Hello and welcome back! We’ve talked food, we’ve talked water, and now we’re going to switch gears a little bit today – away from food and on to personal care products! I’m talking shampoo and conditioner, soap, body wash, facial products, toothpaste, mouthwash, deodorant, lotions and creams… and yes, sanitary products too (you know, pads, tampons, and all that jazz). Lotions and potions and creams, oh my!
I’ll tell you a little story… as I was on my journey to healing and creating a more healthful life, one of the assignments I had in school was an evaluation of ALL products in our home, cataloguing EVERY ingredient listed. It was definitely not the most exciting project, but MAN was it eye opening! Can you believe I found propane in my hubby’s body spray?!? Needless to say, he doesn’t use it anymore…
Sadly, our personal care products are not made with our best interests in mind. Some of the nasty stuff you’ll find listed in them include:
Paraben preservatives – these can result in hormone disruption, specifically having an estrogenic effect (i.e. mimic our body’s own estrogen, but have a greater action). Parabens can be found in conditioners, hair styling gels, nail creams, foundations, concealers, mascara, facial masks, skin creams, deodorants, sunscreen and hair colouring
Fragrance – synthetic fragrance is probably the most common ingredient found in personal care products. “Fragrance” on a label can indicate the presence of up to 4000 separate ingredients, most or all of which are synthetic. Scary fact: the US Environmental Protection Agency found that 100% of perfumes contain toluene, which can cause liver, kidney, and brain damage, as well as damage to a developing fetus
Aluminum – used in antiperspirants and many regular deodorants. Closes pores to reduce perspiration – BUT WAIT! Sweating is one of our channels for detox, a necessary and crucial body function! Scary fact: higher levels of aluminum are found in the brains of Alzheimer’s patients. It can also interfere with the blood brain barrier.
Sodium Lauryl Sulfate – used as a detergent, foaming agent and for viscosity building in personal care products (shampoos, soaps, body washes, etc.). Often contaminated with ethylene oxide which is a known carcinogen (i.e. cancer promoter), harms the nervous system and possible developmental toxicant. It is a skin, eye and respiratory tract irritant.
This is just the tip of the iceberg! It gave me the chills when I went through every. single. product. in our home and did the research on the damaging effects of each ingredient. A statistic that I’ve read countless times and heard in school is that women, in particular, absorb 160 different chemicals before leaving the house in the morning. What the what?!? What are we doing to ourselves, ladies? So I gradually started making changes. I started with personal care products – toothpaste and mouthwash. Facial products, including face wash and moisturizer. I make my own soap and body wash as well as lotion. I’ve also switched my cosmetics to cleaner versions that meet the EWG’s top rated product criteria. As I’ve said repeatedly through these posts, this was a gradual process! I didn’t overhaul our entire house overnight – I started with one or two things and as my products ran out, I made the switch. Here are some products that I use and recommend:
· Deodorant – The Green Beaver Co. (I like wild rose). I tried making my own, but couldn’t find a combination that worked for me (and I didn’t particularly like applying deodorant with my fingers!) I also tried a couple other natural deodorants, but I didn’t like them.
· Shampoo – Morocco Method and Carina Organics are great ones. I’m using Nature Clean right now (unscented, for sensitive skin types) which is rated high by EWG. I did the whole “no ‘poo” thing (you know, using just baking soda as shampoo) but it SO didn’t work for me!
· Conditioner – I just use apple cider vinegar diluted in water. Who needs more synthetic ingredients?! And no I don’t smell like vinegar – it washes out and the smell evaporates.
· Body wash and soap – liquid castile soap (diluted in water) – Dr. Bronner’s is hands-down THE best!
· Shaving cream – also liquid castile soap!
· Make-up – currently using mineral fusion. 100% Pure is on my wish list and I’ve heard amazing things about it as well
· Toothpaste – I make my own with coconut oil and baking soda. Earth Paste is a great brand if you don’t want to make your own.
· Mouthwash – I make my own with water, baking soda, and peppermint and tea tree essential oils.
· Facewash – I use Moroccan Rhassoul Clay. It comes powdered and I simply mix with water. Bonus – it lightly exfoliates and adds minerals back to your skin!
· Moisturizer – Argan oil (by NOW)
· Body and hand lotion – I use the wellnessmama recipe which you can find here. Tip: double everything, but halve the beeswax. You’ll get a more spreadable lotion that way.
Oh and ladies, your conventional personal hygiene products (i.e. your tampons and pads) are laced with pesticides, perfumes and synthetic fabrics. Also, these products are bleached with chlorine which produces a chemical bi-product, dioxin. Unless stated to be cotton, these products are made of rayon – a synthetic fabric often made from wood pulp! Even conventional cotton products are most often GMO – meaning they contain pesticides and dioxin as well. These products are endocrine disrupting – leading to estrogen dominance and its related conditions (PMS, endometriosis, uterine fibroids, cysts, etc.). Please buy organic, or better yet, use a Diva Cup! Check out skin deep on the EWG website at this link to check out the deets on your specific personal care products.
Alright, that’s it for today! Tons of information here – and hopefully, some ideas on how to “clean-up” your bathroom cabinet 😊 Tomorrow, I’m going to talk about the hazards of home cleaning products. This is the home stretch everyone!
Until next time!
Yours in balanced health,
Stephanie