I'm on a search! But the task is almost overwhelming :)
One of the reasons I've stuck to Organic Coconut Oil
, Olive Oil
, and Unrefined Shea Butter
is that I don't trust commercial cosmetic's ingredients. I know, I know. I'm overreacting. But I don't want to be responsible for being a contributing factor in any underlying health problems for my darling daughter! So I play it SUPER safe.
I know that most cosmetics and hair products say that even if they use a questionable ingredient, it's in such small quantities that it really doesn't matter. I'm going to challenge that line of thought! If it's not good for me - then I don't want ANY of it. Especially to use on my little innocent child!
For example, some common ingredients in these products have been linked to potentially causing cancer. Ah! Not good. But, ok, that one's been around for awhile, so we're kind of numb to it, right? Sure, it's cancer-causing. Big deal, that doesn't affect me Now. and there's no Proof, so why sweat it?
Well.... what about the ingredients that are estrogenic? Putting too much estrogen into our bodies can potentially cause our daughters to go through puberty sooner! (and make menopause worse!) That is something that IS affecting us, and no one really has a concrete reason as to why girls are getting their periods so young these days. That's not to say that if I stay clear of all estrogens that Q will get hers late - but why risk it? I would prefer that she not have to deal with that part of growing up until as late as possible! So I'm going to limit the exposure that I give her to estrogens, natural or synthetic.
And then there's others - some ingredients are just not tested enough to have good data, some are allergenic, some cause eczema (who wants that if given the choice?!) and the list goes ON!
Check out www.cosmeticsdatabase.com to look up a specific ingredient and get the ins and outs and pros and cons. :) Also check out sukiskincare.com for their list of ingredients to avoid. If you see it on the list, Don't purchase something with it on the label!
Now, to this end of finding TRUSTWORTHY products, I've come across some interesting finds!
One of the reasons I've stuck to Organic Coconut Oil
, Olive Oil, and Unrefined Shea Butter is that I don't trust commercial cosmetic's ingredients. I know, I know. I'm overreacting. But I don't want to be responsible for being a contributing factor in any underlying health problems for my darling daughter! So I play it SUPER safe.I know that most cosmetics and hair products say that even if they use a questionable ingredient, it's in such small quantities that it really doesn't matter. I'm going to challenge that line of thought! If it's not good for me - then I don't want ANY of it. Especially to use on my little innocent child!
For example, some common ingredients in these products have been linked to potentially causing cancer. Ah! Not good. But, ok, that one's been around for awhile, so we're kind of numb to it, right? Sure, it's cancer-causing. Big deal, that doesn't affect me Now. and there's no Proof, so why sweat it?
Well.... what about the ingredients that are estrogenic? Putting too much estrogen into our bodies can potentially cause our daughters to go through puberty sooner! (and make menopause worse!) That is something that IS affecting us, and no one really has a concrete reason as to why girls are getting their periods so young these days. That's not to say that if I stay clear of all estrogens that Q will get hers late - but why risk it? I would prefer that she not have to deal with that part of growing up until as late as possible! So I'm going to limit the exposure that I give her to estrogens, natural or synthetic.
And then there's others - some ingredients are just not tested enough to have good data, some are allergenic, some cause eczema (who wants that if given the choice?!) and the list goes ON!
Check out www.cosmeticsdatabase.com to look up a specific ingredient and get the ins and outs and pros and cons. :) Also check out sukiskincare.com for their list of ingredients to avoid. If you see it on the list, Don't purchase something with it on the label!
Now, to this end of finding TRUSTWORTHY products, I've come across some interesting finds!
Here's a starter list:
Please add your favorites (or even products you haven't tried yet) to the comments and I'll add them to this post! I will also be adding this information to the "page" under the header picture so that this stuff is easy to find in the future. :)
(one of the best I've found so far, but would still look at each product individually. I LOVE that they list all their ingredients.)
Aubrey Organics
(before I switched to "no-poo" hair care, this was the line of products I used everyday. This is also the shampoo I have and have loved for Q. But I haven't tried their gel or leave-in. They don't have much for "curly" products, mainly just shampoos and conditioners.)
Aubrey Organics
(before I switched to "no-poo" hair care, this was the line of products I used everyday. This is also the shampoo I have and have loved for Q. But I haven't tried their gel or leave-in. They don't have much for "curly" products, mainly just shampoos and conditioners.)
(I can't find an ingredients list here - so before I'd purchase, I would email them for one and check it out completely.)
(the only reason I haven't purchased this one yet is that they don't tell you what is included in "essential oils, herbs, and fragrance". sigh. They are so good about listing the other ingredients! But "fragrance" is a touchy term. It might still be worth the risk if I was planning on using it sparingly, but we'll see what the rest of my product search comes up with. I've heard LOTS of great things about Bee Mine products as far as their success and usefulness in curly hair.)
(Ingredients-wise, I trust Suki. I haven't tried their hair products yet, and they don't appear to have much, but their skin care products are all my sister uses!)
Thanks for this list! I wanted to like coconut oil, but it made my hair look like I hadn't showered in about 2 weeks - WAY too heavy for us. Bummer.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like it! I'm finding more every day, it'll take awhile to try them all! :D
ReplyDeleteYes, I have that problem with coconut oil, too. I have to use it Very sparingly. and it works best if I mix it with warm water and spritz it on. BUT, I've found that Shea Butter works better for us than Coconut oil. I don't even have to mix it with water and it's Much less heavy and doesn't leave our hair greasy looking. (unless of course I go overboard, but there's much more "wiggle room" with Shea Butter than with the Coconut oil - at least for us.)