primarily based on their rankings.
Present them methods to use the database and make it clear that you’ll not fund the acquisition of merchandise which have been ranked with excessive security considerations.
- Flip Them Into Good Customers
Share your considerations with them in regards to the security of many magnificence merchandise in the marketplace and the way even small quantities of repeated publicity to sure elements could cause hurt. Train them methods to learn product labels and search for downside elements to keep away from.
The U.S. Meals and Drug Administration requires elements to be listed in descending order of focus. So elements listed at the highest are probably the most prevalent and those to pay extra consideration to.
Teenagers Turning Inexperienced (previously Teenagers for Protected Cosmetics) has compiled a listing of chemical substances in private care merchandise to keep away from referred to as the Soiled Thirty. You may obtain it at their web site. Evaluate the record collectively, then use it as a information for studying labels and ruling out the merchandise that comprise them.
- Encourage Them to Take Motion
There’s nothing extra highly effective than children and teenagers united and engaged in motion to advertise a worthy trigger, and what could possibly be a worthier trigger than their well being and security? Encourage them to study extra about this situation and the way they’ll get entangled to make a distinction.
Whether or not it is motion to strain the federal government to manage cosmetics, or taking part in shopper boycotts that pressure corporations to alter in response to developments within the market, or becoming a member of teams that train and promote self-esteem and wholesome physique photos — all of those actions serve to enlighten them and reinforce the constructive messages that may finally make them make higher decisions and affect their mates to do the identical.
- Flip Them On To Greener Alternate options and Make it Enjoyable
Throw a spa celebration at your property in your daughters and their mates and introduce them to the ever-rising number of secure and wholesome skincare merchandise, pure scents, and cosmetics out there, and make it “cool” for them to discover and indulge their senses. Make it a recurring occasion in order that they’ve an opportunity to be continually uncovered to loads of new and totally different merchandise.
Or take them to the native well being meals retailer for a procuring spree the place you may overview and examine the merchandise collectively and make it a contest to see who picks one of the best ones first. Keep in mind, simply because a product is offered in a well being meals or pure product retailer, it does not imply that product is secure or pure. It may be a wonderful instructing second to assist them (and also you) grow to be a really discerning shopper.
- Reward Them for Making Good Selections
Focus your efforts on serving to them make the absolute best decisions after which reward them for it. Ensure that the rewards you give them are in step with what you are attempting to show them. In different phrases, do not reward good decisions in a single enviornment with unhealthy decisions in one other (i.e. taking them out for junk meals or providing them sweet).
In case you reach convincing them that private care merchandise made with natural elements are higher, there is a good likelihood you may persuade them that natural meals and meals made with out chemical substances and components are additionally higher for them!
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