Beauty Scavenger Hunt

I have been on somewhat of a beauty product scavenger hunt for over a year now, and I think I've finally cracked the code! While TTC I started eliminating all parabens, phthalates, etc. from my beauty and household products. Easier said than done I tell you! If you've done this yourself then you know how difficult it can be to switch ALL of your mainstream products to all natural ones, but it's just SO important. All that garbage can disrupt the endocrine system in a big way. There have been oodles of studies proving it.

Now that pregnancy is also a factor, I've begun looking even more closely at ingredient labels on beauty products. Turns out that just because a product is organic and doesn't contain chemicals it could contain things that are still contraindicated during pregnancy, like arnica. Arnica has been used for centuries for it's healing properties and there are a ton of amazing things it does. However, it can also cause uterine contractions. No bueno for anyone who's pregnant or those who are TTC and hoping they'll have an embryo implanting during the luteal phase of their cycle.  The last thing any of us need is our uterus contracting when we're trying to get a little bean to implant and stick around for 9 months.

Yesterday, I realized after getting all the way home from shopping, that the organic facial toner I'd just purchased contained arnica, and I was right back returning it today. I honestly wouldn't even know that arnica is contraindicated, but I probably spend more time than the average person researching this stuff. I'm sure plenty of mom's out there would roll their eyes at my attention to so much detail. I can hear all of the baby boomer moms now, "We smoked cigarettes and drank coffee and did LSD and all of our kids came out just fine!" lol

Yeah, well I'm one of those scaredy cat first time mom's and I'm proud of it. Really, it's just not worth it to me to be putting chemicals or some contraindicated plant ingredient in my body when there is any risk. Clearly I need to also start carrying my reading glasses with me to the beauty isle though, because my old ass can't read the small print on a 0.5 oz. bottle! I also don't have much time to keep returning products, seeing as how I am breaking out worse than a 15 year old right now. I needed help stat! Salicylic acid & benzoyl peroxide aren't allowed either, so I was at a loss. Someone save me from this never ending face saving expedition please!

Frustrated, I went online to vent to the ladies in one of my online forums, "There has got to be a better way!" Now, this is why I LOVE online forums...because low and behold another woman told me about a fantastic line of products formulated especially for pregnant women. Apparently the CEO used to be an exec at Clinique and was married to an OB/GYN. She realized that there were no complete product lines that were specially formulated for pregnant women, so she created her own. Genius!

Every ingredient has been tested and is pregnancy approved, so no need to research every individual ingredient on your own. And of course, it's free of any endocrine disruptors or teratogens (birth defect agents), which is why I think these products are awesome for women who are pregnant or TTC. It's called Belli, and I already love it after using it for only one day....

Someone was smart! Yay for the woman who created this product line!

What is good for pregnancy is also good for conceiving....I believe that. Had I known how easy this all could have been before yesterday I would've been using these products for the last year and half. Better late than never I suppose. I used the face wash and spot treatment last night and my face had already improved by morning. I just hear so many women complain about breaking out from being hormonal, so I figured some of you might really like this. Kind of nice that it takes all the guesswork out of the equation and you never have to wonder if what you're using is safe. You can buy it online or find it at a store near you with their store locator.

Some of you might have seen this before, but I also learned about this really cool search tool provided by EWG's Skin Deep where you can see the toxicity score and detailed information on many cosmetic and household goods. You just type any product into the search box like "Revlon bronzer" and see how various products score. That is a horribly toxic product by the way. Try it, and you might be really shocked at what is really in the stuff you are using. Even some things I thought were good like my favorite Mrs. Meyers liquid hand soap, really aren't so great. I'm trying to stick with products that score a 1 or 2 as a general rule. Of course not everything in my whole house will meet this standard, but I'm making an effort. This website is pretty eye opening to say the least! 

Anyway, just a really great tool that's easy to use if you're into this sort of thing. Would love to know if you have found any favorite products or helpful resources for keeping your body and home free from toxins. Feel free to share them here...especially if you have found an all natural anti-perspirant that actually keeps you dry and doesn't make your armpit stick to the side of your arm like a wet slug. It's so gross! Someone REALLY needs to get on that one sometime this century. Anyone? Anyone?