Have you been hearing about “hormone disruptors” a lot lately? Maybe you’re wondering what they are, how to spot them, or why they are even so bad for us if the FDA says they’re ok!
Many ingredients are known hormone disruptors, especially those labeled as “fragrance” in many of our home cleaning and beauty care products. What you may not know is that those yummy scents may be doing some pretty gnarly things to your body.
So today, I’m breaking down what they are, how they work in your body, why you don’t need them in your life anymore, and the easiest resources to get you on your way to a toxin-free home!
What The?
Fragrances and other known carcinogens wreck havoc on our bodies by confusing our natural hormonal balance. They confuse our hormonal system, which in turn, creates a cascade effect of hormonal confusion within our bodies. Even in small doses, hormone disruptors can cause infertility issues, birth defects, metabolic issues, autoimmune issues, and even cancer.
Wait, Mrs. Meyer’s Is Toxic?!
Yes, that probably includes the “all-natural” hand soap that you’ve been using every single day for many years thinking that it was the healthiest choice for your family. It likely includes your vanilla body wash, those yummy scented candles that you love to burn, the fresh smelling laundry detergent that you grew up using, and even your kid’s strawberry scented bubble bath.
There Is Hope
Now before you go curling up into a ball in the corner of your bathroom, looking around at everything you need to replace, let me soften the blow. Although you just experienced the ultimate betrayal in the form of a hand soap that you really thought you could trust (how could you, Mrs. Meyers?!) this isn’t actually all that hard. You just have to get to work and get it done.
You Can Do It
In my opinion, the easiest thing to do is to start little by little. Take note of your current products whenever they are running low and replace them with safer options. It makes the whole process a lot cheaper and a heck of a lot less overwhelming to start gradually.
Luckily, there are tons of apps and resources available now to make healthy swaps even easier. These resources do all the work for you, so you don’t have to memorize all of the crazy ingredient names and the scary side effects they may be causing.
Easy Resources
One of my favorite apps for a toxin-free home or beauty routine is called THINK DIRTY. You can scan the barcode on any product, or type in the description and it gives you an easy to read 1-10 rating. The rating clearly explains the products toxicity level. If you see a rating of 10 on a product that you have loved for years, I’m sorry, friend. I will help you write the breakup letter, but that thing has GOT to go.
Another resource is the Environmental Working Group’s website, which works in a similar way as the THINK DIRTY app with the same type of rating scale. With either one, you can click on the rating to see all of the ingredients in more detail. You can also quickly see all of the possible health correlations tied to each ingredient.
Toxin-Free Home
Personally, I only had to click on the full ingredient breakdown once or twice on products that I was using regularly before the sheer terror set in. I don’t really like to think about all the time I spent using products that I thought were healthy and what those ingredients were potentially doing to my body.
But, the good news is, knowledge is power! Now, I’m on my way to a toxin-free home and I hope that you will be too!
The first thing that I started swapping were our cleaning products. I bought the Thieves Starter Kit from Young Living about 13 years ago and have been using those products in our home ever since. The all-purpose cleaner is so concentrated that it makes 16 bottles of cleaner from just one bottle!
There are so many easy swaps if you just take it one product at a time. When you run out of your detergent or deodorant, for example, just buy a cleaner version the next time! It doesn’t have to be overwhelming and you don’t have to go crazy swapping out all of your products at once.
On that note, I have a new blog coming at you soon with all of my favorite all-natural, SAFE, products to make your journey easier. But for now, if you have any products that you love, please share them with me! This toxin-free lifestyle thing is a lifelong process and I can use all the help I can get!
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