‘Natural personal care’ was something I used to just turn a blind eye to. ‘If I’m eating well, it shouldn’t matter,’ I thought. Plus, the products I had tried occasionally simply didn’t work and cost a fortune.
Then something interesting happened a couple of years ago. I was visiting a friend in Florida, and she gave me this vitamin ‘patch’ to try. Intrigued, of course I tried it. It was literally like a cigarette patch, but had high doses of the B vitamins and vitamin C (and obviously no nicotine haha).
Within about 45 minutes of having this patch on, my pee had turned the florescent colour that it does the same way when you’ve taken the actual B complex pills (this is normal!). What was shocking to me was how quickly my body had absorbed all of this just through a small patch on my skin – I hadn’t ‘swallowed’ anything!
That was a huge eye opener for me in terms of just how much you put on your skin ends up right inside you. From that point onwards, I was pretty aware of what I put on my skin, and now make a huge effort to use chemical free, natural products, when possible.
Why should you care?
Chemicals found in many personal care products are classified as ‘endocrine disruptors’, which in layman’s terms mean they can throw your hormones out of balance. Primarily, they can increase your estrogen levels, and in this day and age, that is not what we need as excess estrogen is linked to annoying periods (pain, heavy bleeding), cysts, fibroids, weight gain and more! Some of these chemicals have also been linked to breast cancer and infertility, to name a few.
What items should you watch out for on the ingredient list?
The list is long, so I suggest you use the resources from EWG (Environmental Working Group), or download the app Think Dirty. Here are a few to watch out for though, taken from David Suzuki’s website:
I have tried my fair share of personal care products that have NOT worked, so hopefully I can provide you with some ones that I’ve had huge success with. In the last few years tons and tons of good quality products have come out on the market! I will preface that these are more expensive, but to me, it’s a worthwhile investment.
This is the only conditioner I’ve ever used that I really like, and I tend to need a thicker, or more moisturizing one.
I’ve used this one for a long time and really like it. It’s one of the more reasonably priced natural products, and does the trick. 🙂
I use both a regular face wash and an exfoliant from here. This store is Toronto based, but ships Canada wide!
I’ve just started using this one as I got some from Goodness Me Natural Foods Market and I am really liking it. I’ve got the ‘lift and firm’ kind, because, you know, the big 3-0 is on its way!! hehe.
The Green Beaver mint toothpaste is great! Not to be confused with the Cilantro one which I one time bought when they were out of Mint. It was a less than pleasant experience, lol.
I don’t profess to be a makeup expert, so I wouldn’t take my advice in terms of these being the absolute BEST, but what I can say is they work and they work well. 🙂
This doesn’t technically count as personal care, but I’m pretty obsessed with Saje smells around the house, especially because I work from home. I love spraying my office with the Yoga Transition Mist, and have the Aroma Breeze Nebulizer in the living room.
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