This experience led me to think about what other toxins I am exposing myself to voluntarily and what is my sensitive son with autism being exposed to in our home? If food additives and pollution can bother him, what is he absorbing into his bloodstream through his skin?
I can only attack a question like this bit by bit. My main focus lately has been soap. I have been searching for a natural supply of soap that is affordable for us. The natural food store has some, which are kind of spendy. I love the handmade soaps on etsy, but I can't always afford the $5 a bar plus shipping. I was thinking of learning how to make it myself. I have been reading a book called Essentially Soap by Dr. Robert S. McDaniel. He has some great recipes I want to try someday. Also in his book he explains how during WWII the oils and supplies to make soaps were scarce, and so synthetic detergents were used, and it has remained that way to this day. So I have been washing my son with synthetic detergents. Great.
Making my own soap would require quite an investment in materials and having enough time Eli-free to handle the dangerous lye without him around. Those things are not happening right away. For the long term plan, I still intend to be a soaper, so watch out friends, you may be the unlucky recipient of mysterious samples. :)
Just when I was getting frustrated, I found this bar at my local Macey's grocery store. It was 99 cents! It is Kirk's Original Coco Castile. Castile means it is made with plant based oils. I wish they would name it something else, because if I hadn't known the word Castile, I would have looked over it easily. I washed with it last night, and it was NICE. So much lather and moisture, something a synthetic soap cannot give. Here are the ingredients:
Kirk's natural formula includes: Coconut soap, water, coconut oil, vegetable glycerin, natural fragrance.
Good bye Lever 2000, we are never going back.
I'm sure I'll be continuing this topic in another post, because trying to rid your home of chemicals is a big task!
13 comments:
That looks really cool! Does it keep your skin moisterized? I haven't used bar soap since I moved to the desert because it usually makes my skin so dry.
Wow! I know how you feel. I just finished reading the book, Skinny Bitch and it's an eye opener to the foods and chemicals we are exposed to everyday simply because it has been accepted as the norm....and it's really sad and kind of scary that our government would allow such practices to persist. Too bad there aren't more moral people in government to look our for the common welfare of the our society. Afterall, it's all the pollution and chemicals in our foods and other things that created the allergies and most likely brought about autism in the first place. You would think with the high rate of such ocurrences, that someone would blow the horn and try to turn things around. Greed is destroying our planet and the people who inhabit it. Sorry for the long comment, I have a friend with an autistic son, so we get passionate about the issues. Take care.
Wow.. that's so cool.. I bet we don't have that here in Singapore! :( 99 cents is a steal!
Wow, I should be so diligent. Keep us posted on your finds.
tjbdesigns
http://stitchingandbeading.blogspot.com
sleightgirl...
This soap is way moisturizing! My sunburn is barely even flaking... One day I am also going to check into natural lotions... BTW, 100% natural aloe vera gel is great for sunburns. I've heard of it being used as a facial moisturizer, too.
My favorite soap ever is Estrella Soap. It's seriously the best thing I've ever used. Ever. And I used to be a Lush addict. This is tons tons tons better:
http://www.estrellasoap.com/
so nice! I am also working on ridding our home of chems. Just yesterday discovered that scrubbing pots with sea salt does wonders! no chems. Crazy how we put chems on our bodies and in our bodies!
i go through periods where i think about these things and freak out then try to find a happy medium. one useful place on the web is this site: http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php?nothanks=1 you can look up almost any cosmetic/body wash/ ect. and see the safety rating or what harmful ingredients are in it. i've tried a lot of products based on my research there. i have to say, a lot of the makeup i tried i didn't like, so i'm back to my probably too chemically makeup and skin care system, but it's been awhile since i tried anything. they are always updating that site and so maybe it's time to try again. but keep posting about your finds like the soap, i'm always interested to find good products like that.
Great blog! CJ, GOD only gives special children to special parents!
I'll have to keep my eye open for this soap-sounds wonderful.
Teflon is everywhere-carpet, food wrappers-really a nasty chemical.
It really is difficult. I switched to a Lush shampoo bar for a while to cut the chemicals and packaging waste, but my hair got a lot of yucky build up. I've given back in to "normal" soaps for now, but I only clean the house with "Simple Green", baking soda, and vinegar. It's a start :)
your cleaning supplies... that is excellent advice, green space goods!
I have tried this soap and do love it. I also love the handmade soaps on etsy but they disappear fast and at about $5 per bar I don't know many people who could stock their bathroom with it all the time. I was lucky enough to find a local health food store that has soaps around $3 per bar. I even bought oatmeal soap for the dogs and they love it! My one husky licks it while I am bathing him. (Not the bar-just his suds) My sheperd mix tried to run off with it and I had to pull it out of his mouth. Guess it smelled too good. I like this for the dogs too since I have one dog that tends to loose his hair, one that gets rashes and hives and the others just like to get spoiled.
My daughter is enjoying the last little bit of soap and shea butter from this etsy store: goodenoughtoeatsoap.etsy.com
Tera
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