There’s something in the air

Annie’s post on stinky shampoo and the comments afterwards got me thinking about all the smells and chemicals we subject ourselves to on a daily basis. Some of my friends/family think this is a weird new thing for me, but to be honest they’ve bothered me as long as I can remember. It’s just that I’m at a point of my life where I live with someone who agrees with me and supports it, and we can afford to try alternative methods.

For me, the worst is chemical cleaners. I hate them. I can’t stand the smell and they make me feel claustrophobic, plus they give me headaches. One of the very first things I did when I moved in with Kris was buy a book about natural cleaners and make some of my own. I was amazed at how well they work, and they are way cheaper than the store-bought ones. Plus if I run out I almost always have the ingredients on hand to quickly make more. I’ve posted some of my recipes here: Earth-Friendly Cleaners. These are cheaper to use, easy to make, and I don’t have to worry about venting my rooms or whether Meredith is crawling on the floor ten minutes after mopping it.

Cosmetics and perfumes are another big one for me. A little bit of perfume is fine for people who like it, but I avoid those people who douse themselves with it the same as I avoid a smoker on the street. It makes me cough and feel gross. I don’t like the smell of make up on myself, and never used it even as a teen.

Sunscreen is a big culprit. I recently read an entry on one of my favorite natural health blogs about sunscreen and whether it’s really as important as we’ve come to think: Throw Away the Sunscreen. I’m not ready to throw away the sunscreen yet, but we use a physical sunscreen with no parabens or fragrance sparingly and otherwise try to limit exposure in the sun in the afternoons. We cover up and stay in the shade when possible.

Shampoo, conditioner, and soaps seem like a huge part of every day life. Part of the reason our life expectancy goes up and disease rates go down is attributed to cleaner living conditions. This is true to an extent, but at times we replace one problem for another. The Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database gives sometimes frightening information about these products. There is an “extra-gentle” shampoo for kids whose ingredients are linked to: cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergies/immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity, organ system toxicity, irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), enhanced skin absorption, contamination concerns, and biochemical or cellular level changes. (The Skin Deep site is a great read for choosing cosmetics and cleaners. They link to studies and explain the reasoning behind all of their ratings.) Since I stopped using shampoo and conditioner (see Annie’s post for what I do now) I’ve actually noticed an improvement in my hair. It’s less greasy, doesn’t tangle, and I don’t need to wash it as often. I use handmade soaps or baking soda for my body. We’ve only used soap on Meredith once, and it was a little bit of Dr. Bronner’s on her body. Otherwise, water does the job just fine. Deodorant is one place that I feel stuck at sometimes. I know that deodorants with aluminum in them have been linked to Alzheimers, among other things, but I tend to sweat a lot. However, this year I don’t seem to have nearly the problem I used to. I wonder if it’s because we’re making such a big effort to eat better? I use Green Beaver deodorant now and it seems to work really well too. I’ve tried the crystals and they don’t work well for me.

While it has its place, antibacterial soap on a regular basis is unnecessary and, often, worse than useless. I was a microbiology major in university (I don’t have a degree but that’s another story for another time). We got to grow bacteria on petri plates and then try to kill it off. The bacteria that antibacterial soaps worked on, worked well, but when it didn’t work it often didn’t work at all. Regular soap did a better job. And the more you use antibacterial soap, the more resistant the bacteria become to it, so when you really need it, it may not work. (And along these same lines, vinegar was about equal with bleach when it came to destroying bacteria. I don’t have bleach in my house, we use vinegar and sometimes the sun if we need a little extra.)

I’m not a germophobe in any shape or form. I think one thing people don’t realize is that germs, even “bad” ones, are actually necessary and good for us. Most people have heard that kids growing up on farms are often healthier than kids growing up in a sterile environment. This is because the farm kids are exposed to small amounts of all sorts of different bacteria every day. Their immune systems learn how to handle those germs, and my own theory is that, like anything else, the immune system needs practice to stay in shape. A kid growing up in a sterile environment who gets exposed to even a small amount of bacteria may not be able to handle it, and so they become sick. A farm kid who is exposed to a large amount of a bacteria they’ve never been exposed to before is probably far better equipped to fight it off, especially if the immune system is allowed to do its job without fever-reducing medications. (These examples are obviously very simplistic, but hopefully the point is clear.)

I use Green Beaver toothpaste too. Check out the warnings for one of the toothpastes I have used in the past. There is a lot of controversy about fluoride lately, and from the reading I’ve done my opinion is that it should not be added to our water and parents should have a choice about whether their kids should be exposed. I would choose not to use it. Green Beaver toothpastes have xylitol in them which has been shown to clean teeth and doesn’t have the toxicity associated with it that fluoride does.

Until recently, laundry detergent has been an issue for me. Our skin is the biggest organ in our bodies and absorbs everything, yet we use toxic laundry detergents every day. I stopped using dryer sheets and started using dryer balls instead years ago (which saves me money too, since they last years so no more buying dryer sheets). I also will often add a little vinegar to the final rinse to help rinse out any detergent and it doubles as a fabric softener. I have tried all sorts of “natural” laundry detergents, but some had funny smells, or still had chemicals in them I’d rather avoid. I recently discovered soap nuts, which are natural and scent free. They leave my clothes soft and clean, and I can add essential oil to the wash if I want to. (Though I don’t add oil to diaper loads as I’ve read it can coat the diapers.) Soap nuts can also be used to make hand soap, dishwashing soap, and cleaners.

All right, there is lots more I could talk about along these lines, but this is long enough. It is one of my own personal “causes” I guess you could say, since I think some people are more worried about bacteria than about chemicals in cleaners, which is backwards. I learned a lot about both in university and doing my own research. Our bodies have evolved to handle bacterias and germs, but chemicals are new and are doing a lot of damage to us and to our children. (Which could get me started on vaccines too, but again, another post for another time.)

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