Are Your Beauty Products Harming Your Fertility?

Did you know that we as women use on average, 168 different chemicals on our bodies every single day. Men are not left out either. Men put 86 different chemicals into their bodies on an average day. You might be thinking, how can this be? I only use a few different beauty products. Does it even matter? When it comes to your fertility and overall health, yes it matters very much what chemicals you put on and into your body. Remember, that anything you put on your body in the form of lotion, soap, makeup, shampoo and water will absorb into your skin. The skin is the largest organ and once these chemicals get absorbed into your skin they are then processed by your liver.  Over time this can create a burden on your liver. Your liver is an extremely hard worker in the body and has to process so many hormones along with the food you eat and the chemicals you come in contact with. If the liver is overburdened with chemicals it will not be able to effectively process your sex hormones like estrogen and progesterone. Some of these chemicals even mimic fake estrogens, called xenoestrogens which will in turn create a more estrogen dominant effect on your body. Xenoestrogens can be found in plastics, such as plastic water bottles, microwaveable plastic foods and plastic lined canned foods.The world we live in has become more polluted over time and even though we cannot control what goes on outside of our homes, we can absolutely have a say as to what chemicals are brought into our homes. 

Let's walk through a day in the life of an average person. You get up and brush your teeth in the morning.  What exactly is in your toothpaste? Most commercial toothpaste ingredients include toxic chemicals such as sodium fluoride, triclosan, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Propylene Glycol and DEA for starters. Looking further into each ingredient will definitely lead you down a rabbit hole. Let’s take one ingredient such as fluoride which is touted for building strong teeth but did you know that it is also an ingredient in rat poisoning and is a byproduct of aluminum? There are plenty of clean toothpaste options available that are not only effective and work well but also do not contain these harmful chemicals. Some of my favorites are Boka and Risewell Toothpaste. You can also check to see what chemicals might be in your toothpaste by going to the environmental working group skin deep website. 

So far we have just gotten to toothpaste, but toxic chemicals can lurk in the water that you drink and rinse your mouth with, the face wash used to clean your face  and the shampoo used to wash your hair with. This is just your morning routine, we haven't even discussed the makeup you might be using, the deodorant filled with heavy metals and the freshly scented ‘clean’ clothes that were washed with chemically laden, neon blue laundry detergent. It can be so overwhelming when you start to look at all of the products that could be filled with harmful chemicals.

Don't panic! There are lots of solutions and small changes that you can make which will make a huge difference when it comes to optimizing your health and fertility. I suggest focusing on one section of the house at a time and looking at each product that you have. This can easily be done by using the Skin Deep App or Think Dirty App. These are two great tools for inputting your products and seeing how they rate as far as toxic ingredients go. Start replacing your old products for cleaner alternatives either as you run out or one at a time so it is not too overwhelming. Go from one room to the next. For instance you might start with the laundry room and switch out your detergent with a cleaner alternative, and your scented dryer sheets for unscented clean products. Next go through your makeup or try the bathroom and look at all of the different products, don’t forget your cleaning supplies as this can be a hidden source of toxins. Do you have any scented candles like Yankee Candles or Glade products? Even though these scented products are not being put on your skin, they emit phthalates which are absorbed through your nasal passage into your body. These can be endocrine disrupting which could affect your hormones. The good news is there are clean alternatives to all of these products and your liver, along with your hormones and especially your fertility will thank you in the long run. 

What beauty products are you using?