Tag: chemicals

Chemical Info, Chemicals in Skincare, Healthy Body, Low Tox Living, Skincare, Uncategorized

10 Dirty Beauty Surprises

Kelly Lynne

Beauty SurprisesDo these products look familiar?

They sure do to me!  And I bet they do to you too!  At some stage I’ve had each of these in my daily routine, even until very recently – thinking I was choosing the best, safest, least toxic products.  Some I even chose, in good faith, in the name of chemical free, safe, non-toxic, and even healthy… Boy, was I wrong!

You might be surprised to know that every single one of the above products rate either 9/10 or 10/10 for DIRTY!  According to the Think Dirty app (FREE in the app store) these products rate the highest in in 1) Carcinogenicity, 2) Developmental & Reproductive Toxicity, and 3) Allergenicity & Immunotoxicity.  Scary huh?

Worse, have a look at the labels.  You’ll see all sorts of healthy, safe, ‘good for you’ claims.  This is why we must look at labels and educate ourselves on what’s inside our every day products, especially if we value our long term health, and the health of our families.

What to do?  

At the very least download the Think Dirty app, and the others mentioned in my previous post on 5 Apps to Help you Live Clean, and start reading labels.  Most of the apps are free so they’re costing you big fat nothing.  What’s better than that?

I hope you found this info helpful!

♥ Kelly Lynne

Like this post?  Come and see me on FaceBook and share the love with a ‘like’ or a ‘share’!  Mwah!

Disclaimer.  I am not paid for my reviews.  My opinions are my own based on the research that I have conducted over many years.  I use various resources to find my information.  An excellent resource is an app called ‘Chemical Maze’, other resources include the Good Guide, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), as well as the internet.  You can find lots of information if you scratch beneath the surface.  My aims are to clean up my life and home and to share what I find with you so you can do the same if it’s that you want to do.  

Better Skincare Choices, Chemical Info, Chemicals in Skincare, Healthy Body, Low Tox Living, Skincare

5 Apps To Help You Live Clean

Kelly Lynne

“Each day women are exposed to about 168 chemicals in beauty products”, according to the Environmental Working Group.  Considering it only takes 26 seconds for chemicals in your skincare to enter your bloodstream it makes a plenty of sense to take a closer look at what you’re using on your skin and home every single day.

I don’t know if you’ve noticed but lately there’s a real movement around educating ourselves about the ingredients inside of food, skincare, and house cleaning products.  Thankfully the digital age is conveniently supplying us with some fantastic tools to help decipher what’s safe and what’s not.  The toxic products on the market are too extensive to list individually (and their own individual ingredient lists are often even more extensive).  It’s a very confusing exercise trying to work out what’s safe and what’s not.

The good news is some clever people have developed apps that can help you field the differences between different products.  Many of the listed products apply to those stocked in the USA however I have found many product listings apply internationally.

Here are some of the top rated apps for discerning shoppers:

Continue reading “5 Apps To Help You Live Clean” →

Chemical Info, Chemicals in Skincare, House Cleaning Recipes, Low Tox Living, Uncategorized, Your Home

What is Borax? Is Borax safe?

Kelly Lynne

Borax    As you go about the business of detoxing your home you’ll come across a few questions about natural products like Borax.  I say ‘natural wonder’ as you may wonder if, as a natural product, it is completely safe or not.  If you research Borax you’ll find lots of conflicting opinions about it; some use it lots, others won’t, calling it toxic or unnecessary, while many use it for some purposes and not others.  Confusing, huh?

Continue reading “What is Borax? Is Borax safe?” →

Better Skincare Choices, Low Tox Living, Skincare, Uncategorized, Your Home

GREAT PRODUCT ALERT! Melrose Liquid Soap

Kelly Lynne

Melrose Liquid Soaps

Why we love it?  It’s Australian made, certified organic by ACO, 100% biodegradable, it has no synthetic detergents, is not tested on animals, contains no animal ingredients, and no preservatives.  It’s also glorious to use, it’s gentle on the skin, non-drying.  It’s also non-toxic, safe, and contains no carcinogens, no artificial fragrances or parfum, no hormone disruptors, and can be used for (or in) so other things such as: shampoo (dilute 1:3); body wash, put on a loofah or wash cloth and use in the shower; laundry soap, as a liquid soap; cleaning, as part of a multi-purpose spray  (click here for a cheap, easy, homemade recipe which is so much cheaper and safer than store bought varieties); floor cleaner, squish some in a bucket and dilute with warm water and mop away.  Oh, and it’s cheaper than Dr Bronner’s which is good to know for us Australians!   The other part I like is that the dispenser comes with a foam pump, so it’s lovely and fluffy to use.  Be warned, if you use a regular soap pump it will be runny (and not as nice or fun to use, but it will still be effective).  Buy the dispenser and then refill as needed.

Ingredients:  Purified Water, Potassium soaps of Organic Olive Oil (potassium hydroxide is used to saponify olive oil), Organic Flaxseed Oil, Organic Palm Olein (from sustainable plantations in Columbia), Organic Sunflower Oil, Organic Glycerin, Organic Orange Oil, Citric Acid.

Price:  $12.50 for a 500ml Pump.

The Great News for Bulk Buyers: If you love using it you can buy 9 litre casks and they range in price between $118-145.  That brings the price for 500mls from $12.50 to $6.50 (that’s $1.30 per 100mls which is WAY cheaper than ALL the popular store-bought varieties that are filled with toxins, carcinogens, hormone disruptors… are you catching my drift?  Even if you only use it for washing your hands you’ll use it eventually, and you’ll never get caught short again!! Buy the ‘original’ and add your own essential oils if you want variety.

Where can you buy it? Well that’s the slightly tricky part but it’s worth hunting down (and here’s where interested people start to lose focus, but please do stay with me)…  Click here for stores around Australia and to buy online.

I hope you found this info helpful!

♥ Kelly Lynne

Like this post?  Come and see me on FaceBook and share the love with a ‘like’ or a ‘share’!  Mwah!

Disclaimer.  I am not paid for my reviews.  If I find a product and it fits with my strict criteria (being that it contains no toxins, no carcinogens, no hormone disruptors, and no poisons) then I’ll tell everyone about it.  My opinions are my own based on the research that I have conducted over many years.  I use various resources to find my information.  An excellent resource is an app called ‘Chemical Maze’, other resources include the Good Guide, the Environmental Working Group (EWG), as well as the internet.  You can find lots of information if you scratch beneath the surface.  My aims are to clean up my life and home and to share what I find with you so you can do the same if it’s that you want to do.  

 

Better Skincare Choices, Chemicals in Skincare, Healthy Body, Low Tox Living, Skincare Recipes, Uncategorized

Chemical Free Toothpastes

Kelly Lynne

Toothpaste Alternatives

Topical in the news this week are the chemicals found in best selling Colgate Total toothpaste, in particular triclosan (used as a preservative, said to be a carcinogen, immune disruptor, to cause allergic reactions, skin, eye and lung irritation and suspected skin, sense organ and immunotoxicity).

As you probably already know medicines can be quickly and readily absorbed under the tongue.  When your toothpaste contains chemicals you are essentially administering a nice little dose of chemicals to yourself while you’re innocently brushing your teeth.  Dentists recommend a full 2 minutes of brushing to get your pearly whites clean however ‘sublingual administration’ (ie. under the tongue), and also via your cheeks, can ensure chemicals/toxins (and medicines) are hitting your system within as little as 60 seconds!  Does this make you think twice about what’s in your toothpaste?  I do now, that’s for sure!

Continue reading “Chemical Free Toothpastes” →

Better Skincare Choices, Chemicals in Skincare, Healthy Body, Skincare, Uncategorized

Flushable Bum Wipes

Kelly Lynne

Bum Wipes

The concept of moist toilet wipes is a ripper.  Like they say about the ad, ‘there isn’t much you wouldn’t clean without water’, and it’s true.  I even heard one friend say they changed his life!  I am a devotee too however recent awareness around the chemicals used to make these products has called for me to look further afield for an alternate, safer solution.  The two most popular, readily available varieties are featured below.  Interestingly they both use less ingredients than most baby wipes out there however they both feature preservatives that can cause contact dermatitis, suspected cardiovascular, liver, kidney and neurotoxicity.  All things being equal in the bum wiping world these are ingredients I prefer NOT to include in my daily cleaning routine.

Continue reading “Flushable Bum Wipes” →

Better Skincare Choices, Chemicals in Skincare, Healthy Body, Skincare, Uncategorized

Baby Wipes

Kelly Lynne

Baby Wipes

Today’s spotlight is on baby wipes.  Wow!  There are a lot of different brands out there and whilst I set out on this discovery mission intending to cover them all I soon worked out that I’d be here till next week trying.  My criteria is strict and I say, ‘Rightly so!’  These wipes will be used all through the day and night on your baby’s bum (and precious skin too).

I have a problem with any skin product that contains toxins, and there are lots!

Continue reading “Baby Wipes” →

Chemical Info, House Cleaning Recipes, Low Tox Living, Uncategorized, Your Home

Homemade Natural Laundry Powder

Kelly Lynne

Washing Powder posterPopular store-bought laundry powder is a quiet chemical storm that many know nothing about.  There are some real doozies in laundry detergent and fabric softeners, including ‘fragrance’ where the chemicals used to make ‘fragrance’ are not defined and commonly include pthalates which are endocrine (hormone) disruptors, carcinogens, they are known to cause asthma and to be a neurotoxin. This is just the tip of the iceberg on ‘fragrance’.  Fragrance can contain hundreds of harmful chemicals, none of which need to be listed on packaging and sit comfortably under the blanket of the lovely, harmless sounding word ‘fragrance’ (also known as ‘parfum’).  

Continue reading “Homemade Natural Laundry Powder” →

Healthy Body, Low Tox Living, Uncategorized, Your Home

The Lowdown on Water Filters

Kelly Lynne

Water Filters Confusion

Working out the ins and outs of water filters can be very confusing business!  There are so many opinions; what’s good, what’s not, why, what you’re filtering, costs, what your needs are, the list goes on.  We recently researched the various water filtration options for our house and it’s quite a process (and it took weeks!).  I’ll do my best to summarise the differences between the most popular options here:

Continue reading “The Lowdown on Water Filters” →

Chemicals in Skincare, Skincare, Uncategorized

Hand Sanitizer Horror!

Kelly Lynne

Instant-Hand-Sanitiser

Dettol Healthy Touch

Kills 99.99% of germs WITHOUT WATER!  I suspect it kills 99.99% of anything if you have/apply/use enough of it.  In the fine print, ‘If swallowed contact Poisons Information Centre’ with phone numbers attached.  This Dettol hand sanitizer has anything but a ‘healthy touch’.

Continue reading “Hand Sanitizer Horror!” →