Eco, Cruelty-Free Toiletries

Life is beautiful and You are beautiful. The products we put on our skin and inhale on a daily basis must be natural and pure to feed our bodies which are our temporary houses to our souls and must be respected and treated well.

Animals are beautiful too and testing on animals is not what we, as advanced conscious Earthlings, should support.

Additionally, chemicals - that make up most of the ingredients in cosmetics and toiletries are extremely harmful to your body, and damage our environment.

Much of what we put on our skin is absorbed into our bloodstream, which means parabens and other chemicals are entering our bodies disrupting our natural order of things and are comprised of neurotoxins that can damage cellular growth and cause birth defects.

Think about what we inhale as well, artificial scents in beauty products and toiletries can affect our brain health and cause inflammation which may lead to early on-set Dementia and Alzhiemer's.

Why would we use artificial and chemical-based colors, and scents in our products, and further more why would we test on animals? It's all unnecessary and harmful in too many ways to count.

Cognitive dissonance and magazine and commercial marketing essentially brainwash us in to the belief that these products are good for us. It's easy to see a beautiful model in a magazine with bright colors and believe that if we use those products we will in-turn look and feel fascinating. But it's much the opposite. (Do you really think those models use the products they do the ads for? They show up, get made-up and get paid. That's it. Trust me, I was a model).

Here are a few of my favorite products that I use and stand by ethically and through daily use of.

First, the face darling. I have been known to have acne. Especially now in my 30's, as my hormones change, acne is a common fiend that affects my face. What I found as a contributor to my acne spurts was poor water quality. Therefore, I purchased a water filter and Vitamin-C filter to clean my water of chlorine, flouride and chloromine.

After doing some research on water quality, I searched for organic face products and I found THESIS BEAUTY

and fell in love with the Harmony Face Wash and the Poppy Seed Face Scrub. Poppy seeds are natural and will break down dead skin cells and clean out the pours while also keeping the septic systems clean by being a bio-degradable ingredient.

The company boasts Eco-friendly, vegan products with limited yet essential ingredients, not a long list of words you can't even pronounce. The products smell delightful as well!

Next, deodorant for those nasty armpits! Let's be clear, deodorant is NOT antiperspirant. Deodorant does not prevent sweating, it merely aids in keeping moisture at bay and adding a pleasant scent. Antiperspirant is actually a chemical that seeps into your pores to prevent sweat (which isn't wise, as sweating is our body's natural way of eliminating waste) which in turn creates change in the body's PH and will actually cause you to sweat even more. Some studies have shown the correlation between antiperspirant chemicals and certain diseases and cancers, but the direct causal relationship is not 100% known. But to be safe - and natural - it is best to avoid those nasty, artificially scented and chemical-laden mainstream, store-bought antiperspirants.

I use NATIVE DEODORANT "Deodorant that isn't a chemistry experiment" as the company says on it's homepage. I have tried TONS of deodorants with no luck. I continued to smell! It was awful, I knew my body needed to detox but I was too afraid to go a day without using an antiperspirant. But after receiving NATIVE as a present, I was sold! What's great: no aluminum and fabulous scents!

"We use baking soda to neutralize odors, arrowroot powder to absorb moisture and acidophilus to eliminate odor-causing fungi, yeast, and bacteria."

-Native (website)

Putting Goodness on your skin

I am never ecstatic about lotions and make-up anymore now that I know how much we have polluted the environment and tested these chemicals on animals. But I have found a company that I find quite intriguing and full of, well, goodness!

LUSH Cosmetics is an honest company that speaks up for the environment, and animals with your skin in mind. They have done wonders for the community and will continue to fight against animal testing. Most of their products are vegan but some are vegetarian and some do have a small amount of artificial colors and parabens, but not all and that's what makes them a viable option. I was given a gift card and purchased the lotion pictured above. It's the Charity Pot and is self-preserving (meaning no parabens), vegan and dye-free. With a delicate perfume of ylang ylang and rosewood oils in a hydrating cocoa butter base! The Charity Pot gives 100% of it's proceeds to an environmental, human rights, or animal rights organization. It smells nice and leaves my skin feeling very soft. I also got two essential oil facial steamers that I am excited to try.

Finally the last product I adore allows me to have the freshest kissing breath and pearly whites!

F R A U F O W L E R Tooth Powder!

I was given a sample of Fraufowler Tooth Powder by a representative at Natural Grocers and took it home to try it. I have been fed up with my plastic consumption as well as preservatives and ingredients like carrageenan (which is merely seaweed but it has been linked to health issues in this form), even in natural toothpastes and honestly I haven't found anything that I really like except for TOMS but their parent company tests on animals. (sad face).

Ok, I will admit this shit was WEIRD when I first tried it. You are not allowed to get your toothbrush wet nor rinse with water. It was gross at first because I am all too familiar with using water and my gums used to bleed when I brushed my teeth. I realized the best way to use this powder is to rinse out any food with filtered water first and and floss and rinse again and THEN use the tooth powder. The benefits of this powder actually help prevent sore throats, bacteria growth, dry lips, and .. wait for it... bleeding gums!

Zero Fluoride! Zero Preservatives! Zero Plastic! Zero artificial crap!

Toothpaste that is out on the market is full of chemicals and artificial colors, not to mention when we brush our teeth we use sink water that contains Flouride (which studies show lead to health problems and autism in children.) Also, our mouths provide the quickest way for chemicals (and medications) to enter our bloodstream. So who wants chemicals and crap in their toothpaste? Not I, and not you, as I would imagine you give a damn about your oral health and your body.

To conclude, these are a few of my favorite products that I recommend on the grounds that the products are cruelty-free, Eco-friendly, and stand for a purpose to better our world and our health. I also use Jojoba oil on my face as a "moisturizer" and Desert Essence shampoo for my hair. I do not use conditioner as I want to limit my plastic waste and honestly when you use natural shampoo you really do not need a conditioner because your hair has not been stripped of it's natural oils.

"When we live simply, others can simply live"