For pretty much everyone who lives in America, and any other country that has running water, using commercial cleansing products full of nasty chemicals is a normal average every day part of their life. Generally people jump in the shower, lather up with body wash and jump out. They wash their face every morning and evening with face wash. They shampoo and condition their hair regularly and put in tons of random styling products.
For someone with ULTRA sensitive skin like myself this can be a nightmare. My skin is super sensitive (like if someone is wearing a perfume that I am allergic to I can break out in hives.... Not a good time). Every winter I would get so itchy and dry that my legs would HURT every night after my shower. My faces gets so dry and sensitive that it peels for no good reason. I thought that this was just 'normal' and unavoidable.
Once I got a little older I started googling things - like any good 20 year old, and I found out that there are so many toxic and harmful chemical ingredients in pretty much EVERY SINGLE PRODUCT THAT I USED. Since then, I have been on the hunt for less harmful ways to stay clean and hygenic while using as few and as mild prodcuts as possible. Now don't get me wrong, I love trying new products and fun make up. I just want to be able to cut out as many harmful chemicals as I can while still being clean and getting to try new fun products. My last post about my journey on my water only hair care 'experiment' is my next step in my journey to less chemicals.
So far I have made the following changes since my teenage years:
1. In the shower I use primarily water to cleanse myself. I will use a more natural body wash/scrub to wash my 'hot spots' but everything else just gets a nice rinse and I am EXACTLY as clean as when I did a full body wash, except my skin is MUCH HAPPIER.
2. I DO NOT USE SHAVING CREAM. I shave with a razor and water... and I never cut myself or have in grown hair issues. The secret is to let the warm water soften your hair for about 3 minutes before you shave. It may take some getting use to, but try it. You'll like it.
3. The only time I use face wash is at night when I am removing my make up. I wet down my face with warm water and splash off as much make up as I can, then I use a mild face wash (Simple Brand) to wash of my face. I then pat dry with a soft towel and put on my night time face lotion. In the morning I rinse my face with warm water and am ready to go!
4. I have switched to deoderant ONLY. I no longer use antiperspirant. I tried many natural deoderants along the way and could not find a single one that I was not allergic to. I now use a men's deoderant. It may take you a few days to adjust to using simply a deoderant, but your body will acclimate and you will not sweat as much as you did before. Promise.
5. I switched to more natural lotions. I now only use lotions with natural ingredients and no parabens. I found that I am allergic to parabens and they were part of my issues with itching on my legs. Once I cut them out, problem solved! Coconut oil is a great natural moisturizer as well.
6. For my hair I have had years and years of trials and errors. In high school I would shampoo and condition every night then blow dry and straighten as well. This was a bad idea. My hair quickly turned to dried out straw. I switched to letting my hair dry naturally and this helped a lot. I have tried many things since them. Natural shampoos, cutting out shampoos, using the curly girl method, stretching out the time between washes. Right now I am doing a water only washing method experiement. I will let you know how it goes :-)
7. For my face washing and lotioning I have switched from the 'normal' versions to more natural versions of the same products. I have also switched out my night time lotion for a more natural version and sometimes I use oil as well.
One last thing, when you have an option to choose 'regular' or 'sensitive skin' products. Always go for the product formulated for sensitive skin. In my experience these have less harmful ingredients. Also, when having the option to go for Fragrance Free or Unscented, always go Fragrance Free. This has less harmful chemicals. Unscented products may have even more harmful chemicals in them because often times they have an added agent to mask the smell of the product to make it appear 'unscented'.
Do you have any additional suggestions for me to avoiding harmful chemicals? Also, what has your experience been like if you have been trying to cut out harmful products?
XOXO
Aubrey
