Did you know your skin is your largest organ? It’s a huge part of our detoxification pathways. Yes, skin is a barrier system, but it also absorbs things through it’s membrane and allows other things out.
I’m always flabberghasted when in one breath, we are told not to worry about chemicals in our beauty products being absorbed through our skin (the FDA has different safety standards for things that go ON your skin as opposed to IN your body), and then that same organization approves the use of a hormonal birth control patch. Errr…. um what?
Personally, I made the transition to non-toxic skincare and beauty products long ago because that didn’t make much sense to me. It also seemed that if I was going to do a lot of work caring about what I put in my body, I should also think about what I put on it as well.
The biggest problem with non-toxic skincare products is of course, finding ones that work half as well as their chemical-laden counterparts. The demand for non-toxic skincare has greatly increased the choices available however, and has even brought these products out of the back aisles of out-of-the-way health food stores to major chain retailers throughout the world. This unfortunately has lead to many products being marketed as ‘natural’ when really they are anything but. So how do you find effective and truly good for you skincare products?
For starters, look in your kitchen. There’s the axiom, ‘if its safe enough to go in your body, it’s safe enough to go on your body.’ This is why they call their products ‘skinfood’ over at Primal Life Organics. (Also because it’s deeply nourishing for the skin!) The great thing about using kitchen products is that you can make your own beauty products yourself. You can save money and know exactly what is them!
Being pretty busy though and having a pretty tiny kitchen, I don’t have a lot of time or space to make my own ‘skinfood,’ so I was thrilled when I found Primal Life Organics. I’ve been using their products almost exclusively for over two years. Here’s a few of the products I personally use and love!
- Peppermint toothpowder. You don’t need a lot or even any foam to get your teeth clean and freshen your breath. Especially if you are eating a low sugar, lower carb diet, you may notice like I have, that you don’t get that funky build up on your teeth. (Carbohydrates are the only macronutrients that start to be digested in the mouth. They are broken down to small sugars and as these sugars build up in the mouth, they feed the bacteria there. These bacteria ferment those sugars for food, and in the process, create acids that can erode the enamel of your teeth, leading to cavities & gum erosion.) This toothpowder is a fine clay that creates a gentle polishing paste, without any added sugars or weird foaming agents. I’ve had no complaints from my dentist since using it. I also find that it makes an excellent toothpaste for camping because I can practice Leave No Trace ethics and simply swallow it with a bit of water- without wanting to throw up (like I would with regular toothpaste).
- Dirty ‘poo. My hair has been a constant source of frustration for me. It’s super fine, there’s not a lot of it, and it’s pretty limp. I use to wash it everyday, otherwise, it would look greasy and the extra oils would weigh it down. A few years ago, I tried the ‘No ‘Poo’ method of using just baking soda and it was much too harsh for my fine hair. It broke a lot of my hair off at or near the root and I’m still trying to grow out some of those funky layers! Enter Dirty Poo, which has some baking soda in it, but is mostly clay based. The clay absorbs the dirt and excess oil which gets washed out when I rinse the clay out of my hair. The result is perfectly clean hair! I’ve also switched to washing my hair 2-3 times a week instead of everyday and this has cut down on the amount of oil that builds up. (The oil actually builds up in response to being constantly stripped away by typical shampoos.) Dirty Poo has kept my hair much more healthy and even allows it have some of its natural body!
- Stick Up deodorant stick. It was a hard transition to just deodorant. I’m definitely a sweat-er and I’m pretty active. It’s taken some time to get use to sweating after years of anti-perspirant use. At first, it seemed like the floodgates were opening and my armpits were making up for all the sweat they were forced to block for years. It’s finally settled out where I don’t sweat much unless I’m being really active and what I do sweat doesn’t have quite the odor to it. This detox and transition to just deodorant took me the better of a year but I’m glad I didn’t give up on it. Coconut oil, baking soda and some essential oils are all that is in my deodorant. No weird propolyene glycol chemical like even some of the ‘natural’ deodorants have. (Sweating is important for detoxing some chemicals!)
- Sugar-based hair spray. Given that I have some pretty fine, limp hair, I like to give it a little spritz with this and then scrunch it to give it some body and texture. It washes out easily and isn’t overly drying to my hair.
- Fallen face serum. My skincare regime in pretty simple. After a shower, I use some organic witch hazel on a cotton ball to cleanse & tone the skin, then I moisturize with this serum. It’s jojoba oil based, which closely resembles the chemical structure of the skin’s own natural oil. Hence your skin doesn’t have to replace as much oil because it’s not constantly being stripped away. The Fallen serum has essential oils from pumpkin that smell DEVINE and I love using it all the time- not just in the fall.
- Fallen body butter. I buy this two jars at time in the fall, when it’s made, so that I have enough to last all year. With a bit of cinnamon essential oil in it, it smells wonderful and the combination of oils is deeply hydrating- no more scaly, dry winter skin!
That’s it! Those are the only 6 non-toxic skincare products I need to use on a regular basis. All are completely organic with ingredients that come directly from nature. Most I could find in my kitchen. My skin and hair skin look great and are healthy too, and most importantly I don’t worry about the future health consequences of my beauty regime.