Tuesday, July 1, 2008

Granola. Green. Natural. Etc.

I’ve been thinking lately about trying to be a little healthier. I’m not about to stop eating candy and fast food, but I started looking into chemicals and things that are in our cleaning products and personal care products. The more I read, the more grossed out I get. Finally I decided to start replacing the chemical-filled things I have with some less deadly products.

Nature Clean - That might be my favourite company in the world right now. Their website is super easy to navigate, very pretty, and there’s lots of information that even a jerk like me can understand. I’m totally into their cleaning products. They have a ton, and now that I know they work, I’m going to go tomorrow to pick up a whole bunch more.

Green Beaver is pretty sweet too. They have a really informative website as well that really helps me understand what all the commotion is about. I’m wearing their deodorant today, and I’m happy to report that I don’t stink at all. Yay! (Well, I smell like lemons, but I like that smell.)

Desert Essence is another one I’m liking. Probably easier for you Americans to find their products than the other two. I use their shampoo, conditioner, and face wash, and they all didn’t cause me to get cancer - yet. They also worked very well. That's important too.

Anyway, I wouldn’t claim to be an expert on any of this crap. It’s all new to me, but so far so good. Oh, and it was shocking to go into The Body Shop and find that every single product I looked at had ingredients that those Green people say cause cancer and such. I thought Body Shop was supposed to be so good for us. I had a gift card to spend there, so I just bought headbands and facecloths. Yep.

Anyone have any tips for other less cancer-giving products? I found Mexitan for sunscreen, but I haven’t been able to find a good sunscreen for my face that doesn’t include chemicals. I’m looking to avoid benzophenones, PABA, cinnamates, salicylates, digalloyl trioleate, menthyl anthranilate, and avobenzone. I'm also looking to avoid acne, so....

Oh, and did you know about Triclosan aka Microban aka triclocarban aka quaternary ammonium compounds? That’s the stuff in anti-bacterial products. It’s…well…bad! Look it up. It's in half the stuff I had in my house. Sick.

I have this handy-dandy list of ingredients to avoid in general.
Triclosan
Paraben, hydantoin, or quaternium preservatives.
Sulfate detergents including SLS (sodium lauryl sulfate)
Artificial aromas, fragrances, dyes.
Phthalates, propylene glycol, or pertrolatum.
EDTA

(Every Body Shop product I checked had at least one of those.) This is hard work!

2 comments:

Daisy Paige said...

My favorite non-SLS shampoo is Burt's Bees Super Shiny Grapefruit and Sugar Beet. I switched to 'good' hair products (no sulfates and no cones) almost two years ago and have been so pleased. I imagine if it's this good for my hair, it would be even better for my house!

Sara said...

That sounds like it would smell really good. I want some.

Search The Hip Homemaker

Google