Taking care of your body is important. It’s the only one you get! Oddly enough, some of the products that we would consider to ‘take care of our body’ may actually be doing more harm than good. For example, it’s important to be hygienic, but lots of soaps and detergents on the market are filled with chemicals that can cause health issues.
Here are some of our favorite product swaps for better health.
Shampoo, Conditioner & Body Wash
It’s surprising what companies are allowed to put into health and beauty products. Take shampoos and conditions, for example. Many products on the market are made with fragrance/parfum, artificial colors, sulfates, parabens, phthalates… chemicals which can increase risk of cancer, cause hormonal disruptions, cause harm to the environment, and irritate your skin. Why are these ingredients allowed in products?! Especially ones that have direct contact with our skin, where they are easily absorbed!
Instead of your run-of-the mill shampoo, conditioner, or body wash, choose something with cleaner ingredients from one of the following conscious brands:
- Beautycounter
- Honest Company
- Soap for Goodness Sake
- Fresh Monster (for kids)
- Dr. Squatch
- Be Natural
- Nature Sustained
If you are in an area with limited options or are looking for something that is more affordable, Herbal Essences Bio:Renew line, although not perfect, is a decent choice as well.
Deodorant and Antiperspirant
Are you aware of the difference between deodorants and antiperspirants? Many people don’t differentiate between the two, but there is an important difference. Deodorant won’t necessarily reduce your sweating, while an antiperspirant has ingredients in it to limit your sweat. Between the two, we recommend going with a deodorant, as your body produces sweat for a reason!
Still, deodorants, like other hygiene products, can contain chemical toxins like parabens, triclosan, phthalates, and more.
A few ‘cleaner’ and more natural brands include:
- Beautycounter
- Native
- Purelygreat
- Schmidt’s
- Think
If the above aren’t cutting it, something to keep in mind that the food we eat, our toxic load, hormone balance, and more impacts our odor, as does the body wash we use (as odor is due to the bacteria on the skin more so than the sweat itself). You may find that cleaning up or changing your diet, working with a functional medicine practitioner to balance hormones, or using a probiotic body wash may help decrease body odor.
Sunscreen
With sunscreen, we have yet another example of a product that is meant to help us but that can be harming us more than we think… and in several ways.
As Minnesotans, we have it rough. The sun isn’t strong enough from about October – April to get Vitamin D from the sun, but then in the summers our skin is so sensitive that we lather on the sunscreen, continuing to limit the sun’s ability to help our body produce Vitamin D!
Remember that our bodies do need a certain amount of exposure to the sun to maintain healthy Vitamin D levels. We just don’t want to overexpose ourselves or burn, which can cause skin damage and increase the risk of skin cancer.
Before we dive into cleaner products, it’s important to note that your diet and certain supplementation can also help protect you from the sun’s harmful rays. Make sure to eat plenty of antioxidants, increase your Omega-3 and resveratrol consumption, and cut back on things like sugar and high Omega-6 fats (from things like canola and soy or vegetable oil). You may also find that an app like the SunDay Vitamin D & UV Tracker or dminder app helps you to estimate both your UV exposure and Vitamin D intake.
Now that we have that out of the way… it’s time to ditch the toxic sunscreens and opt for a safer sunscreen. The Environmental Working Group already has a great list on their website.
Laundry Detergent
Much like body washes, laundry detergents are a product that end up with contact to your skin, making it a product that you really want to choose wisely. Always choose a dye- and fragrance-free option (or if scented is a must, opt for one scented with essential oils). A few of our favorite brands for detergent include:
- Branch Basics
- Aspen Clean
- Attitude
Dryer Balls
Dryer sheets, however heavenly they may leave your laundry smelling, have been shown to cause adverse health effects in 12.5% of adults … and those are just the adverse effects that are easy to link to the dryer sheets! That doesn’t include the adverse effects that could be the result of repeated chemical exposure.
A non-toxic option that is safer for the family is using wool dryer balls, which still helps to reduce static and act as a natural fabric softener. They are also reusable and friendly to the environment.
Makeup and Face/Body Lotions
Many of us like to make sure we are putting our best face forward. We want to look our best. However, sometimes the products we use to look our best end up making us not feel our best in the long-run. Cosmetics can be a big source of hidden toxins, so we love to opt for safer brands like:
- Alaffia
- Beautycounter
- Be Natural
- Crunchi
- Select Acure Products
We highly recommend searching the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database to check the safety of the products you are using.
