Following on from my previous article, after experiencing a profound health scare, I was on a mission to make my environment as toxic free as possible. Researching, I discovered that the average women is exposed to as many as 515 toxic chemicals in her skin care and make up alone! While those small amounts may not seem significant, try adding that up to use day in and day out, 365 days a year and how that would burden a body over time. It was clearly time to get serious.
Personal care products seemed like the obvious place to start cleaning things up. So off I went.
Skin care/Make up/Hair care
On a quest to find not just toxic free, but EFFECTIVE skin care and make up, I experimented with several ranges. Most were disappointing. No wonder women have been forced to use the more toxic brands! From cleansers that didn’t clean effectively and left behind an oily residue instead, to foundations which were as thick as paint.
And then I was introduced to Beautycounter!
Beautycounter’s mission is to provide women with skin care and make up that does not compromise quality but excludes ingredients that might be toxic. In fact, they provide a ‘never list’ of ingredients that have been proven to be harmful in typical skin care products, and will never be found in theirs.
I was sold firstly on their ‘dew tint moisturizer’. Being a triathlete, I didn’t want to look washed out during or after workouts if I needed to run an errand immediately after. I also needed a moisturizer that included a ‘clean’ sunscreen. This product promised both. The product worked and I looked sun kissed and ‘glowing’ instead.
Next, I moved onto their hair products, I use the volume shampoo and conditioner and the volume mist. I LOVE them. My next favorite is the overnight resurfacing serum. It works the same way a peel does but not as aggressively. I could see a visible difference in a week. I have since progressed onto using their facial oils (number 1 is my favorite! It brightens your complexion like no other!) and the make up is just as beautiful. I was so sold, I signed up to become a consultant because I’m so passionate about women living as toxic free as possible. Find my website here: https://beautycounter.com/michelledinsdale
Antiperspirants/Deodorants
I never paid attention to how liberally I’d spray commercial deodorants into my armpits. And then I researched the ingredients and the anatomy of an armpit and have vowed never to use those again.
Your armpits are closely linked to your breast tissue. It makes sense that anything that is absorbed in your armpits will have an effect on delicate breast tissue. Now I know the researchers poo poo this notion, but I urge you to firstly, acknowledge that most articles are mostly written by researchers who are paid to endorse a product, and secondly to research the anatomy of your armpit. I don’t know about you, but I don’t want toxic ingredients like aluminium to be lurking and absorbed into and around places it shouldn’t – especially near delicate girl parts (but men, this applies to your armpits too! Although rare, men do suffer breast cancer too.)
There are a wide variety of natural deodorants and antiperspirants out there. Sadly, most need to be reapplied several times a day, but, doTerra have just launched one which is the best I’ve used by FAR! Accessing ingredients like their balance essential oil and baking soda, it does not leave unsightly white marks or an oily film like residue, and is not ‘cakey’ like some of the other natural ones I’ve tried.
It’s passed the rigorous test of a hard sweaty workout and I still didn’t have BO at the end. So there it is.
Other good options include primal pit paste, and crystal essence.
Toothpaste
There is an article coming up for next time about fluoride and how it is a ‘halide. In a nutshell, Halide’s mimic iodine in the body, and bind to it’s receptors. These receptors effectively then block the uptake of iodine, causing a deficiency (we are all already so deficient in iodine since it’s almost non existent in our diets) – which can lead to hypothyroidism and also thyroid, ovarian and breast cysts and eventually benign breast disease and fibrocystic breast disease which have been known to be precursors to breast cancer.
It makes sense to limit your exposure to fluoride! We ingest way too much of it in the way of water and toothpaste.
Tom’s make a good fluoride free toothpaste.
Tampons (Yup, it needs to be addressed)
So, as teenagers, we’re introduced to tampons. (Thank you God, I love the fact that I can use them SO much!!)
And I never gave them another thought. But did you know we’re inserting tampons into ourselves that are doused in chlorine and dioxin? And our vagina’s are ABSORBING that? Yes! Toxic chlorine and it’s by product dioxin? For days every.single.month? That was a sobering thought especially when I researched the effects of chlorine. Read more about it here:
https://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/The_Dangers_of_Tampons_Chlorine_Bleaching_and_Dioxin.html
Time to switch to organic chlorine free tampons! And time to get your menstruating daughters on them too!
Here are a few good ones!
-Natracare
-Cora
-Maxim
-Puristics
-Organyc
-Emerita
-TOTM
All are available on Amazon! You’ll find a good range at Sprouts and Whole Foods and health care stores too!
Perfume or Scent
I loved my perfume. For years I’d spray it liberally over my chest and arms. I loved that people would comment on how beautiful I smelled!
‘According to the Environmental Working group, the average fragrance contains about 14 secret chemicals that are not listed on the label, many of which are linked to hormone disruptions and allergic reactions, as well as about 80 % of them not being tested for human safety in personal care products’ – Article cited by nontoxicrevolution.com
Sobering, right? Anything with the word ‘fragrance’ or ‘parfum’ is toxic. Avoid it like the plague. Especially if you’re exposing your skin to it or scenting your house and office in fake scents like those in plug-ins and bathroom sprays. This includes perfumed body lotions too. Use your fragrance on your clothes if you must, but not your skin.
Two perfume companies which have risen to oppose the toxic effects of perfume and are all round excellent quality, are PHLUR (www.phlur.com) and SKYLAR (www.skylar.com) I have used both. Both have impressed and last all day long!
Part Two is coming soon!