Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

Suds Up With These Healthy Soaps!

I’ve romanticized the idea of making my own all-natural soaps for a while now, even giving them out as gifts, but the problem is that I can’t seem to find the time to do it! Making our own cleansing products after work probably isn’t going to happen for most of us.

But you can’t just grab just any old soap off the shelf either. The majority of the soaps and body washes you see perusing the personal care isles don’t seem to give a hoot about your health. They’re laced with synthetic lathering agents, artificial colors, and harsh chemicals which bioaccumlate in our bodies. The chemicals get stored in our fat, and when there is enough accumulations of toxins in the body, illness can occur.

Our skin is the largest organ of the body, and it’s both porous and absorbent. What we’re sudsing ourselves up with every day matters.  What we put on our body, is as import as what we put in it.

When I was little girl, my Mother would encourage me to wash up while having fun in the bathtub by telling me to make myself into a soapy snowman. I know, it sounds strange but, it’s a fond memory. Now you can lather up and have some fun, even make yourself into a soapy snowgirl if you wish, with these healthy soaps that will leave you feeling so fresh and so clean.

Wembe’s Cleansing Blend for body, face and hands. My favorite is the mango (above), but you can choose from several different blends.

 

 

I wash my face with Dr. Bronner’s Tea Tree Liquid Soap. (Just three drops will do the trick!)

 

 

Wembe’s Loofah Acai exfoliating bar is a dream come true for your skin. The loofah comes from a plant that looks similar to a zucchini, and this bar will help remove dead skin cells and stimulate blood circulation.

 

 

 

 

Right now I have Ecover’s hand soap next to my kitchen and bathroom sinks!

 

I use this cute L’Occitane’s soap dish in my bathroom to hold my favorite soaps!

Polished Beauty Bar: Indulge in a Healthy Mani and Pedi

Sneaking away from work for 45 minutes to do something nice for yourself every once in a while is the best. In fact, it keeps me sane! I find it to be a terrific way to recalibrate my thoughts and recharge so that I’m at my best the rest of the day.

In between a flurry of meetings on the Upper West Side recently, I welcomed the opportunity to toss off my heels and treat myself to a healthy pedicure at Polished Beauty Bar, a cozy and chic UWS salon.

I found the service to be impeccable, the staff as friendly as can be, and more importantly, I really liked the products they offered. A wide selection of non-toxic Zoya nail polishes (free of toluene, formaldehyde, DBP (phthalates) and camphor) made it fun to select a color (I wound up going with this pretty number).   I savored every minute of my leg and foot massage with Pharmacopia’s paraben-free and vegan Citrus Body Oil.

While my toes were drying (I know, tough life), I caught up with Polished Beauty Bar’s co-owner, Susan Nam. She explained that she and her sister Micki were inspired to create the salon after feeling like second-class citizens at their local nail joints, where a lack of cleanliness and customer appreciation were the norm.

Susan and Micki longed for a charming and clean UWS salon that delivered high-quality and long-lasting manis and pedis. Both of them being seasoned beauty-biz professionals, they decided to collaborate on a dream salon that’s well worth a trip uptown, no matter where you live or work.

 

5 Ways to Reduce Your Chemical Exposure Before You Even Think About Getting Pregnant

Image courtesy Flickr User Trocaire.

 

I have never been pregnant and I do not have any children. I do, however, plan on being pregnant one day (but not anytime soon!). So you might be curious why I think I’m entitled to share pre-pregnancy tips with you.

It’s pretty simple: the facts! Being a healthy mom means starting on a healthy track well before you’re ready to get pregnant.

Budding mommies-to-be avoid smoking and alcohol without hesitation, as both butts and booze have long been widely accepted as fetotoxic — poisonous to a growing baby. But what many women don’t realize is that there’s a long list of other toxic chemicals lurking in their homes and daily beauty routine at this very moment– which could harm her eventual baby, not to mention herself.

These harmful chemicals pervade our personal ecosystems, disguising themselves in everyday items we use and consume. While clever and visually appealing packaging may assert that they’re safe, “eco” or even natural, a pre-pregnant or pregnant gal would probably prefer to avoid them if she knew the full story.

Many of the toxins in products we use daily bioaccumulate in our bodies over a long period of time after we’re exposed to them, sometimes even decades. (This is scary stuff for a woman who foresees herself becoming pregnant 10-15 years down the line, let alone just a few years.)

Toxins typically find their home in our fat cells, and because women naturally have more body fat than men, we store more toxins, (especially in our breasts and belly where babies grow and then nurse from). Heavy metals and other toxins don’t just bioaccumulate in our own bodies, they also build up in the bodies of animals, (especially large fish, which is why pregnant and nursing women shouldn’t eat  fish like tilefish, swordfish, kingfish and tuna). These metals work their way into the atmosphere through emissions from coal-fired power plants and other sources, and then get distributed into the oceans.

As an aspiring mother in today’s world, it’s incumbent on you to take your health and your future baby’s into your own hands. This never-been-pregnant gal is here to help with these five ways to reduce your chemical exposure whether you want a baby next month, next year, or sometime way down the line!

1.) Use non-toxic cleaning supplies. Household cleaners contain nasty chemicals culprits  such as phosphates, phenols, phthalates, triclosan, glycol ethers, ammonia, and petroleum solvents. Sadly, I could go on. Many of these have been linked to reproductive and neurological issues and birth defects, and traces have been found in breast milk and umbilical cord samples. Gross.

The bottom line: Look for purveyors of non-toxic and safe ecological cleaning products  such as Ecover, Mrs. Meyer’s or Method. You could even make your own with ingredients like baking soda and vinegar!

2.) Buy organic fruits and vegetables. Women should avoid pesticides and pollutants found in non-organic food, as pesticide exposure can cause both short-term (acute) and long-term (chronic) health problems for animals and humans. Exposure to pesticides known as organophosphates, during pregnancy can permanently decrease children’s IQ, memory and ability to focus on tasks. Growth hormones found in dairy and meat products should be avoided as they can increase the risk of disrupted development and cancer in humans.

The bottom line: Shop organic and use the Environmental Working Group’s “shoppers guide” as a resource to avoid pesticides in produce.

3.) Junk your toxic beauty and personal care products. The average woman exposes herself to 167 different chemicals on her body and face during her daily beauty regimen.  Since we absorb 60% of what we put onto our skin, this means that you’re allowing chemicals to be absorbed into your body.

The bottom line: Shop for beauty and personal care products including lotions, shampoos/conditioners, deodorants, toothpastes, perfumes, nail polishes, you name it,  that are free of harmful chemicals such as parabens, phthalates, sulfates and DEA. Use the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep website to research the truth behind the ingredients in many of the products you use. Be sure to use the tool prior to making any purchases. It may not be as convenient as simply reading some label that’s lying to you and throwing it in the cart, but you and your future baby are worth the extra few minutes of time spent.
More »

Beautiful BKR Glass Water Bottles: Well Designed and Just Right

Finding the right water bottle is a little bit like a Goldilocks and the Three Bears: Some bottles are too big, some are too small, some are made from the wrong materials, or the drink opening is the wrong shape for drinking from while working out, or too small to clean properly.

And then Bkr sent me one of their pretty bottles to try. And it was like I had found bottle nirvana. It was made of glass, which keeps water cool naturally, and won’t leach anything into liquids, hot or cold. Glass is also easy to clean, and Bkr bottles are covered with a translucent silicone sleeve, so even if you drop the bottle, it’s not likely to break (of course it still can, but so can plastic if dropped far enough).

And look how pretty they are!

Heroines for the Planet: Robin Wilson, Designer of Healthy Homes with Heart

Robin Wilson is a nationally recognized eco-friendly interior designer; her client roster includes the Kennedys and the Clintons , who have both had Robin create gorgeous, green spaces for their families.

Admittedly, I have a personal affinity for Robin: Several years back, when I was first trying to break into the green space, desperately seeking guidance,  she was very kind to me. And she still is.

You always remember people like Robin in your life– the ones who lifted you up in some way when you needed it and helped you out for nothing in return.

Since Robin has been a tireless healthy home advocate, and because she’s an all-around really good person, I couldn’t not interview her for Heroines for the Planet. Here’s our interview.