Why We Started the Switch to All Natural Products
Some of you may know we have had a lot of instances in life lately that have caused us to take a step back and think about the way we are living; those moments where you realize life is short. We have been thinking a lot about our life choices. And one of the areas we wanted to make some changes was to slowly switch to all-natural products. The aim is to have as little toxic chemicals in our house as possible. There are some instances that I will describe below where as a family, we decided on a “happy medium” product. These are products that might not be completely rid of chemicals but for various reasons, we compromised as a family. Everyone needs to do what is right for their family.
Before we continue on, let me just say that I know the term “all-natural” gets thrown around a lot these days. For the purpose of this blog post, all-natural personally to me means products with no harsh chemicals in them. See the picture below from Natural Healthy Concepts as a reference for chemicals to avoid.
The Current All-Natural Products We Use
Lotion
Shea Moisture Coconut and Hibiscus Lotion – I originally got this lotion for Christmas last year. It’s animal cruelty-free, paraben-free, sulfate-free, phthalates free, and has no synthetic fragrances. And let me tell you, it works! My legs get very dry in the WI winters. This lotion worked wonders on my dry skin and it smells great! Mr. MK works outside a lot and of course, does a lot of woodworking, so his hands get so dry they start to bleed. This lotion works wonders for his skin.
Shampoo
Not Your Mother’s Naturals Blue Sea Kale & Pure Coconut Water Sea Minerals Shampoo – I love this shampoo! Shampoo has been the hardest thing for me to switch to an all-natural product. I have very think hair and many all-natural shampoos I have tried tend to leave my hair feeling greasy and unclean. This shampoo works wonders for my hair. For some odd reason, this shampoo is crazy expensive on Amazon. I actually just scored it Buy one get one 50% off at Walgreens. You can get the same deals at Ulta Here.
Not Your Mother’s Dry Shampoo – I love this dry shampoo because not only does it work for me but it also gives my hair more volume. When I skip washing my hair and use dry shampoo my hair tends to fall flat. With this dry shampoo, I get a little more volume to my hair. I’m not going to guarantee it’s free of all chemicals but I am fairly certain it’s sulfate and paraben-free. This is one of those things that I am a little flexible with. If you have darker hair, I also love Batiste Dry Shampoo Dark and Deep Brown (here) because there are absolutely no issues with white flakes.
Shower Gel
EO Shower Gel by EO Essentials – This is by far my favorite all-natural body wash I have found. It’s GMO, paraben, free, cruelty-free, gluten-free. These shower gels are made with organic ingredients and scented with essential oils, which you all know I love. This shower gel leaves my skin so soft and it smells great!
Sunscreen
Babyganics Sunscreen – If you know us at all, you know that we are out in the boat constantly in the summer, so sunscreen is a must. We have used Babyganics for the past two summers for Little MK and myself. If you go to the Environmental Working Group website you will notice that the Babyganics doesn’t have the lowest harm rating. However, we have had very good luck with it and Little MK has never been burned. If you have tried a lot of all-natural sunscreens you know some of them can be very thick and impossible to rub in. As you can imagine this isn’t a good combination with a busy boy. Add that to the fact that Little MK refuses to have any white showing when he puts sunscreen on…This is why Babyganics is a happy medium for us. It goes on easy, is relatively low in chemicals and keeps our kid from getting a sunburn.
House Cleaning Supplies
Seventh Generation Dish Soap – This is the best dish soap we have found. The cleaning power is good and it suds up well. We have tried 3 or 4 other all-natural dish soaps and did not like any of them. Some of them we had to use twice as much soap to get suds. Others the suds would disappear after minutes of washing dishes and we would need to add more soap. The Seventh Generation soap is the best we found with the amount needed to use and the suds the soap generates.
Excelsior Laundry detergent – We have been using this laundry detergent for just under a year now and I love it for so many reasons! First, it’s biodegradable and phosphate-free. It’s a whitener, brightener, and softener all in one. The other added bonus is that it is specifically designed for front-loading washer and dryers and prevents your washer from getting moldy which has happened with front-loader washers. The upfront cost of this laundry detergent is big but the container does 333 loads. Honestly, we have had this detergent since the beginning of last March and we are still on the first box.
Of course, we also use essential oils frequently in our house. Check out my previous post here to see how we use essential oils as a family.
This completes the list. I’d love to hear about all-natural products you use. What are your favorites?
