What is going green for your skin mean you may ask? Well, it's paying attention to what you put on your skin. Your skin is the largest organ of your body! It absorbs what you put on it. Yep, so it's darn important what type of ingredients you use on it. I have found that when I started my own Soap making business a few months ago that our skin here at home started showing signs of better health! Our skin is not as dried out!
Many soaps that are out on the market today have chemicals that help them to lather. Chemicals that are not at all healthy for our bodies to be absorbing. Propylene Glycol as well as Sodium Laurel Sulfate known as SLS causes skin irritation and contact dermatitis. When SLS enters the blood stream it is known to mimic the activity of the hormone estrogen. (Natural health information centre.com)
What can you do about this? You can opt to buy natural, organic soaps that list their ingredients on their packaging. Find products that have natural ingredients to help them to lather such as vegetable glycerin, or organic coconut oil. The natural coconut oil is my favorite. You can also look for soaps that contain essential oils rather than fragrance oils that are more drying to the skin. Fragrance oils are synthetically produced to smell like things in nature that we all love. Essential oils are the real thing and sometimes if the amount used is too high it can also be irritating to your skin. Some essential oils can cause allergic reactions in some people.
Soap color is another thing to watch. Synthetic dyes may make your soaps wonderful colors but they are from chemicals as well. If you have a soap that is colored from natural pigments or clays, mica's, and roots then chances are the soap will be a softer color. That is okay, for then you know your skin will be healthier for it. I like to use madder root-anti inflammatory and anti oxidants and produces a nice rust color and rose clay which gives a soft beige with a mild skin benefit in unclogging pores. Calendula blossoms produces a light yellow that is very nice as well as having many medicinal benefits. The calendula is also very safe for the skin of all types and ages.
Photo: Dawn Pollock Rockypath.co