It’s officially cold in Austin which means our skin starts to become drier than usual.  Quit being so ashy with a safe application of bodycare products this season!

What do I mean by safe?

There are specific ingredients found in lots of skin care and hair care products intended for the entire family, even our fur babies, that can do harm.  Thankfully we have amazing research studies that have found these ingredients to be the culprit of skin issues, hormone imbalances as well as further agitate auto-immune diseases.  These are a few:

*Parabens: They are synthetic preservatives that allow skin care products to survive for months or even years on your shelf.  The biggest way they negatively affect us is that parabens can mimic hormones in the body and disrupt functions of the endocrine system.  Endocrine system, think hormones!  They are commonly found in moisturizers, deodorants, shampoos as well as food and pharma drugs.  Common parabens include methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben and butylparaben.  Guess how they get into our body? Through our largest organ, our skin!  Think about how much lotion we lather on our skin, especially during the winter!  According to one study, the body can absorb as much as five pounds of cosmetic chemicals every year.  Yikes.

*Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS): other types of sulfates including Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) and Ammonium Laurel Sulfate (ALS).  These are the guys that make our soaps and shampoo lather up. So much fun but guess what, they may be doing more harm than just giving us a good time in the bath tub.  SLS is known to be a skin irritant.  It can strip the skin of its natural oils which can cause dry skin, irritation and reactions.  Have itchy skin and scalp? Eczema? Dermatitis? Seriously consider switching to SLS free products.  TIP: If you find a SLS-free shampoo that you like but it just isn’t lathering as much as you’d like, simply add more water ; )

*Aluminum in deodorants: First off, know that a deodorant is simply made to curb body odor, and antiperspirant is meant to curb sweat by plugging your pores so you don’t sweat as much.  Aside from the cancer causing factor, a concern is that aluminum keeps the body from sweating out toxins that need to be released.  Sweating is a normal body function and essential to not only regulating the body temperature, but ridding the body of toxins and working to keep the body healthy.  That fact alone, is convincing enough for me! My aluminum free deodorants work. Just ask my gym friends, I don’t stink!

I worked as the BodyCare Manager at Natural Grocers for almost 3 years and literally tired everything in the market of body care.  Before you do a skin care overhaul and wonder if what you’re considering buying works, check out these babies.  These are my favs!

*EO or Everyone Lotion:  I love Everyone brand because it’s not only cost effective but it seriously moisturizes my skin with just one application after a shower.  I literally only need 5 pumps for my entire body.  It soaks right in and doesn’t ever feel like it’s just “sitting” on your skin.  I love the “Citrus + Mint” aroma because it’s not synthetic, so it’s just a subtle refreshing aroma. A 32oz pump bottle is 9 bucks and change at Natural Grocers.

*Fractionated Coconut Oil by Life-Flo:  Fractionated means that “it’s a fraction of the whole oil in which certain chains of the fatty acids are separated, refined, clarified, and deodorized while maintaining the integrity of the emollients and moisturizing benefits of the oil.” This make it a superior carrier oil for homemade skin care products like moisturizers and body scrubs.  I use it to make my own body scrub using brown sugar and essential oils.  On days my skin is looking ashy, haha, I’ll add it to my Everyone Lotion.

Schmidt’s and Nubian Heritage Natural Deodorants:  A natural deodorant that works is hard to find!! I’ve tried them all and THESE TWO WORK!  I prefer the Nubian Heritage over the Schmidt’s because personally I find my skin may become irritated with a deodorant that has baking soda in its ingredient list.  Nubian Heritage does not contain baking soda.  Again, both truly work but Nubian Heritage has a wet feel to it upon initial application that personally bothers me, but doesn’t cause any skin irritations.  Schmidt’s is the complete opposite with it’s thick and gritty feel that easily smooths out after it’s been rubbed in.  I tend to use Nubian Heritage more often because I don’t want to chance a possible skin irritation.  Worth mentioning that Primal Pit Paste is also really great, while Tom’s does not work.

We do so much to take care of our body by exercising and eating well, do more by taking care of the beautiful skin we were given =)