Why You Should Make DIY household Cleaners/Soaps

A lot of people are making their own soaps, all purpose cleaners and even laundry detergent. Why is there such a big movement to DIY (do it yourself)? I believe as people are becoming more self-taught on the ingredients that are in mass produced cleaners and soaps, they are realizing the dangers of it. You can make your own for way less money and be worry free about any long term side effects from them.

Harmful Ingredients

There is a whole host of ingredients that are harmful in soaps and cleansers. But for the sake of time, we will discuss just a few here. Some of the ingredients that make the cut are: Fragrance/parfum, phthalates, triclosan, and parabens. Let’s take a closer look at these.

Fragrance/Parfum: This is a man made fragrance that is added to a product to enhance the smell. We love this, right? Wrong. The problem here is that there can be over several hundred different unlisted chemicals used to create the “fragrance” on the label of your soap. But these chemicals are known to be endocrine disruptors, carcinogenic, cause allergic reactions, neurological problems, and migraines just to name a few.

The crazy thing is that up to 80% of these chemicals haven’t even been tested for safety on humans! There was a loophole created by the FDA that all these chemicals can just be listed as “Fragrance” on a label. Yikes!

Phthalates: These are a chemical compound that is in plastics, personal care products, and solvents. According to the article: Phthalates: The everywhere chemical, they are odorless, oily, do not evaporate easily and colorless. Phthalates enter the environment when plastic is heated, has prolonged storage, during production, and with agitation.

Some of the harmful effects include: early onset of puberty, disruption of hormones, disruption of the male reproductive tract development, lower testosterone/sperm count. Phthalates can cross the placenta. The image below shows examples of items you should avoid with the arrows and V or PVC listed below it. The picture of the arrows with the numbers 1-5 and HDPE are better options to choose. These were taken from the same article listed above.

Triclosan: This is the antibacterial/antifungal agent used in and cleaning products. The overuse of this chemical has led to antibiotic resistant strains of bacteria and is a dangerous endocrine disruptor. It can also cross the placenta. There have been studies that showed that sanitizers containing triclosan were no more beneficial at cleaning than ones that did not.

In 2016, triclosan was actually banned from hand soaps but is still allowed in mouthwashes, toothpastes, facial cleansers, aftershave, deodorants, detergents and sanitizers. Unfortunately, we can still be exposed to it through water or food products contaminated with triclosan.

Parabens: Parabens are chemicals that are used to help preserve products such as cosmetics, shampoos, cleaners, soaps, even foods! They increase the shelf life of man made items, but at a cost to your health. Parabens help prevent the growth of mold, bacteria and fungi. Some common names they will be listed as are: ethylparaben, propylparaben, methylparaben, and butylparaben.

Once again, we have another chemical that is a major hormone disruptor. It has also been linked to certain cancers including breast cancer. This chemical can cause allergic reactions, increase your risk of skin cancer, cross into breast milk, and cause skin irritations. Continue to research for a more exhaustive list!

DIY

The best way to avoid a lot of these chemicals is to make your own products. I do not and cannot make everything we use. But there are some things that I can! Make a habit of once a week filling up your amber bottles with your cleaning concoction. It doesn’t have to be daunting or hard. I love doterra’s On Guard Cleaner Concentrate. Just use a small amount of the concentrate with water! I use this in our all purpose cleaners.

The wonderful thing is, there are very basic and cheap items like baking soda, vinegar, lemons, and oranges that are amazing cleaning products! Essential oils are your best friend to use in cleaning products and soaps. They smell great (there’s your safe fragrance) and they have amazing antibacterial/antiviral/antifungal properties. They actually are more powerful and beneficial than these manmade chemicals. Look at God!

Knowledge is Power

I do not think it is wise to live in fear of all these harmful things around us. But, I do think it is wise to be aware and make smart decisions. We cannot avoid it all. However, we can choose to make our own products, or buy “cleaner” products. It’s not always do-able. Sometimes you do have to grab the chemical filled product at the store because, it’s cheaper, and honestly, you just don’t have the time to make it! There is grace for that, friend.

Slowly decrease the toxic load in your home and on your family as you can. Don’t drink from the fire hydrant on this one. It can feel overwhelming. So do your research, decide what to cut out, and start there.

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_{Medical Disclaimer: The information on this site is not meant to be medical advice in any capacity. It is informative in nature, only. Please always consult your doctor for medical advice. Pregnant and nursing moms need to consult with their doctors as well before consuming any herbal medicine.}