You know what they say—what you don’t know can’t hurt you. Yet, it took serious health issues for me to start questioning what I was putting on my skin. Chemicals found in both beauty and household products can cause serious concerns ranging from autoimmune diseases to chronic skin disorders to severe allergies. For years I’ve heard many people speak on the importance of this, but I couldn’t wrap my head around the matter until I experienced any of those issues myself.
When it comes to most things in life, I’m usually the extreme type. I’m either all in or completely out! However, when it comes to my health journey, I’ve found that extremes don’t always work and that balance is the key. We hear this all the time, but even balance needs balance.
It’s not about giving up everything that’s necessarily “bad”. Personally, there’s a handful of beauty and household products that I should probably toss, and even some “non-negotiables” that I just can’t let go of, but it’s a work in progress, right? Right.
The first change I made was swapping my usual deodorant for a natural one about two years ago. I had received some blood work that showed I had high levels of metals in my blood. Being who I am, I immediately went home and researched this—endlessly, TBH. In my search, I started uncovering what was in my deodorant and, BOOM, aluminum showed up along with many other toxic chemicals. I could only imagine how deodorant might be a hard switch for most people to make as we try to find the right one. Unfortunately, the perfect fit for you could be causing some harmful health repercussions. For me, it was an easy switch, but it took some time to test out various products until I found the right one for my body. (Stay tuned for a post about my favorite non-toxic deodorants).
My next big change was in the kitchen, which (when you wrap your head around it) makes the most sense. After all, it’s where we prepare the food that literally goes into our bodies. So, why are we using every chemical under the sun in the space used to prepare how we choose to nourish ourselves? It’s something to think about.
This was more of a recent switch for me and I didn’t start by swapping my detergents and cleaning products—I started with the overall environment. Did you know that toxins also have a detrimental effect on the environment? For storing food, I shifted from plastic storing bags to glass containers. I also adopted non-toxic cookware such as cast iron skillets, stainless steel or wood utensils, and switched to non-toxic cleaning products—stay tuned for another blog post on this.
Although making these changes sound overwhelming (and expensive), it doesn’t have to be. This is a journey! Start by taking baby steps and try to make it a positive experience. One of the biggest hurdles in my toxic-free health journey was the research because it does take a lot of time and effort so you must prepare for this. Sometimes, it felt like a never-ending black hole on the internet or social media. But, that’s how Frenshe was born and I’m committed to making it easier for everyone else.
Stay tuned for posts on all of the above to help you start your health journey. Let’s get toxic-free together!
Xoxo
-Ashley