Many personal care products contain chemicals that aren’t great for our health when used long-term. As we get older, our bodies become more sensitive to these chemicals, and so many of us need to swap out some of our products for a cleaner, plant-based version.
You don’t need to swap out all of your products. Let me start with the ones that I believe are essential to change:
Shower gel:
You want a product with no artificial fragrance and no dyes. But especially one without sodium laureth sulfate (foaming agent). The compound can be irritating to the eyes and skin and may contain the carcinogen dioxane. The cosmetic, Toiletry and Fragrance Association discourges SLES for prolonged use and according to lab animal studies, if it’s applied above a 5% concentration can cause severe irritation, hair loss, and even death!
Shaving Cream:
Opt for one that’s non-aerosol (bad for environment and causes razor burn!) and contains no artificial fragrances and no parabens. I recommend EOS shaving cream because instead of parabens, it contains natural ingredients like shea butter and antioxidant vitamins E and C. In fact, it’s so naturally moisturizing that you can shave wet OR dry!
Body Moisturizer:
You want one without any parabens, mineral oil, and artificial fragrance. Mineral oil is made from petroleum and because it’s very inexpensive companies use it all the time. Products containing mineral oil coat the skin instead if nourishing it. As for parabens, they’re notorious for disrupting your hormone system, so you always want to avoid that.
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