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Searching for Safer Nail Polish

9/18/2020

We are nearing the end of summer sandal season. Since I live in the deep south, there is a high probability that I’ll still be sporting my favorite strappy shoes for at least another month. I love painting my toenails a rainbow of colors during this time of year. Since creating a chemical-free life is one of my healthy living goals and a helpful fibromyalgia recovery strategy, I want to know what ingredients are used to make any product I put anywhere on my body. There are a lot of potentially harmful ingredients in many popular brands of nail polish. Four of the most toxic are:

Formaldehyde. It is used in embalming fluid and can cause cancer.
Toluene. It’s used in gasoline, affects the nervous system, and can cause headaches, dizziness, nausea, and eye irritation.
Dibutyl-pthalate (DBP). It has been linked to reproductive problems.
Triphenyl phosphate (TPHP). It’s used as a fire retardant and has been linked to disruptions in the endocrine system. A study by researchers at Duke University found measurable TPHP inside the bodies of women just 10-14 hours after they applied nail polish that contained that ingredient. Duke University TPHP Study

To limit my exposure to toxic ingredients and still have fun using nail polish, I only paint my toenails in the summer during sandal season. This limits the amount of time it is on my body to just a few months of the year. I rarely paint my fingernails since I constantly use my hands and I want to minimize any possible contact with harmful substances. I use a safer nail polish brand that contains fewer toxic chemicals than many mass marketed brands.

If you are not sure which brands are safest, search online for nontoxic nail polish. Even if you find an article with a list of safer brands, you still have to verify the ingredients yourself. Look for brands that are free of the four toxic ingredients listed above. Check brands you like on the EWG Skin Deep Database. It’s a great resource. Type in the name of the product and they will give you a numerical color-coded rating. Lower green numbers are safest. Higher red numbers contain the most toxic ingredients. The yellow middle set of numbers remind you to be cautious because this product contains some safe and some unsafe ingredients. My favorite safer nail polish company went out of business recently, so I’ve been noodling around the internet and checking the Database looking for new options. I found two brands that have safer green ratings: Piggy Paint and Suncoat Polish. Even if I’ve used a product previously, I do a quick check on the EWG Database. Companies change their formulas all the time and manufactures that value nontoxic products are taken over by companies that don’t value safer ingredients at all.

If you adore colorful nails, find the safest polish options, and enjoy your beautiful happy toes during the remaining warm days. Summer will slide into autumn soon enough and it will be time to pull your favorite boots out from the back of the closet.

Here’s to making healthy choices and creating a chemical-free life!

Find more healthy living tips, effective strategies to improve fibromyalgia symptoms, methods to reduce toxic chemical exposure from common household products, and recipes and resources for creating a personalized healthy living plan in my new book, Practical Priorities for Fibromyalgia Recovery. Now available in paperback and eBook versions at amazon.com. Buy your favorite version today. Buy Kindle eBook. Buy Paperback.

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2 Ingredient Nontoxic All-Purpose Cleaner

9/7/2020

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The lifestyle changes I implemented to help me recover from my severe fibromyalgia symptoms included creating a chemical-free life. As part of that process, I ditched household cleaners made with toxic chemical ingredients and replaced them with products made by companies like Seventh Generation, Method, and Better Life that specialize in safer cleaning products. As I roamed the internet looking for alternative cleaning solutions, I discovered something really awesome. I can make my own cleaning products from inexpensive ingredients like plain white vinegar, baking soda, mild soap, borax, and other common items you probably already have in your pantry. One of my favorite finds is this simple recipe for making all-purpose cleaner from just two ingredients: white vinegar and water.

ALL PURPOSE CLEANER

Mix equal parts of plain white vinegar and water in a spray bottle. Shake to mix. Label the container so you will remember what's in there. I currently have homemade tile floor cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, shower cleaner, wood floor cleaner, wood restorer, and more in my cleaning supplies cabinet. So, I definitely need labels.

Some folks like to add a drop or two of essential oil to their homemade cleaners. This can be risky because pure organic essential oils can cause skin and eye irritation and synthetic essential oils may contain artificial preservatives and other toxic ingredients. I think it's safer to skip the scent.

Use the all-purpose cleaner on countertops, mirrors, appliances, chrome, faucets, and anything else you would normally clean with a commercial all-purpose cleaner. Spray the solution on the surface you want to clean. Wipe it off with paper towels or a micro fiber cloth. No rinsing needed. Be sure to use a micro fiber cloth when cleaning mirrors, glass, and chrome. It will leave them sparkling clean without leaving behind paper towel residue.

Interesting factoid: Vinegar contains 5 % acetic acid which kills bacteria and viruses. Vinegar is such an effective germ killer that it is used in some hospital high risk neonatal units to protect vulnerable newborns from exposure to both germs and harsh chemicals.

What is your favorite nontoxic cleaning product? Do you have a great recipe for making a nontoxic cleaning product at home? Please share your favorite finds in the comments. Here's to a chemical-free healthy life for all!

Find more recipes for nontoxic cleaners, healthy living tips, effective strategies to improve fibromyalgia symptoms, methods to reduce toxic chemical exposure from common household products, and recipes and resources for creating a personalized healthy living plan in my new book, Practical Priorities for Fibromyalgia Recovery. Now available in paperback and eBook versions at amazon.com. Buy your favorite version today. Buy Kindle eBook. Buy Paperback.

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Ditch Toxic Household Cleaners

9/7/2020

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A big part of my healthy living strategy is creating a chemical-free environment in my home. This required me to change almost everything about the way I did daily life. Change is hard. But it was worth it. The lifestyle changes I implemented helped me recover from my severe fibromyalgia symptoms.

Scented products were the first category of potentially harmful things I eliminated because they contain so many toxic chemicals. Read more at: Fragrance Fuels Chronic Illness. I tackled cleaning products next. The more research I did, the more harmful ingredients I discovered hiding in cleaning products. I wish I could tell you that I faced making changes with enthusiasm, joy, and loads of positivity. Actually, there was a lot of eye rolling and yelling at my laptop. “Go away stupid internet showing me all kinds of toxic chemicals lurking in products I've been using for years.”

I whined a while and complained to anyone within earshot about how hard it was to change my routine. Then I put on my big girl pants and got down to business. It didn't take much research to discover that household cleaners contain tons of harmful chemical ingredients including formaldehyde, preservatives, petroleum and coal tar derivatives, BHA, parabens, phthalates, volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and artificial colors. Exposure to these chemicals has been linked to the onset of fibromyalgia, lupus, a wide variety of autoimmune illnesses, Alzheimer's disease, heart disease, diabetes, and several types of cancer.

Cleaning products are especially problematical because we spread them on surfaces all over our homes, get them on our skin, and breathe the toxic ingredients into our lungs where they circulate throughout the body with the potential to damage every organ in the body.

I buy nontoxic laundry detergent, dish washing liquid, automatic dishwasher detergent, and other organic cleaners at my favorite big box store or order them online from Amazon. Three of my favorite brands are Seventh Generation, Method, and Better Life.

I’ve learned you still have to be careful. I don't use every product in my three favorite brands and I'm careful when I consider buying any new cleaner. There are no universal standards that companies have to follow in order to advertise their products as natural or organic. I do three things before deciding which products to buy.

Read the Ingredients Label. I want to know exactly what is in the products I buy. I check the number of chemical additives and the number of natural plant-based ingredients used to manufacture each cleaning product I consider. The ones with the most plant-based and fewest chemical ingredients always win.
Count the Toxic Ingredients. I give a hard pass to products that contain some of the more toxic substances like formaldehyde, preservatives, petroleum derivatives, BHA, parabens, phthalates, VOCs, and chemical additives with long unpronounceable names.
Find Fragrance Free Versions. The word scent or fragrance is a red flag. Scented products may contain up to 300 harmful chemical ingredients and the manufacturer only has to indicate the product contains fragrance. They are not required to list the individual ingredients used to produce the fragrance.

I eventually eliminated every cleaning product full of toxic chemicals from my home and replaced each one with a safer less toxic option. I keep my home free of dirt and germs and I keep my body free of toxic chemicals.