How Many Chemicals Are In Your Products?

“Not only are bloggers suckers for the remarkable, so are the 168.👀

 168.👀

That’s the number of chemicals that the average woman is exposed to on a daily basis before even leaving her bathroom when she gets ready for the day. (No, she isn’t cleaning it.) 🤯

 

While not all 168 chemicals are harmful, the components that are lurking in your makeup, perfume, lotions, laundry detergent, and dryer sheets can range from Fragrances, Parabens, and BHT, to Formaldehyde. That can be pretty scary. Most skincare products out there are FULL of toxic ingredients. Parabens, Fragrance, Phalathates, etc. Click Here for my eBook of top home toxins. 

Also, did you know that the word Fragrance can contain over 100 additional ingredients that companies do not have to reveal? And many times that includes parabens. So even if a company says Paraben free… it still may have parabens because of the Fragrance! Companies do not have to reveal what their Fragrance ingredients contains because of “trade secrets” which is essentially there secrets to how they make their product! And usually your skincare products are just filled with junk that is not good for your skin!

 

While not everything in small amounts is detrimental…it's the consistency of small amounts over time that can lead to big health problems later.

 

Your skin absorbs everything. Not just the lotions, body washes, and perfumes, but the clothing on your body that is washed in super scented soap, and then doused in “fabric softener”, topped off with scent beads, and finished with static cling resistant dryer sheets. And that’s before it even touches your body.

 

How many things go on your body before you leave the house?

You’re exposed to toxins daily. Every breath, every bite, every minute under the sun—they all introduce you to substances and chemicals (natural or synthetic) that can negatively impact your health. A toxin is any substance that places undue stress on the body. Toxic load is the sum of these substances, accumulated within your body, and the burden they place on organs at any given time. What are the potential consequences of a toxic load that’s too heavy? Toxins can cause imbalances and negative effects on wellness, influencing your daily and long-term health. These things can include cancer, dementia, pain, inflammation, stress, sleep deprivation, autoimmune disorders, gut or digestive issues, hormone disruptors, infertility, asthma, Parkinson’s, etc. just to name a few. 

For instance Fertility problems are linked to PFCs, PGDEs, and phthalates (up 40% between 1982 & 2002) and these are found in lots of common products. Asthma is 2x higher since 1980 and is linked to toluene and formaldehyde. Parkinson’s Disease is expected to increase by 100% by 2030 and is linked to trichloroethylene and other chemicals. BPA is found is 9 out of 10 Americans. PFCs, PBDEs and phthalates are in 99% of pregnant women. 232 toxic chemicals were found in umbilical cord blood from U.S. newborns. 

Knowing this, why would we ever allow toxins in our lives? Why would we use products that contain them? Well, of course we don’t mean to. Toxins are hidden in the everyday world around us. They sneak into products we use daily. From perfumes and lotions to shampoos to conditioners, many personal care products contain potentially harmful chemicals. According to the EWG, American women use an average of 12 personal care products that contain more than 160 chemicals. Men, on average, use six personal care products that have more than 85 chemicals. The skin is the body’s largest organ and one of its best filters, but we make it hard for the skin to do its job when we lather it in questionable products day after day. In the process of trying to help your skin look, smell, and feel beautiful, you might be inadvertently increasing your body’s toxic load. If you did not know this, the most porous area of your skin is the bottom of your feet. When anything touches your feet, (lotion, soap, whatever you are using), it will get into your blood stream within 20 seconds and reach every cell in your body within 20-30 minutes. 

Let me paint a picture for you real quick. Imagine you are just waking up. Maybe part of your routine to waking up is to light a candle as you are getting ready because you like the smell. You go into your bathroom, you brush your teeth, you get into the shower.. you wash your hair, your body, your face, etc. You get out and put more things on your face like your skincare products and your make-up. You put deodorant on. You put lotion on your body as well. You then go throughout your day washing your hands for various reasons, you wash the laundry, you light more candles, and maybe you want to clean your home so you use all the cleaners… Then you have your night time routine washing your face, maybe showering again, lighting more candles, etc. Imagine if all the products you have are filled with all of the toxins??? Well, most of the products we do have or have had are filled with all those toxins. (You can find a list of the top toxins to avoid in your home here- Add in opt in form for this). You just spent the whole day adding more and more toxins into your body and slowing down your cellular function, possibly unknowingly linking you to potential diseases in the future because of the toxic overload. Autoimmune disorders, cancer, etc. 

Now I don’t know about you, but when I learned about this, this instantly made me want to change what I am using and start making transitions in my home from all of the products. 

While some companies make products that are safe to eat, other companies choose to use known human carcinogens or developmental toxins like coal tar and lead acetate. When risky chemicals are used in cosmetics, the stakes are high. These are not trace contaminants like those found at part-per-million or even part-per-billion levels in food and water. These are the base products, nearly all easily penetrate the skin, and some we ingest directly from our lips or hands. 

Fortunately, the body is programmed to manage toxins that come your way. the good news is the body has built-in protections and filters to help manage the toxins you encounter. As I just mentioned, it starts with the skin, as well as the mucous membranes that line your nose, mouth, and throat, which are meant to trap foreign particles. Inside your digestive tract, trillions of microorganisms called probiotics—or good bacteria— maintain digestive efficiency and support the immune system’s ability to respond. And the liver and kidneys identify and eliminate toxins from your blood. When your toxic load is light, your body is efficient and effective at tackling toxins it encounters. When functioning properly, your body is a toxic load–minimizing machine. But if your toxic load becomes too heavy, it can affect your daily and long-term health, especially because your body becomes less efficient at managing toxins as your toxic load increases. Just when you need your body to be functioning at its best, it’s hindered and slows down, which can lead to negative effects. Toxins can cause imbalances, have negative effects on wellness, and influence both daily and long-term health.

The good news is you control what you bring into your home. The goal is to minimize exposure to toxins you have control over, making your toxic load lighter. You can’t control every toxin you come in contact with, but you do get to choose what comes into your home. You can control what you bring into your home. You don’t have to feel powerless against toxins. When you look at the labels on the products you and your family use every day, you decide whether you’ll put them in the garbage or in your body. You have choices, and once you know about them, you’ll wonder why you settled for anything less than all-natural before.

As you can see, this issue is real and widespread. We all struggle with it. I’m so glad you’re here to learn what you can do about it. My hope is for you to how to be aware of what you are bringing into your home, read the labels and do your research to  help you reduce your toxic load and change your life.

None of us are trying to purposefully expose ourselves to toxins, as you can see, they are hidden in the everyday world around us in the products we are using! And we have control over that!

 

So where do you start? How do you start making switches in your home. Depending on your budget, you can do this all at once or slowly begin to swap. Here are a few great places to start:

CLEANERS: Kitchen, bathroom, floors. Your typical cleaners have so much toxins in it. My husband used to not be able to clean our bathroom and would dry heave and gag due to the toxins elicited from typical cleaner and I ended up having to do all the cleaning! But… Not anymore! He can clean with ease. I use this On Guard cleaner concentrate to clean my whole house with. It lasts me a good 6 months or so. And I only need to buy this. Other cleaners I may make using oils I already have would be dusting spray using lemon oil and vinegar or distilled water or regular water, mirror/window cleaner. Super easy and safe. The back of this On Guard cleaner concentrate says if accidentally ingested, drink water. I don’t know of any household cleaner that says that. Check out my favorite Cleaner Here!

CANDLES: Replaces your candles which again are super toxic when being burned. Replace with diffusers that not only smell amazing but also have health benefits. 

LAUNDRY DETERGENT: Look at the ingredients of your typical laundry detergent. This is one product where companies do not even put ingredients on the bottle… so you won’t even find the list on there!!! Laundry detergents are terrible for your skin and then we wear these clothes all day on our skin or sleep in the sheets. So not good for us. Oh, and another thing you want to get rid of is your dryer sheets! Toss those out right now! That is one of the most toxic products you will find in your home! Replace your dryer sheets with Dryer Wool Balls! So not only do you get rid of the toxins, but you save money because you can reuse them over and over again! Check out my favorite Laundry Detergent Products Here!

TOOTHPASTE: My favorite toothpaste I use is one I actually recommended to my dental hygienist! She asked about my teeth in being so healthy and white and wanted to know what toothpaste I use! Which of course is not only whitening, but it is void of any toxins! 

DEODORANT: Let’s talk about deodorant for a second. The reason most people wear deodorant outside of smell is to keep from sweating and having sweat stains right. No one likes to have that or feel that. So most deodorants are actually aluminum based meaning they keep your armpits from sweating. When are body sweats, it is actually getting rid of toxins and wastes out of our system. So if we aren’t allowing our body to do that naturally by using aluminum based deodorants, we keep the toxins in our body which is right there with our breasts and could potentially lead to breast cancer. So we want our body to sweat, however we don’t want to smell or have pit stains so I love dōTERRA's deodorant. Even my husband has switched over to this so men can use it safely and confidently as well. They have some that have baking soda in them and then some without. 

SHAMPOO & CONDITIONER: Again, we want to be using products that are healthy for our hair and skin plus nontoxic. The products I have switched to smell sooo good. I always get so many compliments on the smell of my hair! 

SKINCARE: I LOVE LOVE LOVE the skincare system Blemishes and breakouts has ALWAYS been a huge issue for me personally. I used sooo many things to try and help and even when I was younger took Accutane for my skin, which is terrible health wise. But nothing ever worked or didn’t work  longterm and then eventually stop. When I started using my current skincare routine, my skin seriously has never looked better and I hardly ever even break out now. It’s crazy to me. Even through two pregnancies, postpartum and monthly cycles, not even a pimple! I feel so confident in my skin! It has been amazing for my skin and I want you to feel AMAZING in yours also! Check out my favorite Skincare Products Here!

Whether you want to start slow or you are ready to swap everything right now, it is a journey! As a mom, my biggest why was to create a healthy and safe environment for my kids! It took one less worry and stressor off my list knowing that the products I was bringing in was safe to use not only for me, but for them as well!

If you want to start swapping to create that healthier, happier home environment, START HERE! I promise you won’t regret it and will love EVERY SINGLE PRODUCT!

Make sure to check out my previous Blog on What You Eat Is Important For Your Skin. 

20 Jul 2022