I recently got a question in my DMs on Instagram. And if you're wondering, yes, I do answer the questions that I get via Instagram. If you want to send me a question, I would love to help answer that question for you. You can follow me on Instagram @themeganmikkelsen. You can also email me at megan@detox.design.
So I got this question and it made me think about what controversial ingredients are. What's considered a controversial ingredient and how to determine that for yourself, why you might want to question ingredients, and if they're controversial, why you might want to avoid them.
Controversial ingredients - How to determine if an ingredient is controversial and why you should consider avoiding them for a greener, healthier, and more eco-friendly lifestyle.
The specific ingredient that came into my direct messages on Instagram, was actually about homemade laundry detergent. I looked at the recipe for the laundry detergent, and for the most part, it seemed safe. Although I will say that I've heard some pretty negative things about making your own laundry detergent and how it impacts your machine and also how it impacts the water system. So I will say that I'm not a big proponent of homemade laundry detergent. The ingredient that was here that I saw was borax. I have heard many times people say, Oh, Borax is absolutely fine, you shouldn't worry about it. And I've also seen articles that say borax isn't safe. People that say Borax is safe, say Oh, it's just boron. It's naturally occurring and it's considered a safe chemical to use in the home for cleaning. Then you'll find, sometimes in the same article, that it causes eye irritation, it's not good for your skin, and that you definitely should not ingest it.
In the European Union and in Canada, they have banned the use of borax in food and in body care products. You're finding that there are two varying opinions here around borax. So for me personally, when an ingredient like that is considered controversial, I simply do my best to avoid it. Because there are other options out there. There are safer options that contain ingredients that aren't controversial.
In my mind, is it better to choose a product with an ingredient that could potentially be found to be unhealthy in the future? Or is it better to use a product that has ingredients that have been proven safe, that aren't going to necessarily cause any issues in the future?
The best way to determine if an ingredient is controversial, or if a product is controversial, is just to use Google. It's really, really simple. For example, type in the Google search “is borax safe”. What you'll find is that there are two sides, one saying yes, it's safe and another saying no, it's not safe. And then from that, when I read those articles, and I think about the sourcing of the articles, who wrote the articles, the background that they're coming from, then I know that, okay, this is kind of controversial. I'm going to avoid it, because there's already safe products that don't have these ingredients. So why would I risk it?
Phenoxyethanol is another ingredient that is still considered controversial. It's often used in toxin free and green products. You will find plenty of proponents of the ingredient that say it's safe in small doses. But there is also some research that shows that it mimics parabens. If it's mimicking a paraben it's acting like a paraben, and it could be doing the same thing to your body that a paraben would do. Phenoxyethanol is one of those ingredients that for me, the jury's still out, so I avoid phenoxyethanol. Phenoxyethanol is a preservative and there are safer preservatives out there, there are preservatives that aren't mimicking parabens, that have been proven to be safe. I'm going to choose a product that does not use phenoxyethanol as the preservative in it, because again, it's a controversial ingredient. Because who knows down the line, what research could come out that could show that it is unsafe.
I hope this was helpful. I know that it can take a lot of thinking and research to find truly safe products. You know, that's the reason why I have this podcast. That is the reason why I teach my course The Home Method, which teaches you all about how to determine what products are safe and how to clean out your home of unsafe products in a systematic and easy way. It's also why I share what I know because I know how overwhelming it can be. I know how easy it is to get greenwashed and that's why I'm here. It's also why I created my online store so that you can shop with me, knowing that I've researched all of the products and that I've tried these products myself in my own home with my family. They are as safe as I have found and they work really really well.
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