It has become clear over the last couple decades that chronic exposure to environmental chemicals and toxins may be harmful to fertility and even carcinogenic. Unfortunately, many companies continue to produce and sell products that are full of these chemicals!
It’s pretty obvious how food and the things we put inside our bodies directly affect our health, but it can be easy to forget about what we are putting on top of our bodies! Our skin absorbs, detoxifies, and protects, and the products we use on it make a difference.
If you’re looking to improve your health and reduce your toxin exposure, it is a good idea to evaluate your personal care products. I’ll highlight some tips and ideas below, but I’d love to hear about your experiences in the comments, too!
Where to start?
When it comes to “cleaning” up your life, it can be overwhelming learning about all the different ways toxins are affecting you. It almost feels like we all need to move away to the mountains and live completely off the land again! While that would work, it’s not a feasible option for most. Here is my best advice when just starting out starting out:
- Aim for improvement, not perfection. I may have said this before, but I tend to be an all or nothing girl. I am always a recovering perfectionist, continually learning that there is no perfect, and that it’s okay to just start somewhere. If you make a better choice today than you did yesterday, there’s improvement! The goal is to reduce your toxin exposure, not completely isolate you from every single harmful thing that you might cross paths with.
- Choose one product or one type of product to change first. Maybe you just want to start by finding a healthier lotion or better choice of shampoo. Or maybe you want to change out all your bathroom products first, before moving on to other areas of the house. Either way, you’ll have a more reasonable to-do list. If you think you need to change all your makeup and soaps and detergents and cleaning products and nail care products, etc. you’re going to get lost in all the info! Slow and steady wins the race, especially in this game.
- Try samples, share with a friend, or buy the smaller versions first. In my experience, some products are an easy switch, and some take a little more shopping around. Sometimes the less toxic versions of your regular products don’t work the way you expect or the way you’re used to. It can be discouraging when you’ve spent a bunch of money on a new product only to find that it’s not working for you. If there is a way for you to try a sample first, or go on in a product with a friend so you can both try it at half the cost, go for it! That way you can find one you really like and be confident buying the bigger versions.
- Do your research, but don’t let research become your stumbling block. This goes right along with number one. There is so much information out there, it’s hard to sort through it all. I have found myself many times stuck in the trap of having to learn all I can before I take a step forward. Again, it’s not about learning everything and making sure you choose the healthiest product out there. It’s about learning enough, making a better choice, and then learning a little more and making a better choice again.
Helpful tools for finding cleaner personal care products
Just Ingredients
I have found a few sites to be very helpful in getting me started with making better choices. One of my favorites is Just Ingredients. Karalynn of Just Ingredients has a great social media presence on Instagram and Facebook and she also hosts a podcast. She shares helpful information about which ingredients are harmful and why, as well as easy little switches you can make in your daily life to reduce your toxin exposure. On her website she sells her own products and also has a huge directory of other brands and products who use better ingredients.
Environmental Working Group (EWG)
Another favorite is EWG. They are a nonprofit organization with the purpose of sharing research and information about what is in the products and food we are consuming. They have established a certification system that allows companies to register products that meet certain health criteria. That way you can easily spot a healthier option when buying at the store or online. You can read about their standards on their site and find hundreds of cleaner options for personal care products listed there as well.
Products to consider
You may be wondering which personal care products you should consider looking into. Anything you put on or in your body is up for scrutiny in my opinion! Here are a few:
- Deodorant
- Lotion
- Makeup (such as eye shadow, bronzer, blush, lipstick, concealer, brow liner, setting spray, etc.)
- Shampoo
- Conditioner
- Body soap
- Shaving cream/gel
- Hair spray
- Hair gel/cream
- Toothpaste
- Mouthwash
Again, anything you put on or in your body. I’m sure I missed so many others.
For me, I just cut out a bunch of stuff for starters. For example, beginning in elementary school, I would lather my entire body with lotion after every bath or shower. When I didn’t do it, my skin was dry and uncomfortable. However, after learning about the potential chemicals found in lotion, I decided to try using coconut oil instead. After a short period of coconut oil, I thought, “I wonder what would happen if I didn’t put anything on my skin.” At first it was a little dry, but I quickly found that my skin regulated itself and didn’t need any sort of moisturizer after a shower. It is soft, smoothe, and hydrated all on its own!
I’m sure that wouldn’t work for everyone’s skin type or situation, but for me it did! Don’t hesitate to see what your body does without various products so you can see which ones you really do like and which ones you were using more out of habit.
Personal Favorites
I haven’t switched over every personal care product yet, but I’ve done several and I’ve tried even more! Here are a few of my favorites, just to get you started:
Shampoo, conditioner, and body wash: Attitude. I find it has a good lather and works well! I’ve also recently tried their laundry soap (I know it’s not personal care, but oh well) and I love it!
Dry shampoo: Beauty by Earth. I’ve also tried their body wash and loved it.
Toothpaste: Redmond. The color and lack of lather may be off putting if you’re switching directly from mainstream toothpaste brands, but give it a week or two and you’ll have forgotten the ways of the past. I love the cinnamon flavor.
Mouthwash: Just Ingredients. I never used mouthwash and wouldn’t recommend the regular ones with alcohol. But when I saw the ingredients in this one, I had to try it! The citrus flavor is truly delicious.
Deodorant: Just Ingredients. This is by far the best cleaner deodorant I have ever tried and deodorant is the item I have tried the most variety. There are so many duds, but Just Ingredients is a big win for me.
Mascara: Honest Beauty. I haven’t actually tried very many cleaner mascara brands. I chose this because it was at Target and it’s pretty good. It does the job and I have repurchased a few times.
Moisturizer: Just Ingredients. Again. I know, I’m sorry I have to repeat them, but they have such great stuff! The face serum is what I’ve used on my face for years. I also use it on the tips of my hair. Its strengths really shine through when you apply it to a sunburn – I have never seen a faster healing burn than I have with the Just Ingredients face serum.
Sunscreen: Earth Mama. I bought the baby stick to use on my son, but now I just use that on myself as well and it works great.
Menstrual Products: Cup all the way!! I should write a whole blog post about the beauty of the menstrual cup. I have the Poppins Period brand and I will never go back.
The Bottom Line
While we are maybe the most toxic generation of all time, we actually have so many cleaner options to choose from these days! Set aside the doubt and overwhelm and decide today to make a better choice for your health. One product at a time, you can do it. It will make a difference in the long run and all your time and effort will have been worth it.
If you have a favorite brand or product that is made with cleaner ingredients, I would truly love to hear about it! Leave a comment and let me know what you think I should try next.
Resources (none are affiliate/sponsors/connected to me in any way):
Impact of environmental toxin exposure on male fertility potential – PMC (nih.gov)
Household chemicals may be linked to infertility | UCLA Health
Just Ingredients | Simplifying Health with Nourishing Ingredients
