All tagged fragrance

Tips

Feeling overwhelmed is a shared sentiment of people trying to switch to natural products. With the right tip and tools, switching to non-toxic products is easy and manageable.

Shampoo

Switching to natural shampoo will reduce your exposure to many toxic & irritating ingredients. Truly clean shampoos lather less because they do not contain harsh surfactants that can irritate skin and eyes.

How to Reduce Exposure to Volatile Organic Compounds

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are different types of chemicals that evaporate easily at room temperature. VOC exposure can cause short term and long term health effects including the following: eye, nose, and throat irritation, headaches, loss of coordination, and nausea, damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Some VOCs cause cancer in animals, and some are suspected or known to cause cancer in humans. Because VOCs indoors can be up to 10x more concentrated compared to outdoors, it is important to take a look at the sources of VOCs in our homes.

Ingredients to Avoid in Cosmetics

Clean marketing labels seem to be popping up everywhere. The labels make us feel like the products we are buying are safe but what really matters lies in the fine print on the back of the box: the ingredients. The truth is, “clean” is not scientific or foolproof, and there is a lot of gray area. Avoid ingredients that are used even in clean beauty products like fragrance, PEGs, phenoxyethanol.

How to Choose a Non-Toxic Hand Sanitizer

Hand sanitizer has become a necessity for everyone in the post-COVID world. You can buy it just about anywhere, but you might not be aware that some are safer than others, and some work better than others. It’s worth noting that while washing with soap water is always a superior option, there are occasions that you simply can’t use soap and water, and you need a safe hand sanitizer to reach for. In June and July of 2020, the FDA issued warnings about hand sanitizers that contained methanol or were contaminated with methanol.

Best Clean Beauty & Personal Care Products At Whole Foods

Shopping for personal care and beauty products while picking up groceries can be so convenient, that its tempting to just grab whatever you see. The personal care and beauty items in Whole Foods must meet certain requirements determined by Whole Foods. The requirements include a ban on over 100 ingredients like parabens, phthalates, formaldehyde donors, oxybenzone and EDTA. Additionally, organic claims must be backed up by a third-party certification. There are ingredients that are not Whole Foods banned list, but can still be harmful and should be avoided like fragrance, phenoxyethanol, and polysorbate 20.

Non-Toxic Makeup With SPF 40

Ilia Super Serum Skin Tint comes in a dropper and it’s thin, spreadable consistency allows for a feathery fingertip application. Skin tint uses the safest available sunscreen ingredient, non-nano zinc oxide. This natural and non-toxic makeup has a truly unique serum formula and beautiful medium coverage.

Scented

When it comes to cleanliness, we associate a strong chemical smell with being clean, when in reality “clean” has no smell at all. Fragrance is one of the 5 common allergens found in cosmetics and can trigger asthma attacks, skin irritation and skin allergies, and allergic reactions. Fragranced products can cause adverse health effects including respiratory, neurological, cognitive, gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, immune, and musculoskeletal problem to migraine headaches, mucosal symptoms, and asthma attacks. Despite these facts, companies are not required to disclose the fragrance ingredients in their products. Studies have revealed toxic ingredients in fragrance such phthalates, octoxynols and butylphenol methylpropianol. In addition, fragrances emit harmful volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Switching to Natural Products

Food and drugs are regulated for safety by the FDA, but did you know that personal care products do not need government approval? For cleaning products, the EPA only requires a company to list active disinfectant ingredients. Over 40 countries have banned over 1,400 ingredients that are believed to be harmful in personal care products and cosmetics, whereas the US has banned merely 11. Many of the banned ingredients have been linked to cancer, disruption of the endocrine system, and organ toxicity, and can cause allergies and other negative health effects. Switching to natural products in which companies not only strive for safety and efficacy, but maintain transparency with customers, helps you ensure a safer and healthier lifestyle and home.

Non-Toxic Lip Gloss

Most lip gloss on the shelves contain heavy metals, even though you won’t see them listed in the ingredient label. Luckily, there are non toxic lip gloss options sans heavy metals that you’ll love the look and feel of just as much as the others. Fitglow Lip Serum is my favorite non toxic lip gloss. They not only look beautiful, but contain organic, plant-based ingredients.

Laundry Stain Remover

Conventional stain removers often contain toxic ingredients like bleach that are irritating to eyes, skin, and the respiratory system. Branch Basics is bleach-free effectively removes stains and uses only non-toxic ingredients. Oxygen boost intensifies cleaning, and when combined with All Purpose Spray, the combination works magic on stains. Oxygen boost is also great for brightening whites.