Why It’s Important to Consider the Quality of Your Personal Care Products

Why It’s Important to Consider the Quality of Your Personal Care Products

In my last newsletter, I shared a portion of the available information from one of my favorite resources, The Environmental Working Group. If you missed that post, you can find it here.

After finding the Dirty Dozen and Clean Fifteen lists that they collate each year, I started purchasing much more organic produce, which eventually led to purchasing 100% organic produce. I rarely stray from this commitment.

The next step I took with EWG was to use their Skin Deep Database. Here in the US, the personal care product industry is “industry regulated”. My translation = ZERO regulation.

Personal care product manufacturers are not required to test their ingredients for safety or any potential increase in toxicity when individual ingredients interact with each other. They don’t even have to list all their ingredients on product labels! So even a master chemist, with a full understanding of all the listed ingredients, could easily be fooled into purchasing something less than optimal due to this option of omission.

Another aspect that really upsets me is that many companies in other parts of the world have to adhere to stricter standards than here in the US. So they know how to make better quality products but often choose not to when it’s not required. Why? It costs more to make better quality products, which means companies make more money when they use cheaper, lower quality ingredients.

Why should you care? After all, millions of Americans use numerous personal care products every day and “seem fine”.

However, anything you put on your skin gets absorbed into your body. Toxins contribute to a whole host of potential health problems, including cancer. Exposing yourself to toxins can slowly decrease your body’s ability to properly detoxify. Toxins build up over time, little by little, weakening your vital functions and slowly creating health conditions that can take years to fully manifest. Feeling fine today is not a good measure of whether or not something is safe to use.

I changed all of my personal care products many years ago. It was quite a revelation to realize what I was exposing myself to on a daily basis. I dug into the EWG Skin Deep Database and transitioned all of my products one by one, as my less than ideal products started to run low.

There was definitely some trial and error to this process, to find products that worked well for my unique skin and hair, etc.

Hair care products have been my biggest challenge. My curly hair is very prone to dryness and frizz, and many products strip my hair and make it completely unmanageable. I need lots of conditioner but it can’t be too heavy.

Deodorant is another category that appears to be highly individualized. What works well for one person may be completely ineffective for another.

The first step I encourage you to take is to make a full inventory of what you have on hand. Look up all your products on the Skin Deep Database and note which ones you’re using that rate well and which are loaded with toxins. If you can’t find your specific product listed in the database, you can plug in the individual ingredients and get a sense of the potential toxicity of the product.

Don’t forget to consider what your hair stylist, aesthetician or any other professionals use on you! (Hair color often contains a lot of risky chemicals, one of the many reasons I allowed my hair to transition to natural gray).

Use the database to view healthier alternatives and begin replacing all of your personal care products (haircare, lotions, makeup, deodorant, toothpaste, etc.) with the cleanest possible options.

Their online database is user friendly and they have an app that you can download to your phone. It has a bar code scanner so you can even scan products right at the store. If they’re in the database, the product will pop right up on your screen and you’ll know quickly and easily whether or not it’s well rated and worth your consideration.

You may have to change where you shop, but worth your efforts to do so! I purchase many of the products I use online.

What EWG has undertaken with this database is an enormous task. There are gaps in the information presented, which is indicated within their ratings. But it is still an excellent tool for evaluating and finding non-toxic options in personal care products.

Creating true health requires effort and a deep look into all aspects of your life. Don’t underestimate the importance of choosing high quality personal care products.

You may also like…

An Easy Resource to Help You Reduce Chemicals When Buying Fruits & Veggies

Quick & Easy Steps towards the Best Version of You!

Tips & Tricks for Tackling Dry Winter Skin & Indoor Air

An Easy Resource to Help You Reduce Chemicals When Buying Fruits & Veggies

An Easy Resource to Help You Reduce Chemicals When Buying Fruits & Veggies

Many years ago, I was introduced to the work of the Environmental Working Group. Their mission is “to empower people to live healthier lives in a healthier environment.”1 They have been a tremendous resource for me and provide a lot of information and databases that I rely on.

The Dirty Dozen list was their first resource I learned about. Every year EWG compiles results from testing that is primarily performed by the USDA. They use this data to provide an easy to use list for consumers to see which conventionally grown produce items contain the highest amounts of tested pesticide residues.

They also publish a list called The Clean Fifteen to showcase which produce options contain the least pesticide residues. The Dirty Dozen and The Clean Fifteen guides are short lists that are available for download in pocket sized forms on their website.

If you are just starting to improve what you eat and/or have a limited budget, purchasing organic only from The Dirty Dozen list is a great start. Avoiding anything else that’s not on The Clean Fifteen list will also help you limit your exposure to pesticides from the fruits and vegetables you buy.

Your liver, gallbladder, kidneys, bladder, lungs and large intestine have to work hard to process and eliminate toxins from your body. We are exposed to more toxins today than at any previous time in history. It’s vital that you take control over what you can, so your detoxification pathways are able to process the toxin exposures that are out of your control, such as pollutants in the air.

Avoiding pesticides in your food also supports farmers that avoid these harmful farming methods and allows them to bring a greater volume of cleaner food to market. This increases the amount of options available to all of us.

And the more food that is produced without chemicals, the less toxins we add to the environment. Cleaner soil, water and air further support your efforts to create a healthy lifestyle that makes you feel great and able to live an amazing life!

1 January 2020, https://www.ewg.org/about-us

 

You may also like…

Important Details to Be Aware of About the Food You Eat & How to Find High-Quality Beef

Another Victory: Why These Historic Wins Against Roundup Won't Protect You

Pesticides in Your Food

Enhance Your Immune Response, Ease Your Symptoms & Have Better Long-Term Immune Health

Enhance Your Immune Response, Ease Your Symptoms & Have Better Long-Term Immune Health

This is the second video in a series about immune health. If you missed the one from last week, I encourage you to check it out: The Power of Your Choices for Preventing Colds and Flu.

Our immune system, why we get sick and how to support your body through an illness, are controversial topics loaded with misinformation. My intention is to simplify it as much as possible and help you find tools to strengthen your body and your immune response.

 

Your Time in the Sun is Vital: How to Find Safe Sunscreen & Maximize your Vitamin D Production

Your Time in the Sun is Vital: How to Find Safe Sunscreen & Maximize your Vitamin D Production

We’ve been taught to believe that the sun is going to create cancer and kill us, and that sunscreen will protect us. But sunscreen can be loaded with toxins, and anything that you put on your skin gets absorbed into your body. Toxins interfere with proper bodily functions and build up over time, so the more exposure to toxins you have, the more likely you are to develop problems.

Sun exposure is vital for making the type of vitamin D that your body can store, and sunscreen blocks your body’s ability to make it. A fear of the sun, and living indoors more often than not, has created widespread vitamin D deficiency. This is cheating us of adequate levels of a nutrient that is essential to every function of our bodies.

While supplementing is helpful and important, it cannot replace the vitamin D production that you get from the sun. Supplementation should be in addition to sun exposure, which is why it’s called a supplement and not a replacement.

Given the sun’s role in creating adequate levels of vitamin D, I can’t encourage you enough to get some sun exposure without sunscreen. But do it in a safe way that avoids burning, and use a non-toxic sunscreen for times when you’ll be out in the sun longer.

The Guide to Healthy Sunscreens, published by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) every spring, is a great resource to help you find a safe sunscreen. It’s something I always rely on, and their 2019 guide has just been released. I check my previous favorites against the guide every year and then order accordingly. I tend to purchase sunscreen online to access the wider variety of options available.

Vacations are often when my family needs sunscreen the most. We’re typically going to be outside a lot, and in a warmer environment than usual. We always plan for some sun exposure without sunscreen, which often means at the beginning or end of the day, or waiting a bit to apply sunscreen. And we always have plenty of non-toxic sunscreen on hand so we can use it as much and as often as needed to prevent sunburn.

You may also like…

Why It’s Important to Consider the Quality of Your Personal Care Products

My Secret to Longer, Lusher Lashes

Tips & Tricks for Tackling Dry Winter Skin & Indoor Air

Tips & Tricks for Tackling Dry Winter Skin & Indoor Air

Tips & Tricks for Tackling Dry Winter Skin & Indoor Air

​Do you suffer from dry skin and irritated sinuses in the winter months? If so, you’re not alone! I’ve got some tips and tricks you can start using right away to alleviate these problems. Some may even surprise you!

Click to watch the video below or scroll down to read the written transcript.

Hey there, it’s Elaine Gardner. One thing that I’ve been noticing a lot, from my private clients to my family members, is that people are starting to complain about dry skin. I live in the Northeast so one of the challenges for us has been that we went very, very quickly and dramatically from months and months of heat and humidity, to much, much colder temperatures and really no humidity. So it got super dry really fast. And that kind of quick transition can be really hard on your body and your skin.

Dry skin is something that I see many people deal with all year, but it tends to worsen as the winter months come along. This is partially because of the cold air, but also because of the low humidity and dryness of the indoor air, and just the unnaturalness of being indoors all the time with heating systems. All heating systems are different so some are much more irritating than others. Forced hot air systems can kick up a lot of dust and be super drying. And then there’s the chemicals in our water. Of course we’re exposed to chemicals in our water all year round, but when you add that into the mix of things we’re faced with this time of year, it can cause us a lot of skin challenges.

Dry skin can be really, really uncomfortable but there are some tips and tricks you can use to help! Obviously when you’re outside, dress appropriately so you don’t have a lot of exposed areas. Cover up as much as possible, including gloves, so that you don’t get that cold air exposure as much as you would if you weren’t properly dressed. And I know that really seems like common sense, but sometimes younger people don’t like to wear coats or hats, or have to think about those kinds of things. And sometimes even I don’t like to wear a coat outdoors in the winter. I will if I’m going out walking, but if I’m just going to the car to go to my office or to the store, sometimes I’ll just throw on a big heavy sweater instead. So it’s something that I need to keep in mind too. Sometimes I forget to bring my gloves and I’m pumping gas at the gas station and really wishing I had remembered to put my gloves in the car. So just a reminder because sometimes it’s not on our radar to consider those things.

Another solution is to improve the indoor air. When the indoor air is so dry, it can be really uncomfortable because, again, we’re spending most our time indoors during the winter. So adding a humidifier or a vaporizer can be really helpful. I have a small vaporizer that I just added to my work space a few weeks ago and it makes a huge difference in the comfort of my office. The air was super dry and was irritating to my nose until I got it. And I just turned on my humidifier at home, which I probably should have done a week or two ago. My nose was starting to feel funny while I was sleeping and made me realize how dry it was in the house. The humidity has only gone up a couple percentage points since starting it up, but it’s much more comfortable in the house and my nose doesn’t have that funny feeling overnight.

We also have a wood stove so we keep a pan full of water on it. It doesn’t add enough humidity when both the heat and the wood stove are running, so the humidifier adds the extra humidity we need to be comfortable.

Also, using a mild soap can make a huge difference. A lot of people use harsh soaps in the shower or for washing hands, which just further irritate and dry out your skin. My favorite bar soap is Kiss My Face Pure Olive Oil Bar. It’s very, very gentle and non-toxic (I want everything I use to be non-toxic so I’m not adding chemicals to my body as I go).

My favorite liquid hand soap is P2 Probiotic Power, I Clean Every Inch Face, Hand and Body Wash. It’s antimicrobial and is very different than antibacterial soaps. It cleans in a much more gentle way. I met the woman who owns this company a few years ago when we had a conversation on the phone about her products. I was finishing her sentences and was very excited about this technology that’s meant to disrupt bio-films. These products are not antibacterial, as they don’t have chemical agents. Instead, they disrupt bio-films. Bio-films allow microbes to hide and thrive, so by disrupting them, microbes of all sorts (not just bacteria, but viruses, fungi, parasites, anything like that) are killed because it essentially washes away their protective mechanism. So it’s much more antimicrobial than antibacterial soaps alone, and is non-toxic so it doesn’t have chemicals, antibacterial agents, and things that can be problematic for your body. So this is a great product that I love. We use it as hand soap but you can use it as shower soap too.

Another trick is to only wash what’s needed. This might be surprising to some, but I think we tend to over wash. Years and years and years ago, we would have been bundled up in clothing all winter long and would not have had as much access to showering during those months, the way that we do now. So we would have had a lot of natural oils on our skin that would have protected us from the dryness of this time of the year. Over washing your skin can be a real problem, so only wash what’s necessary. “Pits and bottoms” is my approach! Obviously if you work out a lot and you sweat head to toe, then you’re going to need to be more thorough with your cleanser, but if you’re just going back and forth to work, or doing normal activities, then all of your skin doesn’t need to be washed on a daily basis. So just keep that in mind.

And moisturize too! Some people are funny about moisturizer and feel that it’s “not normal”, but the things that we’re exposed to aren’t normal either. So you can do a head to toe moisturizer if you really feel that it’s necessary, or just use it as needed. My arms and lower legs get super dry if I don’t use moisturizer on a day to day basis when I get out of the shower. And I also use lotion extensively on my hands because I’m in and out of water all day long washing my hands, whether I’m at home cleaning or even more so when I’m at the office and washing hands in between clients. My favorite lotion is California Baby Super Sensitive Everyday Lotion. I love it because it’s non-greasy, it absorbs very quickly and it’s really moisturizing. I’m sure there are lots of other great products on the market as well, those are just my particular favorites.

The other thing that tends to get super dry on me in the winter is my cuticles. When they get dry they get kind of hard and I’ll pick at them mindlessly, which of course will irritate them even further. So I try to be really mindful when I’m putting lotion on, to get it into my cuticles. I’ll try to put some extra heavier cream on them before I go to bed, at least a couple nights a week, and I keep an emery board near where I sit at night to unwind. If they’re starting to get dry, I’ll actually file them down some with the emery board which will keep me from picking at them.

So I hope that your skin isn’t bothering you and that you’ll take measures in order to protect it so that it doesn’t! But if it’s already feeling dry for you, I hope these tips and tricks will be helpful for you.

You may also like…

Why It’s Important to Consider the Quality of Your Personal Care Products

Your Time in the Sun is Vital: How to Find Safe Sunscreen & Maximize your Vitamin D Production

My Secret to Longer, Lusher Lashes