There has been only one time in my life in which I have been unable to give up a romance peacefully. Much like Carry Bradshaw I have found myself acting in a way which was not to my benifit. We all had that ex boyfriend that we find hard to let go off… But what about products we know are bad for us?Much like that certain ex and my failure to really put the relationship behind me, I was very much unable to give up my Mascara. I had been using it every day for a period of two years and I was happy with it. All that changed when I became aware of what I was consuming. Suddenly my perfect match became a horror story! The product I am refering to is Neutrogena Clean Lash Tint, Black 01.In the beginning, I was looking for a mascara that could commit to never having lumps or weigh down on my eyes. It gave me all of that, plus a certification from my contact lense maker that stated “Safe for contact wearers and sensitive eyes. ACUVUE® Brand Contact Lenses Recommended”. Great; if my contact maker says its good, it must be good! And so, day to day I used that mascara, that unlike advertised does not come off with water.
When I became interested in what was inside the mascara, our romance had to end; the list was long. Thirteen out of twenty-five ingredients were marked as a Moderate Hazard in the EWG. Acrylates Copolymer, Bentonite, PVP, Phyantriol, Disodium EDTA, Silica, Phenoxyethanol, Methylparaben, Isobutylparaben, Butylparaben, Propylparaben, Ethylparaben and Iodopropynyl Butylcarbamate. All ingredients that could either potentially cause cancer, organ system toxicity, neurotoxicity and my personal favorite allergies/irritations and cellular level change. Everything you would want in something that is directly shoved right about your eye, sometimes actually getting into your eyes, right? But with all those terrible attributes, I found that my love to the mascara was hard to shake off. I could not find another mascara that the EWG approved of. Nothing was really natural and certainly not going to cause your system to collapse. Now, after two years, how can I just stop using mascara altogether? Just like that ex you still love; you know he’s bad for you and that you have no real future together, but it’s just hard thinking about just giving up.And so, for a whole two guilt filled weeks I used it. But all terrible things must come to end and we broke up. I never use mascara anymore. Waiting for the day in which that special product would once again come and lift my lashes… Because if you don’t give up on the things that hurt you and your body, you might live to regret them.I am sure everyone has that one product or one ex boyfriend. Lets all better our lives and start some good, new, loving habits!
