SYNCPodcast_Sephora

Jenny Swisher: [00:00:00] Welcome friends to this [00:01:00] episode of The Sink Your Life podcast. Today we’re going on a rant. I’m sharing a little bit of my own perspective on the craze that’s going on right now with young Girls and Sephora, bath and Body Works, and other popular mall stores that promote things like skincare, makeup, and fragrances.

This is all in the realm of endocrine disruption. So if you’re wondering, what does this have to do with hormone health? Well, everything, it has everything to do with hormone health. In fact, it makes me so sad that so many moms and daughters are out frequenting these stores with seemingly no clue the health detriments that could result all because their kids wanna smell good and take part in this craze

so let’s start with this because at some point we all don’t know what we don’t know. I’m not here to say that I’m some authority on EDCs, or that I didn’t have my own learning curve with this myself. In fact, there are still some things that I realize are EDCs that I still choose to do even for myself.

For example, my family has swapped out all household care and body care products for third party tested EDC, free quality stuff. But I [00:02:00] still choose to keep my makeup for those one to two days a week that I wear it, and I do still occasionally highlight my hair. These are things I choose to do. I’m fully aware that they do involve EDCs.

But for me, it’s much like nutrition and as many people like to call the 80 20 rule, I have a similar rule for my EDCs. I’m not perfect. So please don’t interpret this podcast to sound that way. So let’s start with my own experience with this. My eight, almost 9-year-old daughter is what ultimately led me to wondering what the heck is going on here.

Since she was about seven, she has begged, I mean, begged to go to Sephora. Why? Because her friends talk about it. So last spring in Chicago, walking down Michigan Avenue, my husband and I let her walk through the store. We were instantly smacked in the face with the smell of a thousand perfumes. I remembered why I never go here, but my daughter walked in and was wowed.

It was everything her friends had told her. She even told me brands that she wanted to look at. Our conversation went a lot like this mom. They have [00:03:00] drunk elephant. What’s that? I asked skincare, why do you need skincare? You’re seven. Are you anti-aging? We met a sales clerk in that moment who said, I wouldn’t advise Drunk Elephant for your age.

I don’t let my daughter use it, and she’s 10. Instantly my mind was thinking, oh, we aren’t buying anything in here, but I didn’t say it out loud. Instead, we walked through the store and she pointed at brands that she’d heard about from her friends. I told her, we are never buying fragrances. She’s too young for makeup and skincare at age eight in this regard is ridiculous.

18 months later, just a few weeks ago, we went to the fashion mall here locally for A-W-N-B-A autograph signing because she’s also very into basketball and go figure. The store next to us was Sephora. My daughter begged to go in second time of her life, so we did. As we walked in, I commented on the smell and I said something like, no makeup, no fragrances, no skincare.

We walked through the store and a nice sales clerk struck up conversation. We talked [00:04:00] about hair products for my daughter’s big biracial curls. We made small talk and as I checked out with nothing but a tube of mascara, the clerk said, I only let my daughter shop off that section. Over there, she pointed.

It’s all of our non-toxic third party tested products. She pointed to a tiny end cap, probably less than a percent of the entire store. I found this interesting. We chatted about the future of skincare and how women are waking up to EDCs. And stores like Sephora are having to include this now in their stores, and so hope remains.

This trend toward awareness of the chemical exposure is starting to creep into the minds of consumers. It should, and here’s why. The average age of Monarch for young girls has shifted upwards to age 11 with some girls starting menses as soon as nine years old. This is largely due to the impacts of endocrine disruption.

I will link up a podcast that I did specifically for this in the show notes. But one important thing to note is that fragrances especially are largely to [00:05:00] blame, especially when it comes to this particular trend with young girls. So in other words, stay away from fragrances in other news. In a recent research study looking at the semen samples of 41 men, it was discovered that all 41 contained high levels of BPA plastics.

Not a single one of the men worked in an industrial environment. So again, I’ll link up a podcast specific to this in the show notes. If you wanna go deeper. Right now, if I search my zip code in an app called Pollen Wise to see the number one allergen in my environment, the number one allergen isn’t mold or ragweed or pollen.

It’s plastic particles. Yes, plastic particles. We are finding microplastics and fetuses. We are constantly exposed through the fabrics we wear the air we breathe, the furniture, we sit on the products we use, and it’s impacting fertility rates. With an estimated 48 million couples worldwide struggling with fertility, chronic.

Exposure to EDCs is considered a risk factor for obesity, insulin resistance, [00:06:00] and diabetes. This is according to the Institute for Functional Medicine. EDCs like BPA are being studied for their potential to disrupt egg cell formation, which could lead to issues with egg quality or chromosomes.

Early exposure to synthetic estrogen has been linked to reduced reproductive lifespans and infertility, potentially due to fewer or faster loss of egg follicles. High lifetime exposure to EDCs is associated with earlier menopause, with some studies showing women with the highest exposure experiencing menopause almost four years earlier.

Pesticide exposure has also been connected to disruptions in women’s reproductive cycles and fertility exposure to certain EDCs is associated with female infertility, a risk that may be increased by age and BMI, among those exposed to EDC metabolites. Sperm counts, like I said, in some regions have decreased significantly, and EDCs have been detected in breast milk, follicular fluid and urine, indicating widespread exposure.

My friends, when we left Sephora last week with my little black and white striped bag of mascara. [00:07:00] We came home and immediately my daughter asked if she could keep the black and white stripe paper bag. I asked her why and then figured it wasn’t worth the argument. She proceeded to put it on her desk in her bedroom, which is where it is now, simply because she wants her friends to see it when they’re over.

She wants to pretend that she’s been to Sephora for skincare when she plays and while she’s not yet into Bath and Body Works and scented soaps. I know it’s coming. At least her desire is coming because it’s what she sees other young girls doing. It’s crazy. I was in line for un witches at our local Jimmy John’s recently, and a group of pre-teens walked in carrying their bags from both stores.

I overheard them opening bottles and smelling each other’s products, and I wanted so badly to tell them all the things I’m telling you in this podcast. This is a phenomenon, a craze, and it’s hard. I get it to be the parent who says no, or who tries to educate and help their daughter make the right decisions.

But the thing is, there are things that we can do to be our best in educating. In my [00:08:00] house, I keep Hugh and Grace face serum and body oil on the vanity in my daughter’s bathroom. They’re encouraged to use it if they wanna pretend that they have a skincare routine or if they simply just want to use it.

By the way, the body oil is amazing for ashy elbows, and it can even dupe as a bug repellent that smells amazing. They love putting on their headbands and taking videos of themselves, applying the serums. I talk to my oldest all the time about the choices that we make and how while we can’t be perfect, we do need to be mindful of the things that go in on and around our bodies, and I get it.

Older daughters would be even harder to work with, especially because of the craze that’s happening and the feeling of going against the grain of their friends and popularity. It is a hard road, I really understand, but sometimes the hard road is worth it. When my kids were babies, we made the decision to be a dairy free family and to avoid dyes in our food.

It has meant saying no to things, including treats at birthday parties, and even sometimes offering alternatives in the school setting. But we do it. We do the hard [00:09:00] thing because we know that it matters to us. This may not matter to everyone, and that’s okay, but for those who don’t know or those who don’t know where to start and riding the ship if they wish, know that there are many things that we can do to get educated.

We can share the knowledge with our kids and we can simply make better choices. I will link up for you all the deeper dive podcasts in the show notes that I mentioned. But also, please know that earlier this summer I launched a Teen Girl Education course to my sync members, and coming in late August, I’ll be launching EDC 1 0 1 to be a sync member.

You get access to my full sync digital course education along with workout program and community. So if you haven’t joined yet, now is the time ’cause you’ll get access to all of these things as a member. I’ll link everything up for you in the show notes. I just hope that this podcast sheds some light on what’s really going on.

Sometimes when we know better, we can do better, and I believe we can. It starts with education and making small choices, simple swaps, realizing that we can’t be perfect and we shouldn’t expect our daughters to be either. [00:10:00] Perfect. No, but better. Yes, that’s the goal. Thanks so much for tuning in my friends.

I hope this helps. Until next time, we’ll talk soon.