Did you know that many of the man made chemicals in personal care products such as skin care, make-up, and deodorant can harm your body and your organs? These ingredients can disrupt your hormones, digestion, brain health and more. Some can damage your DNA and are linked to cancer and other significant health disorders!

The Environmental Working Group, a great website that you can search, has much more information as well as an awesome app that allows you to scan the bar code of your products to check the hazard score.

As part of my healing journey, and what I recommend to my clients is to slowly replace your skin care/body care/make-up products as you run out. Not all the products in health food stores, even when they are organic, are necessarily safe. You need to read the label and look for products that do not have a long list of ingredients that are man-made chemicals.

A good, inexpensive, soap is Dr. Bronner’s. You can also use natural oils such as olive oil (Kasadrinos is the absolute best – inside and out!), coconut oil or tallow to moisturize your skin. When I gave up my conventional products I initially transitioned to Dr. Bronner’s soap for my body and organic coconut oil to cleanse my face and as a moisturizer.

I like to purchase organic coconut oil from Tropical Traditions but sometimes get it from Trader Joe’s or Natural Grocers. I really like the Tropical Traditions natural deodorant too and keep a bottle in my purse just in case!

deoderantSpeaking of natural deodorant, I’ve tried a number of different brands and I’m convinced, as in just about anything, there is no one size fits all. So far my favorite is Schmidt’s.  Another really great one is from Primal Life Organics (PLO). However, to really save some money and get a pretty effective deodorant, you can make you own quite easily. Here’s a recipe I used to make a batch for my youngest son who is still home with us:

    • 3-ingredient deodorant:
    • 2 tablespoons baking soda,
    • 2 tablespoons organic tapioca or arrowroot powder, &
    • 3 tablespoons of organic coconut oil.

Whip it all together with a hand mixer and scoop into a previously used container like the one pictured or a store bought empty tube (online here or at a local homesteading supply store – I think I saw them at Natural Grocers too), or just use a little mason jar and then harden in the fridge.

Primal Life Organics (PLO) is a brand I had often heard rave reviews about but I did not want to pay for it. It seemed too pricey. That said, I got to try some at Paleo f(x) in 2014 and ended up buying an entire skin care set, foundation make-up, and blush and have been ordering many of their products (mostly skin-care) ever since!  The products last a long time (although because they are all natural, they have a short shelf life) and in the end they are not actually not more expensive.

I really love the PLO skin care and can see and feel a noticeable difference in my skin. I’m sold. Like the food that you put into your body matters, so does what you put on your skin. I decided it was worth it. What I love about PLO too is that they frequently have sales.

PLO has products for men and children as well so this applies to your entire family. PLO is constantly working on new products so check back frequently. Of course if you have a special woman and/or children in your life, you might want to check it out for them and even consider purchasing a gift certificate.

I’m all about options so now if you want to get fancy, my newest FAVORITE line, is BeautyCounter! I love their mission, their beautiful performance cosmetics, their gorgeous packaging, and their skin and hair care for the entire family. And most of all, I love that they are working to promote change in our U.S. Government policies to bring safer products to everyone. Check them out here!

Lastly, one of my fellow Nutritional Therapy colleagues, Liz Wolfe of Real Food Liz and the author of the incredible and recommended book, Eat the Yolks, as a wonderful skin care guide, Purely Primal Skin Care. Liz had some significant skin care challenges that she was able to overcome with diligent, thorough research and experimentation.

So, if you are dealing with any sort of skin health issue, I highly recommend this comprehensive guide. It’s an ebook and the really cool think about ebooks and online programs is the ability to get updated information after it’s initially released.  And, Liz cracks me up.  She is one funny lady and who doesn’t learn more when they are having fun?!

Now, go over there and just take one step to get started!

Do you have a favorite natural care product you love?  How about quick and easy recipes?  If you do please share…

Originally published Sep 5, 2014. Recently updated.