How to Swap Everyday Products for Natural Alternatives

Where to start is a question most people have when they think about going toxin free/non-toxic, organic, all natural, etc. Replacing all of your toxic, chemical filled products can seem daunting and expensive at first (I know it was for me, which is why it’s taken me almost 10 years and I’m still on this journey.) Now that I’ve done the research and implemented different products into my daily life, I want to help give you a starting point. It’s really not as daunting as it seems and once you get started, it’s much easier to continue.

Cleaning Products:

You can replace your Lysol, Clorox, Pledge, Scrubbing Bubbles, and pretty much any cleaning product with 4 things…

1. Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap: You can use Dr. Bronner’s for everything, from washing your car to cleaning counter tops, to body wash. Dilute a couple drops of Dr. Bronner’s with some distilled water and you have an all-purpose cleaner. Sometimes I put some white vinegar in the mixture too (which I’ll get to.) You can dust and clean mirrors, spot clean carpets, and you can mix half water/half Dr. Bronner’s to make hand soap or body wash. The bottle also gives you many suggestions on how to use it. This stuff is amazing!
2. Lemon Juice:  Add a little lemon juice to your Dr. Bronner’s mixture to disinfect and it gives a fresh scent too!
3. White Vinegar: White Vinegar is cheap and it makes a great disinfectant. It also gets rid of stinky smells too if you spray it in the air (and don’t worry, the vinegar smell dissipates very quickly, so your house won’t smell like vinegar.) Mix one part vinegar, one part distilled water to disinfect counter-tops, bathrooms, door handles, etc.
4. Baking Soda: For difficult spots in the shower that won’t go away, try some baking soda and vinegar! There once was a terrible rust stain on the shower floor when I moved into a house I was renting.  I sprinkled some baking soda on it and poured a little vinegar on the baking soda. The mixture bubbled up and I let it sit for about 20 minutes. It came right up! I also like to use the baking soda/white vinegar mixture to clean shower grout.

I definitely plan to go into more detail on my cleaning routine in a future post, but for now, I think this is a good starting place with non-toxic, all natural cleaning products.

Makeup:

Replacing your ENTIRE makeup collection can get expensive! I’d start with a few products to get the ball rolling, then swap everything else out as you use it up. The products I recommend starting with are…

1. Foundation and Face Primer: You use the most of these 2 on a daily basis as they go all over your face. Also, your skin absorbs everything that goes on it unless the molecule is too large (so essentially, your skin absorbs the vast majority of what you put on it.) In order to limit the amount of toxins you’re putting on your skin, these should be a priority to replace. (I plan on doing an in-depth post on all the makeup products I use every day.)
2. Loose Powder Products: Loose powder flies in the air the second you tap your brush in it, or even open the container for that matter. Even if you’re super careful, you still end up inhaling powder. Most powders have Talc listed as one of the first ingredients. Talc is laced with asbestos which causes cancer however, due to chemicals in cosmetics not being regulated (there are currently only 11 banned chemicals in the United States…the European Union has banned over 1,000) companies can get away with putting it in products. The reason I’m mentioning loose powders instead of pressed powders is because this is a starting point. You get MUCH MORE powder flying with loose powders vs. pressed.

Other Personal Care Products:

1. Deodorant! If you had to pick just 1 product to swap out, I think it should be deodorant. Conventional deodorants/antiperspirant’s active ingredient is Aluminum. Aluminum blocks your pores so sweat can’t get out, which is causing toxins to get trapped inside of you. Aluminum is also linked to Alzheimer’s disease and BREAST CANCER! Also, toxin free deodorant is affordable! I’m talking less than $10. If you decide to make any swap from this post, Deodorant is the swap to make!  
2. Body Wash and Body Lotion: Body wash and body lotion go all over your body. Since our skin is absorbing the majority of these chemicals, you do not want them to be toxic! You can even DIY your own lotion with coconut oil and shea butter. And, as mentioned above, you can use the same Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap as body wash! (Just stay away from the peppermint oil one…your neither regions will thank you.)
3. Shampoo and Conditioner: Since these products are used often (multiple times a week for some of us) and they drip down your body in the shower and sit on your scalp, make sure they are toxin free too as again, our skin absorbs SO MUCH! Also, a lot of shampoo and conditioner have chemicals in them that release formaldehyde (some of these chemicals are listed as DMDM Hydantoin, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Quaternium-15 to name a few.) Formaldehyde is a KNOWN CARCINOGEN, which you definitely don’t want to be exposing yourself to frequently.
4. Tampons (and Pads): These products are contaminated with pesticides, they’re bleached, and they’re made with very drying material (Rayon). Why are we convinced that sticking these chemicals up (and near) very absorbent tissue is a good idea? I’m definitely going to write another post dedicated to this subject but for now, just switch to organic tampons and pads. Most (if not all at this point) Walmart’s and Target’s have been selling organic feminine products, so no excuses!

If switching your toxic products to non-toxic, organic, all natural alternatives seems overwhelming, I hope these suggestions make the switch a little easier. You can even start with just cleaning products, then do makeup and other products later. If you have any questions, leave it in the comments or message me on Instagram (which I still need to post to…)