I grew
up in a rural community with a hippy mother who had a propensity for
minimalism. My teenager “beauty” routine consisted apple cider vinegar, a tube
of Tom’s toothpaste and a non-sudsy and scent-lacking body shampoo. Therefore,
promptly as I was producing my own income, I began buying up a mirage of products,
for whiter teeth, softer skin, to remove hair, make my nails and hair
grow faster and my stomach grow smaller.
Let’s
speed up here, in my mid 20s I began having intense nausea, every morning started started strong and dissipated, making the first few hours of every
morning hellish. It became a routine to beeline it to the toilet to dry
heave, the taste of toothpaste made it ten times worse, I couldn’t even say the
wood “food” till about 9am. Over the next six months, I mentioned these symptoms
to a doctor, gynecologist and dentist, and after pregnancy was of course the
first suggested and ruled out, the following suggestions were these: A physical
manifestation of anxiety, something in my diet was not working for me and not
drinking enough water. Kudos to all three who made no suggestion for popping
pills!
In the next
year that followed, I eliminated most all the processed food in my diet and adopted
my childhood vegetarian roots again, this time, pulling my husband along! I
devotedly drank upwards of a gallon or more of water a day. I committed myself
to exercising, even lost weight; anxiety I had in my shoulders melted off.
BUUT…The daily heave continued.
Age 32.
After doing some research regarding synthetic fragrances and phthalates
(endocrine disrupting chemicals) I made the hard decision to start eliminating
my lovely collection of scented body sprays and lotions as a last ditch effort
to get my stomach under control. I also chose to eliminate antiperspirant,
fabric softener, scented candles and air fresheners due to surprising number of
human and environmental toxicants in them as well. Synthetic fragrances are
considered to be in the category of a “trade secret” so U.S. product
manufacturers do not have to divulge them to the public. The problem with this
is that 95% of synthetic fragrances are derived from petrochemicals, many of
which are, or processed with known human toxicants that cause cancer, birth
defects and nervous, organ, endocrine and developmental disorders.
There’s
more! Beyond fragrance, there’s tons of other ingredients in much of what we
use on our skin and inhale on a daily basis that are pretty rough, just to name
a few…Resorcinol, shown to be toxic to the immune system and a possible
carcinogen found in aftershaves, lipstick and anti-acne products, Triclosan, a
biocide, antibacterial and preservative agent which has been restricted for use
in Canada and Japan as it is an endocrine system disruptor and potential organ
toxicant, Ethylene Oxide, a KNOWN human carcinogen that in low doses can cause
breast cancer and while it’s not used in cosmetics anymore, it is a commonly
found as a contaminate of PEGs, (polyethylene glycolysis) which are used in
everything from toothpaste to conditioner to food packaging.
Age 33,
I’ve come full circle, I have just a few trusty products on my bathroom sink again,
(thanks mom!) and the mysterious “morning” sickness is finally gone.
Wisdom
comes with experience and learning, I know had I not experienced the highly
uncomfortable and time-sucking problem that I did, I would still be running
around smelling like a Pina colada, and accumulating all sorts of strange and
potentially pretty harmful chemicals in my body, and having learned what I did,
I’m perfectly at peace with my less smelly world.
Now it’s YOUR turn, check your bathroom and
see how your products rate, maybe you’ll be shocked, maybe pleasantly surprised.
Here’s just one example from a super common brand name body wash.
Want to make your own? TONS of simple recipes for homemade beauty and bath products!
Wellness Mama is one of my favorite bloggers for a healthy and sustainable house, and she makes it look graceful and easy!
Marie makes some fierce red lipstick with nourishing and simple ingredients on her blog.
http://www.humblebeeandme.com/diy-red-rose-lipstick/
More Information and
Sources
Environmental Working Group’s website, Skin
Deep, the largest integrated (non-profit) database of its kind, matching ingredients
in more than 25,000 products against 50 definitive toxicity and regulatory
databases.
PEGs in Cosmetics
U.S Department of
Health & Human Services Household Product Database
A Guide to Safer
Personal Care Choices
Five
'Must-Knows' on the Dangers of Synthetic Fragrance
U.S EPA
Toxicology Site - Ethylene
U.S. CDC
Fact Sheet – Phthalates
State of
Evidence of Ethylene Oxide
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