3 Toxic Products You Use Every Day and Safe Alternatives
The odds of being healthy are stacked agains Americans. Everywhere we go there is the temptation to make unhealthy choices, whether that be fast food, beauty products, or household cleaning products. Finding simple and healthy everyday necessities is harder than ever before.
Healthy products are pushed out of the marketplace by prices that they can never compete with and mega corporations fighting for control. People are promised good quality, when in reality they are being constantly exposed to harmful chemicals.
Luckily, there are alternatives. Many people have realized the harm that is being done to our bodies by the industrial food complex, synthetic skincare, and harmful cleaning products. They have worked hard to provide us with healthier, safe alternatives. Here are a few examples:
1. Shampoo
Shampoos are often made out of detergents. The point of detergent is that it strips the grime, grease, etc. away. That is why we use it to wash our clothes, cars, and dishes. When you wash your hair you want to strip the dirtiness away, but whether you like it or not, all of your natural oils are being stripped away as well. When your natural oils are stripped away your body naturally sends signals to replace this oil, and the vicious cycle continues.
Companies that sell shampoo know this, which is why they sell the solution to the problem they created as well. Namely, conditioner, hair masks, etc. If your natural scalp oil had never been stripped, there never would have been a reason to replace it.
The more you use shampoo, the more reliant on it you become. Your hair becomes addicted to it. It will rebel if you ever take away it’s much needed shampoo by becoming dirty and greasy.
Throughout the centuries humans did not use harsh chemicals and detergents to clean (harass) their hair. Because of this, we know there is another way…
A not-so-fun fact: if your shampoo lathers, then it is a detergent.
The Alternatives
There are many healthy alternatives to having beautiful hair. They range from cutting out products altogether, to oil cleansing, to (my favorite) shampoo bars, and many more.
Cutting out shampoo altogether
This method is not highly recommended, because it can leave your hair looking especially oily and dirty. I would consider it for the short term, though, as an alternative to harsh shampoos.
Oil cleansing
Oil cleansing is popular in skincare as well as haircare. It is known for pulling out impurities from hair or skin without drying it out. There are many different types of oil that you can use, so find the one that works best with your hair.
Shampoo bars
Shampoo bars are a great alternative for someone looking to get off of shampoo, but doe’t want to end up looking like they got lost in the woods. Shampoo bars can cleanse and soften your hair. Because they are often made with natural oils (like tallow!), conditioner is not needed.
2. Chapstick
Chap stick is, like shampoo, addicting. It seems like the more we use the more we need.
That’s because it doesn’t do its job.
The moisturizing agent in many chapsticks is petroleum, a byproduct of the crude (raw oil and gas) industry. The problem with petroleum is that it can’t actually be absorbed into your lips. It is a sealant. All petroleum does is help to keep moisture in. If your lips are dry and you put petroleum on them, it will soften your lips for a little while, but once it is gone, it leaves your lips worse than before. Unrefined petroleum can also contain PAH’s (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), which can cause hormone disruption, organ damage, and more.
The Alternative - Tallow Chapstick
While petroleum seals your lips, tallow moisturized and seals. Tallow is known for it’s unique compatibility with our own skin oil. Our skin oil is called sebum, which in Latin means tallow.
A common addition to tallow chapstick is beeswax. Beeswax keeps the chapstick firm, which is necessary because tallow is relatively soft at room temperature and will melt at higher temperatures.
There are many other additions that can be made to tallow chapstick, each with their own unique befits. Common additions are jojoba oil, essential oil, and vitamins.
3. Lotion
Many lotions contain a myriad of synthetic ingredients. Go find the nearest bottle of lotion and read the ingredient list.
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Are you back yet?
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Ok! I am guessing that you found a long list of foreign and unpronounceable ingredients. I have never heard of panthenol lecithi, phenoxyethanol, or ethylparaben, etc., for example.
It is concerning to see so many ingredients that are potentially harmful to us. Everything that you put on your shin is absorbing directly into your body. Even if they are safe for our skin, you never know what they are doing to the inside of our bodies.
The other thing about typical lotions is that the first ingredient is often water. The problem with water in skin care is that it will often evaporate off of your skin before it absorbs into it. It doesn’t evaporate be it’s self though. It takes some of your natural oil with it, contributing to dryness and causing you to need more moisturizer. Interesting, similar vicious cycle to shampoo and chapstick. I wonder who’s making all the money off of this? Hmm…
A not-so-fun fact: the DCD has no specific definition of the word natural. When you buy something that says “natural,” it might not be a natural as you think.
The Alternative - Tallow Moisturizer
Tallow was used for centuries by people to moisturize and protect skin. It is known for its ability to improve acne, eczema, psoriasis, and much more.
Many people eat tallow, which speaks to the safety of tallow. If it is safe and beneficial to eat, then it is safe to put on your skin.
Tallow is known for its ability to lock in moisture, promote collagen generation, protect the skin barrier, soften skin, and more.
Tallow contains vitamins A,E,D,K, and B12. All of these, except B12, are fat soluble vitamins. Fat soluble vitamins are found in much higher quantities in animal fats than plant oil.
Tallow comes from mammals. Because of this it much more compatible with our skin than plant oil. Think about how much more similar you are to a cow than a coconut.
Fun Fact: McDonalds used to fry their french fries in tallow.
Don’t Lose Hope
Even though it seems like big corporations are selling us harmful products left and right, and that we are being choked out by it, we have a superpower. That superpower is that we get to tell them what to do. That’s how business works. A business’s boss is its consumers. If the comsuer doesn’t want what the business is selling, they have to either change their product of go out of business. Even though it might seem like we are helpless, we really hold the power of life and death over them. Every little bit counts.
Interview by Tucker Carlson of Calley and Casey Means on the American Health Crisis
Arete Tallow Tallow Moisturizer
Stay tuned for lip balm and shampoo bars coming soon!
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