Spring Cleaning!

Ahhh, the warm and breezy days of spring have arrived prematurely in the Northeast. After an unusually mild winter, we Yankees have nothing to complain about with respect to the weather. However, everyone seems to be embracing these seasonably warm temperatures and spring cleaning has taken charge.

As part of my spring cleaning ritual, I have realized the importance of cleaning on a different level. Instead of only removing fingerprints from the winterized windows, and those long lost dust bunnies in that remote corner of the room; I have given my pantry a spring cleaning. Wow. for a family of healthy eaters, I sure had a lot of processed crap to dispose of (namely, that maple flavored syrup product I referenced in an earlier blog).

Make your spring cleaning ritual even more cleansing this year! Have you stopped to consider your personal care products and their ingredients? Somewhere, a couple of years ago, I read by the time a woman is ready to go to work, or go out for the day – she has used some 563 different chemicals. Eeeew.

Think about it for a second. You wake up and shower. Your face wash has some 10-15 ingredients; followed by your shampoo with another 20+ ingredients; followed by your conditioner; followed by your shaving cream; your body wash and more. After you have toweled off, you have lotioned your legs, you have deodorized your armpits, you have used yet another lotion for your face followed by serum, mousse, gel and hairspray for your hair. Only now do you start on your “face” – foundation, blush, eye shadow, eye liner, mascara, lip liner, lip stick…….now 563 ingredients does not seem so unrealistic.

I will admit it. I like to lotion my legs after a fresh shave. I like to smell good. I also am reaching an age where each anti-aging lotion on the market seems to be magnetized towards my face (i.e. crows feet, smile lines, age spots and more).

I began using http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.org/ to check out my favorite products. I was horrified to find many of them were rated an 8, 9 or the absolute worst 10 on their rating chart based upon their toxic ingredients.

I have slowly started identifying new products on the market that satisfy my need to feel silky or smell good, but will not send my hormones on a trip. I now think twice before buying that on-sale shampoo without first reading the label. I made it my goal to remove parabens (cancer causing buggers – known endocrine disrupters) from all of my household personal care products.

My daughter was using ProActiv – isn’t that what every teen uses to keep their face acne free? FULL OF PARABENS. No, thank you. Believe it or not, we have often found places like Ocean State Job Lot to carry an assortment of organic and chemical free personal care products at a bargain price! Recent studies by EWG have shown that from a sample of teen girls aged 14-19, the teens had an average of 14-19 hormone altering cosmetic chemicals in their bodies! http://www.ewg.org/

Check all of your products. You will be surprised. Read more at this recent post here: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-4188/Chemicals-in-Your-Beauty-Products-Infographic.html

Spring clean your house, your life, your body…..baby steps are a great way to start. Beauty should definitely not come at a price.