And while I have been quietly proud of myself for these choices, it's not something I've promoted or showed off. Largely because, I think, it's never been all that big of a deal. I chose to use products
made from natural, minimally processed ingredients.Well!! Last week, after a particularly hot, sweaty, stinky bout of weather (and subsequent body odour) I took myself off to the supermarket and threw not one or two, but THREE Supermarket Beauty Products into my trolley. I was a little embarrassed, a little disgusted, but simultaneously I found myself getting quite absorbed in the millions (yes, I'm an exaggerator. As we in my family like to say, Why let facts ruin a perfectly good story) of options available to the shopper in need of a pot of face cream. I had arrived at the Beauty Product aisle imagining myself grabbing the liquid soap I needed and running quickly to the check-out, like an ashamed teenage girl buying tampons. Instead I was tossed into a sea of options; dry skin, sensitive skin, fragrance-free, mango, cucumber, micro-abrasive polishing ground walnut shell delite, real essential oils, with SPF etc etc etc... I ended up contemplating for 10 minutes. I was swimming in images of my new and improved silky tanned legs, smelling lightly of tropical island fruits. I couldn't wait to see the new me.
Once home I jumped into the shower with my exfoliating beads with papaya extract and matching foaming face wash and within 3 mintues my eyes were watering and I literally had to stick my head out the shower door for a deep inhale of non-fragranced air.
What the hell was I thinking!?
Once out, as if I hadn't punished myself enough, I lathered up my poor, newly poisoned body with an aloe body cream. I felt like a chemically enhanced me. I was stinky and itchy and just a little freaked out at the number of parabens and whatever elses I had just rubbed all over my unsuspecting body.
I know, I know, I sound like a bit of a nervous nelly or conspiracy theorist or something. But really, who let us get so brainwashed that we end up using these products that put our bodies so out of whack with it's own natural oil/cleansing producing capabilities? How come we don't have more research about the effects of this stuff floating around the middle-of-the-road shoppers? And why on earth did I succumb to their colourful promise-filled lure after all these years?
I try to keep my organic purchases on a leash so as to not get too swept up in the trend. But it is an important and, I suppose reasonably significant part of my family's life. We eat well where we can and have chosen to buy the spray-free tomatoes over the supermarket ones when there's not a ridiculous amount of effort involved in acquiring them. I usually bulk-buy once a month at our local Organic Market (which is a large chain of stores in Israel). They have fantastic sales on a regular basis. I highly recommend these shops.
I can tell you, hand on my heart, the bodywash, facial wash & cream are heading - I know, massive waste, plastic 'n' all - for the nearest rubbish bin. Some things just aren't worth it. I made a bad choice. I would encourage you to have a good think about the products you are putting on your skin, or on your kids. I quite like that rule: If you can't pronounce it, don't use it.
All this started because it was hot & I was hot & I had long since run out of a face cleanser, I was getting sick of prying open my soap container (oh woe is me. listen to my lazy ass!!) and couldn't face putting oil on my body when it was already so hot & sticky. I've since had my reality check and will NOT be going down that path again any time soon.
Yesh! to Organics, Boooz to the Super. (quote from my son) (who, incidentally also used the nasty body wash and told me, "it makes me not breathe AND it's full of crumbs!)
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