Does it Really Matter if you Clean Green? Body Edition

In March I wrote a post called Does it Really Matter if You Clean Green: Home Edition and with summer here, it's a great time to talk about cleaning green for your body.

If it's important to clean green in your home, it's even more important to do so on your skin.  Your skin is your biggest organ which means whatever you put on it eventually penetrates through your system.  It's sort of like feeding your skin -are you going to give it healthy food or toxic food?

Currently, the FDA is not responsible for premarketing approval of cosmetic products.  That basically means we have to trust in the company we are buying from unless there is a claim against them.  Read the full law here.

Here's a list on commonly used ingredients that are considered no-nos in my book.  I won't go into details on the downsides of these ingredients - a quick Google search will answer your questions. This post I'd rather focus on what to use but I want you to know my selections are almost 100% FREE of these ingredients:

phthalates
sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates
PVC
parabens
benzene
chlorine
synthetic fragrances
triclosan
formaldehyde-based preserving agents
nanoparticles
TEA
MEA
phosphates
polyethylene glycol (PEG)
quaternium 15
DMDM hydantoin
1-4 dioxane
bisphenol-A (BPA)
alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs)/nonylphenol
BHA
benzalkonium chloride

When buying products, this is a great list to carry to the store.  It's just like food; seeing "Avacado oil" on the ingredient list is far superior to a chemical you can't pronounce.  I have had a little success finding all natural products at Target but mostly I order our products online.  When you do that, you want to be sure they disclose a full list of ingredients for each product.

This is going to be a very exclusive list simply because these are the products I have found to be the most efficient and cost effective.  There is something so nice about finding one company that you trust - it makes shopping much easier.  This is not a paid endorsement; I'm really just this crazy about their products!

We use Honest Company for the following products:
shampoo & body wash
conditioner
body & face lotion
sunscreen

For shave gel, I use the conditioner.  Another way to keep costs down is to keep it simple - four products - and just three that we use every day!

I also use whipped coconut oil (I buy coconut oil and whisk it in my kitchenaid) as body and face lotion.

There's no need to have a separate list for the kiddos because everything above is safe on even infants!

Face wash: Neutrogena Naturals fresh cleansing & makeup remover

Toothpaste:  Tom's of Maine Whole Care.  Tom's also makes a great mouthwash.

I have not listed make-up not because I don't wear it but because I'm currently shopping around for a new brand.  I have been using Arbonne which is wonderful and follows most of the no-no standards but it is simply too expensive :/.  Any suggestions on make-up would be welcome!

Try Honest for yourself!