I have always had an interest in natural body care products, but I haven't been that strict about it or made much of an effort to really do my research until I became pregnant.
It is scary to me all of the ingredients that are in so many products that we put on our bodies every single day!
Shampoo, body wash, deodorant, toothpaste, lotion, etc and etc.
Unfortunately it is more expensive to buy natural and organic products, but I truly feel like it is well worth the money! And I also think that I use way too much of each product and really could use a lot less and still get the same effect while maybe saving a little money.
There are so many companies out there that offer organic products and do not hide what they put in their products. And of course I am already doing research on baby products. Did you know that Johnson and Johnson Baby Wash contains formaldehyde? Apparently they are removing this from their products, but I just simply do not trust a company that uses chemicals like that. I also learned that Aveeno is owned by Johnson and Johnson so I don't think I will be purchasing any of their products either.
Just a small portion of what I have learned about formaldehyde (courtesy of Wikipedia): A gas at room temperature, formaldehyde is colorless and has a characteristic pungent, irritating odor. It is an important precursor to many other materials and chemical compounds. In 2005, annual world production of formaldehyde was estimated to be 8.7 million tonnes. Commercial solutions of formaldehyde in water, commonly called formol, were formerly used as disinfectants and for preservation of biological specimens.
In view of its widespread use, toxicity and volatility, exposure to formaldehyde is a significant consideration for human health. In 2011, the US National Toxicology Program described formaldehyde as "known to be a human carcinogen".
Nothing about that sounds like anything I want to put on my body and certainly not my baby's body!
Until recently I hadn't even thought about deodorant and what is in it. Most antiperspirants contain aluminum. Here is an interesting article about a possible correlation between aluminum and cancer:
Whether it is true or not, I would rather steer clear of putting aluminum anywhere near my lymph nodes.
I recently purchased Tom's of Maine natural deodorant and once we finish this tube of Colgate toothpaste we have I plan to purchase Tom's of Maine toothpaste as well.
I also started using natural shampoo with lower sulfates as well as body wash from The Honest Co.
My friend has already sold me on some baby care products from Earth Mama Angel Baby.
Certainly expensive, but at the end of the day it is important to me what I am putting my baby's skin as well as mine.
We are planning to cloth diaper as well as use cloth wipes. I will use the organic body wash for the solution for the cloth wipes as well. Once I figure all of that out I will blog about it.
I am not tooting my own horn over here by any means and I have a ways to go, but I hoping maybe I will get someone else thinking about what they are using everyday as far as personal care goes and hope to shed some light about why it is so important to be educated in these things!
I would love to know your thoughts and maybe any natural/organic health care products you use and enjoy...
I think it's great what you are doing and I wish that I took more time to find better options for things, but I was going to offer a piece of information. Formaldehyde is actually naturally present in our bodies so it's not as "foreign" as people think. We are just used to hearing about it in other circumstances. I don't really know a lot on the subject, but I did ask my doctor about it because I found out it's also in a lot of children's vaccines and he didn't seem that concerned with it. Also, here is an excerpt I found online:
ReplyDeleteWhat many people may not know is that our own bodies produce and use formaldehyde as a part of our normal metabolism. When we are exposed to methanol (e.g., via inhalation or ingestion of foods like citric fruits and juices, vegetables or fermented beverages), our bodies break it down into formaldehyde and other byproducts. Our bodies produce formaldehyde as a result of DNA demethylation (an important process for controlling gene expression, e.g., in developing embryos) and other biological processes. It is such a regular part of human metabolism, that our normal, naturally produced blood concentrations are generally about 2-3μg of formaldehyde per gram of blood (or about 2.12-3.18μg/mL)*. And it is actually a pretty important chemical; our bodies use formaldehyde to form DNA and amino acids.
I know not everything on the internet is true and everything can be harmful in large doses so to minimize the contact from any chemical is good to do, but I thought I might ease some fears because it all does sound a little scary. On a side note, if you find anything that you absolutely love (esp with deodorant), let me know and I might consider switching!
Hey! I am so glad you asked your doctor about it! It's good to be informed about these types of things.
DeleteI just am not convinced about formaldehyde even if it is a part of our normal metabolism. There are plenty of studies out there that discuss it being a cause for cancer. And like I said, even if those studies are false, it's enough to sway me to use something more natural. Especially ingredients that I can pronounce. Just a personal preference. I don't think all of these chemicals are necessary. For example, I have made my own laundry detergent and all natural cleaner and it proves to me that all you need are a few natural ingredients to get the job done.
Thanks for the comment though and so far I am loving the Tom's of Maine deodorant...and it was on sale at Target when I bought it..still more money than Secret or any of that, but completely worth it IMHO :)
Lauren, this is something that I've been thinking about for the last couple of months as well. I've done some switching of products, especially with Avery. I REALLY like the "Kiss My Face" products for her. I switched her body wash and shampoo to KMF. I also now use Burt's Bees diaper cream on her, which I really like. I've switched my own body wash to the "Yes To" brand and just switched my face wash yesterday to the same. I have been using the Tom's toothpaste and like it, however, I do NOT like the deodorant. I felt like it didn't provide enough protection (and I don't sweat that much!). So yesterday I found Kiss My Face deodorant without aluminum or parabens and I'm trying that.
ReplyDeleteA GREAT website resource for you that I have referred to many times is the "Safe Mama" website. Here is a list of her product "Cheat Sheets": http://safemama.com/cheatsheets/
Great post :)
ReplyDeleteWe aren't all kinds of natural over here.. but I try to get some of Emory's stuff natural. We use the California baby diaper rash cream (on the rare occasion that we use it)and we really like it. I also heard it's ok to use with the Bumgenius cloth diapers (even though website says not to use rash cream)... so that's a nice plus. :)