Safe Personal Care Products

Do you use a lot of personal care products? Personal care products include skin creams, moisturizers, sunblock, makeup, lip balms, shampoos, conditioners, body scrubs, shaving creams, and other related store-bought items. If you use a lot of these products, you should consider reducing the amount used as well as becoming a conscious label-reader of ingredients. What you are putting on your body, in all likelihood, could be harmful to you and the environment - unless what you are using falls under a very small percentage of truly safe products and are used sparingly. Here are some reputable and safe choices for personal care:

• Aubrey Organics
• Dr. Hauschka
• Badger
• Dr. Bronner's
• Logona
• Miessence (ONE Group)

In general, any substance that you have to put on your body should be avoided unless absolutely necessary. Even the most safe product lines do contain some hazardous substances, and at least half of the containers these products are sold in are plastic, which leaches into the product itself and is also toxic to the body as well as the environment. When possible, purchase products contained in some other type of container such as glass or metal. If you do need to use a personal care product of some type, the above referenced products are your best bets.

Good alternatives to using personal care products - as well as ideas on saving money - are as follows:

• Wash your hair less. Use a natural shampoo. Less washing will cause less oil to build up, and therefore, less washing. For information on methods to cut down on hair washing and using natural oils, herbs, and vinegar, visit this Apple Cider Benefits.
• Using toothpaste can be hazardous to your health. Peroxide and baking soda are good alternatives. Read this article for more information
• Don't use conditioner, or use less conditioner. Conditioners cause oil to build up in the hair, and using no conditioner or less conditioner will require less frequent washing of hair.
• Instead of using moisturizers or lotions, consider natural oils. A good alternative is a home-made body scrub. A body scrub can be used in the shower or bath, is an exfoliating agent and a moisturizer as the scrub contains sugar and some type of natural oil.
• Instead of using sunblock, wear long-sleeves, pants, skirts, hats, and headwraps such as scarves or bandanas. Wear safe UVA, UVB, and UVC-blocking eyewear when outdoors. Limit your time outdoors with skin and eyes exposed to direct sunlight to less than one hour daily. Most people need about 20 - 30 minutes of direct exposure to sun for optimal health daily.

For any body care issues, also consider your diet. What you eat greatly affects your skin, hair, eyes, fingernails, etc. Receiving enough essential fatty acids, minerals, hydration (water intake), and other basic nutritional requirements is of the utmost importance in maintaining these systems in the body. Make certain each day you are drinking plenty of filtered water, eating raw nuts, eating plenty of organic and naturally-sourced vegetables and fruits, eating healthy proteins such as organic, grass-fed meats, poultry, selected wild-caught fish and seafood, whole, raw dairy, and minimal grain and grain products (which can seriously upset the delicate essential fatty acid ratio in the body with too many Omega 6s and 9s). Avoid processed foods and junk items containing chemicals, sugar, and other sweetner substances.