Personal Care While Detoxing

So there is a statistic often sited that we absorb 60% of what we put on our skin, that is pretty scary considering when you look up the ingredients in your personal care products  you will find many of them cause cancer, infertility, and are highly toxic. We are putting two pounds a year on average of toxic sludge into our systems through our cosmetics and care products alone. Most of our bodies are already burdened so much with environmental toxins and choosing to slather them all over us daily isn't doing anyone any favors

You *could* do a detox program and continue on with your everyday life, but my goal is to reduce the toxic load on the body as much as possible so it can focus on eliminating anything that is being stored already. Now one solution to this is to go full hippie and not shower at all, being the mom of a toddler going 10 days without a shower isn't too out of the ordinary, however there are great ways to make your own products for a fraction of the cost of most store bought brands, and you probably already have most of this stuff in your home. These are easy changes you can adopt permanently as a shift towards a greener, cleaner lifestyle too.

Hair:

no-poo is a great method for cleansing the oil out of hair, so is honey washing. In between showers you can make your own dry shampoo with non-gmo corn or arrowroot starch. I have dark hair so I added a little cocoa powder, you can use cinnamon for red hair, and even add a few drops of essential oil for fragrance. Put this mixture into a shaker bottle or mason jar with a couple holes poked in the lid and sprinkle on your roots as needed. be sure to brush it into hair as well. You can use coconut oil as a deep conditioner before you shower and you can use it to tame frizz after. Well that was easy.

Face:

Oil cleansing method reigns supreme for most people, it moisturizes and breaks up gunk in the pores. You can also break out the honey again for your face. Bentonite clay masks are beneficial for helping the skin detox, and are great on breakouts.

Teeth:

Bentonite clay makes a great mineral-rich tooth power. just dip your wet brush in and use it like normal toothpaste. I add a few drops of an essential oil blend for taste and oral health benefits. For deep cleaning your mouth try oil pulling, which helps get all the pathogens out from the gums and in between teeth. If you oil pull then brush your teeth using the method I described you will feel like you just had a dental cleaning.

Lips:
I tend to get dry lips from time to time, so I make chapstick using 3 parts oil to one part beeswax and pour into little containers. You can add some essential oils if you want. Sweet orange oil or peppermint work nicely here. Or you can just use plain ol coconut oil

Skin:
Coconut oil! that's it. It works as a mild sunscreen, a moisturizer, a rash cream, skin protectant. It is the swiss army knife of natural health really.

Underarms:
I use this recipe but I added tuberose EO because I really like the floral perfumey smell.

Things I didn't cover above:

I am not big on wearing makeup daily or doing my nails so that wont be too hard to give up, there are great brands that are producing better-for-you options. Henna covers greys instead of hair-dye. I haven't used soap in years, besides hand washing with a natural brand after touching raw meat, cleaning up dog poop, changing diapers or anything that's um....gross. Seriously, its better for your skin not to use soap. You can use coconut oil to shave. Perfume is poison, a drop of essential oil behind each ear makes a suitable alternative for special occasions Ummm...anything else?

Remember, people arent naturally dirty and most of your ideas about cleanliness and health are from marketing agencies trying to sell you stuff that you don't need that poisons your body

Ok, so you're on board for the detox and the personal care changes but what about your other household products that you touch? What about your cleaners?

I use a Shark steam mop for my floors. Its great at breaking up dust and toddler mystery gunk from the hardwood without needing any cleaners. A damp rag is really all you need for dusting.

Cleaning and sanitizing in the kitchen and bathroom is easy. Mix equal parts vinegar and water and put it a spray bottle. You can also add a few tablespoons of peroxide or rubbing alcohol but vinegar is actually an effective disinfectant. I add essential oils to this also. Lemon, Tea Tree and Rosemary make a nice synergistic blend.

If you need to scrub out your sink or bathtub, ditch the comet and try sprinkling the bottom of the tub with baking soda, mix a bit of soap and water in a cup (I use Dr. Bronners or eco friendly dish soap), then sprinkle that mixture over top. Start scrubbing. You will see a paste form of the soap and baking soda, it makes a nice de-greaser and abrasive. Rinse down the drain when you're done and feel good about yourself because you didn't pollute the water.

For laundry soap we switched to a natural brand a long time ago. Ecos, bio-kleen, 7th generation, and dozens more are out there now. Method makes good products as well, I am especially fond of their glass cleaner.

I hope I left you with enough resources and links to start on your own lifestyle detox. What did I forget? What steps have you taken to decrease the toxic load on your body?