Safer Personal Care Products

Several years ago I asked you to share your research on finding personal care products that were free of noxious chemicals. You responded generously and I published that information in a newsletter.

 I’m sending this information again in this newsletter. Would you please review it and see if anything should be changed, deleted or added. You may have found some wonderful new safer personal care products since the last time I published this list.

 My reader’s suggestions:

Thanks to all of you who sent in your recommendations for safer personal care products, cosmetics, and cleaning products. All of us appreciate your caring enough to share with us.

Some of our readers who contributed their recommendations for safer products have been very chemically sensitive. So they know their stuff. They have searched diligently for chemical free products so they can survive. Pay attention to their recommendations for safer personal care products. They are like the canaries the miners carried into the mines. The canaries got sick before the miners could detect the toxic fumes in the caves. So our chemically sensitive ones warn us of dangers in our environment.

Now it’s time for you to get rid of all the toxins in your environment that you have control over by replacing potentially toxic personal care products with safer personal care products.

 Safer Personal Care Products by Category

Following this categorized list, see what each contributor wrote about the products.

The safer personal care product is listed first, then the company to order it from and then the name of the person who recommended it.

How to contact the recommended companies to buy safer personal care products:

Azure Standard 541-467-2230 you can order through a buy club. Azure can tell you if there is one in your area. They also ship UPS with minimum $40 order www.azurestandard.com

Mt. Peoples Warehouse 800-679-6733 not sure if you can order UPS – may have to find buy club but they can tell you if there is one in your area. (Abbreviated MP in list below.)

Wilderness Family Naturals http://www.wildernessfamilynaturals.com/

Air Deodorizers

Grapefruit Mate Mist by Orange-Mate, Inc. – has only pure oils and essence of grapefruit (also has lemon. lime, and orange) – Mt. Peoples – Sandy

Air Therapy by Mia Rose is also good – just essential oils but it costs a lot more – Azure and Mt. People – Sandy

Childcare Products

Kettle Care Three C’s baby balm – Azure – Sandy

Disposable Diapers and Baby Wipes by Seventh Generation – The diapers are unbleached and we really like them. The wipes don’t have the junk in them that you find in other brands – Azure Standard – Sandy

Cosmetics

Ecco Bella from Mt. Peoples.  Most of Ecco Bella’s are acceptable. –  MP – Sandy

A face moisturizer I love is Almond-aloe moisturizer made by Earth Science. I like the fact that it is light, is not greasy, and gives your skin a nice glow. It has a sunscreen of spf l5+ but you can also get it without. I believe the one without sunscreen is fragrance free. You can buy it at your local health food store. Mary

Deodorant

Pure and Natural Crystal Stick by Deodorant Stone of America (some brands of deodorant stones are contaminated) – Azure – Sandy

Citrus Blend Natural Touch Deodorant, Pure and Natural Lip Balm Stick and Natural Body Butter by Wilderness Family Naturals – the only safe stick deodorant I have found – mainly virgin coconut oil – I order directly from them at Wilderness Family Naturals. – Sandy

Thanks for the tip on deodorants. It’s hard to find deodorant safer personal care products.

Dishwashing Products

Dish Soap by Lifetree – Azure & Mt. People – Sandy

Automatic Dish Powder by Bio-Kleen – Azure – Sandy

Seventh Generation Dishwasher Soap – health food store or Azure – Kim

General Purpose Cleaning

For a lot of cleaning, especially where I want disinfecting (kitchen counter, bathroom, floors, sinks), I use a formula I picked up from Dr. Mercola. You have 2 spray bottles, one with 3% hydrogen peroxide and one with white vinegar. They can’t be mixed ahead or it won’t work. You spray one and then the other and the chemical reaction when they meet is supposed to be a better disinfectant than bleach and much safer. I get the 35% food grade peroxide from Azure and dilute it. This is what I use to soak my veggies after I wash them. Then I don’t rinse them and they seem to keep longer. Sandy

I just started using a hand held steam cleaner – works great for most all household cleaning. It’s a safer personal care product because there’s no exposure to chemicals through the skin and no fumes. – Dr. Jo

Hair Care

Essential Shampoo by Kettle Care – from Azure – Sandy

Kettle Care also makes conditioners and hair spray.

Laundry Products

Laundry Liquid by Lifetree – Azure & Mt. People – Sandy

Seventh Generation Laundry Soap – health food store – Kim

Anti-cling drier sheets from Sixwise.com – http://shop.sixwise.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=142

Lip Care

Moisturizing Lotion and Lip balm by Tropical Traditions – mainly virgin coconut and palm oils. I order directly from them at www.tropicaltraditions.com – Sandy

Skin Care:

Emu oil  from Gentle Emu. Call in order as they do not do internet orders. Number is 877-436-8537
About $40 for 16 oz which lasts a long time. From Velma

100% pure emu oil by Tahoe Ridge Emu Products – good for burns and any kind of healing. – Azure – Sandy

Hand and Body lotion with Aloe Vera and Neem Oil by Neem Aura Natural – Azure – Sandy

Miracle 11 Gel by Miracle 11 – this is the best thing we have found for poison oak – Azure –Sandy

Soap

Castile Liquid and bar soaps (organic) by Dr. Bronner – nice soap with no junk in it – Azure and MP – Sandy

Natural Body Wash Foamer by Well-in-Hand – It is mainly castile soap of coconut, olive and jojoba oil with a few other things. It comes out foamy like shaving cream. Azure – Sandy

Teeth and Gums Care

Gentlefloss Dental Floss by Eco-Dent – 100% vegan waxed, essential oils and anti-bacterial enzymes – Azure & MP – Sandy

Oral Comfort CoQ10 whitening gel toothpaste for sensitive teeth by Jason (many of Jason’s products are not pure, but this one is) – CoQ10 and MSM are good for the gums, also has xylitol which helps prevent cavities and many other good things – Azure & MP – Sandy

Here’s what our readers said about the safer personal products they recommended:

From Velma

For my skin I am using Emu oil and I get it from Gentle Emu and I have to call it in as they do not do internet orders. Number is 877-436-8537
About $40 for 16 oz which lasts a long time

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From Mary

Hi Jo – A face moisturizer I love is Almond-aloe moisturizer made by Earth Science. I like the fact that it is light, is not greasy, and gives your skin a nice glow. It has a sunscreen of spf  l5+ but you can also get it without. I believe the one without sunscreen is fragrance free. You can buy it at your local health food store.

********************

From Kim:

I find “Seventh Generation” laundry soap and dishwasher soap to be great – no fragrance left on clothes or seeping into household air from the dishwasher running. Can be found at most health food stores and the company makes other products too, which I have not personally tried but may be good as well.

Soak produce in grapefruit extract to remove pesticides. Again, seems like common knowledge but: no stuffed toys in or foam covered bumpers around inside of baby’s bed, no fire-retardant jammies for baby, no polyester or non-wrinkle sheets in the bed next to the skin (positive electrical charge) and same for clothes. No foam pillows. If bathroom adjoins bedroom, remove all chemicals, cleaning agents, perfumes. For the chemically sensitive, remove all clothing from closets that open to the bedroom. The bed for the chemically sensitive can be made of cotton blankets on top of mattress coils only or blankets on top of air mattress. Hardwood floors only in bedrooms. All of this is because the immune system detoxifies the body at night — if no additional exposures are occurring for 8 hours while sleeping, it can do its job, if not, toxicity piles on top of toxicity from night to night.

 Check your current personal care and cleaning products

Inventory your personal care and cleaning products. Are they adding toxins to your body? If so, toss them out and stock up on safer personal care products.

Are you clueless about whether the products you now use are safe? Give them the Environmental Working Group safety test.  Then come back and find out where to find safer personal care products meeting your criteria if the ones you have now fail the test.

Now create your shopping list for safer personal care products at Environmental Working Group custom shopping list

Wow, isn’t that site cool. Now you don’t have to waste your money and time trying to find safer personal care products. The EWG has done the research for you. What a great resource.

Congratulations. You are well on the way to cleaning up your environment and thus decreasing your exposure to toxic chemicals.