Category Archives: Beauty

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My Non-Toxic Shower: Soaps, Shampoo, and Shave

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So, flashback to 2008, and I didn’t know anything about harmful skin care ingredients. Learning how to treat my cancer naturally really gave me a crash course in junky beauty and hygiene products and the chemicals that make them harmful. I was working incredibly hard eating a cancer-combatting diet, implementing a detox strategy, and changing my lifestyle, so it didn’t make sense to continue to use carcinogenic chemicals on my skin. Creating a non-toxic shower experience became an absolute priority.

The most common offenders such as “sodium laurel/ laureth sulfate”, “propylene glycol,” or anything ending in the word “-paraben” are in the majority of commonly store bought products. Not only are these ingredients harmful to you, but they are washed into our water supply with little concern for the generational impact that could have. I quickly learned that when it comes to detoxifying my body, less ingredients = way more.

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Review of Truly Free Non-Toxic Laundry Detergent (Five Year Update)

 

Welcome to my updated review of Truly Free (formerly “My Green Fills”) nontoxic laundry detergent. 🙂

I am updating this post after FIVE YEARS of using Truly Free, and I’m happy to say that with years now of baby and kid-stained shirts and smoothie and grease splashes of my own, I am even more grateful for a nontoxic, natural laundry detergent that works!

I remember the first time I switched to “natural” laundry detergent in 2008, shortly after my cancer diagnosis. It seemed pretty decent and not much different than my old Tide or Gain (except a lot less toxic!) Then I had kids and…YAH. This is where my “natural” laundry detergent was put to the test.

At first, I doubted myself at times- that perhaps I just forgot to put the detergent in the washing machine?? That’s how little of a difference the detergent made on my baby’s stains! It had nothing on diaper blowouts and dried, day old spit up. Onesie after onesie was ruined, even after pretreating it.

And over the years it had just gotten worse and more frustrating as my kids grew and stains became more fierce.

Thankfully, with Truly Free I’ve finally found a non-toxic laundry system that works, and I’m going to talk a little about that today. 🙌

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Less Toxic Hair Color and Nail Polish for Cancer Patients

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Before you dive into reading this post, make sure to check out the last two posts in this series, The Ultimate Cancer Fighting Bathroom: Shower Products and Facial/ Skin Products. Here you’ll find a great overview of what skin, beauty or hygiene products I used while treating my cancer naturally and continue to use today. In this post I will talk about some of the best nontoxic and less toxic options for hair color and nail polish for cancer patients.

I couldn’t pinpoint where to fit today’s products in, because they’re not really “bathroom” products, but they are commonly used and can be REALLY toxic. Here are some of my solutions to taking a healthier route to nail and hair color.

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The Ultimate Cancer Fighting Bathroom Series: Lotions, Deodorant, Make-Up, and More!

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In my previous post in this series, I created a great run-down of all of the products I use in the shower that are incredibly safe for those of you healing from cancer and concerned about detox. I also suggested that you check your current products for toxicity and safety on the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep rating system.

On to today’s post where we’ll conquer a boatload of hygiene and beauty products you typically use (and leave) on your face and skin.

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Homemade Coconut Oil Deodorant

There are so many different varieties of natural and organic beauty and hygiene products out there, but when you are diagnosed with cancer it is essential to make sure you’re keeping the bad stuff off of your skin and ultimately out of your blood system.

The most concerning of all of these products to me and to many others out there is DEODORANT. Why? Because conventional deodorant is incredibly invasive and toxic. But why are most natural deodorants so disappointing in their performance? I have used many, MANY varieties. I won’t name brands here, but TRUST me when I say I have tried 10 different brands that I can remember and many others that I’m sure were forgettable. AND many of these products were EXPENSIVE!!!! I am so happy to write about my soul-mate of deodorant today. The search is over. I have found THE ONE.

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How Do I Use the Oil-Cleansing Method?

My entire life I have had ups and downs with my skin. Mostly downs. Recently however, I believe I have found the magic solution to help keep my skin looking its best. Believe it or not, you need to fight OIL with OIL!

(Update 2016: I have been using OCM for 5 years now and it is still AMAZING. Now into my mid-30’s and three kids later, my skin still feels like it’s at its best.)