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TOXIC THOUGHTS
I’ve got toxins on my mind right now - for lots of reasons.
First, all week, I led a Facebook group for women trying to make safer choices when it comes to skincare + cosmetics. We talked about harmful ingredients to avoid + simple swaps you can make. We covered all the worst offenders + where to find them.
I also just started a 5-month course on Environmental Health. This week, we focused on the history of chemical regulation (or lack thereof). It’s fascinating to see how we got ourselves into this predicament + to wonder how we are going to get ourselves out of it.
It’s also Breast Cancer Awareness month. I always use this month to shine a light on Breast Cancer Prevention Partners (BCPP) because of the incredible awareness + advocacy efforts this organization makes to protect consumers + improve legislation around the use of harmful chemicals in our everyday products - especially as they relate to breast cancer.
Which brings me to this moment.
About every four months, I find myself in a salon chair for a cut + some highlights. I’ve been doing this most of my life.
My hairdresser knows my obsession with ingredients + trying to use cleaner products. We both know that’s a tall order, but we try our best. Hair dyes are among some of the worst offenders. In fact, until recently, manufacturers were not even required to disclose ingredients in products sold in salons!
A LITTLE HISTORY
One thing I learned in my course this week is the history of the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938. I talk about this piece of legislation a lot because it’s pretty much what regulates the cosmetics industry to this day - a law that has not had any significant updates in over 80 years. Can you believe this $80+ billion industry is guided by less than two pages of legislation from the 1930s?
There were several incidents that led to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938. But, one of them happened in the early 1930s when more than a dozen women were blinded + one woman died as a result of using a permanent mascara called Lash Lure. It contained an untested chemical called para-phenylenediamine (or PPD).
What’s interesting is that PPD is the same chemical that’s often the cause of serious allergic reactions from permanent and semi-permanent hair dyes to this day. It is found in almost all currently available permanent hair dyes, and in many demipermanent and semipermanent hair dyes.
I find it interesting that so many of the chemicals that lead to tragedies + stir up legislative change - are never actually removed or eliminated from the market. This is just one of the countless examples.
Okay, back to the salon chair.
THE PEDESTAL
A weird thing happens when you start to clean up your food + products. People put you on a weird little pedestal. (Well, either that or they try to throw you under the bus, but let’s stick with the chair analogy for now.)
With my reputation for clean eating, I can’t tell you how many times I have seen a friend at a restaurant or the grocery store or coffee shop and within the first couple sentences that person is apologizing to me for what they are eating or buying or how they are ‘being bad’ or something to that effect.
I hate when that happens because it tells me that I have somehow made people feel like I am judging them for their choices. Like I have an opinion about what is on their plate or in their cart. (In reality, that is the last thing on my mind. I’m not detail-oriented enough to even notice something like that, let alone judge it.)
I have NO judgment about what other people eat. I do my best to eat what makes me feel my best + to avoid what doesn’t. I happily share what I learn from my studies + what is working for me. But, I am not perfect by any means.
The same is true for products. I currently work in the clean beauty industry. I scour ingredient lists. I advocate for safer products - particularly those used in the beauty + personal care industry. But, this does not mean I am the ultimate ‘clean queen’.
The picture above is proof! Here I sit on my pedestal with foil in my hair. I won’t use foil to cook at our house for safety reasons, yet here I am with it all over my head.
“Women should never have to compromise their health in the name of beauty.
— GREGG RENFREW
We make compromises. All of the time. In lots of ways. Sometimes consciously. Sometimes not. But compromise should not come wrapped in a blanket of guilt.
Much like with food, I don’t give myself a hard time in moments of compromise. I just do my best + try to make up for it in other ways.
Moments like this here in the salon chair are great examples of the dichotomy we all live with these days...doing our best to be healthy, but also juggling that effort with what often feels like a ‘two steps forward, one step back’ kind of results.
We aren’t always going to get it ‘right’. And, even when we do, we will find there is something we can do better. None of this should stop us from trying to do better. We should NEVER let perfection get in the way of progress.
Whether we’re talking about food or products or lifestyle choices…there’s no prescription for ‘perfect’. It doesn’t even exist. There’s just learning, experimenting, improving, sharing…then learning some more.
That’s actually the fun part of being here. So, DIG IN!
We all have areas of our lives where it’s easier to explore + learn: food, personal care, fitness, fashion, environment, etc.
We will do better in some areas than others. But nothing will ever be perfect.
So, please don’t let yourself get overwhelmed. Don’t judge your progress against someone else’s. Don’t lay guilt on yourself about all the ways you can do better. Just do what makes sense for you. For now.
We are all just out here fumbling around trying to do better.
Every little improvement we make where we can - helps in the areas that we haven’t figured out yet.
Find what works for you. Find what feels right for you. And then just do your best to align with those things as much as you can.
For me, that means continuing to preach the importance of reducing our exposure to toxins. I will emphatically read the ingredient labels of products I bring into my home + use on my body on a daily basis. I will also continue to advocate for safer products so we don’t have to compromise our health for the occasional trip to the salon.
You won’t see me in nail salons or at Botox parties. But, you will see me sitting in a salon chair from time to time. In fact, if I start going gray, I may actually start going more frequently. Who knows? Maybe I’ll go less? Only time will tell.
I just think sometimes we need to remind ourselves that we can’t do it all.
We have enough toxins to deal with in our current environment already. We can not afford the toxic thinking that guilt + comparison brings with it. We have to learn to live with the dichotomy of our choices without beating ourselves (or others) up over it.
Speaking of dichotomy, I left the salon + headed over to the juice bar where I ate a beautiful salad. Vegan. Gluten Free. Certified Organic. It felt like a good thing to do for my body after the chemical exposure. (Raw greens do SO much good for you in protecting against cancers, etc.)
But, even that choice was by no means perfect.
As I sat enjoying my salad, I noticed the plastic tray it was served in + the plastic cup for my water. And, the disposable fork + napkin. Ah yes, plastics + environmental health…a whole other rabbit hole to explore. So much more to learn!
But for now - my hair looks SO MUCH BETTER!
YOUR MISSION:
Can you think of an area of your life that you get ‘mostly right’ + yet, find yourself doing something counter to that? Can you hear your thoughts + self-talk in those moments? Can you be a little nicer?
This week, I challenge you to catch yourself in those moments + see if you can apply a little love instead. Maybe just think of me in my foils + smile for a moment.
RESOURCES:
DONATE: I will be fundraising for Breast Cancer Prevention Partners for the rest of this month. If you’d like to donate to my team, here’s a link to my fundraising page.
READ: Tips for Prevention | Breast Cancer Prevention Partners
READ: Skincare should not have to be scary | The LIFT
READ: 5 things you can’t unknow | The LIFT
READ: A rant against self care | The LIFT
READ: Science, Medicine & Animals: Safety Testing | National Academies Press
IN SUMMARY:
I don’t know how much digging you have done into reading labels + avoiding harmful chemicals at your house. My journey down that rabbit hole started about eight years ago. Actually, it goes back much further because it started with food at our house over 15 years ago.
One thing I’ve noticed over the years is that we tend to either focus TOO much on these facts or TOO little. Some people immediately shut the door on the topic because they think it’s “too late” for them or it seems impossible to change. Others get paralyzed by where to start or how to stop.
Please don’t. It’s not too late. You can benefit from small improvements. You can be part of the solution. And, even the smallest change can have a lasting impact.
If you want to chat more about that, reach out.
Until then…
See you next week?
Meanwhile - you can read thru the archives here. And, please reach out to me anytime!
Email: karen@becounter.com
Instagram: @redefiningkaren
So much of this resonates with me 💕 I will definitely be focusing on the “mostly” good choices and keep building my lifestyle to be naturally free from these harmful things 🥰
Wow, I'm safe today for a change!! Luckily for me I have white (not gray) hair and I truly like it so no more foil or chemicals for my hair. Karen you always look perfect and I envy your slim body!!