October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month

As many of you may already know, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As you may not know, breast cancer has had a significant role in my family. My great aunt survived it once and my grandmother survived it twice (30 years ago and again about 13-15 years ago). The more I blog, the more I learn about not only the quality of products, but I also learn about the quality of the ingredients in the products I am using. Some ingredients have been linked to various types of cancer, infertility, hair loss, and the list goes on. Pretty scary, isn't it?

In my time following the beauty community, I've also learned about some laws and regulations in the United States. Now, I'm far from an expert, so I'm really trying to highlight what I've learned through research in my own free time (and that will be happening over the course of a few posts). If I happen to leave any facts out (and I'm sure I will omit something important or even misunderstand something), please feel free to comment below or even tell me if there is something you want me to focus on in a future post.

As far as I know, all cosmetics in the United States (and when I say cosmetics I am including skin care and hair care items) are required to have a list of the ingredients in each product being sold. Here is a link to the FDA site on labeling and label claims: FDA. So what are some controversial ingredients?

• Sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate
• Parabens
• Petrolatum/mineral oil
• Phthalates

So, this might bring you to the question: "Wait, don't YOU use products with questionable ingredients?" and the answer is yes. Perhaps it is silly, but I feel that since I spent money on the products I have, I really should at least make the effort to use them. But that doesn't mean I'm not looking for more natural alternatives to things once I finish them up. Just thinking about how many ingredients are in every product I use is honestly scary

I realize I've gone a bit off topic of breast cancer, but breast cancer research is something I support to the best of my ability. If I am looking for a product (for example, Clarisonic Mia) and they have an option for a pink one with a percentage that goes toward breast cancer research, I tend to buy that over a different color. Ulta has a great list of ways you can donate: Ulta: Donate With a Kiss. Once I'm out of college and working full time I want to make legitimate contributions. How do you support different causes that are important to you?