Chemical Clear-out Part 2

I've trawled through the mountainous pile of cosmetics I had stashed away around the bedroom and bathroom and this is the result:




I have really mixed feelings about this.

Firstly, there's the thrifty part of me that hates to waste anything. That's probably what resulted in me keeping bottles with hardly anything left in them in the first place.

Secondly, I feel awful about this all ending up in landfill. My council don't recycle any plastics other than bottles, and even if they did I'd have to wash the contents of these things down the drain releasing the chemicals into the water system.

Thirdly, I'm embarrassed to have spent so much money on cosmetics. I've never really thought of myself as being taken in by advertising, but why else would I have six types of moisturiser? Despite what I thought, I have fallen for the empty promises of clear skin and shiny hair.

Fourthly, and most importantly, I am relieved. I have always felt a bit overwhelmed when thinking about sorting through the mountainous pile of unguents and creams. I'm a hoarder by nature, so the pile kept growing. I'm so glad to have finally shifted the lot and to reassess what I actually need. Fewer nasty chemicals in my cupboard is going to mean a healthier life for our whole family. I only wish I'd done it sooner!

Chemical Clear-out

Lately, I've been doing a bit of research into all the lotions and potions we use in the house. It started when I was wiping down Alice's highchair and just couldn't stand the idea of her eating off something sprayed with disinfectant. After a bit of investigation on-line and some experimentation, I've started making my own solution. It's made up of crushed soap nuts, boiled for ten minutes in water, then strained with a few drops of tea tree oil. I pop that all in a spray bottle and away I go. I also use chamomile tea and washable wipes when changing Alice.

So far so good, but that got me thinking about all the stuff I use. The stash of moisturisers, hair products, cleansers and make up that I own is unbelievable and actually quite embarrassing. I can't even pronounce most of the ingredients that make them up. I am not a chemist, but I'm pretty convinced that I don't want to risk using these sorts of cosmetics on Alice, or myself. Having done a bit of research I found a few key things to look out for - parabens, parfum, triclosan and sodium lauryl sulphate for starters. I couldn't believe how many of my products had these potentially toxic chemicals in them. A little more investigation revealed that by-products of the manufacturing process even of products designed for babies include chemicals like formaldehyde.

I have always been a little sceptical of scaremongering stories, but I just don't think it is worth the risk of using these unappealing cocktails of chemicals, especially on my baby. I'm going to be replacing them with home-made or natural alternatives.