| CHEMICAL EXPOSURE |
Chemicals invade our environment on a daily basis by means of our homes, workplaces and other areas of life.
After walking from room to room and taking inventory of the products stored in the home, I knew that things had to
change. Chemicals were everywhere in the form of dyes, solvents, in carpets, cleaning supplies and more.
Realizing that it would be impossible to eliminate all the chemicals in my life, I opted to get rid of as many as
possible.
Inside the home were chemicals to clean floors, sinks, tubs, tile, toilets, glass, carpets, laundry, furniture, dishes,
stoves, the air, etc. I cleaned out products stored under the sinks and in closets. Some were eliminated while
others were moved to the garage, out of the living quarters. I disposed of harmful products and opted for more
natural ones. Many safer products were already in the cabinets such as baking soda, vinegar, and oils.
I searched catalogs, the internet and the local health store for safer supplies. I found that when one is sick, one
seems to be more sensitive to products and scents. Whenever chemicals were used, I minimized exposure time,
wore protective equipment and used ventilation.
After the household supplies were under control, next came the personal items. The household personal
products were inventoried in amazement. The morning rituals for most include, toothpaste, mouthwash, soap,
body wash, shampoo, conditioner, hair tonics, shaving creme, facial products, lotions, cosmetics, perfume,
deodorant, powder and the occasional hair color. For the most part, the routine is repeated in the evening.
Whenever possible, use less chemical products, especially on the body. Start reading labels. Learn what the
ingredients are and the affects they have on the body. As a general rule, if you can't pronounce it, why would you
want to place in on or in your body?
Most health stores have wonderful cleaning products such as liquid, castile soap, shampoo's, conditioner's,
aluminum-free deodorant, hair color and fluoride-free toothpaste. Even at the dollar stores, many natural
products can be found to include sea salt, oils, baking soda, loofa, oatmeal, vinegar, spices and more. If one is
unable to find natural products, I would recommend that one buy baby products.
Some homemade beauty products are waiting to be discovered in the kitchen cabinets. A good old-fashioned
hair rinse is vinegar diluted with water. An excellent hair conditioner is mayonnaise, left on the hair 15 to 30
minutes, then shampooed out and rinsed good. For a deep conditioner, cover hair with mayo, place shower cap
over, sleep with it overnight and shampoo and rinse as above. For those who have damaged hair, nothing works
as well as a castor oil treatment. Castor oil is a heavy oil and will require more work to shampoo and rinse out,
however, the efforts are well worth it. Castor oil has been claimed to make hair grow.
There are many wonderful, natural products on the market if one will take the time to find them. One really good
facial clay is Indian Healing Clay which is mixed with apple cider vinegar or water. The clay deep cleans the skin
and removes impurities. The use of clay dates back thousands of years. This bentonite clay is 100% pure from
Death Valley, California.
