In our transition to becoming Vegans we started off focusing on a balanced vegan diet. After our food was under control we moved onto other important aspects of a healthy vegan lifestyle, skin care! Caring about what we put into our bodies has naturally led us to think about what we are putting on to it, which as it turns out is essentially the same thing. Okay, I hope you are sitting down to prepare yourself for a few shocking facts:
· Your skin is the largest organ in the body and approximately 70% of what you put on it seeps into your bloodstream!
· There have not been enough studies done for us to know the long term effects of the myriad of chemicals that are commonly used today.
· Many of the ingredients used today in lotions and cosmetics contain carcinogens (known to cause cancer) and are toxic.
· New studies have shown that the toxic chemicals that seep into your bloodstream also enter into your fetus through the umbilical cord while you are pregnant!
Are you panicking yet? We were! So let’s review what you should be looking for starting with animal products to avoid. Check out this list:
As if that wasn’t scary enough let’s not forget those pesky chemicals. Click here for a list of toxic ingredients commonly used in cosmetics: The Dirty Dozen!
Now stand up! We suggest you do what we did… go pick up your lotion, shampoo, conditioner, and deodorant, face wash, body wash etc. and read the ingredients, you will be surprised! Not only are there hidden animal ingredients, they are loaded with toxic chemicals…disgusting isn’t it?
This is what made us realize we needed to take action and make changes for ourselves and our families. Compassionate, safe, fun, and eco-friendly DIY body care was clearly the way to go! We wanted to keep it simple and use as few ingredients as possible to keep the cost down. We started out making the following DIY items:
· Your skin is the largest organ in the body and approximately 70% of what you put on it seeps into your bloodstream!
· There have not been enough studies done for us to know the long term effects of the myriad of chemicals that are commonly used today.
· Many of the ingredients used today in lotions and cosmetics contain carcinogens (known to cause cancer) and are toxic.
· New studies have shown that the toxic chemicals that seep into your bloodstream also enter into your fetus through the umbilical cord while you are pregnant!
Are you panicking yet? We were! So let’s review what you should be looking for starting with animal products to avoid. Check out this list:
- Beeswax (contained in lipsticks and chapsticks)
- Placenta – AKA Hyaluronic Acid and Protein Hydrolysate (derived from animals and humans. Can I just say ewww!)
- Lanolin (a grease derived from wool)
- Shellac (crushed insects used in nail varnish)
- Bone marrow (usually from chickens)
- Civet (from anal pouch of civet cat) we didn’t even know what a Civet cat was. Seriously! Why?
- Musk (from male musk deer)
- Castoreum (anal sex gland of the beaver)… again eww why?
- Ambergris (Sperm whale digestive secretion used in perfumes)
- Carmine -AKA cochineal, carminic acid, or Chitin (from insects and crustacean used to get a red color)
- Keratin (protein from hair, horn, hoof and feathers used in shampoos, conditioners and skin care products)
- Tallow - AKA: Sodium Tallowate, Tallow Acid, Tallow Amide, Tallow Amine, Talloweth-6, Tallow Glycerides or Tallow Imidazoline (animal fat commonly used in soaps)
- Gelatin (from animal bones, skin and hide)
- Collagen (fibrous protein usually derived from animal tissue)
- Elastin (from meat)
- Squalene (from liver of shark)
- Urea (waste nitrogen… also known as pee!)
- Honey (from bees)
- Propolis (bee glue used in toiletries and cosmetics)
- Stearic Acid - AKA: Stearamide, Stearamine, Stearates, Stearic Hydrazide, Stearone, Stearoxytrimethylsilane, Stearoyl Lactylic Acid, Stearyl Betaine or Stearyl Imidazoline (Saturated fatty acid from animals)
As if that wasn’t scary enough let’s not forget those pesky chemicals. Click here for a list of toxic ingredients commonly used in cosmetics: The Dirty Dozen!
Now stand up! We suggest you do what we did… go pick up your lotion, shampoo, conditioner, and deodorant, face wash, body wash etc. and read the ingredients, you will be surprised! Not only are there hidden animal ingredients, they are loaded with toxic chemicals…disgusting isn’t it?
This is what made us realize we needed to take action and make changes for ourselves and our families. Compassionate, safe, fun, and eco-friendly DIY body care was clearly the way to go! We wanted to keep it simple and use as few ingredients as possible to keep the cost down. We started out making the following DIY items:
- Body wash
- Hand wash
- Avocado lip balm
- Dry skin cream
This is just the beginning of our Vegan DIY skin care and we will update and add recipes as we create and improve upon them. All of the items so far have been a hit but our favorites are the body wash and dry skin cream. The skin cream has worked wonders on Olive’s eczema and Button loves it as an amazing after shaving cream!
All of the products took less than 10 minutes to make and are customizable with your own scents and skin care type. If you tried a new variation you enjoyed please feel free to share with us in the comments J
“It puts the DIY lotion on its skin or it gets the toxins again!” (A la Silence of the Lambs- haha!)
Until next time stay clean, compassionate, and creative,
Olive and Button
Until next time stay clean, compassionate, and creative,
Olive and Button
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