As author Alice Hoffman wrote in her novel Incantation, “Once you know some things, you can’t unknow them. It’s a burden that can never be given away.”
That’s a great description of the way someone might feel when they discover the truth about rampant toxins in everyday products. You simply can’t unknow it. The only things to do are to break free from the status quo, challenge toxic product manufacturers, embrace a new non toxic lifestyle, and possibly share it.
What’s a Toxin?
A toxin is a substance that can cause harm to our bodies and our environment. Toxins can be natural substances (think poisonous mushrooms or venomous snakes) or man-made. They’re found in air, water, food, and loads of everyday consumer products.
What Toxins May Be Lurking in Your Home?
Toxins can hitch a ride into our homes on and in the most unassuming objects. They hide in plain sight, wreaking havoc on our health and our planet, without us knowing … until it’s too late.
Product manufacturers add harmful chemicals into their goods for a variety of reasons — to give them a longer shelf life, a more desirable appearance, a lower cost, and more — but very rarely with the consumers’ health in mind.
Beware of the following toxins commonly found in everyday consumer products:
- formaldehyde and formaldehyde releasers: added to many products for their preservation properties; pose serious health risks like cancer, immune dysfunction, allergic reactions, joint pain, headaches, and menstrual disorders
- coal tar: used in cosmetics, hair dyes, shampoo, and scalp treatments; p-Phenylenediamine is a particular coal tar dye used in many hair dyes; known carcinogen derived from coal processing; may cause irritation, inflammation, and unwanted redness of the skin;
- benzene: detected most recently in acne products and dry shampoo, leading to product recalls; can be formed as a byproduct of benzoyl peroxide or derived from coal tar; widely recognized as a human carcinogen
- mineral oils: used in skin care, hair care, and lipstick; derived from petroleum; often contaminated with cancer-causing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs)
- fragrance: found in nearly every product on the market; hides an untold number of chemicals, including phthalates, which are linked with birth defects, breast cancer, diabetes, obesity, autism, and ADHD; may also irritate skin and trigger allergies.
- sodium lauryl sulfate (sls) and sodium laureth sulfate (sles): used in products to create suds or foam; linked with carcinogenicity, rashes, infection, vision issues, hair loss
What Steps Can You Take to Embrace Non Toxic Living?
Step 1: Consider what’s going into your body:
This is where many of us start out — looking at the foods and drinks we consume. Choosing healthier foods that are unprocessed and/or organic may help reduce exposure to additives, preservatives, and pesticides. Eating whole foods and preparing foods from scratch at home empowers you to choose safe, quality ingredients rather than handing over that control to others and never really knowing what’s in the dishes you’re served.
What to do:
- When it comes to grocery shopping, prioritize whole foods. Some say it’s best to stick to the perimeter of a grocery store — that’s where your produce, meats/seafood, dairy, and breads usually are. The center aisles are predominantly filled with foods that require preservatives to be shelf stable, mostly boxed or canned.
- When dining out, choose restaurants that have the same priorities, serving dishes made with organic and locally sourced ingredients.
- Water is your best friend when it comes to hydration, but it’s important to ensure your water source is safe. Consider investing in a water filtration system for your sink, refrigerator, or whole home, or a standalone device like a water filter pitcher to remove trace chemicals that may lurk in your tap water, like chlorine and lead.
Step 2: Consider what’s going on your body:
This includes everything from personal care products like cleansers, moisturizers, and hair products to your clothing and linens. Unfortunately, personal care manufacturers are notorious for using harmful toxins in their formulations for the sake of saving money or making their products look “prettier” or last longer. The average woman is exposed to 168 toxic chemicals before even leaving her home in the morning. That’s not even counting the chemicals on her clothing — dyes, manufacturing finishing agents, laundry detergents, and fabric softeners.
Our skin is our body’s largest organ, and it absorbs much of what we put on it, leaving us vulnerable to the toxins present in those products. Certain toxins are known to cause short term issues like skin irritation and allergic reactions or result in longer term concerns including infertility, neurological disorders, hormonal imbalances, and even cancer.
What to do:
- It’s imperative for consumers to read their product ingredient labels and know the ingredients to avoid. An easy one to remember that is very commonly added to most everyday ingredients is fragrance. This ingredient is a red flag, as it can contain any number of toxic sub-ingredients that are legally hidden as manufacturer “trade secrets.”
- Shop Pure Haven for 100% safe, effective, non toxic products. We formulate our products using sustainable and natural ingredients and utilize safe synthetics where necessary, blending safety and science to be the first and only company in the United States committed to providing a full line of non toxic personal care and home products that truly work better than their toxic counterparts.
- Whenever possible, choose clothing and linens made from natural fibers like cotton, wool, or hemp, that are free of dyes and finishing agents. Launder before wearing and always use safe, non toxic laundry detergent and stain remover.
Consider what’s going on around your body:
Unfortunately, there are many things in the environment that you can’t control. But your interior environment — your home and work area — is well within your purview. Protect your indoor air quality by taking stock of conventional home cleaners and air fresheners that are commonly made with harsh chemicals. Even your furniture may be bringing harmful toxins into your interior. Many are treated with chemicals that emit volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that have hazardous human health effects like respiratory system damage, increased cancer risk, and developmental and reproductive impacts.
All of the products we use, whether they go into, on, or around our bodies, have an impact on the world around us. Choosing toxic, over-processed foods and beverages, personal care and cleaning products, and hard goods leads to environmental destruction affecting our soil, water, and air as these toxins embed themselves in our ecosystems.
What to do:
- Replace any harmful cleaning products with household cleaners made with only safe, non toxic ingredients so you don’t need to worry about noxious fumes or harmful chemicals coming in contact with your skin.
- Ditch toxic air fresheners. Opt for safe room scents like Pure Haven wax melts and room sprays made with safe ingredients and scented with pure essential oils.
- Seek out VOC-free labels on furniture and look for organic or natural mattresses and cushions.
- Add indoor plants to your home to help purify the air. Some of the most effective include the spider plant, peace lily, aloe vera, and Boston fern.
Embracing a Non Toxic Lifestyle: Good For You. Good For the Planet.
Deciding to go non toxic doesn’t have to be a radical lifestyle overhaul and it doesn’t have to be perfect. Every non toxic choice you make — no matter how big or small you may think it is — helps reduce environmental impact and support sustainable living. It’s about recognizing and reducing hidden toxins in food, personal care and home products, your clothing and linens, and the environment. It’s about discovering and embracing safe, effective, non toxic alternatives in order to reduce the overall toxic burden on our bodies and our planet.
Think big but start small, integrating one non tox alternative at a time into as much of your life as possible. If you’re feeling a little overwhelmed, start with our top 5 must-swaps for going non toxic.
Feeling inspired? Start your journey today and consider sharing your experience with others. Your story could inspire others to make the switch along with you.
Why Choose Pure Haven?
Pure Haven is the leading manufacturer of guaranteed toxin-free products. We source ingredients, formulate, and manufacture more than 95% of our products in our own USDA Certified Organic facility. We created Pure Protect, the world’s first non toxic preservation system, to ensure that the preservatives we use to maintain shelf life do not impact safety. Controlling the entire manufacturing process is key to what makes us different, so we can ensure the safety of our products for you and your family.
Click here to learn more about Pure Haven or head right to our online store for the very best in non toxic products!