Making the Switch to Paraben-Free Beauty Products

Have you been following the Spring Cleaning Carnival over at Kitchen Stewardship?  So far we've learned about getting rid of antibacterial soap, gluten, plastic, refined sugar....and now it's my turn to talk about how to get paraben preservatives out of our daily body care routine!!  In my guest post at Kitchen Stewardship today, I explained what parabens are and why we don't want them in our products.  Now, I'm here to help you drastically reduce and possibly eliminate parabens from your home forever! 

And just to keep things interesting...we've got giveaways!!  Katie at Kitchen Stewardship is giving away two unique paraben-free lotions and I've got a gift certificate to a wonderful little soap company (paraben-free of course!) in the offing.  Details are at the end of this post!

Baby Steps

To begin your paraben-free mission, you need to know where parabens hide and how to recognize them.  On a product label you will find parabens listed as methylparaben, propylparaben, ethylparaben and butylparaben. They are typically found at the end of the ingredient label because they are added in small amounts as preservatives. 

A surprising number of personal care products may contain parabens, including the following:

• Lotions and creams (including sunscreen products)
• Bubble baths and liquid soaps
• Shaving products
• Deodorants
• Toothpaste
• Baby products including wipes and diaper rash cream

Check the ingredients lists on the products you have currently have at home to see whether or not they contain parabens....PRONTO!!

Kicking it Up a Notch

The next step is commit to switching over to paraben-free products wherever possible. Some people may decide to immediately toss any products containing parabens, others may choose to use up what they have to avoid waste.  It's really up to you.  My tendency is to use things up, unless it is something I didn't particularly like in the first place.

So you're ready for some new products....how do you know what to buy?  Start by looking at the label to see if it says paraben-free anywhere.  If not, check the ingredient list for the specific paraben ingredients that we talked about above. 

Finally, there are a couple of seals of approval that specifically ban parabens.  If you see these seals on a product label, you can be certain that there are no parabens inside!

• Natural Products Association
• Whole Foods Market Premium Body Care 
• USDA Organic Seal

You can also do your research at home by using the Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database.  Look up products that you have at home or are considering purchasing to find out whether or not parabens are on the ingredient list. 

Going All Out

How would you like to have complete control over what goes in your beauty and personal care products?  You can if you make your own!  It may sound intimidating but I'm telling you it's really quite easy!!  Here are a few tips:

• Recipes for homemade beauty products are easy to find both in books and online.  The book Natural Beauty at Home by Janice Cox is an especially good book chock full of enticing recipes.  I have checked it out from the library more than once!
• Most ingredients and supplies are readily available at natural food stores or co-ops but can also be ordered on line if necessary.  My local co-op carries many things in bulk like shea butter, beeswax, sweet almond oil and more.  I've heard that Mountain Rose Herbs is a fantastic online resource although I have not ordered from them myself.
• Keep in mind the shelf-life of your homemade products will be limited (typically 2-3 months) because there are no synthetic preservatives.

To get you started, here is a recipe from my book, Practically Green: Your Guide to Ecofriendly Decision-Making for a lovely shea butter body cream.  You will be amazed how easy it is to make and how luxurious it feels on your skin!  It makes a great gift too!

Shea Butter Body Cream

Ingredients:

3 T shea butter

4 T sweet almond oil

8 drops each geranium, orange and sandalwood essential oils

Heat shea butter in the top of a double boiler until melted.  Stir in the sweet almond oil.  Remove from heat and stir in the essential oils.  Pour into a glass container.  Yep, it's that easy!!

Next, dive in to some other recipes I've covered on my blog like this yummy chocolate facial mask, a soothing homemade lip balm and fun fizzy bath balls for the kids.

The Giveaways!!

What better way to move forward on your quest to Get the Parabens Out then to win some paraben-free products!  Katie has 2 very interesting lotion productsto give away - a hard lotion bar (an excellent plastic-free option!) and a product called shielding lotion from SkinMD.

My giveaway is a $20 gift certificate from a sweet home-based soap company called Cheeky Maiden Soap Company.  Missy, the chief soap maiden, sent me a bunch of samples and it's been super fun to check out all the different varieties!!  My favorites are the Bamboo Charcoal Detox and the Happy Thoughts blend.  She has lots of unique products including shampoo bars, foot scrub bars, pet soap on a rope, dental soap (yes, soap for your teeth!), laundry soap (soap nuts), baby soap, sugar scrubs, lip balm and a very nice Mango Body Butter.  Her prices are very reasonable but to top things off she has offered all Mindful Momma readers a 15% discount through the end of April.  Use the code MM0410 at checkout! 

For a chance to win this giveaway or either of Katie's giveaways, you can do one or more of the following:

1. Use the Linky to link up your own post about this topic!
2. Leave a comment on this post sharing what you are doing to get parabens out of your life.
3. Leave a comment on my guest post over at Kitchen Stewardship.
4. Leave a comment on Katie's review post.
5. Become a fan of my Mindful Momma Facebook page. *
6. Follow me on Twitter and tweet about the giveaway. *
7. Subscribe to Mindful Momma via email or RSS . *
8. Stumble or DIGG this post! *

(*Be sure to let me know in the comments if you have done this!)

The giveaway will be open until midnight, Central time on Sunday, April 25th and I'll post the winners by the following Tuesday.

Coming Up

Next week the Spring Cleaning: Get the Junk Out Carnival will be hosted by Lenetta of Netacow on the topic of food additives. I'm really looking forward to this topic - there is so much to know about what's in our food these days!

{Full Disclosure:  Cheeky Maiden Soap Company provided me with free samples to review and is providing a  $20 gift certificate to one Mindful Momma reader.}

Comments

[JenZ]

I subscribed via e-mail just now :)

[Amy]

I use the all natural products (cleaning, bath & body, etc.) that Melaleuca makes. They are awesome!

[Karen]

I've just subscribed via email.

[Sarah]

I try to read labels and I use homemade deodorant, I am going to try no-poo after I use up what I have - we'll see!!

[Jenny]

I'd never even heard of parabens before! I just went through all the products we use regularly as a family and separated them in my mind into "safe" and "find a new option when this is empty". I was pleased to find not that many paraben-containing products (probably because I try to buy things containing few ingredients in the first place).

[beatty]

This is totally anecdotal, but I stopped using parabens after reading something on Dr Mercola's site about how they can mess up your hormones. My period stopped for over 6 months, and I thought, Hm, maybe I should try to balance myself by stopping the paraben lifestyle and see what happens.

I'm 43 - a little too young (maybe??) for menopause to hit so soon and so suddenly. I'm cheap so started using Dr Bronner's for soap and shampoo purposes and got the 2.99 conditioner at WHole Foods. Their 'generic verion'. Started using coconut oil for moisturizer, but switched to Kiss My Face lime and lavender moisturizer and lo and behold my periods are back. It was maybe 3-4 months when I became regular again. I did not have a control on myself, so I'll never know fer sure. But I guess smearing preservatives on one's self is probably not a smart way to go.

[Starving Student Survivor]

My antiperspirant will be empty in another day or two, and when it's gone, I'm making my own deodorant!

[Starving Student Survivor]

I follow on Twitter and tweeted. http://twitter.com/sssurvivor/status/12591471975

[Starving Student Survivor]

I subscribe in Google Reader.

[Julie S]

Thanks for the great giveaway and the extra chances!
1st entry: To get parabens out of my life, I am gradually switching over to homemade or otherwise natural commercial products: household cleaners, shampoo, soap and especially baby care products.

[Julie S]

2nd entry: I am posting your guest post at KS.

[Julie S]

3rd entry: I am commenting on Katie's post at KS.

[Julie S]

4th entry: I fanned/liked Mindful Mama on FB!

[Julie S]

5th entry: I subscribed to MM by email!

[Lisa]

I subscribed by email:)

[Vanessa]

I am trying to be more aware every-time I buy something that is going to be used by me or my family. It is worth the time to read and research the product to keep my family healthy.

[Vanessa]

2nd entry- I subscribe by email!

[Vanessa]

3rd entry- I just commented on Kitchen Stewardship!

[Vanessa]

4th entry- I am a fan on Facebook!

[Vanessa]

Final entry :)- Left a comment on Katies review post.

[Cheri]

commented on KS

[Diane Treat]

I'm reading labels and becoming more educated.

[Diane Treat]

2nd - left a comment at Kitchen Stewardship

[Diane Treat]

3rd - subscribed

[Valerie]

I would love to know where you got your information on USDA certified organic personal care products. The fact is that no synthetic ingredients are allowed in USDA food grade certified organic personal care products. They must contain 95% certified organic ingredients (excluding water and salt) and no synthetics. Personal care products that are USDA certified organic must meet is the same standard that USDA certified organic food must meet. in other words, you have personal care products that are as safe as certified organic food. Any products that are not certified organic, even if "natural" will contain pesticides and herbicides from their production.