Personal Care Products

Everything you put ON your body has the potential to end up IN your body, which means that we must not only consider foods and ingredients you want to avoid like gluten and dairy, but also chemicals that would harm the microbiome of the skin which is our first defense system against foreign invaders.

Below are just some brands and products to get you started, but the market has really opened up in the past few years with so many great personal care products available at our fingertips. What you will notice is that many of the more trust worthy products are not available in your local stores, which means having to order online. Online shopping has just become part of my home management culture. I keep a running tab of things as they get low (don’t wait until you run out or you will use products that are less desirable, since they are easier to access last minute) and I always order more than one of each item, so I have backups. It means you will only need to order every now and then, rather than every time you go through one container of the product.

For anything you plan to put on your body, if you don’t see something here that you like, check the Environmental Working Group website first. They test and report on the safety of many personal care products. And of course, if you have any products that you think should be represented here, please feel free to let me know!

Deodorant

What goes on the skin, goes in! Deodorant is intimately applied near sensitive breast tissue and lymphatic glands. With breast cancer on the rise, we need to avoid heavy metals and other chemicals in our deodorant. With the increasing demand for natural options, healthier deodorant options are on the rise.

Hair Care

Your locks deserve the best and you want to avoid ingredients like Sodium Lauryl Sulfate/Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLS), parabens, synthetic fragrances, Triclosan, polysorbates, Dimethicone and more.

Oral Care

Did you know that fluoride is a toxic chemical? It is literally a waste byproduct from the production of fertilizer! You’ll even notice that on the back of toothpaste tubes, they tell you to call poison control if it’s ingested, which is why using a pea size dollop is recommended, but in my opinion, something this toxic doesn’t belong in our mouth where it can be swallowed, by little ones especially. Also, the mucus membranes tend to absorb faster than our external skin, so two minutes of exposure 2-3 times a day doesn’t really appeal to me.

The other dark side of fluoride is that it displaces iodine in our bodies, instigating conditions like hypothyroidism, infertility, reproductive organ problems and cancer. Our nation is already horribly iodine deficient, according to Dr. Brownstein. It’s depleted in our soils and you couldn’t eat enough seafood to fulfill your iodine needs without overdosing in mercury from the ocean. Before you go adding iodine into your daily routine, be sure to check out my section on nutraceuticals first.

Let’s get back to oral care. This section will offer some options that are fluoride-free and non-toxic for you and your kiddos.

Skin Care

Our skin is the largest organ of the body and we take it for granted regularly. It’s the one and only barrier between our internal organs and the environment. You may have seen this statement multiple times, but anything that goes on the skin, goes in so we must use more caution with the products we choose to use topically! If you are gluten and dairy free or low salicylate, these are considerations that must also be cross-referenced with your personal care products that go on the skin.

The skin is also home to a unique microbiome that provides our first defense system against foreigners. It’s important to encourage the growth of beneficial bacteria, rather than harming them with chemicals and hand sanitizers that kill a wide spectrum of bacteria.

Make-up

There are so many unnecessary toxins in makeup, including heavy metals! Ideally, makeup should be reserved for special events, but if you wear makeup daily, then this topic is even more important for you! Anything we are subjecting our bodies to on a daily basis, should rate higher on the list of priorities, because many chemicals bioaccumulate in our organs and strain our liver and kidneys.

When children play with makeup, they are slathering whatever is in your makeup all over the largest organ of their bodies. When your little girl starts wearing makeup, don’t you want her makeup to be the healthiest it can be? Even the healthiest makeup collections still contain some questionable ingredients, meaning no makeup is 100% safe, but it can be MUCH safer than the commercial brands that are using chemical ingredients rather than natural ones.

Makeup must also be considered when going gluten and dairy free as well.

Low Salicylate products for the Body

For some people, high salicylate products create symptoms, some very severe. Learn more about the Feingold Diet link under Dietary Considerations for more about avoiding high salicylate foods. Some common symptoms of salicylate intolerance are: The most common symptoms of salicylate sensitivity are: stomach pain, tinnitus, rashes and itchy skin or hives, asthma and breathing difficulties, headaches, swelling of hands, feet, eyelids and/or lips, bed wetting or increased urination urgency, persistent coughs, skin discoloration, fatigue, sore, itchy or burning eyes, sinusitis, nasal polyps, stool changes like constipation or diarrhea, and mental symptoms like hyperactivity, memory loss or poor concentration and depression.

Our younger son reacts severely and quickly to high salicylate products. More so when eaten or taken internally, but I don’t like to increase his total load unnecessarily so we do our best to find products that don’t aggravate him. Reactions to chlorine is also a salicylate sensitivity. In our home, salicylates create a hyperactive, aggressive and impulsive child who experiences body pains, fatigue and headaches. He also struggles with poor concentration when he is exposed to salicylate, so we see his education suffer too. He literally forgets things he previously knew! Since he has to remain low salicylate in order to maintain a healthy mental and physical state, I’ve had to scour the natural personal care products to find tolerable replacements. It’s very common to see a lot of high salicylate ingredients in natural, plant-based personal care goods so finding natural, low salicylate products is challenging.

Feminine Hygiene products

Feminine care products are often overlooked as a toxic product, but toxic shock syndrome is the result of a toxic tampon. Commercial products are washed in chemicals like chlorine and these chemicals will imbalance the feminine flora creating an environment susceptible to candida and bacterial overgrowth.

There are safer options that range from organic paper products to cups and even reusable menstrual pads and washable menstrual underpants! There are so many selections to choose from, there’s no reason to expose your hooha to chlorine! 😳