Best Picks: Safer Personal Care and Home Products
So you’ve decided to switch to safer products for you and your family after realizing that many mainstream products are downright dangerous. Where do you start?! It can feel daunting and overwhelming, especially when you have a long list of products that could potentially cause endocrine disruption or even cancer! The thing is, this isn’t about fear mongering and conspiracy theories – we have just been using poorly tested ingredients for far too long. And now that we know there are better options out there, why not make the switch? My recommendation is to slowly transition, even one product at a time, that may be causing issues. Trying to switch every single product at once is far too costly, time consuming, and emotionally overwhelming. So for example, if you lather your entire body (or child’s body) with a perfumed shower gel everyday, start there. Your skin is your biggest organ and every time you can ditch a toxin that covers your entire body, it’s a huge win. Then you can ease into laundry detergents, cosmetics, candles, perfumes, and more. We are fortunate that we now have MANY options that are better, safer, less toxic or nontoxic now than ever. I’m here to hopefully help show you a few of my favorites! Be sure to check out the Think Dirty App and EWG’s Skin Deep to look up the safety of your favorite products! And lastly there are many other brands out there. If I did not include your favorite it is either because I have not tried that particular brand and cannot vouch for it OR it is because I did not think it measured up on the aforementioned sites.
Hair Care – For years I used anything I could pull off a grocery store shelf. I wasn’t picky. I’ve learned a lot since then and I have a few products that I feel good about recommending.
Loma Shampoo 
Beautycounter Hair Care 
Hairspray – Beautycounter above makes a sea salt spray that people love! While I haven’t used it personally I know it is a fan favorite. In addition, I use this one. 
Cosmetics and Skincare – I will admit I was never one to invest in cosmetics, as I didn’t really see the value. But now not only do I see the importance of using safer ingredients on my face, I literally won’t let anything else touch my skin. I cannot stress this enough, especially products that cover a larger surface area.
Beautycounter – I primarily wear Beautycounter’s cosmetics including the concealer pen, volumizing mascara, blush duo in tawny/whisper, and LOVE their glosses. I also love their Rejuvenating Serum and Countermatch moisturizer. 
100% Pure – I love 100% Pure for their black eyeliner pencil and more! I use their black liner daily. 
Crunchi I love the gorgeous eyeshadows from Crunchi and enjoy their lip glosses as well! 
Fatco – Love love love the simplicity of Fatco skin products. They use premium tallow and essential oils along with other high quality oils to bring you some amazing feel good skin. 
Deodorant – Admittedly I have not worn drugstore deodorant for probably 20 years. Are there times I definitely needed it? You know it. Thank goodness there are some great brands out there now that are pretty darn effective.
Native – my favorite two are the men’s Eucalyptus/Mint and the Citrus/Herbal Musk. All of them are free of artificial fragrance, aluminum, and parabens
Nfuse – This brand is new and is infused with 300g Magnesium each time you roll it. My favorite is the Citrus. 
Fatco – Fatco makes some really popular clean deodorants also, famous for it’s name Stank Stop 
Schmidt’s – This is a popular brand and I have found it in several retailers. 
Toothpaste – I only buy fluoride free toothpaste for my family. There are an assortment of better options out there now and these are my top picks.
Uncle Harry’s – This is my absolute favorite. It has a strong flavor but I actually feel like it leaves my teeth cleaner than any other brand. 
Hello – This is a kid friendly toothpaste that comes in a few flavors (the others besides watermelon have fluoride). If you are sensitive to corn, make sure to read the ingredients since there is a corn derivative. 
Takesumi Supreme – Yes, this is the same binder I use for toxin absorption and during stomach bug season. Even though it is black, it can actually help brighten teeth! 
Tom’s – Some people do not like Tom’s because it contains a sulfate in the ingredients. However, if I am in a pinch and at a store that only carries mainstream toothpastes, I will pick up this one. I still find it better than the alternative.
Bath and Shower – this is a tricky one because companies love to greenwash by saying products have essential oils yet if you look closely you’ll see they also have artificial fragrance or “parfum” added. This is a BIG no no for me and especially for little ones.
Beautycounter – great options for kids and adults alike. 
Attitude – Ranks well on EWG and with consumers. Look for other products for hair and baby too! 
Dr. Bronners – can be used on body, hair, and home! I don’t like it in my hair because I feel it leaves residual “gum” behind but I think it’s a great versatile product! 
Nail Polish – After years of getting salon products on and off, I finally called it quits. I typically just use this one brand since most polishes chip on me.
Zoya – there are lots of colors to choose from and they are free from the following: 
Household Products + Laundry – There are several companies out there known well for green cleaning. Unfortunately I was not happy with how some of them measured up on EWG so I have not included them here. I do not use soap nuts so have not included them but they are an option some people like as well.
Puracy – this brand has an array of personal care as well as household cleaners. Consumer reviews and EWG reviews are both very high. 
Attitude – makes everything from household sprays to laundry detergent and everything in between. The EWG reviews are equally matched with high reviews from consumers as well. 
Laundry Balls – I gave up dryer sheets a few years ago and have replaced them with wool balls. They are nontoxic and make me feel much better about the amount of chemical exposure. 
Fragrance/Perfume – I was a perfume junky and had a hard time giving it up. Essential oils never really cut it for me when it came to finding a nice fresh scent. I LOVE the brand below and feel good about what I am putting on my body.
Kuumba Made – These are roll on plant based fragrances. My favorite scents are Persian Garden and Water Lily. They have other products as well. 
Thank you for this awesome list, I really appreciate your recommendations. Do you know if any of these products are sold at brick and mortar stores? Especially when it comes to make up and personal care products, I like to see, touch and smell them in person, if possible . Thanks again for sharing.
Some of them are sold at retail stores, depending. For example, Target carried a line of Beautycounter products for awhile but they don’t carry them regularly. The toothpastes are sometimes sold at stores like Whole Foods. The home and bath products I have not seen in person at stores that I can recall.