What Is A Toxin + Why Should You Care?

You are exposed to hormone disrupting chemicals + toxins every single day.

I define a toxin as anything you eat, breathe, put on your skin, that your body doesn’t recognize + has no use for. Some are easy for our body to eliminate (water-soluble), while others are more difficult + can get stored in our fat cells (fat-soluble).

These toxins can build up over time, increasing our risk of anything from migraines, to fertility issues and cancer! They can even disrupt our hormones. Most don’t realize that that the amount of toxins we’re exposed to on a daily basis has dramatically increased over the past few decades.

Some statistics for you:

• The average woman is exposed to 168 chemicals every morning through personal care products
• In a study done my the Environmental Working Group, an average of 16 hormone-altering chemical were found in teens (again from personal care products)

So where are these toxins found?!

• What we eat and drink: preservatives, artificial dyes, artificial colors + flavors, antibiotics, herbicides + pesticides, BPA + BPS in plastics
• What we breathe: candles, perfume, fragrance in general, poor air quality, pollution
• What we put on our skin: parabens, phthalates +fragrance in personal care products, flame retardants in furniture, and so much more!

While our bodies have built-in ways to help neutralize + eliminate these toxins, we are often being overburdened —> less than optimal health, sickness, disease. So what can we do?!

1. DITCH toxic personal care products + SWITCH to waterless, pure earth products.
2. Eat detoxifying foods + supplement with detoxifying herbs.
3. Sweat: sauna, exercise (and ditch those antiperspirants!). I use an enzyme-based deodorant that neutralizes stinky bacteria without blocking your pores!
4. Sleep: This is a vital time where your body renews + rebuilds.
5. Dry Brush: Helps move the lymphatic system, which plays a vital roll in immunity. This one is my favorite!
6. Avoid plastics as much as possible: Purchase a glass or stainless steal water bottle (I LOVE this one), avoid plastic Tupperware.
7. Avoid fragrance: Use essential oil based candles, perfume, cleaners, detergents instead!
8. Optimize your bowel movements! Optimal is 1-3 times daily.

What do you do to support your body’s natural detoxification processes?

3 Reasons to Ditch Water-Based Personal Care Products

All though high school and college I suffered from dry skin in the winter. It was itchy, flaky + red. I would constantly reapply lotion but it never seemed to really help. It wasn’t until I learned the power of waterLESS skincare that I finally saw those dry patches heal. So, you probably wondering what’s the deal with waterless skin care? Let’s dive in.

There are 3 main reasons why you need to ditch water-containing products.

1. Water attracts water, so when you put a lotion containing water on your skin, it will pull out the moisture in your skin, evaporating it into the air. So, the water in our lotions is actually drawing the water OUT of our skin, making our skin dryer. No wonder I had to reapply 583x per day.
   
2. Water makes products less stable and more prone to spoiling or growing bacteria. This requires the addition of stabilizers + preservatives. Unfortunately, most companies are not investing in healthy stabilizers + preventives, so most are toxic and harmful to our bodies. Examples include: parabens, formaldehyde, phenoxyethanol
   
3. When water is added to products, it dilutes the active ingredients, creating a cheaper product with less of the good stuff!