A year and a half ago, I tried to stop using antiperspirant. For about 3 months, I used a natural deodorant made with baking soda. Unfortunately, I developed some sort of allergic reaction to what I thought was the deodorant and stopped using it. However, I eventually discovered that my allergy was actually to the [...]
Archive for the ‘Personal Care Products’ Category
2 Dec
Recycled paper products
I have tried recycled toilet paper over the years and found it uncomfortable. Try as I might, I couldn’t bring myself to switch to it permanently. But recently, I’ve felt more and more convicted. Most paper products are made from virgin wood pulp, much of which comes from North American forests. In fact, 98% of [...]
2 Jul
Best sunscreens
The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has published its list of 10 best beach and sport sunscreens. Of the 10 on that list, we’ve only personally used one–Badger SPF 30. Other than a slight white film it leaves on your skin, we’ve been happy with it. If you’d like to find a safe, stable sunscreen, check [...]
4 Jun
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics writes J&J
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics sent Johnson&Johnson a letter last week asking them to remove toxic chemicals–such as 1,4-dioxane and formaldehyde–from its baby shampoo. You can read the letter here. Scroll down to the bottom and take a look at the people who signed that letter. Also read the addendum with the concerns about the [...]
26 May
Natural mouthwash
For my past several dental visits, I’ve been told that my upper gums are inflamed. The dentist thought it was due to either plaque or breathing with my mouth open, and was probably aggravated by hormone levels (which were up due to being pregnant and nursing). I am now flossing twice a day, brushing after [...]
14 May
What’s a girl to do?
Last weekend, I got together with a bunch of my girlfriends. The subject of birth control came up and I was reminded of how unhealthy and unnatural most of our options are. I am completely against the birth control pill, philosophically (what could be more unnatural than taking hormones daily–hormones that affect every cell in [...]
30 Mar
False advertising
I have a bottle of shampoo that I bought at Wild Oats (which is now Whole Foods) a couple years ago. The brand is Nature’s Gate and it’s called Rainwater Clarifying Shampoo. The back of the bottle declares the shampoo is “as pure and gentle as if washing your hair in the rain!” But then [...]
15 Mar
Carcinogens in baby products
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, an organization comprised of the Environmental Working Group, the Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, the Breast Cancer Fund, the Clean Water Fund, Commonwealth, Friends of the Earth, National Environmental Trust, and Women’s Voices for the Earth, among others, released a report last week about the presence of cancer-causing chemicals in [...]
7 Feb
Nasal irrigation
I really want to write a post about the benefits of nasal irrigation. A couple months ago, I read an article in a magazine at the gym (and I don’t even remember which magazine–maybe Yoga?) that touted the virtues of nasal irrigation via tools like the Neti Pot or Sinus Rinse. It said that rinsing [...]
24 Jan
Femenine care
For over a decade, I’ve used Kotex tampons. They were comfortable and I just got in the habit of always picking up that purple box without really thinking twice about my decision. But the tampons are bleached white, have a plastic applicator, and come wrapped in plastic. About two years ago, I decided it was [...]
