Issue 7: Toxic-Free Shower and Bath Products
Let's get clean, but for reals
Last week we went in depth about the toxins in common personal care products. This week I'm going to keep it more general and we'll discuss some alternatives for your shower and bath products.
Shampoo
Shampoo needs vary by hair type, color preferences, and scalp health. Do you have dry or oily hair? Do you color your hair? How often do you wash your hair? How dry is your scalp? Is it sensitive like mine?
It's hard to recommend just one type of shampoo because not everyone needs the same thing. Here are some of my basic guidelines when it comes to hair health.
1. Wash as infrequently as your hair will allow. I have dry hair and a dry scalp. I wash once per week. Washing your hair every day isn't always the best option.
2. Minimize hair styling products if you can. Build-up of these products warrants more washing and clarifying washes which can be hard on your hair and are full of toxins.
3. Sleep with a silk pillow case. It sounds luxurious, and it is! Sleeping on a silk pillow case has made my hair stronger and shinier! I got mine on Amazon for less than $25.
Recommended Shampoo Brands:
Andalou Naturals
Attitude
Avalon Organics (the lavender one is my favorite)
Herbal Essences Bio line seems to be pretty clean, though I've never used it.
Puracy (This is what I'm currently using. I use the baby one on myself and my kids).
Conditioner
I always thought that I needed to follow up my shampooing with conditioning. When I was trying to find a better alternative to conventional shampoos, I discovered this wasn't the case. Now, I condition lightly only on my ends, or not at all.
Recommended Conditioner Brands:
Andalou Naturals
Avalon Organics
Puracy (I currently use this on myself and my oldest daughter).
You can also make your own apple cider vinegar rinse in lieu of using conditioner. Once your hair dries, it doesn't smell. It leaves hair feeling soft.
Mix equal parts apple cider with warm water in a squirt bottle. After you shampoo, apply it to your scalp and let sit for a few minutes. Rinse out.
You can also leave it in for 1-2 hrs under a shower cap, then rinse. Do this 1-2 times per week for dandruff treatment.
Soap or Body Wash
Body washes are full of toxic chemicals and artificial fragrances. It's better to buy handcrafted soap from people like our dear Bow Tied Farmer/Miss Farmer or if you're feeling really ambitious, you can make your own. I've not ventured down that road...yet. So I can't speak to it.
I recommend find a good quality soap, but using it sparingly. I use it on the obvious areas, but I find my dry skin doesn't like to be washed daily. So I rinse well in the shower and use soap where it's needed daily. I also don't spend tons of time soaking my skin in hot water during my showers. That dries me out, too.
We prefer a tallow based soap. It’s toxic-free and smells good. I buy it through a local merchant in my area (though it's available online) and have vetted it for clean ingredients. You can refer back to Issue 6 for things to avoid in your products. Sometimes you can find good soaps at a farmer's market and speak directly to the person who makes it. A lot of health food stores, like Whole Foods, sell bars of soap that are clean crafted, as well. If you can find it, I highly recommend a tallow based soap. Our skin loves it so much more than soaps made from seed oils.
If you can't find a good soap, try Dr. Bronner's. They sell liquid and bar soap. We used that for a long time before turning to tallow soap. If you need to have suds, buy a loofah or a nice washcloth and work a lather. Don't opt for soaps that lather on their own (chemicals do that).
Shaving Cream
Honestly, I use my tallow soap as my shaving soap, before that I used Dr. Bronner's. It works great. I also don't use razors with a conditioning strip.
Devil uses fancy shave soap that's made with essential oils and tallow. He uses a shaving brush to lather it in a bowl and then applies it with the shave brush. He buys it here (Also a good place to buy soap).
Face Wash
If you want to wash your face with a good soap, you can. I've always found that it dries my skin out though. I use an oil cleanser for my face when I wear make-up. Otherwise I rinse with warm water.
Disclaimer: I have very good skin. I understand that some people may need more than this. I don't have a lot of experience with needing more intense skin care. Though Devil does. Since switching to a healthier way of eating, removing toxins from his personal care regimen, and using a tallow based moisturizer, his skin has improved a lot. Staying hydrated is also a huge factor in having healthy skin.
My advice for a nice face is to use as little as possible on it but moisturize, drink water, and find a way of eating that works for you.
If you're looking for some good oil cleansing methods, check out this website. https://wellnessmama.com/7569/oil-cleansing-method/
Bubble Bath
I have yet to find a good substitute for bubble bath. I've tried. I have 2 small children, believe me I've tried. But I haven't found any good method other than adding some of their shampoo to the water. It doesn't get suds like conventional bubble bath. This is fine. My kids don't know any different. I got a urinary tract infection from Mr. Bubbles when I was a young girl. Something I've heard from many women my age. Not as many bubbles? Fine by me to skip that AND the toxic chemicals.
Also, an Epsom salt bath is a nice alternative. I like to add 10 drops of lavender essential oil to a cup of Epsom salts in a warm bath. Soak for 15 minutes. Smells great, feels great. Plus it's a dose of magnesium. DYOR on whether this is something your body could tolerate.
Next week I will talk about oral health and eliminating those toxins from your personal care products. As always, thanks for reading!
-Angel