Sarah Morgan
We’ve been to the kitchen and the bathroom from an organizational point of view – but I want to talk about it from a health POV too, because I’ve made a lot of changes in this line to try to improve.
I’ve always been vaguely eco-conscious. Then a couple of years ago I got a natural-beauty client, which made me do a lot more research. Having people I care about go through cancer made me think about what we expose ourselves to every day. And recently I found that cute DIY blog and a lot of easy tips on there. So it’s been a long but perfect storm to make me think green.
I’m definitely not crunchy-granola or dirty-hippie, but my inexpert philosophy is pretty simple. Everybody agrees that there are a bunch of triggers for poor health. Some you can eliminate easily, some would take a crazy amount of effort, some you can’t do anything about. Well, I can’t fix my genes, and I’m not living off the land, but I can do a lot of little things that sure won’t hurt.
The changes I’ve made in my bathroom to go for healthier options fall into two categories: using different stuff, or using less stuff. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far.
Swapping out…
- Body wash. I was scared off by the crazy label, so it took a lot of good reviews to sway me, but I picked up Dr. Bronner’s soap at the grocery store, and for real, it is awesome. It gets all foamy and luxe, it smells subtly wonderful, it cleans great, and it’s made of such simple stuff you can’t believe it. Dr. B. was a wacko, but he invented some great soap.
- Facial cleanser. I’ve been a Cetaphil disciple for years and my skin gets irritated at the littlest change, so this was scary, but Dr. Bronner’s feels great.
- Shampoo. It turns out that my MOP-C Hydrating Shampoo was already organic, and it works great. Perfect.
- Conditioner. Avalon Organics conditioner from the grocery store is working great too.
- Hair product. I’d love to go wash-and-wear, but alas, that’s just not my hair. I try to make sure my products have no sulfates, silicones or animal testing.
- Mascara. I’ve always had a hard time with mascara bothering my contacts, so I should have thought of this long ago, but only last week did I find fabulous organic mascara at Target. (Although the tube is a little “all right already, I get it, you’re green”.)
- Deodorant. The biggest obstacle for me with jiu jitsu was the close contact. You are seriously up in each other’s dance space. Deodorant matters. I was used to the regular stuff smudging and irritating my skin and ruining my white shirts, but I (very skeptically) bought a Thai Deodorant Stone at the grocery store. Wow. Sure, it’s eco, but I can’t believe how well it works.
- Nail polish. I’m ending my OPI addiction. It’s another obvious one – it stinks to high heaven, it’d kill anything you put in it, and yet I’m sealing it onto myself to soak in for weeks at a time? Even if you don’t buy the scary stories, it just seems like it wouldn’t hurt to go for a friendlier option. Enter Zoya, without the bad chemicals or animal testing, and with a match for most OPI colors. It’s love.
- One liner instead of liner and two shadows. I was never a makeup girl to begin with (Jillian is rolling her perfectly done eyes and shaking her extensions), so I was psyched to accidentally discover that if I put on liner and smear it, it works as shadow too. And stays on better than shadow.
- Lotion. I don’t really need it now, and I have a tub of 100% shea butter for the winter. (Tip: buy it on Amazon and pay 1/10 what you do at L’Occitane or another snooty place. It comes in a takeout-food tub, so use an old pretty jar if you care.)
- Bubble bath. It smells nice, but that’s it. Epsom salts from the grocery store actually make your sore muscles disappear! .
- Self-tanner. Let’s be honest. I can go tanning and get freckles and wrinkles and cancer. I can slap chemicals all over myself. I can accept it and move on. But no matter what, at the end of the day, I’m pale. So while self-tanner isn’t so bad compared to real sun or sun beds, there’s just not much point.
- Scented candles. Reading up on them you’re not sure what to think, but again, just being sensible, picture how sooty a candleholder can get. Do you want that in your house? I’d rather have real smells: cinnamon boiling on the stove, cut-up lemons, baking, or best of all, fresh air. …Also, now Henry keeps his eyebrows. (What, your cat doesn’t like to put out candles?)
