Detox Your Home: Why Natural Laundry Detergent

Hi everyone!

We all want to live a healthy life, provide our bodies with healthy food, exercise, and rid ourselves of toxins. Much of the attention is on the foods we eat and the chemicals, toxins, or GMO’s, but today, I want to shift focus to all the other toxins in our lives that we can avoid and at least be knowledgeable of.

This is the first part of a series of research and digging I will be doing here on the blog on different parts of our lives we can detox. Laundry detergent is something we use weekly (me once a month cause I am terrible at doing laundry), yet is FULL of chemicals that we absorb into our skin.

The Dirty Truth About Conventional Detergent

1. Your skin and respiratory system can absorb the chemical residue leftover from conventional detergents.
2. We wear clothes a large majority of our day and although your skin is a protective barrier from things like temperature, it can absorb 60% of things it comes into contact with.
3. That means your chemically washed clothing sitting on your skin all day feeds your skin leftover chemicals.
4. Some of the most common chemicals found in detergents are proven and known carcinogens or endocrine disruptors, this is huge for me since I have thyroid issues.

Say NO to this ingredient list

• 1,4-Dioxane

  • The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has labeled this a possible carcinogen 
  • FDA does NOT require it to be listed on ingredient lists because it is created as a compound when certain ingredients react together
  • Look for: Sodium laureth sulfate, PEG compounds, chemicals that include the clauses xynol, ceteareth and oleth

• NPE (nonylphenol ethoxylate)

  • Nicknamed the “Gender Bender” it mimics estrogen in the body causing hormone imbalance and reproductive problems (banned in Canada and Europe)

• Phosphates

  • Detrimental effects to the environment because they stimulate growth of plants at an unsafe rate harmful to the water, plants and animals

• Sodium Hypochlorite (bleach)

  • Highly poisonous toxin that damages body tissue

• Phenols

  • Easily absorbed in the skin and reported to be toxic to fetuses and embryos

• Sodium Lauryl Sulfate

  • Very irritating to the skin and respiratory system, can cause asthma attacks and dermatitis

What To Look For In a Natural Detergent

There is hope for natural detergents. When choosing a detergent, you want something 100% toxic free and 100% biodegradable, free from these toxic ingredients above, and the seal of approval from a third party organization (you should still look at the label). Free of fragrance, bleach, and dyes are ideal for the skin as well especially for acne and gentle enough to use for the whole family.

My Favorite Natural Laundry Detergents

1. The Laundress
2. Common Good
3. Honest Company
4. Babrganics
5. Mollys Suds
6. Biokleen
7. Seventh Generation

These are a few of my favorite non-toxic laundry detergents. Laundress is one of my absolute favorites. Not only does it have cute branding for my laundry shelf (always a plus right?), but it contains all natural ingredients:

• Plant-derived anionic and nonionic surfactants
• Plant-derived softener (canola-based)
• Essential oils

The Laundress’ products are non-toxic, allergen free, biodegradable, free of phosphates and made in the U.S.A. They have specific detergents for Baby, Whites, Denim and others to cater your wash to the clothes and fabrics being washed. The Laundress has also done special detergents in partnership with one of the most loved fragrance brands of the moment… Le Labo.

All of the detergents listed are great non-toxic options to feel good about the laundry detergent we have in our homes and how we wash the clothes our loved ones. Let me know if you guys liked this post or have any other great laundry tips or tricks, I want to hear everything! Share with me on Instagram or in the comments below.

The brands that I use the most are the Laundress, Common Good, and Molly Suds. Majority of this brands are highly concentrated so a little bit goes a long way!

Quick tip for your whites, if you are an expert (like me) on turning white clothes grey or yellow use the Molly’s Suds Oxygen Whitener it will make your whites white again!

P.S. I did not partner with any brand for this post I just truly care about bringing exposure to this issue.

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