Washing the Toxicity Out of My Hair

Knowing brilliant people makes the task of learning new things infinitely easier. This often means gaining knowledge you had no idea you were missing. This would one of those times. My brilliant friend Sarah pondered aloud on her blog awhile back the fact that hair/body care products could be toxic and the choices she made to replace the products she and her family use.

No it wasn't just her masterful spidey-sense that caused her to evaluate, she pointed to a nifty database. Where you too can go and enter your various products and contemplate the level of chemicals you're cool with ingesting.

Up until that moment, I had  not considered the possibility that my shampoo might be bad for me. This has gnawed at me now for more than two months as I wash my hair with the Tresemme Natural jumbo bottles I bought on sale at Target. It may or may not be bad for me. I've submitted it to the Skin Deep database to receive a rating. Other products by the same brand are between 5-7, moderately hazardous. What? My shampoo is hazardous?

Now, I'm not running down the block fearful that my hair is going to fall out of my head, but does give me pause that more than one-third of personal care products contain at least one product linked to cancer.

The Skin Deep Database provides a list of worrisome ingredients: Placenta, Fragrance, Mercury, Animal Parts, Lead, Hydroquinone Skin Lightener, Nanoparticles, Phthalates and Petroleum Byproducts.

Now sure, I don't actively buy products with these ingredients, but I'm also not checking every single label of everything I buy. We went fragrance free awhile back with our laundry detergent and dryer sheets without any thought of the environmental impact, but now I'm wondering about the other ingredients.

So, I'm slowly working through an inventory of the various products we have and deciding if I would buy them again when they run out based on their toxicity level. Right now I'm thinking a five or below...maybe a four? Is that even possible with readily available, affordable products?

I've also decided that I'm through with my current makeup, Prescriptives. They have not signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics (see signers). Sarah wrote an interesting post on her makeup on this same point as well. Taking each product through the paces of the database. I'm not sure yet what I'll replace it with, but I'm using each of the products until they're gone and then hoping to make a wholesale change. Suggestions welcome.

So it's an evaluation in progress. I'll let you know what I find out along the way.