Are you using personal care and cleaning products that are really safe to use?
Do you care what’s going into the your skin or what you actually inhaled while applying cosmetics and while showering every day? Think again…
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It all started when my sinus congestion is getting from bad to worse these days and this is really frustrating and getting on my nerves. Worse still, my Hubby seems to share the same problem which makes it even more worrying.
Finally, this triggered me to find out more about what is really wrong? I googled, surfed through couple of health websites and I realized the most possible culprit for my sinus is “FRAGRANCE”.
I then recalled that I always tend to sneeze/ sinus a lot while hanging laundry which I guess my body was dutifully warning me about the scent it was repelling all these while; same thing happened when I’m using my Lancome Perfume…I also realized that I somehow gradually (and sub-consciously) reduced the powder amount until Hubby sometimes has to grumble about not using enough washing powder to get rid of the odour lingering on our clothes…
Seemingly harmless the word Fragrance may sound, but after checking through several health sites, I’m more than convinced that it is this poisonous ‘Fragrance’ that is causing the hypersensitivity in our noses all year long!
Sadly, Fragrance as an ingredient itself can be found in a lot of our everyday products ranging from washing detergent, hand & body soap, shower cream, hair sprays & gel, body moisturizer, air freshener, nail polish that are commercially sold widely. These products are often marketed as “safe-to-use” products and sometimes brag doing wonders like combating bacteria and removing odours etc. Another commonly used products that contain Fragrances are of course the ever popular Perfumes and cosmetics that most women (and now men too) loves…
But are these products really safe to use on my body? Besides Fragrance, what other toxic ingredients are added into the products that we’re using now? You may want to look on further at the EWG’s Skin Deep or The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics , I’m sure you’ll be just as shocked as I was!
At same time, I’m grateful that helpless Consumers like us can be well informed through these websites, although I did wish that I’d realized earlier what kind of harm I’m exposing to my body, my loved ones and even to the environment. But I guess reproaching should stop and life still goes on, but difference now is that the word ‘Fragrance’ will be avoided in our daily lives, as much as possible!
So immediately, to right the wrongs in my home, here’s what I did for the past week in my attempt to kick Fragrance out from our house:
1) I threw away my TOP washing detergent powder which is heavily scented. Good thing for me is that I don’t use Softeners (even more Toxic!)…Until I can find a safe alternate commercial product, I will solely use baking soda for laundry. Vinegar can be used as a final rinse to soften the laundry and remove odour and fragrant residue.
2) I threw away all my Dove body soaps, shampoo, conditioner etc. Again, cleansing can be done using baking soda since it is an excellent defoliant for removing dead skin cells and dirt on our body. If you don’t mind spending, choose castile soaps instead.
3) I threw away my Mama Lemon liquid detergent in my kitchen (I don’t trust them esp. the lemon scent!), replaced it with a natural one just bought at Green Circle.
4) I threw all other misc. cleaning products including bleach solution, MagiClean detergent, Mr Muscle Toilet cleaner….the ingredients and fumes are all highly toxic! Baking Soda and Vinegar can be used instead.
5) I threw away my toothpaste. Though no apparent fragrance used but commercial toothpaste are mostly artificially flavoured and Fluoride and its other ingredients are definitely toxic! Use baking soda + salt or learn online how to make your own.
6) And last of all, bye-bye to my Perfume.
It also amazes me how useful Baking Soda and Vinegar are and yet I have been neglecting them all these while, silly me! – Just google and you’ll find numerous recipes to concoct your own cleaning agent using safe and natural ingredients.
Hooray!!! Now my home is truly fragrance-free! And bluff you not, I felt that my sinus symptoms are improving in only such a few days’ time!
Lastly, with Christmas coming, I wanted to urge you to avoid buying gifts that are added with Fragrance/Parfum as an ingredient (scan through the ingredient label carefully or simply just trust your nose), think twice about what exactly you are buying esp. if it’s a chemical product; and remember for the sake of your loved ones and friends, load them with toxic no more!
I know all these may sound drastic and seems paranoid to some of you, but personally for me rejecting the use of fragranced products is only a tiny beginning, there are more things yet to be done and moving towards a non-toxic (and greener) living is definitely one of my key resolution of 2012!
Would you care to join me?




