Scott rockin the HSPU!!

We already detoxify our bodies by eating clean, we exorcise toxins (from holiday weekend extravaganzas) by sweating it out during a wod, and we allow our bodies to heal through adequate sleep. Some of us also try to undo years of poor posture and running form by turning to more ‘barefoot’ footwear and by mobility drills.

A natural next step is to look at what we put on our bodies and how they factor into our clean lifestyles.  Am I suggesting an uber granola hippie lifestyle of abstinence from showers and shaving? Absolutely not (duh, granola is so not paleo)! But, I am asking that you take responsibility and educate yourselves about the products that you use and know how they can harm you.  Remember that your skin is your body’s largest organ.   While it acts like a wetsuit that protects us from the environment, it is also permeable and can absorb what you put on it.  Without trying to sound like Chicken Little, here are a few things to consider about this everyday hygiene product:

Soap: These slippery little suckers can leach the moisture out of your skin, creating the need for lotions, creams, etc.  If you have to use soap, try Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint Soap or soaps with ingredients that you can pronounce.

Compare Irish Spring’s ingredients:

Soap (sodium tallowate, sodium cocoate, and/or sodium palm kernelate types), water, stearic acid (skin conditioner), coconut and/or palm kernel acid, glycerin (skin conditioner), fragrance, sodium chloride, titanium dioxide, pentasodium pentetate, BHT, D&C green No. 8, FD&C Green No. 3

to Dr. Bronner’s:

Organic Coconut Oil*, Organic Palm Oil*, Sodium Hydroxide**, Water, Mentha Arvensis*, Organic Olive Oil*, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba Oil, Organic Peppermint Oil*, Salt, Citric Acid, Tocopherol

Vegetable glycerin, bison tallow, and saponified coconut are some alternatives to the chemicals in most soaps.  Some have found that no soap is the best alternative and have posted positive results in just rinsing with water.  Recently I started using coconut oil with coarse salt (as an exfoliator/moisturizer) and love the impact on my skin as well as budget so far.

It’s all a lot to take in, and if you’re still treading the Paleo waters, bookmark this post for a later date.  However, if you have your diet dialed in, take a look at some suggestions posted by Mark’s Daily Apple for alternative products for personal care.  National Geographic’s Green Guide site has a host of recommendations for greener options for everything from shampoos to sunscreen.   Skin Deep’s Cosmetic Safety Database has everything you never wanted to know about your soaps, makeup, and deodorant.

Posts to follow on deodorant, lotions, and shampoos soon.  Post thoughts to comments!

A very happy birthday to Helen up in Alaska!  Come back to visit us soon!

REST DAY 07.11.10