Personal Care Products: Reducing Toxins
- Jennifer
- May 17, 2016
- 3 min read
One of the methods to reduce environmental toxins in your body is to be very careful about the personal care products you use on your body, on your teeth, and on your hair.
They have proven scientifically that very small amounts of toxins in such products are actually significantly worse for a person's health outcomes than a large dose of the same toxin.
If you have survived cancer, are having trouble conceiving or having a normal pregnancy, have hormonal issues or suffer from any immune disease such as asthma, or autoimmune disease such as arthritis or psoriasis, it behooves you to do everything in your power to reduce your environmental toxin load.
One of the ways you can do that is to address personal care and cleaning product toxicity in your home. One of my rules of thumb for personal care products is that they should have not much more than 5 ingredients on the ingredient list.
You need to educate yourself on common deleterious toxins found in such products, so that when you look on the ingredient list you know what to watch out for. You should look for products that are unscented, or if it has a little scent, the scent should come from natural sources, such as the essential oil of flowers and leaves.
The best is no added scent, but there are good products out there that have a little scent. Most of these products you will only find at a health food store. If you don't have one of those handy, you will need to order these products online. One of the best ways to order these products online is to get a case at a time. This reduces the amount spent on shipping.
However, I would recommend buying only one bottle when you first try a product, so that if you have any problem with a certain product you will not have bought a case of something you will not be able to use.
I recommend reducing the amount of botanicals in your skin care products, because you never know when you have an allergy or sensitivity to a certain botanical ingredient. An example is my allergy to aloe vera.
That is when your attention to the 5 ingredient rule becomes very important. That way you can narrow down the potential list of things you are reacting to. A potential reaction to a body care product can include acne, bloodshot eyes when you look in the mirror after your shower, itchy skin, red skin, dandruff, mucus production after brushing your teeth, and teary eyes. Any one of those reactions usually means an allergy or sensitivity to one or more of your body care products.
I will list my favorite body care products now, almost all of which I get at Alfalfa's or Vitamin Cottage: Natural Grocer. I will list where you are able to acquire these products online as well. Many of these products will be carried at Whole Foods or Sprouts, which are national chains.
Teeth:
Sonicare electric toothbrush (available at Costco)
Ipsab Tooth Powder: Natural Peppermint ( available at Alfalfa's, Vitamin Cottage: Natural Grocers, and Amazon)
Shampoo:
J.R. Liggett Shampoo Bar (available at Alfalfa's, Vitamin Cottage: Natural Grocers, and Amazon)
Earth Science Fragrance Free Shampoo (available at Alfalfa's, Vitamin Cottage: Natural Grocers, and Amazon)
I would recommend rotating between these two every bottle or bar of shampoo.
Conditioner:
I have hip-length, curly hair, so I use very powerful conditioners. I use conditioners on my hair from the neck down. I would not ever recommend putting conditioner on your hair next to your scalp. That is just asking for an allergy or sensitivity to develop.
Earth Science Olive and Avocado Deep Conditioning Hair Masque (available at Alfalfa's, Vitamin Cottage: Natural Grocers, and Amazon)
Fashionably Organic Frizz Fre GlitzShine Finisher (leave-in conditioner available from salons)
Face and Body Moisturizer:
Deodorant:
Lavilin Bio Balance Underarm Deodorant Cream - odor free up to 7 days. (available from Amazon)
Hair, Body, and Face Soap:
Green Mountain Bar Soap Original Formula (available from the Green Mountain Soap website)
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