Healthy Body Care #2: Learn Label Lingo

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Christopher Gavigan is Chief Executive Officer of Healthy Child Healthy World. For more than a decade, he has dedicated himself to improving the lives of children and families. He holds degrees in environmental science and geography from the University of California, Santa Barbara, and has extensive graduate training in child psychology and education.

Natural, Hypoallergenic, Herbal, Organic,they all sound like exactly what any parent would want to apply to their child's delicate skin, but while these terms are tempting product descriptions, don't judge the book by its cover. Currently, there is only one clear-cut hallmark of safety and that is the USDA Certified Organic seal. This seal is the only one that has defined standards and is actually regulated.

Unfortunately, there aren't a lot of Certified Organic body care products available and those that are cost much more than most families can afford. You can still make safer choices, but you have to be a savvy consumer. Use these two label decoding tips to help you find the safest products:

1. Read the actual ingredients list. Even though marketing claims are largely unregulated, manufacturers are required to list the actual ingredients of products in order of volume. Still, reading product ingredients is like reading another language. Here are the top toxic ten to try to avoid and why:

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September 30, 2008
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