Reduce Toxic Exposure Today: Leave out one toxic body product.

Here are all the body products you use everyday that most likely include toxic ingredients that are harming your health. Which one can you leave out today to reduce the toxic impact on your body? I know that some of these are essential for hygiene and you can't leave them out before you have a suitable replacement, but I'm still listing them to depict the shocking amount of toxic exposure we have on a daily/weekly/monthly basis, that is avoidable by replacing these products with safer ones. Please comment below and let me know - Are you emotionally connected to the body products you use? What will it take to get you to switch to something more natural? There are now over 80,000 man made chemicals used to make products, most of which have not been required to prove they’re safe for human consumption or exposure. As far as I know, when it comes to the study of the impact these chemicals have on the human body, there isn’t a study that assesses the impact of all these chemicals simultaneously on the human body day-after-day.

The Food and Drug Administration has no authority to require companies to test cosmetics products for safety. The agency does not review or approve the vast majority of products or ingredients before they go on the market...cosmetics companies may use any ingredient or raw material in their products without government review or approval (FDA 2005). Whereas the European Union has banned more than 1,000 ingredients from use in cosmetics...

-The Environmental Working Group

1. Shampoo
2. Conditioner
3. Soap
4. Toothpaste
5. Mouthwash
6. Floss
7. Shaving Cream
8. Body Lotion
9. Deodorant
10. Face wash
11. Face cream
12. Eye cream
13. Makeup (primer, concealer, foundation, blush, highlighting/contouring, mascara, eyeshadow, lip moisturizer, lipstick and potentially much more)
14. Hair care products
15. Perfume/Cologne
16. Laundry detergent (residue & scent left behind on clothing)
17. Launder softener (residue & scent left behind on clothing)
18. Dry cleaning chemicals (residue & scent left behind on clothing)
19. Chemical based hand sanitizers
20. Anti-bacterial soaps used for casual hand washing rather than in situations requiring disinfecting.
21. Hand lotion

Many of these chemicals are potential hormone disruptors (Gray 1986, Schreurs 2004, Gomez 2005, Veldhoen 2006)...Studies have found health problems in people exposed to common fragrance and sunscreen ingredients, including increased risk of sperm damage, feminization of the male reproductive system and low birth weight in girls (Duty 2003, Hauser 2007, Swan 2005, Wolff 2008).

-The Environmental Working Group

These are the products that you voluntarily put in or on your body. This doesn’t even include all the environmental toxins you’re involuntarily exposed to in the air, water, food, and at work and home.

So today, have a little mercy on your endocrine system and pick just one product you can avoid using. If you’re not able to adjust your routine today, please at least take the time to look up the products you currently use on the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Skin Deep database and see how they rank. Then you can also find alternative products that are safer for your body and the environment. If you want to know which products Jillian personally recommends, send her an email at jillian@nuspecies.com. Don't forget to comment below! I want to know - Are you emotionally connected to the body products you use? What will it take to get you to switch to something more natural? This post was written as part of NuSpecies ReNu Challenge by Jillian. Want to Participate? Get daily text reminders during our ReNu Challenges: Sign Up Join the ReNu Challenge Email List: Join Here What is the ReNu Challenge? Many of us spend years of our lives living with an all-or-nothing mentality, especially when it comes to taking care of our health and overall wellbeing. We’re either perfectly following all our health and wellness routines and feeling on top of the world or we’re not supporting our health and wellness at all, leaving ourselves feeling guilty, ashamed, and unfulfilled. Life isn’t black and white, so trying to live on an all-or-nothing roller coaster isn’t sustainable. The ReNu Challenge is a monthly reminder from Jillian, NuSpecies Executive Vice President, that everyday is a new opportunity to pursue and cultivate health, good character, and positive relationships. Nothing has a permanent state; life requires us to constantly renew, regenerate, and evolve. This challenge helps you to embrace that. Although we’re all at different places in our journey, each month the challenge is to keep moving forward.