I've done some research on Parabens in products and what I discovered was parabens are most hazardous when they are in products that are designed to stay on the skin such as Face creams, Makeup, Body lotions, and Hair styling products. There is no other product that is of more concern than that of Deodorant.
(Parabens can mimic the hormone estrogen, which is known to play a role in the development of breast cancers and affects the secretion of testosterone and the function of the male reproductive system. British researchers have found traces of chemicals called parabens in tissue taken from women with breast cancer. Their tests suggested the chemicals had seeped into the tissue after being applied to the skin)
The reason deodorant is such a concern is that it is applied to the underarms where some of the most active follicles and sweat glands are. Plus, the underarms contain lymph nodes. The lymph nodes are a part of the lymphatic system, which is connected to the immune system. It is thought that there is a direct connection between parabens in deodorant and parabens found in cancerous tissues.
I’ve looked at many popular deodorant labels only to find that almost every single product contained at least one form of paraben where many had up to 5 different parabens.
But when reading the ingredients listed on almost every (stick formula) deodorant at the Dollar Store I did not find any parabens whatsoever. Not only did I not find any parabens, I noticed that the ingredient list was much shorter than the other brands. After purchasing a stick I found that it worked as well if not better than some of the big name brands.
This got me thinking about other personal care items that were offered at the Dollar Store.
I started comparing shampoos and conditioners, hairsprays, detanglers (my daughter needs it every day), styling products, shower gels, basic moisturizers, toothpaste and fragrance.
Although it’s a hit or miss situation to find the same products every time to visit the Dollar Store, I did find that many of the “copy cat” items contained the same or better ingredients as the more expensive brands.
I found salon quality shampoos, conditioners and hairsprays that were as good as Paul Mitchell and Sebastian products. I picked up a case of spray detangler (12 for $12.00) for my daughter that was safer and more effective than the $15.00 a bottle brand I was buying.
I found a big jar of
I think the best find was fragrance.
We’ve all seen them; “If you like Calvin Klein Obsession, You’ll Love……” Well, I did, and I do!
A while back I did a piece on this blog on how dangerous fragrances are. It talks about the numerous hazardous chemicals in brand name perfumes and fragrances and that by law the fragrance industry does not have to list the ingredients in their products. It is said that there are hundreds of ingredients that are used in fragrances that are known to be dangerous to humans.
I noticed a display at my local Dollar Store of various “copy cat” fragrances. One of them was my favorite, Obsession by Calvin Klein. I thought what the heck; it’s only a dollar, so I bought one.
I tried the fragrance and could not tell the difference so I decided to wear it to work one day. I work in the cosmetic department of a large department store chain. As I was working many of my coworkers commented on how nice the “obsession” smelled on me. I even had a couple of the fragrance sales people comment on how nice it was. I didn’t tell any of them it was a $1 copy cat.
The fact that it was a convincing copy cat was secondary to what else I discovered.
I noticed that the ingredient list had only 3 ingredients listed; Water, Alcohol and Fragrance.
I couldn’t believe what I was seeing so I called the company and asked them if all of the ingredients were in fact listed. What I was told was “yes, we list every ingredient….” The reason their fragrance was so inexpensive was precisely for that reason. The company that makes the copy cat fragrance does not use the expensive chemicals that are added to other fragrances to make them last longer on the body or evaporate quicker. I did notice that when you spray the copy cat fragrances on, they do not dry as quickly as the other expensive brands. But who cares? I’d rather have a fragrance that takes longer to dry than one that may potentially kill me.
My love for the Dollar Store hasn’t stopped with personal care and beauty products. I found that I can get cleaning products, detergents, hair clips (again my daughter goes through a lot), and other home needs for a lot less.
Granted, at the Dollar Store there aren’t as many choices available as the department store, and you have to visit regularly to see what’s available but what I did find is, there are some awesome and cheaper alternatives available for only a buck.
