Kermit taught me that it's good to be Green

I have always tried to be environmentally conscious because, you know, our Earth needs protection. I never quite understood, however, that in addition to protecting the Earth from garbage and chemicals and car emissions, I needed to protect ME from chemicals that would give me cancer and cause my (future) children to go into puberty early and interfere with my nervous system.

I have recently become AWARE and we have made some changes in our home already. There are a few major ingredients that I will no longer tolerate in personal products and I have found alternatives that even Jason will tolerate and that are affordable. (And yes, I walked around Target with a list in hand of what chemicals to avoid - I keep a list in my purse now.)

1. SUNSCREEN - Did you know that you should not use an SPF above 50? You should also avoid sunscreens that contain Retinyl palmitate (can cause skin cancer when used in the sun) and oxybenzone (disrupts hormone system and should never be used by a pregnant woman).

I went to Target to get some sunscreen and I had a really hard time finding one that met these three requirements. Burt's Bees came to the rescue with their sunscreen!!!

2. HAND WASH - So you know how we all love to do "antibacterial" this or that? Turns out that a lot of those antibacterial products use a chemical called triclosan or triclocarban. Not only is it toxic to the aquatic environment (!) but it disrupts thyroid function and reproductive hormones.

Recommendation: use hand wash that does not have this product - it's as simple as that!! Studies show that using hand wash that is not "antibacterial" is just as effective anyway.

3. HAIR PRODUCTS - This one was a biggie. See, sometimes I have the money to buy nice, expensive products like Aveda and sometimes I don't. Jason doesn't care, so he usually buys Suave, which I think is the cheapest you can buy. Recently I've been using Tresemme and I had to throw those bottles away as well as J's Suave........the major things to avoid in your shampoo:

PEGS, ceteareths and polyethylene

Parabens: propyl, isopropyl, butyl, isobutyl

DMDM hydantoin

Turns out, even products in the ORGANIC section at Target had some of these damaging chemicals in them, which proves the point that since we don't have any regulation on who can claim themselves as "organic" or "natural", we have companies that put just as much bad stuff in their products but claim to be good! Although I could have ordered something online, I wanted something right away, so at Target I found shampoo and conditioner from Nature's Gate that fit the bill. They also lather up much better than Tresemme ever did!!

4. OTHER PRODUCTS - You should definitely be avoiding Parabens, so out went my beloved Cetaphil cleanser and moisturizer which I have been using since I was, oh, ten years old. Turns out that it is basically ALL parabens. In came Alba facial cleanser and moisturizer.

If you have kids, a few tips:

avoid diaper cream that has boric acid

avoid baby wipes that have 2-Bromo-2-nitropropane-1, 3-diol (bronopol)

do not allow children under the age of 2 any access to fluoride toothpaste

If you want to check out how your products do in terms of health for you and healthy for the environment, check out the database at www.ewg.org/skindeep

You can also find lots and lots of information including more details on what I've already posted.

As it turns out, making these changes didn't change much in my home, except that I can be as sure as it is possible to be that I am using products that will not give me cancer. With SO MUCH LIFE ahead of me to lead, I will do everything I can to stay healthy and enjoy it!!