Happy Wednesday, friends! I can’t believe we’re already here, and September (and my birthday!) is less than a week away.
Jumping in today on something that’s super important to me. When I decided to create this blog, I knew I wanted one of my primary focuses to be on my journey over the past two years towards a toxin-free lifestyle. “Clean-living” and “toxin-free” are definitely buzzwords these days, but what does that actually mean, and what are the benefits?
I’m planning to break down more resources, products, and DIY recipes in the future, but I wanted to give a quick overview on what inspired me to really evaluate what products I was using for my home and personal care products, and why its important!
Back in 2016, I was working as an attorney for a small firm here in Philadelphia. My caseload was primarily toxic-tort defense work. What’s a toxic-tort claim, you ask? Happy to share! A toxic tort claim is a specific type of personal injury lawsuit in which the plaintiff claims that exposure to a chemical or dangerous substance caused the plaintiff’s injury or disease. So, what I did was defend the companies who (allegedly) had chemicals or dangerous substances in their products. (Because every party has a right to be defended).
Was it my dream job? Nope. But was it educational? Heck yes. Not only was it great for my skill set as an attorney (constant depositions, mountains of discovery to sift through, building client relationships and negotiating with opposing counsel) but it also allowed me the opportunity to travel to conventions with other toxic-tort attorneys. These conventions were a blast–open bar cocktail hours, fancy dinners, staying in beautiful hotels around the country—it was a glamorous get away that the day to day experience certainly…lacked. But at the end of the day, those cocktail hour and dinner conversations were always off-putting to me.
“So what do you think the “next asbestos” is going to be?”
“Thank god the market for these cases didn’t die out in the ’90s like every one thought, huh?”
“I think (insert product or chemical that you’ve definitely heard of being a health risk but maybe haven’t done your research on) is going to be the next big case maker.”
Everywhere, everyone (on both plaintiff and defense sides) were speculating, if not hoping that some new product or chemical would be “discovered” to be causing health issues, and that lawsuits would ultimately follow. Because, $$$.
Pardon me, but W.T.F.
It was around the spring of 2018 that I hit my breaking point. I had started reading the ingredients on my products, and downloaded the “Think Dirty” app to my phone. I started doing more and more research and discovered some shocking things, like the fact that the FDA only bans 11 chemicals in our cosmetics and personal care items, but the European Union bans over 1300.
Plus, at this time, my skin was a WRECK. I had been trying every skin care product I could get my hands on from Sephora and Ulta and yes, dermatologists, and everything I got was super harsh on my skin, and only irritated it more, which resulted in more acne and more redness and more scarring.
So, in a pit of despair, I threw in the towel on my “normal” products, and figured I had nothing to lose by trying products with more natural ingredients. If it didn’t work, it wasn’t like anything else was working either.
But then something happened. Something magical. My skin was visibly less irritated when I started using natural, plant based products, and “clean” cleansers and moisturizers. I snagged a box of oils from my friend Courtney that I intended to use to swap out my candle addiction (more on that to come), but ended up adding drops of frankincense and lavender to my moisturizer as well. My skin bounced back happier, and healthier, than it had been in nearly a decade. And I felt better too. Gone were the days of fragrance-induced headaches. By slowly ditching and switching my personal care products, and then, my home products, to cleaner, safer options, I’ve been able to benefit my body in little ways like clearer skin, and in big ways like reducing my exposure to known carcinogens.
I could type and type and type about my passion educating on the risks of synthetic fragrance, the need for clean products, and all of my favorite non-toxic beauty and household supplies. And so… I will! Just not today. 😉
If you’re interested in learning more, want to know where to find more resources, or have questions about ditching your “normal” products for clean ones, leave a comment below! I’m going to be sharing information on the risks of “green-washing” (aka, eye-catching products labeled with marketable buzzwords that trick you into thinking the products are safe for you. Spoiler alert: they aren’t), my favorite non-toxic brands and products, DIY hacks, and more in the coming weeks, but I’d love to answer specific questions that you may have, too!
