Nov. 29--Now we're really getting personal.

This installment of FYI's Greener Living series is focused on your private place -- the bathroom.

That's generally where you use all that soap, body wash, shampoo and lotion.

And deodorant, perfume, shaving cream, lip balm, lipstick, mascara, eye shadow, hair gel, mousse, hairspray, anti-aging serum ...

It all gets applied to your body, including all the chemicals within.

Diane MacEachern, author of Big Green Purse, suggests a fun little exercise: Gather all those products in one place and take a count. You won't be alone if the number hits 12 or 15.

"People are amazed," she said. "Someone has convinced us we need to use all these products every day."

Eco-groups and environmental researchers have raised alarms about the cumulative health effects of many of the compounds found in personal-care products. While many industry experts say the products are safe, some scientists and others outside the industry disagree.

The health questions boil down to two. What happens to the body after the skin absorbs certain compounds day after day, year after year? What happens to the environment as chemicals from these products are washed down the drain?

Leslie Stullken of Fairway had an "aha" moment about two years ago. As a food coach, she helps people prepare meals with local, seasonal and organic food.

She often tells them that "what you eat becomes a chemical message to your body." In other words, if it's not a nutrient, it might be a toxin.

"I realized, so what am I doing to my skin?" she said.

Stullken performed her own product count and quickly tallied a dozen items she uses every day. As her existing supplies were depleted, she began switching to products with natural ingredients. The Zum brand from local maker Indigo Wild is among her favorites.

"I can pronounce the ingredients," Stullken said. "I feel safe and clean. And it's the sense that I don't have to worry about what's in this stuff."

For Laurie Hughes of Kansas City, a painful skin condition called "inverse psoriasis" prompted her to question the body products she used.

Hughes underwent a series of steroid treatments to control the psoriasis. Then she began researching manufacturers of natural products. She even attended National Psoriasis Foundation conferences.

Besides avoiding preservatives and other chemicals in personal care products, she has also cut back. Doing her makeup now means mascara and lipstick. That's all.

"I think it just looks fine, unless someone tells me different," Hughes said. "And the thing you find out after a while is how much better you feel overall."

In her book, published this year, MacEachern says women spend 85 cents of every dollar in the marketplace and are predisposed to protect the environment and health. That puts them in a strong position to force the greening of products, she argues. And in the personal-care category, they're the target audience.

"The way we spend our money is our first line of defense," she said. "American women have more economic clout than the GDP of China. It's huge."

Emily Main of National Geographic's Green Guide said many consumers aren't aware that the Food and Drug Administration doesn't review the safety of cosmetics and other skin and beauty products. And that many chemicals restricted or prohibited by the European Union aren't restricted in the United States.

A group called the Cosmetic Ingredient Review panel ( www.cir-safety.org) evaluates safety, but critics point out that it's funded by the personal-care product industry.

Even so, Main said, consumers seem to be more concerned about broader health effects -- that leftover chemicals from soaps, cosmetics and other products are sullying the environment and threatening wildlife and the water supplies.

"I think that's where people really start to pay attention," she said.

So how to assess the risk to us and to the environment? The answer may depend on your outlook.