The Garlic Experiment

I recently had the pleasure of meeting Kimberly Parry, the founder of Kimberly Parry Organics, a USDA-certified line of natural skincare products. Over a cup of tea, she shared with me how she’s made it her mission to educate consumers about the harmful chemicals we’re unknowingly slathering on our skin.
 
Like most women, I have my standard beauty regimen and favorite brands. Although I know to examine the labels on the products I purchase, I admit they include a few ingredients that I can’t pronounce yet choose to ignore. It was when I confessed this to Kimberly that she suggested I try a little experiment:
 
“Take a clove of garlic. Peel it, crush it, and put it between your first and second toes. Really jam it in there, and wait about 15 to 30 minutes,” she said.
 
When I returned home, I did exactly as she instructed and found that after exactly 18 minutes, I could taste the garlic in my mouth.
 
“The skin isn’t some barrier that nothing happens to,” Parry explained. “The garlic trick is a great way to show people that everything we put on our skin is absorbed by the body.”
 
So next time you’re shopping for skincare products, read the label carefully and think of crushed garlic between your toes. You probably don’t want to taste an ingredient you can’t pronounce, do you?