Detoxify Your Household And Reduce Anxiety

Shelby John Uncategorized

Why should you care about your beauty and household products? Because everything that you put on your body or clean with has the potential to affect your health both positively and negatively. We have spent the last two weeks discussing the importance of healthy movement regularly, as well as the importance of looking at our processes food intake.

 

In this post we will take a look at what products you have hiding under your kitchen/bathroom sink, laundry room, medicine cabinet and shower that could be harming you and how to make some easy changes.

 

Laundry

 

The easiest thing to start with would be your laundry room. Commercial laundry detergents are not required to show ingredients on their labels and surprisingly over 80% of them are never tested, and those that are, are tested by their own manufacturers.

 

The fragrances in the detergents are often created by the carcinogen formaldehyde which is known to cause skin irritations.  These fragrances have also been liked to causing asthma in children and even affecting reproductive health.

 

Optical brighteners, those components in the detergent used to make your clothes look brighter and whiter are really just another layer of harmful chemicals on the clothes.  They don’t actually clean your clothes to make them brighter they leave molecules on the fabric that reflect ultraviolet light and create the illusion that they are whiter.

 

These particular substances are known skin irritants and have been linked to causing greater photosensitivity of our skin. The actual part of the detergent that cleans our clothes is a petrochemical known as nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPE).

 

“While Canada and the European Union have banned NPEs, the United States continues their use. According to the Sierra Club, the possible reason behind the continued use is that the Alkyphenol Ethoxylates Research Council (APERC) represents the manufacturers of this harmful petrochemical” (SmartKlean).

 

NPE’s are also known as endocrine disrupters.  In other words, they mess with our hormones.  And anything that changes our hormones or causes hormonal imbalances can severely affect not only our health, but fetal development.

 

Lucky for us, there are now a few brands in the mainstream market you can buy that are nontoxic, and safe to use, for example:

  • Honest Company
  • Seventh Generation
  • Bronners
  • Method

 

You can also create your own laundry detergent at home, which is what I do. It’s fairly easy and actually saves me quite a bit of money. What’s better than that? Non-toxic, DIY opportunity, and cost effective- Yes! You can find all sorts of recipes on the internet and you can also add essential oils for various fragrances. Here’s one that I found for you to check out on Small Footprint Family’s website.

 

Cleaning Products

 

Now lets dig through your cleaning products under your sink… I’m sure we’ve all experienced cleaning out something really dirty and the fumes are so bad you have to crack the windows to get some air and not get light headed or a headache. There are cleaning products that clean just as well that don’t have the toxic chemicals that are hazardous to your health.

 

A few of the above-mentioned companies also have some really great cleaning products. Method has your standard cleaning products like an All-Purpose, Hardwood Floor, Wood, Glass, Steel, and Tub and Tile Cleaners.

 

You can also use essential oil products to create your own home cleaners.  The Thieves concentrate is super powerful, smells good and leaves windows streak free.  You simple use one capful of the concentrate in a spray bottle with the rest water and you are good to go.  We use that all the time in our house and love it.

 

And I recently discovered that you can make your own cleaning wipes using essential oils! Check out this link for the recipe and instructions.  Super easy and you can feel even better about your kids using them.

 

Beauty Products

 

This is especially important for those of us who live in the United States because our beauty products allow more than 1300 ingredients that have been banned by the E.U. but are still being allowed here in the states. That’s pretty scary when you think about it.

 

If an ingredient is banned in another country, this should be something that is done world-wide. Why it’s not, I have no idea!

 

Take the time to check your makeup and other items like lotions and shampoos to make sure you don’t have the following ingredients: Parabens, Alcohol, Formaldehyde, Sulfates, and Phthalates. To read more about how these can effect your health, check out this article by Byrdie.

 

So what are some brands that you can trust don’t have toxic chemicals in them? A few options are Lily Lolo, Suntegrity, W3LL People, and RMS. Hope this helps point you in the right direction!  There are also essential oil options and homemade recipes for many of these items.  Check out my pinterest page for more ideas.

 

Lotions & Creams

 

There are many people that LOVE the fragrances that Bath & Body works has, and there are times when I do as well (I love their aromatherapy line).  But there have also been times when I have been in there for a few minutes and I can feel a headache coming. The amount of toxic chemicals they put in literally everything they have is astounding.

 

BHA & BHT are things that are added to many of their products to lengthen the shelf life. Both of those have been linked back to cancer and mess with your hormone levels.

 

I would instead recommend checking out Andalou Naturals, Nurture My Body, and All Good which all have non-toxic lotions available. Some products are unscented, and others have certain fragrances, but are milder than most. Do your research and find the best natural products you can for your body.

 

My Routine

 

We’ve already talked about the DIY laundry detergent that I use at home. I also use essential oils to create an AMAZING moisturizing cleanser that also keeps my skin soft and youthful. I mix some essential oils with almond and castor oil, it’s called Oil Face Washing.  I love it so much and I can’t ever imagine going back to commercial cleansers.  I will be creating a video soon with instructions! Definitely a staple in my routine!

 

Hope this gives you some motivation to de-toxify your home and create a healthier environment. Drop a comment below if you have any all-natural non-toxic products that you absolutely love! I always like trying something new. Talk to you all very soon! Take care.

 

Shelby