So you’re eating right and choosing organic foods but what about all those products you slather all over yourself. Are those safe? Is it really a big deal?
WHY:
What you put on your body is just as important as what you put in it. Skin is your largest organ and what you put on it gets absorbed through your skin and into your bloodstream, for your liver to breakdown. The average woman puts 12 products on each day. 12 products from the U.S. cosmetics industry (that includes things like shampoo and baby soap) which is pretty unregulated. Wait, what? Isn’t the government or someone watching my back and keeping me safe? Nope. The FDA has very little say over what goes into these products and no authority to regulate, review, or ban products. In fact, known cancer causing chemicals make it into our products everyday and no one is stopping it.
WHAT:
The fact is, America has only banned or restricted 11 chemicals from personal care products while Europe has banned over 1,300. These are known irritants, cancer causers, hormone disrupters, etc. and in case you are thinking that not much is getting into your system, take a look at this study which found up to 232 known toxic chemicals in the umbilical cord blood of newborns. The chemicals definitely make their way into your body and if you’re pregnant, please know that the chemicals in the lotion you’re applying are making their way to your growing baby- disrupting their hormones and causing their tiny liver to work overtime to fend off those carcinogens.
Are you panicking right now? I know I did when I first came across all of this!
HOW:
So how do you make the change? It can seem completely overwhelming at first, but take a breath. Resist the urge to throw everything out at once (except kid stuff, please change that over ASAP!). The good news is that there are so many wonderful options for green products! I mean stuff that will rock your world and make you wonder why you hadn’t tried it sooner. The thing is, I want you to truly LOVE the new, organic versions of your products and that’s not going to happen if you just rush out to the store and buy up all the natural products you can find. Just like it took you a while to find your favorite shampoo or face cream, you may have to hunt and research to find your new favorites.
A good rule of thumb is to start big- think lotions, body washes, things that cover that most square footage- and also, to go one by one as you run out of products. I still have a few things that I rarely use that are not “clean”. Things like dark lipstick or perfume I only dust off for a fancy night out. Truthfully, I think it’s ok to have a few dirty products around that you only use occasionally, but I’m loving so many of the natural products out there that even those few last holdouts have gotten fewer and fewer.
WHERE:
Check out my previous posts on resources for getting started here and here.
Looking for some good suppliers for your new addiction? Two of my favorites are Beauteabar.com and integritybotanicals.com, which both have great customer service and provide generous samples, which is key to finding even more product replacements that you love!
If there is a particular product you are worried about finding a new replacement of or if you are indeed panicking :), please feel free to email me or leave a comment and I will be happy to point you in the right direction!
