What's in that Product? | Think Dirty Shop Clean |Motherhood Unplugged

Lately, there has been an influx in posts regarding consumer products and their ingredients. A mom influencer with lots of followers on Insta wrote that she recently discovered some of the haircare + beauty products she endorsed + used on her family contained some questionable and dangerous chemical ingredients. Her posts immediately made me think about the time I hosted an event at my house. This was at least 7 years ago, gosh I'm getting old lol.

I asked my esthetician from Natural Body Spa to come to my house and speak to my friends and I about skin care products. She told us about the Eminence line carried at her spa, which I love by the way, as well as the CPID. The Consumer Products Information Database is a website where you can look up most consumer products before you purchase so you know just what you're getting as far as safety is concerned. You can search by ingredients, product type, by brand name and even research recalls.

Her post sparked a lot of support from her audience in that they either were appalled that companies would sell harmful products or applauding her for 'exposing' this not so secret phenom in the beauty industry. She also posted a long list of harmful ingredients including ones like hydroquinone (lightening agent) + formaldehyde for people to watch out for as well. The @thinkdirty app was also mentioned. Think Dirty empowers the conscious consumer who only wants to purchase products made with high ethical standards.

After hosting that beauty info soiree at my house several years ago and seeing this frenzy on Insta this week, it never dawned on me that in 2018 the masses were still not aware of the unethical standards practiced by many companies. Secondly, that influencers were unknowingly promoting products they had not done due diligence on. I just read, the Influencer, a book on social media marketing and recall her mentioning contracts and legalise several times. I guess I assumed that once you were a so called 'big influencer' doing campaigns with large brands that the Marketing 101 just came as second nature. I can't tell you how many times I've seen a sponsored post on Instagram that ended with the phrase 'Please engage because we have the keep the lights on over here.' (insert smiley emjoi)

I totally get why an influencer with a need for cash would use their leverage and platform to promote a product although they do not use it nor would recommend it to a close relative. Think all the ladies promoting those 'fit teas' for example. As Biggie famously said, "It's all about the Benjamins baby!" I'm all for securing the bag but please for the sake of our humanity let's have some integrity regarding the products we choose to promote and not just have our eyes on that pot of gold at the end of the rainbow.

As a mother, consumer and aspiring travel + motherhood influencer I promise to always conduct my business with integrity + use a moral compass; especially when it comes to marketing products. As an adult, I also take onus on which products I choose to purchase for my family. After all, it is my responsibility at the end of the day as the sole decision maker to decide what we eat, wear and put on our skin. I wouldn't leave it in the hands of xyz influencer to have done their due diligence and then blame them if ish hits the fan. As a matter of fact, are the influencers even liable for this if so or is the fault solely on the brand? When it comes to the products I write about here they all have been tested and are 'motherhood unplugged' approved. Pictured above is Aztec Bentonite clay. I put that ish on everything!

How do you feel about influencer advertisement? Do you entrust them to have already done the research and are therefore not selling you something that could be harmful to you or your family?

Let me know, I'd love to hear your thoughts.

#motherhood