De-toxifying

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I've become very concerned lately about the toxic lifestyle we've been living. No, we don't huff from aerosol cans or take illegal drugs or regularly play in nuclear waste... but that doesn't stop us from getting a regular, depressing dose of poison.

For example, let's say you use hairspray. The likelihood of it containing pthalates - which have been found in conjunction with damage to the kidneys, liver, lungs, and reproductive organs and have been found concentrated in breastmilk - is very high. Just that one source alone, used daily, exposes you and the rest of your family to extremely dangerous toxins. And that's not mentioning things like commercial deodorants, perfumes, air fresheners, nail polish, hair gels, shampoos and conditioners, lotions, eye make-up, concealers... the list is endless, because in America a product had to be proven, through multiple tests, that it is poisonous before it will be taken off the market. Compare that to the UK, where a product must be proven to be non-toxic before it is allowed on the market. Scary. (this is not to say the UK is toxin-free... just that the US is more toxic by comparison)

So, recently I began feeling pushed to try and limit the amount of toxic substances I willingly bring into the house or put on my body. There are some sources I can't avoid - the new carpet and living room furniture that are out-gassing formaldehyde, for example - but there are some that I can, and that is where the 'Poo-less hair-cleaning, natural homemade deodorant, and organic soap came into the picture. I also use a non-toxic hairspray and have started cleaning all the hard, non-porous surfaces (like countertops, toilet seats, sinks, tables) with nothing but white vinegar and hydrogen peroxide, which work just as well - if not better - than pretty much every commercial cleanser on the market, without the pesky side-effect of dangerous chemicals being left all over surfaces that your skin will be in contact with.

I think Earth Motherhood summed the problem up well. In fact, why not head over to her blog, and check it out? Living in a World Where Everything Is Toxic

And once you've read her blog, if you're still interested in learning about the toxins in your life, what you can cut back on to preserve you health, try visiting your local library to see if they carry "Green Housekeeping" by Ellen Sandbeck, a guide to everything around you house that is probably poisoning you and causing everything from headaches to stomach upset to persistent allergy symptoms.

Naturally stink-free

This isn't so much about natural parenting as it is about natural living.

Deodorant. It's something most people use, and most people buy from a store somewhere. Whether you opt for the well-known brands like Degree or Dove or Mitchum, or choose something less toxic like a crystal deodorant stone or one of the only-carried-in-health-stores brands, you probably go out at least once every couple of months and purchase a stick or a tube of some kind of odor-and-sweat-reducing product.

As a nursing mother, I've been more and more aware of the fact that whatever I'm putting on my body, I'm also exposing my baby to. Studies have found more pollutants and toxic chemicals in breast milk than were ever present before, and while I can't avoid every chemical out there (short of giving up eating, drinking water, and breathing), I can limit my exposure to known toxins. This, combined with recently seeing The Story of Stuff, pushed me toward ditching store-bought deodorant and trying something else.

I've had a hate-hate relationship with store-bought deodorants for years. You see, they don't WORK on me. Oh, sure, for a couple weeks, maybe a month... but eventually, I notice that when I put my regular deodorant/antiperspirant on, it just wouldn't last. Before the end of the day, the sneaky reek of b.o. would be creeping through. And trust me, I scrub in the shower. I've been accused of being borderline OCD about washing (i do three scrub-and-rinses with water and soap, and then use a puff with soap to scrub under my arms to make sure i'm really getting everything off; unnecessary? probably. but this post isn't about my hyper-active cleaning habits, so let's move on).

I've spent years with half-used tubes of deodorants in my medicine cabinet, because halfway through I'd find they just weren't working, and have to switch to another brand.

And I tried to crystal deodorants. What a laugh! Those things didn't even keep me smelling tolerable for an hour, let alone a day!

I also went through a wide variety of natural deodorants bought at the local health store (i have fond memories of fifth graders asking me why i smelled like 'pepper.' it was true - one of the deodorants essential oil blend started smelling like black pepper after being on me for a few hours). But nothing has ever satisfied me, or worked well enough (or long enough) to truly make me comfortable being out in public.

Recently, a post by LuSa Organics (you MUST try their soap and lip balm! trust me!) on Facebook mentioned homemade deodorant. First, I laughed - yeah, sure, homemade deodorant that works as well as the store bought stuff! Then, I realized that the store-bought stuff had been a huge disappointment my entire life, so why not give it a try?

A little bit of Googling later, and I had a rough recipe for making my own deodorant: baking soda, corn starch, and coconut oil.

I mixed them up a couple days ago, putting half into an empty deodorant canister (after dumping out the half-bar of stuff that worked for about six hours before i started smelling a little off-putting) and spooned my mixture in. A bit goopy, but I had hope. I applied some under my arms (and under my breasts; you try being a DD in a humid oklahoma summer without putting SOMETHING under your breasts!) and went to bed.

It has been three days, and amazingly enough, the goopy concoction has been WORKING (and, by the way, the goopiness of it hardened and solidified into a fairly respectable looking "bar" of deodorant in the cool bathroom). In fact, yesterday I showered around 2pm, went to work (in a hot PetSmart, standing in front of groups of people and dogs and crawling around on the floor with dogs), came home and went to bed, and didn't shower again until around 11:30am, and there was NO STINK. NONE. NONE. Let me make sure you're seeing this: BAKING SODA, CORN STARCH, AND COCONUT OIL KEPT ME SMELLING BETTER FOR LONGER THAN STORE-BOUGHT DEODORANT.

I will update in a month, but for right now, I'm pretty pleased. And knowing that I'm not contributing empty plastic containers of half-used deodorant to the growing piles of trash out there makes me feel pretty good, too.