 About Allergy-free Bodycare and Haircare ProductsHow come bodycare products often keep indefinitely? Well, like with foods, if they are really natural, they won't. What are the chemical, artificial colors, scents, and flavors you find on ingredient lists? They are already hard to pronounce, much harder yet to understand what harm they can do to you or anybody involved in their making or disposal. On our off-the-grid homestead on a small island in BC, we have learned to fuss over which products are safe - safe for the soil and water bodies we use to grow our foot in, ultimately. Our 20 years of self-sufficient living have taught us that absolutely no chemicals at all are safe to use in such a closed system. We always look for better ways to live without chemicals. But let's not give in to gloom and doom: there always are natural and organic alternatives to chemicals. In past ages, people always have found ways to clean their hair and skin using truly natural products. How can you separate natural from chemical, and know which is which? A useful rule of thumb is to distrust advertising of big corporations, and anything hard to pronounce. Even not being certified scientifically trained, what we found out and read just about scares the living daylights out of us. Isn't it scary how far we humans have strayed since the dawn of the industrial age? These insights shape the way we live and run our company. In our product design choices, simplicity and purity are the dominant goal. We often look back into history to find out how humans lived and made products, when they had to rely on nature for survival, not chemicals and machines. Back then, and without chemicals, people have managed to ret touch stalks of hemp and flax fibers and weave and craft durable clothing and linens. That's what we have done also. Our chemical-free clothing, home, and bodycare products come straight from nature, as unprocessed and natural as in past ages (but much softer and visually appealing, we want to believe). Not only are the resulting products as pure as can be, and your body will thank you for it, but they also embody the charm of a unique, handmade natural 'work of art'. Allergy-free Bodycare and Haircare Products Our Common highly toxic ingredients used to make shampoos durable, stable, and foaming that are known carcinogens, neurotoxins, or allergens: Sodium Laureth Sulphate (SLES) is a cheap foaming agent. Suspected of altering DNA and being carcinogenic. . Ethylene Dioxide or 1-4 Dioxane: Both are extremely hazardous, carcinogenic, and harm the reproductive systems. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate: Irritate skin and eyes, damage hair follicles, and trigger asthma attacks. They may permanently harm a child’s eye development. Commonly used in toothpaste, mouthwash, soaps. The body cannot metabolize it. Propylene Glycol: Used in make-up and toothpaste. Highly allergenic. Causes hair-loss. Synthetic fragrances: Both common and harmful. Many are carcinogenic, cause skin allergies, and endanger the central nervous system. DEA/TEA (Diethanolamine): Widely used to make shampoos creamy and sudsy. Allergenic. Causes brain, liver and kidney cancer, damages the immune system. It reacts with nitrites to form nitrosamines, a highly toxic carcinogen in its own right. Benzyl Benzoate: Irritates the skin and inhibits the functioning of the nervous and respiratory system. Formaldehyde: Well-known for decades as carcinogen and skin- and membrane irritant. Isopropyl Alcohol: A petroleum derivative. The alcohol is also extremely drying and strips hair of its natural oils. That's why it's used: it cuts grease extremely well. It dehydrates the hair and skin, harms follicles, causing hair to become brittle and fall out. Parabens: Hormonal disruptor, causes breast cancer. Phthalates: Highly volatile chemicals. Metabolites of phthalates readily found in our bodies cause hormonal disruption, breast cancer, asthma, and allergies. Children are at higher risk, ingesting them when putting plastics in their mouth, and from the Vinyl-flooring dust. There are lots more than this short list contains, and new ones keep coming in use faster than one can 'out' and avoid current ones. Worse yet - there's a cocktail effect where combinations of relatively harmless chemicals form new, much more toxic compounds. Unfortunately, consumer interests are not sufficiently protected by government agencies who find it hard and unappealing to resist corporate lobbying. You have a choice between ignoring the dangers, hoping all will be well ('the neighbor next door is 85 and healthy, and he is on a conventional diet and uses non-organic products'), and having the courage to face the sad reality and take action. Good news: safe alternatives are available. People have lived for long without brand-name shampoos strong enough to degrease truck engines, lasting for years, and perfumed to smell forever. Let's not cast the useful natural oils on our bodies as enemies: they protect against the sun, pollution, and dehydration. The 100% natural, time-honored alternatives still work in this day and age. Which brings us back to our one-ingredient Kaffir Lime shampoo. It's organic & it works. Cleans and conditions. All hair types. No preservatives (the natural antioxidants & citric acid in kaffir lime yields a one-year shelf life). And for the skin as well as hair, we use organic hemp oil to make soaps and shampoo bars. Hemp oil is rich and moisturizing: some customers even use it instead of shaving cream. |
