Since elementary school, we’ve been told to use hand sanitizer to wipe off any germs that could be left on our hands, and from there, people have immersed themselves in the world of Purell. Little did we know that those sanitizers we have liberally been putting on our hands were actually toxic. It may get rid of 99.9% of germs, put with a product so strong, it is doing more than just that.
Companies such as Purell do not want to disclose their exact scents as a trade secret, and therefore, are allowed by the FDA to simply list “fragrance” among their ingredient list. This allows the company to slip in harmful ingredients under one word that appears innocent. “Fragrance” is generally synthetic and is loaded with toxic chemicals, containing phthalates, which are endocrine disruptors (could alter genital development). Also, many hand sanitizing brands have parabens. Our skin is semipermeable, so all the toxicity of the sanitizer we use every day is getting into our bloodstream – something we don’t want.
