4 simple ways to detoxify your self-care.
One Minute For Your Health #46
The world is drowning in plastic. And many of our plastic wrapped products are not even good for us.
Source: Bence Damokos / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)
According to one study, people use an average of 9 self-care products daily. In total these contain around 126 unique ingredients.
Whilst you would think all of these ingredients are safe and well-tested, research has repeatedly shown this is not the case.
Some of the not so good effects of ingredients commonly found in self-care products include:
abnormal reproductive organ growth of foetuses
changes in hormones of wildlife (from rinsed off products ending up in rivers and oceans)
carcinogenic effects
fertility effects
developmental impairments
So what are you going to do about it?
‘Non-toxic skincare’ has a reputation for being expensive and ineffective.
As a result, many people keep choosing the same old brands and products they’ve always used.
And for a few products, I have to agree. Shampoo bars, for example, result in never-ending bad hair days for me. (It might be different for men, my dad has been happily using them for years).
But there are 4 switches that anyone can easily make.
1 & 2: Switch your soap and body wash for bar soap:
Bar soaps often come wrapped in paper and are a relatively affordable product to buy organic.
Most also contain only very few ingredients.
If you’re worried about having soggy, slimy soap mush lying around in your shower (like I used to be) buy or make a cotton soap bag. Use this to hang up your soap to dry between showers.
The bag also makes a great shower scrub - just leave the soap in it and scrub away. Rinse well after use 😬
3: Switch your body lotion for an organic, cold-pressed oil:
I simply use organic canola oil (with a few drops of Ylang Ylang essential oil) instead of body lotion.
That’s two ingredients instead of the 20 found in a standard Nivea body lotion*.
It’s also not expensive.
And my oil comes in a glass bottle.
4: Switch your face cream for oil too:
Many of the ingredients used in face creams are actually natural. They are just present in tiny amounts.
Grapeseed oil, for example, is amazing for the skin and for preventing wrinkle formation. It accelerates healing processes and does not leave oily residue.
So why not switch your expensive facial cream with a tiny bit of grapeseed oil for a bottle of pure grapeseed oil?
Other good oils include:
Jojoba
Argan
Coconut (this oil can be drying on the skin)
Carrot seed oil (yes, this exists and it’s really high in vitamin E)
Almond
Want to know what’s in your self-care products (and how safe they are)?
Use this website to search your self-care products and receive a report of how safe the ingredients are.
*I’ve copied a screenshot of the results for the Nivea body lotion below.
1M4YH Challenge: make one simple switch in your self-care products. Tag me in your photos at #1M4YH so I can see what you’re up to. If you’ve already made some switches share them so you can inspire us!
I’d love to connect with all of you. Reply to these emails or connect with me via Instagram (@efias_kitchen) and Facebook (@insideefiaskitchen) any time.
Links and References:
CIR (Cosmetic Ingredient Review). 2012. Ingredients found unsafe for use in cosmetics. Cosmetic Ingredient Review Panel, Washington DC. Last updated February 2012. http://www.cir-safety.org/sites/default/files/U-unsafe%202-02-2012%20final.pdf
European Commission. 2012. Cosmetics Directive 76/768/EEC.
http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/sectors/cosmetics/documents/directive/#h2-consolidated-version-of-cosmetics-directive-76/768/eec
FDA 2012. Cosmetics Q&A: Prohibited Ingredients. Food and Drug Administration. http://www.fda.gov/Cosmetics/ResourcesForYou/Consumers/CosmeticsQA/ucm167234.htm
NIEHS. 2010. Endocrine Disruptors. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Research Triangle Park, NC. http://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/materials/endocrine_disruptors_508.pdf
Sathyanarayana S, Karr CJ, Lozano P, Brown E, Calafat AM, Liu F, Swan SH. 2008. Baby care products: possible sources of infant phthalate exposure. Pediatrics. Feb;121(2):e260-8.
Swan SH, Main KM, Liu F, et al; Study for Future Families Research Team. 2005. Decrease in anogenital distance among male infants with prenatal phthalate exposure. Environ Health Perspect. Aug;113(8):1056-61.
Swan SH, Liu F, Hines M, Kruse RL, Wang C, Redmon JB, Sparks A, Weiss B. 2010. Prenatal phthalate exposure and reduced masculine play in boys. Int J Androl. Apr;33(2):259-69.