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Natural alternatives to soap paleo healthcare skincare recipe-min

Natural Alternatives To Soap

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So you’re careful to eat a natural paleo diet, but what skincare products do you use? Have you looked at the ingredients in the soap you use?

While soap is considered a necessity by most people for keeping clean, if often comes loaded with chemicals. Soap can also be very drying to a lot of skin types and strips the skin of its natural moisturisers and of its natural defences.

While there are many natural soaps based around essential oils and herbs, there are alternatives to keeping your skin clean without the need for soap.

Essential Oils

For some added fragrance when it comes to bath time, try adding some essential oils to the bath water. Camomile or lavender make an ideal combination if for relaxing, peppermint oils are good for stimulating and lifting your mood, and ylang ylang and geranium essential oils will increase your feeling of well-being.

Natural alternatives to soap paleo healthcare skincare recipe-min

Epsom Salts

Some people find that once they have stopped using soap their skin becomes much drier. For some people this might be temporary, while for others the skin can continue to remain dry. Adding some Epsom salts to a tub of bath water will help soften the skin. Epsom salts are also believed to have many health benefits. The magnesium content helps to relax nerves and muscles and reduce stress. Epsom salts are also thought to reduce toxins in the body and relieve muscle cramps and pain.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil is great on the skin – and if you have dry skin, applying coconut oil will certainly help.

Instead of using soap, try filling a muslin cloth with your selected herbs and then add in five to ten drops of essential oils. Tie the muslin cloth to the bath tap and let the aromas spill out.  The muslin cloth can also be used to exfoliate the skin and slough away dead skin cells without the need for an exfoliator, which can be damaging to some skin types.

Do you use a commercial soap, or have you found a more natural alternative? Share your suggestions and recipes in the comments section.

No shampoo no poo natural health beauty paleo-min

No Shampoo?

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The one Paleo area I've been completely avoiding has been the whole No Shampoo & No Soap issue.  I recently had my hair done for my Birthday and I was quite shocked by the number of products I was smothered in (my hair didn't look that amazing after either):

  • Shampoo
  • Colours for highlights
  • Shampoo
  • Toner
  • Shampoo
  • Conditioner
  • Leave in conditioner
  • Spray to make my hair soft
  • Spray to give my hair volume
  • Wax to give my hair texture, and
  • Hairspray

No shampoo no poo natural health beauty paleo-min

This trip to the hairdressers has forced me to think about the other chemicals I expose myself too.  It’s all well and good being strict with my nutrition, but surely reducing exposure to chemicals like this, is of great importance too.

The ingredients list in a typical bottle of shampoo or shower gel often reads like a chemistry text book.  Given that skin is our largest organ, it’s a reasonable assumption that chemicals are going to be able to transfer from the products to your blood stream.

Shampoo

I just looked up the ingredients of a Pantene shampoo I often use.  I can't even pronounce some of these chemicals: –

Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Fragrance, Sodium Citrate, Sodium Xylenesulfonate, Citric Acid, Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose, Sodium Chloride, Sodium Benzoate, Tetrasodium Edta, Panthenol, Panthenyl Ethyl Ether, Methylchloroisothiazolinone/Methylisothiazolinone

When researching the ingredients used in commercial shampoos and soaps all sorts less than favourable articles came up.  Many of the chemicals are irritants and have many properties I just don’t want in my system.

A lot of Paleo people go entirely without shampoo and soap, but I just don’t think I'm ready to go this far, yet.  My main problem with camping is not being able to wash my hair every morning; the thought of voluntarily doing this from the comfort of my home isn't a terribly attractive proposition!

The harsh chemicals in shampoo seem to strip away the scalps natural sebum, drying it out – and greasy hair appears to be the scalps compensation for this overly dried out scalp!  From what I’ve read and from speaking to Paleo friends who've gone no ‘poo, it seems like the first week or two is not a good look – but then your hair is supposed to become soft, shiny and wonderful!

A lot of people use natural products such as eggs, apple cider vinegar and baking soda, so perhaps that would be a good place to start.

What are your thoughts on giving up shampoo?  Or perhaps you have some top tips for conquering my shampoo habit?