Helping Young Women Avoid This Dangerous Trap

It's no secret that our society and the media have established and continue to promote an idyllic, almost impossible, standard of beauty that women consistently judge themselves against and are always aspiring to achieve. With the advent of readily available cosmetic surgery and treatments, this quest has reached a new fever pitch.

7 billion dollars a year on products used in the pursuit of beauty. And we've all seen or heard stories of women addicted to Botox or plastic surgery -some have had so many nips and tucks that their faces resemble cartoon characters and still they want more! The extent of this problem was documented in a 2008 report released by the YWCA called "Beauty At Any Cost". Clearly, young girls and teens are more vulnerable and susceptible to harm than ever before.

However, with a little guidance they can learn to make safer, healthier choices for themselves and set an example for their peers. What can you do to help the young girls and teens you know avoid falling into this trap, Most children are influenced by the behaviors and attitudes of their parents and caretakers. So it's up to you to set the bar for what's acceptable.

If you want your daughters, nieces, or younger sisters to adopt healthy habits then make sure you are doing the same. Take a look at your inventory of cosmetics and personal care products and eliminate those that contain ingredients that are known to be harmful. If you're not sure where to start, check the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetics Safety Database available online.

Their comprehensive database contains over 25,000 cosmetics and skin care products from both major companies and smaller ones you may not even know. The products have all been researched, catalogued, and ranked for safety concerns based on currently available data on toxicity of their ingredients. The database also provides lists of the Top 10 Worst and Best Products and Companies based on their ratings.

Show them how to use the database and make it clear that you will not fund the purchase of products that have been ranked with high safety concerns. Share your concerns with them about the safety of many beauty products on the market and how even small amounts of repeated exposure to certain ingredients can cause harm. Teach them how to read product labels and look for problem ingredients to avoid.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration requires ingredients to be listed in descending order of concentration. So ingredients listed at the top are the most prevalent and the ones to pay more attention to. Teens Turning Green (formerly Teens for Safe Cosmetics) has compiled a list of chemicals in personal care products to avoid called the Dirty Thirty. You can download it at their site.

Review the list together, then use it as a guide for reading labels and ruling out the products that contain them. There's nothing more powerful than kids and teens united and engaged in action to promote a worthy cause, and what could be a worthier cause than their health and safety, Encourage them to learn more about this issue and how they can get involved to make a difference.

Or take them to the local health food store for a shopping spree where you can review and compare the products together and make it a contest to see who picks the best ones first. Remember, just because a product is sold in a health food or natural product store, it doesn't mean that product is safe or natural.

It can be an excellent teaching moment to help them (and you) become a truly discerning shopper. Focus your efforts on helping them make the best possible choices and then reward them for it. Make sure that the rewards you give them are in line with what you are trying to teach them.