Tag: Nontoxic

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NYC Non-Toxic Self Care at sundays Nail Studio

I have been going to sundays nontoxic nail studio for the last few months and I am a huge fan! Since middle school, I’ve always, like clockwork have gotten my nails done every two weeks (and yes my nails have always been this long). When I started looking into more natural products a few years ago, I slowly started to take breaks between manicures to let my nails breath from the chemicals in the polish.

As we know, using toxic products that affect our endocrine system can contribute to disease over a prolonged use in the body. Last year a went a full 3 months in the winter with no polish. There really is no nail polish that is COMPLETELY chemical free, so I still like taking breaks in between my manicure here and there. But, there are better options that have way less chemicals in them, like the polish used at Sunday’s. It’s really nice to be able to get a manicure and not feel like I am doing something bad for my body in order to have a “fresh and polished” look. I was really impressed with their nail polish color selection. I have brought my own less toxic nail polish colors with me before to the nail salon, but there is still that toxic smell from the remover and from other chemicals being used in the salon.

I didn’t notice a super toxic smell at sundays, which is a major plus. I often feel bad for the manicurists in salons thinking how they have to breath in the chemicals in all day.

A few other things I liked about Sunday’s:

🔹They offer headsets for meditation while getting a mani or pedi ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀⠀ ⠀ ⠀

🔹They offer tea (caffeinated and caffeine free)

🔹They put lemon in the water to soak your hand

🔹Their polish is cruelty free

Their newer Hudson Yards location includes:

🔹table with herbal tea for you to sit and let your nails dry

🔹a gratitude journal

🔹love letters to write to oneself

You can use code SIMPLY11 for 15% off any of their products. To shop, click here.

The light pink color I used above is color No 7. The darker color I used was color No 24.

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Homemade Organic Dry Shampoo

FullSizeRender (1).jpgAbove is a photo of me using my dry shampoo a few days after getting my hair blown out. 

Ingredients:

  • Arrowroot Powder
  • Cacao Powder
  • Lemon essential oil – to get golden highlights
  • Rosemary essential oil- to promote hair growth
  • Eucalyptus- for a dry scalp

Directions:

  • Use more arrowroot powder for lighter hair and cacao powder for darker hair
  • Massage the arrowroot into your scalp & in first couple of inches of hair if desired.
  • Take note: I personally used arrowroot powder because I wanted to make my hair look lighter.
    • If you decide to mix in cacao, be aware some of this residue could come off onto your pillow at night. I am not sure if it would stain or if any type of bug would be attracted to if (in NYC). I haven’t experimented with this or seen this being an issue in my research but it could be something to keep in mind.

Many of my friends use dry shampoo or baby powder as a dry shampoo on days they want to skip washing their hair or to extend a blowout for a few days.  There have been many links to the talcum in baby powder and cancer. When hearing this, I decided to come up with my own powder very similar to baby powder but one that is beneficial for your skin, hair and body instead of being detrimental toward your health.

In the most recent lawsuit against Johnson and Johnson (February 2016), $72 million dollars was awarded to to a women’s family for using their baby powder which contributed to her ovarian cancer death after 35 years of use. See more in an article here.

For more, check out my instagram at @nychamptonshealth

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Homemade Organic Chapstick

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Ingredients: 

  1. Beeswax Pastilles – 1 tbsp
  2. Coconut Oil- 1 tbsp
  3. Shea Butter- 1 tbsp
  4. Essential oil 2 drops- optional

Directions:

  1. Mix ingredients & heat on stove until melted
  2. Use a dropper to put liquid into lip holder
  3. Put in fridge about 5 min until solid

 

Like most people, I used to use Chapstick Cherry flavor, which is filled with harmful ingredients.Some ingredients include: Arachidyl propionate, camphor, carnauba wax, cetyl alcohol, D&C red no. 6 barium lake, fragrance, propylparaben, isopropyl myristate, lanolin, menthol, methylparaben, 

My general rule when reading labels is that if I don’t know what something is, it probably isin’t good for you. Below are two simple ingredients to keep an eye out for and are in many products. I also bolded and underlined these ingredients above.

Fragrance:  The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) reports that “95% of the ingredients used to create fragrances today are synthetic compounds derived from petroleum, including benzene derivatives, aldehydes, and many other known toxins and sensitizers.” According to the Environmental Working Group (EWG), there are potentially hundreds of chemicals in a single product’s secret fragrance mixture.

Parabens: Stay away from any word ending in “paraben” (as seen above). Parabens are used as a preservative in cosmetics, foods and drugs and are very commonly used. Parabens are known to cause endocrine disruption, cancer, developmental and reproductive toxicity.

For more, check out my Instagram @dshamptonorganics

References:

“EWG.” EWG. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.

“About Us.” National Academy of Sciences. Web. 22 Apr. 2016.

“Parabens – Safe Cosmetics.” Safe Cosmetics. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

 

 

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Essential Oil Perfume

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I made my own personalized perfume with essential oils from Soapology located in the West Village, NYC.

Soapology has natural products including scrubs, soaps, candles, lotions, perfumes and a few more options are available. I also have their Walnut Polisher and find it to be a great light body exfoliant.

I decided to make my own perfume after finding out 95% of chemicals used in fragrances are synthetic compounds derived from petroleum. They include benzene derivatives, aldehydes, and many other known toxins and sensitizers- capable of causing cancer, birth defects, central nervous system disorders and allergic reactions. Its been a 5 months since I have been using essential oils instead of perfume. Now, when someone has too much perfume on, I am sensitive to the toxic smell.

It took me about an hour to come up with my own blend. I started smelling all of the different essential oils (they have about 50) and placed the ones that I liked on a side table. The two women working at the boutique store were very helpful in assisting me. The essential oils that I liked are shown in the photo. I finally narrowed it down to a Ginger, Yuzu, White Tea and Vetiver Blend. After choosing your blend, Soapology writes down the exact recipe saves it for future reference.

I made this blend two months ago in February and it still smells great! I have gotten compliments on it and use it often. This is a great light and sweet summer scent. Soapology also has pre-blended essential oil perfume options if you do not want to create your own. I bought the “Seductive” blend but the scent seems to have changed since I bought it two months ago.

After buying both perfumes, I learned that when making a essential oil blend perfume, you are supposed to use alcohol to preserve and meld the scents. A good alcohol option to use is a non-GMO spiced rum. Now that I have a blend I know I like, I might decide to buy these essential oils from a well trusted brand like doTERRA  and make it on my own.

Below are some benefits of each essential oil I used in my perfume:

  • Vetiver– A plant oil. Heave, earthy fragrance that is grounding, calming and stabilizing. An aphrodisiac.
  • Yuzu– a Japanese fruit with a citrus smell. Yuzu helps with anxiety, depression and nervousness.
  • Ginger oil– when smelt or when applied directly to skin, can help relieve aches and pains, as well as promote normal blood circulation and help with digestive problems.

There is a boutique store only a few blocks away from Soapology called Enfleurage in the West Village, NYC with many essential oils. This is a great place to buy essential oils if you wanted to make your own perfume at home. They do not blend essential oils here for you.

*With essential oils it is important to be buying them from a reliable brand to avoid a company including any type of fillers in the essential oils to lower their costs. It is also important to remember that “natural” and “organic” do not have any official meaning in the beauty industry when placed on products or verbally stated. To find out more about this see FDA on Organic Cosmetic Labeling. Also the term “therapeutic grade” is commonly used within the essential oil industry but also has no meaning and is also used for marketing purposes. It is important to ask questions to find out how the product is made and with what ingredients.  After doing my own research, doTERRA seems like a reliable brand. They have a lot of information available on their essential oils, where they come from and how they are made.  “Scientia Potentia Est.”

For more check out my instagram @nychamptonshealth

References:

“U.S. Food and Drug Administration.” “Organic” Cosmetics. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.

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Homemade Natural Hand Sanitizer

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Ingredients:

  • Rubbing Alcohol 1 tsp
  • Aloe Vera Gel 1/4 cup
  • Cinnamon Essential Oil- 10 drops (natural antibacterial)
  • Tea Tree Essential Oil- 7 drops (natural antibacterial)
  • Distilled Water to get it to your desired consistency (in solid or spray form)

According to the Wall Street Journal’s article “Are Antibacterial Soaps Safe?“, since lab and animal studies both suggest these antibacterial soaps are unsafe, the FDA is recently taking a closer look at this $5.5 billion dollar industry. The FDA states that they will announce whether or not antibacterial soaps will be able to be sold as they are today. This announcement will be in September of 2016. If the vote is unfavorable toward companies producing antibacterial soaps, they will need to reformulate their line of antibacterial products without the harmful chemicals.

The article continues saying “We now know we can measure small amounts of ingredients in blood and that things you put on your skin can potentially be absorbed into the body,” Dr. Theresa Michelle states. Her advice for now? “Wash your hands with plain soap and water, because we do not have enough data demonstrating antibacterial soaps are any better” in fighting disease.

The below ingredients are currently under review. Since it is not proven these ingredients are safe to use on your skin, it would be a good idea to avoid using them, not only in hand sanitizes but also in other cosmetic products you use. All of the recipes I post on my website are all natural.

  • Isopropyl Alcohol- Used in the hand sanitizers nurses and doctors use various times each day, the high concentration and frequent exposure is a concern.
  • Triclosan- This was found in high levels in human breast milk and urine and may interfere with normal development and function in humans and animals.
  • Benzalkonium Chloride- This ingredient comes with potential hormonal disruptions and is a possible carcinogen.
  • Benzethonium Chloride- Possible effects on fertility issues, body weight at birth, growth and development.
  • Iodine- Should never be used on pregnant or breast feeding women.
  • Chloroxylenol- Has been found in internal tissues after skin application.

References:

Landro, Laura. “Are Antibacterial Soaps Safe?” The Wall Street Journal. 15 Feb. 2016. Web. 16 Feb. 2016