Many times as consumers, we are unaware of the dangerous toxins and chemicals that are placed in our everyday products. Products we are often aware to have toxins in them include various cleaning products, but did you ever think that some of the most harmful chemicals are your beauty products, laundry detergent, and dryer sheets? It may be hard to believe, but it is very true.
Our skin serves a very important role. It absorbs various medicines and other chemicals and also excretes toxins that are contained in our bodies. If medication can be absorbed through our skin, so can the harmful chemicals contained in our beauty products. Think of it this way, if it is too dangerous to put in your mouth, why would you put it on your skin to be absorbed into your blood stream? It just doesn’t make sense.
So here’s common logic: Well, the FDA approved it, so it has to be ok. Not true. The FDA has approved many things that are harmful to you. Why? First of all companies are in charge of doing tests on their own products, therefore, the research the FDA approves is done by the company that has a financial gain not to report correct findings. Now I don’t mean to sound like a conspiracy theorist, but to me this procedure seems sketchy. In addition, the FDA allows harmful chemicals to be put in products that we use daily as long as they are in a “safe” range. Think of all the toiletry products you use daily: shampoo, conditioner, deodorant, shaving cream, lotion, after-shave, toothpaste, perfume, etc. If all of these products contain harmful chemicals in “safe” amounts, the amount of these harmful products on your skin multiplies with each product you use. Although it may be “safe” in one product, it may not be “safe” after you use it in 8+ products. For me, personally, I would rather not have the harmful chemical in my product at all.
The good news: you don’t have to buy products that are harmful to you. This includes cleaning products and beauty products. We all know how harmful bleach is, but how often do we actually use gloves to clean with. I never did growing up and neither did anyone else in my family. Why do we even use products that require the use of protective equipment? Even with the use of gloves, you are still inhaling the chemicals. So again, why do we use things harmful to us? One reason is that we don’t realize how harmful it is. Another reason is that we don’t know about any other cleaning products. Well guess what? There are plenty of brands that you can buy at your favorite box store or grocery store. I have recently begun replacing all my cleaning products and beauty products with all-natural options.
Companies that produce these natural products include Seventh Generation, Burt’s Bees, Nature’s Gate, and so many others. Wal-Mart carries Seventh Generation cleaning products that have laundry detergent, dish soap, automatic dishwasher soap, multi-purpose cleaners, bathroom cleaners, and anything else you need to clean your home. I know Wal-Mart carries one or two other all-natural options for cleaning products, and you can find them in the aisle with the all-purpose cleaners.
As far as cleaning products go, Wal-Mart and target carry Burt’s Bees brand. Now I’ve used their chapstick for years and I never realized it was an all-natural product. I just used it because it worked the best. However, this company has so much more than chapstick. They have shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, acne treatments, soap, body wash, and all natural make-up. I am also pretty sure that you can find this brand at many other grocery stores.
For me, I buy all my natural products at Sprouts. Sprouts has over a dozen brands of beauty products along with many more supplements and cleaning supplies. The prices are also comparable to Wal-Mart. In fact, a Seventh Generation product that I bought was a dollar cheaper at Sprouts than at Wal-Mart.
So let’s talk anti-bacterial products. They kill 99.9% of germs! Great right? No. Antibiotics are causing bacteria to mutate and become resistant to antibiotics. Therefore, the more we use anti-bacterial products, the sooner we won’t be able to treat and kill bacteria. I understand that we are trying to protect our families by trying to kill these germs, but by doing this, we are actually hurting them in the long run. So what can we do? Seventh Generation has disinfecting wipes that also kill 99.9% of germs naturally without the use of anti-bacterial products! Seventh Generation uses botanicals to make all of their products making them non-toxic, safe, and all-natural. One thing many may not realize, is that soap in and of itself if sufficient for removing bacteria on our hands. The soap is simply too slippery for the bacteria to stick to our skin. Solution: scrub your hands for longer than a couple of seconds and use regular soap.
Here are a few items I have acquired over the past few months:
Seventh Generation laundry detergent and automatic dishwasher soap. The detergent is free & clear of all fragrances, which is great for my sensitive skin. Both products have worked great and I do not miss the toxic products.
Here I have Nature’s Gate Tea Tree shampoo and conditioner. After using these products my hair has never been healthier. Also seen is Nature’s Gate toothpaste without fluoride. Fluoride is a poison and although it strengthens your pearly whites, it is very damaging to your body. If you can’t do without fluoride, Nature’s Gate also has all natural toothpastes with fluoride in it. Next in the picture is the aforementioned Burt’s Bees chapstick. The final products shown in the picture is Lafes natural and organic deodorant stick without an antiperspirant. All of these products are fabulous and I would highly recommend them.
These two products are my most recent purchases. The large bottle is Nature’s Gate colloidal oatmeal lotion for dry, sensitive skin. It has no fragrances and truly relieves dry skin. Last but not least is my new shave cream. It is called Kiss My Face do what comes naturally and it is also fragrance free and super moisturizing.
I understand some of you may think I’m extreme, but I love my new products and they work just as well or better than the harmful products. Many of these items are pretty equally matched in price as well. My point in writing this blog is just to educate of the harmful chemicals in our everyday products. If you can only replace one item with an all-natural option, you have already greatly reduced the harmful chemicals put into your body. If that is all you can do, great! This blog was intended to help increase health one item at a time.
Hope all is well,
Megan
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