Going through "the change": Part two

As I mentioned in my previous post, for the past three months I have been on a journey of becoming very aware of what ingredients are in the products we purchase.

I started with the Enviornmental Working Group, basically a large group that monitors and studies "threats to our health and environment". They post articles, studies, and evaluate chemicals. In further reading, I have become aware that their databases are not always completely accurate, but their website is a good starting point. That being said, I learned quite a bit about how little the EPA regulates the toxins in our country. If you are interested in learning more, see the site.

I started doing google searches for things like "phthalates" or "parabens" or "sodium laurel sulfate". This led me to many websites and studies that either ranted on how horrible they were, or completely oppositely, that they were safe for our use. I looked up quite a bit on Pubmed, which is a legitimate site that contains scholarly articles.

There have been studies done that come to opposite conclusions. Some suggest that most chemicals in cleaners, detergents, and personal care products are effecting our endocrine systems (think hormones), are linked to cancers, cause birth defects, inhibit fertility, and other horrendous things. Other studies conclude that these chemicals are fine to use because our bodies can deal with them in small amounts and they are safe for us.

After a few days of initial freaking out, I started to think a little more rationally, but have made some major changes in my life. This is what I have decided.

Do I know for certain that any ingredients prepared in a lab are bad for my body? No. Can I know for sure that they cause things in me or my unborn child? No. Evidence points very strongly both ways. Do I know if a researcher has an agenda or is honestly searching for the truth? No.

But one thing I do know. I have a choice about what goes in or on my body (for the most part). I would rather err on the side of caution and find out later that certain chemicals were in fact okay for me to use and not vice versa.

So what products do we use?

I was a Chemistry minor is college and know a little about chemical processes (a very little and it's fading fast). When people talk about living a "chemical free" lifestyle, I laugh a little inside because technically speaking, water is a chemical, and essential oils can be very harmful drugs if used improperly. However, I understand where they are coming from. They are talking about only using products that are minimally processed, and only using ingredients that have proven themselves to be safe over thousands of years. Think olive oil and cocoa butter. Some people kick it up a notch and add essential oils and other "nature identical" products that have been produced for us.

After lots and lots of reading, I have decided to choose to stay as natural as possible. To keep it as simple as possible. I'll give more examples in upcoming posts. It's been an interesting journey to discover and create good alternatives for many mainstream products.

Let me be clear however. I am in no way being ungrateful or knocking aside things like modern medicine and research that is being done everyday for things like curing cancer. Without these things, Jack would not be with us today. What I am choosing to do is be careful what I bring into my home and what I use on my body everyday.

I just want to say up front that I am not even close to being an expert on this subject. I have much to learn. I am just an average consumer who is trying to decide what is the best way to be healthy. I realize that I am not using specific examples or linking to actual articles. I have chosen to do this because I am not completely knowledgeable in many areas of this topic and can not know for sure what is the truth and what isn't. If you are interested please do a little more research on your own. You'll be amazed what you discover I'm sure.

Going through "the change": Part one

and no, I'm not referring to menopause. ;) I'm talking about something completely different. Before I launch into what it is, let me give you a little backstory....

I'm a big sunscreen girl. I slather it on my face daily, slather it on my kids when we go outside, and reapply often when we are swimming. Skin cancer and age spots run rampant in my family and I'm doing my best to try to avoid them (wish I could go back and talk to my teenage self). Last year, I did some research on what were the best sunscreens and ended up choosing a higher-end one that had a high SPF and did a great job. Zero burns. One day Dusty casually mentioned that he had read a article that talked about how the chemicals that are in our sunscreens could end up causing cancer. I pretty much ignored his comment and continued to slather.

Fast forward to this March. For one of Dusty's classes, he researched how chemicals are regulated here in America. The biggest thing he discovered was the lack of regulation of toxins and chemicals. These chemicals ran the spectrum from industrial production to household cleaners to "trade secrets" in our cosmetics. This piqued my curiosity. Since I spend a considerable amount of time near a computer, I ended up doing more of my own research and finding myself horrified at what I discovered.

Instead of leading you down the doom and gloom road I took for awhile, I am going to speed up to now, what I have since learned, and how I am implementing it into my life.

For starters I would like to mention how most chemicals/products in our home are not required to list their ingredients. Don't believe me? Go look at the back of your laundry detergent. Go look at the back of your toilet bowl cleaner. Go read the label of any cosmetic. What? There's not a label? Right.

If you are starting to be a conscientious consumer, you may have some "natural" cleaners that do list what is in them. What do you know about those ingredients? Are they actually "natural"?

But I digress. For this post, I would like to focus on what started my little search. Sunscreen. I figured that if I could find sunscreens for me and my babies that actually protected from the UVB and UVA rays, but limited the chemicals in the formula I would be happy. This led me to the EWG Skindeep Database. (After doing more research, I now realize to take what's listed on this website with a grain of salt, but it's a good starting place.) They recommended many sunscreens that were stable, gave good protection, and had limited harmful chemicals. I found some that I could purchase on the Amazon subscribe and save program and after reading reviews decided to try them out. So far I have been pleased.

Obviously no sunscreen is going to be perfect because it's still created in a lab using some synthetic materials, but I'll take the compromise with these.

I use this sunscreen daily on my face under my makeup. It's light, doesn't clog my pores, has decently but not obscenely high SPF, and is free of parabens, phthalates, and other icky things.

The sunscreen I found for my little boys is this: It's a physical barrier that is more chemically friendly than what we were using previously.

But, even after finding new sunscreens, what I had discovered about ingredients in everything in our home kept nagging at me at the back of my head and I knew I had to do better.

I could no longer be the blind consumer, shopping for the best deal, taking for granted that our government is carefully regulating what goes on our shelves. It hit too close to home. Because sadly, as I learned what some of these chemicals have been linked to, I realized that I couldn't have the "it happens to other people, not me" attitude any longer.

Because it has happened to me. We have struggled with infertility. Both of my boys have been born with birth defects requiring surgery. One defect being very major. I had to stop what I could now. Because I had the knowledge and I couldn't shove it away. I had to take action.

So as I launch into this next series of posts, I do so not to scare you, or make you feel guilty, but to hope that you become a little more informed, as I have become over the past few months. This blog is my little soapbox and I hope that what I have learned helps somebody out there. Please feel free to ask me questions or share similar information that you have learned.

Thanks for not thinking I'm too kooky or crazy, in advance. Except that I am. And that's okay. I accepted it long ago. :)

Dear floppy-eared boy,

I find it interesting how your hair has gone from dark brown to light blonde in just nine months, and your eyelashes have exploded like fireworks from your face.


I am so grateful that you are not sparing with your smiles. You unceasingly brighten my day.


Even as a small baby, you were always content to play on your own. This has continued. There is something special about being able to have quiet moments to yourself. I hope you keep it up.

You are such a tactile baby. You touch everything. You taste everything. You seem to have an endless stream of saliva. . .

Sometimes I just look at you and can see you learning and processing information. You observe and file things away. I hope we are all being good examples for you.

Dear floppy-eared boy. I love you.