I wrote this back in July and forgot to post it… Whoops!
This summer I’ve stumbled on a number of articles and useful websites rating chemical additives in basic everyday products: make-up, cleaners, sunscreens, and even toothpaste. Even products that sound green can be unsafe. For example, Simple Green All Purpose Cleaner contains additives that are hazardous to women’s reproductive health.
One of my favorite sites is the The Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database, which scores and ranks personal care products based on a synthesis of known and suspected hazards from databases of scientific literature. Search for your toothpaste, moisturizer, contact lens solutions, shampoo, deodorant, mouthwash, make-up, sunscreen, and more to identify unsafe chemicals. (If your particular brand isn’t listed you can search by ingredient instead.) I’ve already switched our sunscreen and daily moisturizer to avoid known cancer causing agents from seeping into our skin. I find it terrifying reading about what we put in our cosmetic products.
The best part of the Skin Deep site is that they rank products, so it’s fairly easy finding alternatives to our household favorites. Of course, just because they are natural doesn’t mean they are affordable. I’ve found that has been the most trying aspect of this whole thing: finding affordable and safe cosmetic products. You’d think it would cost more to process all those chemicals, but evidently not so much.
Where have we been the past week? We’ve been covered in straw, clay, and sand up in Hopland where we took a fantastic class in natural building techniques. Now we are really excited about building a home with our own two hands.
