It's been stated time and again - if we spend the effort looking for organic food choices, those without pesticides and herbicides and other nasty chemicals, why do we negate to look, also, for health and beauty products that are also free from unnatural and unhealthy ingredients? Everything we put on our skin is absorbed and, thus, most of those artificial preservatives and perfumes are taken into the body, circulated throughout the bloodstream, and take up residence in various organs. Unfortunately, I feel like I have used these products for too long to reverse any damage already done (and I just hope that nothing devastating has occurred), but that doesn't mean I can't start trying to live even healthier, right?
On the search for 'natural' and 'clean' cosmetics, I came across a wonderful project entitled the Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. Search for your favorite product, and the results will outline the overall risk of the chemicals used, as well as break down each ingredient into whether it is a carcinogen, allergen, toxic to the body's systems, or other risks. It's quite surprising that products marketed as 'natural' still have so many awful attributes! After searching the database for the products I commonly use, I decided I needed to make some healthier choices.
Because breast cancer is a big concern for me for many reasons - I have never been pregnant, obviously never breastfed, and took birth control pills for far too long, along with the fact that I know nothing about my family medical history - I chose to focus on eliminating chemicals thought to cause this awful disease first. An article on one of my favorite wellness sites lists BPA, phthalates and parabens as the top contributors to this illness.
My 'beauty regime' consists of a number of products that I use each day, as I suspect most women's routines follow as well (though many, I'm sure, use more than me, as I'm pretty lazy when it comes to becoming presentable). As I run through the list in my head, I realize that it is going to take some effort to find adequate replacements for everything!
I began my search by looking for reputable recommendations for overall natural beauty product brands. The brands I discovered fall into both the "skin and hair care" and "makeup" categories. These include:
- Organix (OGX) - be mindful when reading ingredients as not every product is safe
- Live Clean Professional - very clean products - paraben, phthalate free in most cases, and reasonably priced
- Weleda
- Living Proof - Jennifer Aniston-approved! (I thought that was funny.)
- Tata Harper
- Green Beaver
- Consonant
- Lafes
- Kiss My Face
- Dead Sea Cosmetics - from Israel and tough to find in general stores
- Avalon Organics
- Physicians Formula
- Burt's Bees
- JASON Organics - again, not everything is chemical free
- Alba Botanica - expensive, but appears to meet the criteria I am looking for
- Bare Essensuals
- Origins
An issue that I do worry about when switching from my Body Shop brand body butters is dry skin. I suffer from this 12 months a year in Calgary, and was so impressed with how well these body butters help with itchy, flaky skin I experience. However, their products do not seem to be paraben free (I am still researching this, though), so I will have to find another option.
When I received this month's issue of Clean Eating magazine, I noticed a new column that strives to promote healthy beauty from the outside. Included in this article is a recipe for homemade, all-natural deodorant (that I do plan to try), which gave me the idea to look for all-natural, homemade body butters. Surprisingly, I came across a number of sites for this, and am looking forward to making both the Key Lime Coconut Oil Body Butter and the Bronzing Whipped Body Butter. (I will share my experience with all three of these recipes as soon as I find the time to make them!)
Initially I was very frustrated that every single product I use could be leading me down the road to breast (and other) cancer, but after a few hours of research and review of products, I am more confident that I can live healthier and nourish my both both inside and out with all-natural products. I realize that I will need to start spending more money than normal on these products (unless I am able to find successful homemade products), but I suppose that is the current state of affairs for wellness. As one author stated, we just need to convince more people to purchase these products so that increases in demand begin to decrease the prices, just like it has for non-healthy, preservative-filled products. If you can beautify yourself by purchasing local (or at least Canadian) brands, even better!
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