Nontoxic · Eco-Chick

Browsing all posts tagged with nontoxic

A Natural Solution for Gorgeous Summer Skin: Stop Ingrown Hairs!

Do you get ingrown hairs from shaving and waxing? I definitely do, and it sucks. It’s not pretty, and even worse for me, it tends to scar my fair skin, leaving a mark long after the ingrown hair is gone. Like may things in life, getting rid of ingrowns is all about prevention. Shopha’s Ingrown Relief Lotion is specifically made to exfoliate top layers of dead skin (which is what traps hairs to become ingrown in the first place.

And the stuff doesn’t contain nasty toxic chems: it’s free of parabens, color and artificial fragrance (basically it’s glycolic acid and a bunch of natural oils), and it’s safe for face, bikini, legs, and underarms.

For daily use: use immediately after shaving to moisturize the skin while soothing irritation and razor burn; begin using 48 hours after waxing/sugaring to prevent and treat ingrown hairs. I’ve been using it for a few days now and no new ingrown hairs! Pretty sweet. And if you’d like to try it, we’ve got a coupon for you!

Deets:
# $5.00 off the purchase of Shobha® Ingrown Relief Lotion on www.myshobha.com
# valid for online purchases only.
# one redemption per customer.
# offer expires at 12am EST 8/1/09.
# Eco Chick reader’s exclusive code is 0709IRL519
# retail value: $22.00; promotion price with coupon code: $17.00

essential oils, nontoxic, Skin Care

Green Cleaning Resource

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by Ann Benoit · 05/28/08

photo by Bianca de Blok

Cleaning products are up there on the list of “things I hate to spend $$ on” — they come in a close second to toilet paper. So basically any type of green home remedy I can make in place of buying conventional cleaning products is great in my book! They’re always cheaper than what I could buy at the store and healthier. I also get a kick out of knowing that what I clean my sink with also helps to bake cookies (like baking soda)!

Recently I came across this great website run by the Allergy and Environmental Health Association of Ottawa (scroll down to Safe Alternatives to Common Household Products) with all of the formulas for green cleaning that you could possibly want. I’ve never seen such a comprehensive list of formulas.

Here a few that I hadn’t seen elsewhere:

Rug or carpet cleaner: 2 cup cornmeal + 1 cup borax – sprinkle, leave for about 1 hour then vacuum

Tub/tile cleaner: ½ cup of baking soda + ½ up of white vinegar, or drop 1000mg Vitamin C, leave overnight then scrub

Silver polish: place in container: 1 quart warm water + 1 tbspn baking soda + 1 tbspn salt + piece of aluminum foil

Antibacterial spray: Add tea tree oil to vinegar/water solutions and spray on mold

Roach repellent: chopped bay leaves + cucumber skins or place borax in cracks

Drain cleaner ½ cup of white vinegar + ½ cup of baking soda. Cover tightly 1 minute then flush. Next ½ cup of salt + ½ cup of baking soda + 6 cups boiling water. Let sit several hours then flush with water.

cleaning products, Home, nontoxic

Spring Cleaning Greened!

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by Starre Vartan · 03/18/08

Isn’t it funny how a lot of us grew up with the idea that a ‘clean’ house smelled like a bunch of toxic chemicals? Since my grandma who raised me had a mild version of MCS (that’s multiple chemical sensitivity), I remember her making her own all-natural (not to mention cheap!) cleaners, but my school and friends’ homes always smelled like PineSol, Windex and bleach.

I ended up thinking that my family was a bit weird (OK, we definitely are, but still) but now, I only use ecofriendly cleaners for both my health and the planet’s. Every time you breathe that stuff in, your body has to process more toxins, and every time you wash it down the drain, it goes into our shared water supplies- both our own drinking water and into aquatic animals’ habitats!

So this year, when you’re getting ready for Spring cleaning, think about how you can green it. If you’re a green cleaning newbie (or know someone who is), I recommend Clorox’s new Green Works line. I received some samples of it, and they work exactly like toxic cleaning products, so you won’t feel like you’re making such an extreme change. I’m not a huge fan of the Clorox company in general (until they take toxics out of ALL their products they’re still contributing to environmental degradation), BUT some people freak out at the thought of cleaning using just baking soda and vinegar, so it’s a good transitional option. My very favorite cleaning products are pricey but worth it. Mrs. Meyer’s are not only all-natural and toxin-free, they work great AND smell fan-freaking-tastic since they are made with aromatherapy oils- my fave is geranium. Heather’s products are great too!

Or maybe a party is a good way to get into the green- and meet other cleaning enthusiasts (Cleanfreaks unite!! Just kidding. Sorta.) Women’s Voices for the Earth is a national, nonprofit organization working to get toxins out of our environment, recognizing that they disproportionately affect women’s and children’s bodies:

To celebrate the first day of spring, Women’s Voices for the Earth (WVE) is encouraging women and men across the country to host a green cleaning party!
What is a green cleaning party? These fun parties are a great way for you and your friends to learn how to make non-toxic cleaners from common ingredients like vinegar, baking soda and olive oil – ingredients time-tested for effectiveness!. Sign up to host party, and WVE will send you all the information you need (including recipe cards, supply lists, and an informational DVD) to make your party a success.
Why make your own cleaners? A growing body of evidence suggests that chemicals in some conventional cleaners may cause harm to your health. And because cleaning manufacturers are not required to list all ingredients on their product labels, you have no way of knowing what chemicals are in products, and therefore, how to avoid them. The best solution is to make your own!

cleaning, Home, nontoxic, spring

Flor for Your Floor

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by Starre Vartan · 12/01/06

I have the world’s smallest bathroom considering I don’t live on the island of Manhattan, so I recently swapped out an extremely ugly (faux blue marble patterned plastic, need I say more?) sink cabinet for a vintage pedestal sink that was left in my basement by the previous owners. I’m so glad they kept it, as it is a petite white enamel lovely who just needed some elbow grease and some cute new fixtures.

As one of those Eco Chicks who prefers old over new in 90% of home decorating challenges (hey, some like clean and modern, I like imperfect stuff with a history!) I was extremely happy to put something old back into my almost-100-year-old Victorian House.

However, when I moved the old, crappy sink out, I noticed the tile beneath was damaged and discolored, and it’s coming up in other places as well. Not being particularly handy, I decided that rather than take the time, expense and money I don’t have to put in new tile, I would just cover it over with FLOR.

Flor tiles in some fun patterns from their online catalog

FLOR is, quite simply, tiles of carpet you can join together in any configuration you want. You can create an area rug with 12 tiles, or go wall-to-wall (like I’m going to do in my bathroom). The carpet tiles are easy to cut with a box-cutter, so you can cut around furniture like pedestal sinks and toilets. There are a zillion different colors, patterns, and thicknesses of rug, and you can mix and match them to create a totally unique floor covering. They also have all sorts of great suggestions and design ideas online and in their catalog. But because they are not vintage, antique, or used, I double-checked to make sure they were as green as I’d heard they were.

FLOR tiles can be removed individually when they get worn down, or if they get damaged or stained. You can send them back to Interface, who makes Flor, and they will recycle them to make more tiles. So not only are you using a recycled product that can then be recycled, you can choose to replace just one part of a rug, instead of the whole thing (and you can take it with you when you move!) FLOR has the lowest VOCs (volatile organic compounds- those nasty toxins that are responsible for ‘new’ car, carpet, and paint smells) of any rug manufacturer.

The folks over at Green Home Guide contacted Flor directly and found out the following additional information:

Their Terra collection is made of nylon and Polylactic Acid (PLA) face-fiber, which is derived from corn as a bio-based, rapidly renewable resource alternative.
If you want a natural fiber, their Heartfelt collection is made from a blend of hemp and wool. The Coir2 (“Coir Squared”) collection is a Coir and Sisal blend.
These floorcoverings have been specifically designed to emit few air pollutants. The backing of all FLOR tiles are treated with a low-toxicity antimicrobial to inhibit stain and odor causing molds and bacteria. FLOR tiles are secured to the floor surface with low-tact, nontoxic adhesive dots in each corner, so there are no fumes from toxic adhesives.

Weirdly, FLOR’s website doesn’t advertise their product as being environmentally-friendly; their site only has a generic statement about being “Green” and there’s not much content in their printed catalog either. They stress the ease and modern style of the carpet. However, the parent company, Interface, has a detailed report about their sustainability practices.

This is the pattern, called Camoflower, that I decided on, here shown in a kids’ room, wall-to-wall.

This was my other favorite choice, called Pressed Flowers. This comes in several colors, including a nice blue/green. But I went with the more Fun Camoflower option.