Tips and Tricks for Sofa Heroes Day 7: Non-Toxic Beauty

30 days of Tips and Tricks to raise money for The Optimum Health Clinic

Welcome to Day 7: Non-Toxic Beauty

Quick Tip! Search all your beauty and body products on ewg.org or cosdna.com for their toxicity rating, and find healthier alternatives.
I've been growing a Non-Toxic Pinterest Board for ideas on where to start. Let me know what your favorite brands and products are in the comments!



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Before I started working with my nutritionist I was using the same skin care products for 15 years.  I genuinely trusted the regulatory institutions in place to make sure what I was using was safe - but after receiving my mitochondria test results back, we discovered there was a very common preservative actually taking part in the blockage of my ATP production: phenoxyethanol.  The major blockage was coming from my own body, Lactate, which is shown to be produced at 20% times greater levels in people with ME/CFS than healthy controls (part of our PEM and muscle aches). I'll post more info on dealing with excess lactic acid in a future post.

My nutritionist from the OHC introduced me to the idea of using organic body products - admitting that even natural and organic body products have to be checked for their chemical useage.  Phenoxyethanol is considered a "natural" preservative for its antibacterial properties. Everyone I know who has taken the in-depth mitochondria test has different blockages, but this was where the door opened to non-toxic beauty for me.

I discovered the AMAZING Environmental Working Group's database where you can simply type in your favorite body product and receive a rating based on 8 years of research by scientists at the EWG.org on the dangers of regulated and unregulated ingredients found in every day body products.

I found that ewg.org works best on products sold in the USA, but I also found Cosmetic DNA where you can copy and paste ingredient lists online and have them evaluated, for a total score and also for the individual ingredients.

Another quick tip when browsing labels is to avoid anything that says, Fragrance, Perfume, Parfume - Fragrance is the most unregulated ingredient in Europe or the USA.  I've had to box up all my pretty perfume bottles and have been using essential oils instead.  I missed it at first but I am much better off without them in the long run.

I've only been on this journey with cosmetics for about 6 months, and it does take time to use up your old stuff and replace with the new - but do it one thing at a time and start with the products you use most. For me that was face moisturizer, deodorant, and body lotion.

Some of my daily favs

The individual products can be more expensive at first - but in general I find I'm buying less "crap" - you know, one product for every kind of little thing, and instead the more natural stuff in general has multiple uses.

I'm still struggling to find good shampoo and conditioner for my colored hair (coloring hair is -generally- not non-toxic but I only do it twice a year - the daily use stuff is definitley where to start!) so leave comments with all your favorite products below and let me know how you get on with the databases!

UPDATE 2019 : Since I whittled down my beauty collection over 3 years, and I HATE going into drug stores (that smell crazy perfumed and make me dizzy) - I decided to try Beauty Box Deliveries - Check it out on my JennySRP YouTube Channel.  I recommend LoveLula in the UK for spoonies, but so far I've been able to use most of the products from the most popular brands too as they move towards more organic options as the "trend"!

If you feel so moved to help The OHC bring an integrated approach to more ME/CFS patients, Click Here to Donate to the Optimum Health Clinic Foundation

Go to Day 1: What ME Feels Like and About This Challenge!
Go to Day 2: Gentle Movement
Go to Day 3: Meditation
Go to Day 4: Protein and Plant Power!
Go to Day 5: Sleep


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