There's a lot of people out there who think switching to natural products simply won't do the job. Do you think if you switch to a natural deodorant you will stink all day long in your office & scare away all your friends? Your mouth simply won't feel clean with a natural toothpaste? Wearing essential oils instead of perfume will leave you smelling like your Grandmas pot puree? It's 2019 people! Natural products have come a LONG way & they work better than any chemical you've ever put on your skin & here's why...
Lets start with deodorant..
Ok, no one likes a stinky friend. NO ONE. However, this isn't what happens when you switch to a good quality natural deodorant. Firstly, lets talk about why you NEED to switch to a natural option. Aluminium is found in antiperspirant deodorant & isn't great for your health. There are a lot of external factors that contain Aluminium & sometimes these aren't as easy to control. If you're spraying deodorant that contains Aluminium particles on your skin every single day and breathing it directly into your airways this is something you can control. To all the women out there; Aluminium is a Metalloestrogen which means every time you spray a anti perspirant deodorant under your arm your are adding more Oestrogen into your armpit every day which is why there is a lot of talk about Aluminium in deodorants & breast cancer. If you shave your armpits, you are increasing absorption again. Oh, and if you can smell your deodorant, you're inhaling it, which goes directly into your lungs, into your blood stream & directly into your body. Aluminium is hidden in a lot of our foods as an anti-caking agent & in so many other day to day products including makeup. To reduce the intake of Aluminium in your life you can start with something simple by swapping out your spray deodorant to a natural one! Personally I have tried a few, and to be honest not all are equal. I have been using Earth Purities roll on for a few years now & am super happy with it. You can check out their website here although it is in most good Health Stores http://earthspurities.com.au/product/earths-purities-bianca-for-her-liquid-roll-on-deodorant/
By the way, this is only ONE of the reasons to make the switch - but do your research on deodorants for yourself & see how you feel.
Toothpaste..
So this shit will scare you. Have you ever read the back of your toothpaste box? Or your CHILDs toothpaste box? If you use the regular brands from the super market there is a warning label saying something along the lines of "If more than used for brushing is accidentally swallowed get medical help or call the poison control line straight away". Now, I dunno about you, but to me that sounds pretty toxic and I wouldn't want myself or my future kids putting something that poisonous in their mouths EVERY day, twice a day. Toothpaste contains Titanium Dioxide which is in toothpaste to make it white (face palm) and no other reason. This is known as a "possible" carcinogen to humans when inhaled however deemed safe when applied to the skin and isn't absorbed. But it doesn't sit right with me knowing this is going into my mouth, where I can absorb a lot direct into my body from there... Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) is a chemical compound used as a surfactant, detergent, and denaturant used in a lot of cosmetic products but is used in Toothpaste as a foaming agent. Even though there has been tonnes of research on SLS toxicity, it is still used in so many products. Don't forget artificial colours to make your kids toothpaste appealing for them to look at! There are many reasons why you wouldn't want your child to have artificial colours & flavours but definitely not keen on them rubbing them all over their teeth. Abrasive ingredients are added to toothpastes to remove the biofilm from the teeth to create that 'clean' feeling & kill '99.9% of germs'. However this disrupts the balance of good & bad bacteria in the mouth creating teeth & gum problems over time. Because it is 2019, we don't have to make toothpaste at home if you choose to swap this item out to a natural one! So many amazing brands are available now, I personally use Red Seal & again this is at most health food stores & a lot of pharmacies. Here is a link to their website https://www.redseal.co.nz/
Perfume
This ones a doozy & to be honest where do you even begin. What's in your perfume? If you look at the ingredients you'll see a word 'fragrance' which could be a long list of chemicals strung together to make a smell. Companies don't have to list each chemical, however it can sometimes be up to 250 chemicals combined to make that particular fragrance. This then gets sprayed directly onto your skin making it's way into your blood stream. Some of these chemicals have been linked to hormone disrupting & allergy causing ingredients. A lot of these ingredients haven't even been tested for safety which is insane. Today I read online that a study by the EWG (Environmental Working Group) found two synthetic musk chemicals in particular were identified in the cord blood of newborn babies. These were Galaxolide and Tonalide and have been associated with toxicity in the endocrine system. Solution? Oils baby, oils. Nature has given us therapeutic & beautiful smelling essential oils which can be used as a replacement for your perfume - especially if you're wearing a toxic perfume every day just to go to work! If you're new to oils you're probably thinking you have to just wear lavender & smell like Nanna Jean. If that's you, good news - you are wrong! There are SO many beautiful blends available that will leave you smelling delicious. You can also choose different oils every day to suit your vibe, improve your mood & have some therapeutic effects as well. My personal favourite - because it smells so god damn good - is Passion by Doterra which is a blend of Cardamom Seed, Cinnamon Bark, Ginger Rhizome, Clove Bud, Sandalwood, Jasmine, Vanilla Bean, Damiana Leaf. There are some other amazing blends & natural products already made up for you here https://briequilter.com/product-category/roller-blends/
Now, lets get something clear. No one is saying just ONE of these things will give you cancer or Alzheimers or make you sick. But there are so many toxins in our environment & hidden toxic ingredients in our foods that this toxicity builds up over & over again, each time we put one of these things on our skin or in our body. This is where the problem lies, & it can be overwhelming to even think about where to start. Personally, I found these 3 the easiest to swap out when I first started becoming more aware of what was in my products. I try make my home my Haven - I do my best at home by making sure I have the least amount of toxic ingredients around as possible so when I do go outside into the big bad world of toxins I have less toxic build up in my body. It's the small changes that will make a big difference in the long run to our health. Make the change.
