When your body can’t handle toxins
Instant headache… This is how I felt this morning as a woman walked into the coffee shop, I was having breakfast in. I could smell the strong fragrance she had on. It reminded me of sunflower and the sprays my friends used to use when we were 16 years old. The days when I was unaware of what spraying pretty scents were doing to me and my hormones, when we blindly sprayed away without a care in the world.
What’s good about perfume?
That’s the thing. The perfume industry is very clever. Smells bring back memories. They help us to remember those carefree days when we were younger. We are reminded of people and places that meant so much to us and the feelings and emotions that we help onto. My memories of being a teenager triggered by the waft of perfume are eclipsed by the desire to sneeze and the strength of the smell that hits my nose. You know when people spray perfume, and it’s not a little, it’s a lot?! That’s what this aroma became and to be honest it made me feel a bit cranky…
.. Don’t get me wrong, I wont be telling a random person to move from next to us as her perfume is so strong, but I was feeling a bit cranky that I was subjected to another persons really strong perfume!
How your perfume is killing you?
While we have these perfumes which seemingly smell nice and make us feel good, by spraying them we are really doing a lot of damage to our health and the health of those around us. Hence the title: Why your perfume is killing you. Spraying perfume is killing you as by choosing this chemical cocktail of ingredients we allow a number of ingredients to enter our body systems which create impacts that we may not recognize for now, but which in the future will catch up and add into that cocktail effect of chemicals impacting our health.
What’s in your perfume? Who know’s right?!
As a side note and I speak plainly, the companies that make fragrances DO NOT care about you or your health. Fragrance companies do not need to and so have no desire to disclose what is in the perfumes that they make. Loopholes in the 70’s have made this a reality. The tiny components whether harmful or not do not need to be listed on the label. So basically, by using perfumes you allow yourself to be a guinea pig for what has been used and how your body will react. These companies do not care about you. Period. Well apart from your money.
What’s all the crap in perfume?
Perfumes contain hundreds of chemical components which can be harmful to our health, such as phthalates and parabens. The EWG found more than 12 chemicals that were untested in the perfumes they analyzed and linked at least 4 of these to hormone disruptors. 14 of those tested had secret chemicals in them and 10 had chemicals that created sensitivities in those using them. These fragrances were made by big name celebrities. Who don’t care about what is in their fragrances either… As young people (and old as well) wildly spray fragrances on themselves, they cover themselves in chemicals that in the short and long term are killing them. Okay, rant over.
How are perfumes affecting your health?
Let’s look at the impacts that fragrances can have on your health. There are heaps more I’ll just briefly cover the main two.
- Hormone and Endocrine Disruptors – One of the major problems with perfume is the huge impact that it has on our hormonal and endocrine systems. The parts of our body that controls our growth, fertility, reproduction. As we spray perfume, and it enters our body we affectively ingest this cocktail of chemicals. They enter our body systems and either lay dormant or at times affect us straight away (think about that sneezing or headache response). Our hormones are delicate, especially when we are young and pre- hormonal. Chemicals like phthalates mimic or block the receptor sites of female and male hormones, which can cause a myriad of issues for fertility in both males and females. I’ve heard people say well that isn’t an issue for me. Wrong! When you are using these kinds of ingredients you are impacting yourself whether you like it or not. The impact is for now and later on – and worse still is allowing your teens to use this.
2. Asthma and allergy triggering – This is a big one, as perfumes often cause the user and or people around them to sneeze or have difficulty breathing. These untested chemicals added into perfumes enter the respiratory system and cause a number of issues to our breathing, sneezing, itchiness of the throat and so on. You can’t control what others use and what you breathe in, but you can control what you use and what you allow into your home. Period.
It’s too much for me…
Does this feel a lot?! It might be, but I have some good news so keep reading. The main problem is that as consumers we just do not know what is in a lot of fragrances available and hence what accumulation we are allowing into our body – cause let’s face it, we allow it by being unaware of it or simply using without caring.
Our bodies accumulate toxins
It’s so easy to put this kind of worry off for another day. Unfortunately this isn’t a wise thing to do, as when we use unsafe and untested perfume we allow our bodies to accumulate these chemicals. While our bodies detox some of what we breathe in, there is always that level of accumulation and with the amount of everything else we breathe in on a daily basis it ends up a lot! We can control this by making small changes, something you definitely need to do straight away, if you haven’t already of course.
You need to start reducing the toxins you use
If it sounds hard and you are starting to stress, please don’t. This is one of the easiest swaps that you can make. I know this, cause I haven’t used perfumes for the past 11 years and I’m 100% better for it. I used to have bad allergies and hayfever and I am sure that a major part of this was what perfume and deodorant I used. it is highly likely that erratic periods were in part caused by this also. Deodorant is another big one, again attached to fragrances (well it’s a major part of it), you can read more on that in my previous blog here.
How to start reducing toxic chemicals in your home
Start by getting rid of your perfumes. My mum used to pass on her old ones to me. Please don’t do this. This just passes on the chemical conglomerate to someone else who will then be having the body system impact that you don’t want. Put them in the bin. All of them. Do not keep some because you feel bad that someone gave you them to you. Chuck them all. It is not worth it.
Make sure you use a good low tox deodorant – instead of perfume. I mention a few in my previous blog.
Research before you use perfumes
If you like perfumes, you can find a few low tox ones on the market, but they are few and far between and I’m always skeptical about whether they are actually as good as they say they are. Please do your research or reach out to me and I’ll send a few ideas your way.
Why use essential oils in place of perfume?
Personally, I like to use essential oils. I’ve been doing so since I began to #reducethetox 11 years ago and I haven’t stopped. I’m a huge fan! Not only do oils smell amazing and natural, but they also help to raise your vibration and so you feel good when you wear them. I am a big believer in using oils that are the best possible, as not all oils have been made equally, so I use Young Living. If you want to know more about essential oils, feel free to reach out.
I’ll be running workshops on natural perfume making, as well as other classes on how to reduce the toxic burden on your body. If you are ready to jump on and get some oils for yourself, feel free to message me.
A final word of encouragement: Build the habits by reducing the toxins
My final word of encouragement is this, don’t let what you are putting in your body impact your health and vibration. Swapping out what you use may seem a lot now, but once you do it, it’s like everything else that when it’s done, it a habit that you stick to and its easy!! It’s completely worth it. Keep an eye out for the next blog in the series. You can connect with me further over in my facebook group, check out my website online or email me for details on upcoming #reducethetox workshops.
#blessings #reducethetox
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