Myth – a skincare product is not good/effective if water is the first or second ingredient
If you’ve heard that water should not be in skincare because it makes it less effective let me just tell you that I have found very few brands that do not use water in their products (including ones that claim to be waterless…) + I’d be much more concerned about a brand using toxins in their products than water, but that’s just me
The brand that has built itself on bashing companies for using water in their formula USES WATER… Sometimes it’s even the second ingredient. They also use fragrance (while claiming to be fragrance free). They claim to be organic without a single organic ingredient in their labels. Their brand is built on misleading consumers and tearing down other companies. It’s very sad. (This brand is Oliveda if you’re curious).
But let’s actually bust this myth…
Water is a crucial ingredient in skincare for several reasons:
Hydration: Water hydrates the skin, keeping it moist and supple. Proper hydration is essential for maintaining skin health and preventing dryness and flakiness.
Nutrient Delivery: Water helps deliver essential nutrients to skin cells, ensuring proper functioning and overall skin health.
Detoxification: Water helps flush out toxins from the skin, promoting a clear complexion and reducing the risk of breakouts.
pH Balance: Water helps maintain the skin’s natural pH balance, which is important for healthy skin function and protection against environmental stressors.
Cooling Effect: Water has a cooling effect on the skin, which can help soothe irritation and inflammation.
Enhanced Absorption: Water-based products can be absorbed more easily into the skin, allowing for better penetration of beneficial ingredients.
Overall, water is an essential ingredient in skincare products and plays a key role in maintaining healthy, radiant skin.
I hope this post helps clear up a common misconception!
If you want to try my favorite skincare brand that has the best ingredients + best performance + is eco-friendly shoot me a message here for a custom recommendation & link -> M.me/Jessie.rae.31
I have always struggled with sleep. So, I’ve tried A LOT of safe sleep aid products.
I have a really hard time turning my brain off at night so it takes me a LONG time to fall asleep. I’m also a light sleeper, so little things wake me, and then I have trouble falling back asleep. I’ve been learning about the importance of sleep lately and the effects sleep deprivation have on your daily life and it’s pretty scary. The more “sleep debt” you have, the less executive function you have during the day. This means it’s harder to make decisions, think, and function as a human… Lack of sleep can even increase your risk of dying earlier than those who get enough sleep. Sleep is truly not something to be taken lightly. But, neither are the long term side effects of Melatonin. Despite my very serious sleep struggles, I would not touch melatonin. So, what are some safe alternatives? I’m glad you asked!
What I’ve used for the kids and/or myself:
Lavender Essential Oil – rolled on bottom of feet and/or back of neck
Earthley’s Sleepy Time Tincture – dropped in mouth
Earthley’s Goodnight Lotion – rubbed on tummy and legs
Organic Tart Cherry Juice – consumed during the day
Epsom Salt baths before bed – in bath
Green Compass Sleep Boost – taken orally
Green Compass Sleep Jellies – consumed before bed (would recommend for age 2+ starting with 1/4 jelly)
Green Compass Full Spectrum Nano Jellies – consumed before bed (would recommend for age 5+ starting with 1/4 jelly)
My thoughts/experiences:
Lavender oil used on Willow – Noticed no improvement
Earthley’s Sleepy Time Tincture – Noticed no improvement for Willow. Helps me fall and stay asleep a little bit. Helps Adeline fall and stay asleep as far as I can tell.
Eathley’s Goodnight Lotion – Noticed no improvement for Willow. Adeline loves it. Does nothing for me.
Organic Tart Cherry Juice – Noticed no improvement for Willow.
Epsom Salt baths before bed – Noticed no improvement for sleeping but does help calm both kids and make bedtime routine easier.
Green Compass Sleep Boost – Helps me fall and stay asleep more than the Earthly tincture but not as well as the jellies.
Green Compass Sleep Jellies – These work amazingly. They are my favorite thing I’ve used for myself. These help me sleep the best of anything I’ve tried. I fall asleep faster and stay asleep ALL NIGHT!
Green Compass Full Spectrum Nano Jellies – These also work amazingly. They knock me out really fast and put me into a DEEP sleep. If you want a really good, restorative deep sleep, these are for you.
Links (it means the world to my family when you use my links to shop!):
Hydroquinone is a topical skin-lightening agent commonly used to treat skin conditions such as hyperpigmentation, melasma, and certain types of dark spots. It works by inhibiting the production of melanin, the pigment responsible for skin color.
A nutrition company known for being clean and toxin free recently posted “Must have skincare ingredients” which is interesting because they don’t carry skincare and after seeing this post it’s clear that skincare is not in their wheelhouse. Which is fine, but maybe don’t share must have ingredients because one they shared, Hydroquinone, is very toxic…
A couple of benefits of Hydroquinone are:
Effective Skin Lightening: Hydroquinone is considered one of the most effective ingredients for lightening dark spots and evening out skin tone.
Treatment of Melasma: Melasma is a common skin condition that causes dark patches on the face. Hydroquinone is often prescribed to help fade these patches.
But… are the benefits worth the risks?
For me, it’s a hard no.
Check out this chart that compares Hydroquinone with Crunchi’s Brightening Complex Technology and let me know your thoughts below!
Whether you have a mother figure you are looking for something special for or you’re a mom and want to treat yourself or give a great idea to a spouse or child, what gift is more special than clean beauty. It is a way to feel beautiful, practice self care, and it doesn’t cause you harm or disrupt your hormones like other makeup and skincare out there!
So, I present to you… our Mothers Day Offers!
Available through May 14th – or while supplies last!
Snag all four of the offers and receive special 20% off – making this deal just $175 PLUS free shipping!
If you are ready to make the change to clean beauty and/or skincare this link will get you entered to win a free facial essence + half priced coupons! You also get $10 off your first $50 order using this link if you are new to Crunchi!
And… if those Advocate prices look good to you, just click Get Involved then Advocate Enrollment to choose the best discounted kit for you, start getting 20% off your orders immediately, and get an affiliate link to share with others and make 20-40% in commission!
(Make sure you see shopping with Jessica DeRico in the top right corner to be entered to win rewards)
Let’s take a look at some ingredients you want to say no to in your
𝔹𝕆𝔻𝕐 𝕎𝔸𝕊ℍ
Phenoxyethanol-it is damaging to your DNA, neurotoxin-especially to babies. It is a very “green washed” ingredient.
Fragrance-any given fragrance mixture can contain up to 3000 chemicals and has been linked to reproductive issues, respiratory distress, allergies, and more.
BHT-used as a synthetic preservative and is linked to endocrine disruption, reproductive toxicity, and many more health concerns.
There are several more toxic ingredients to look out for but these are easy to spot!
Safe Alternatives
*Alaffia (the ones that do not contain fragrance)… Click here-> Alaffia Body Wash
Our skin is our largest organ and it has the ability to absorb up to 64% of what we apply to it and some studies have shown our underarms and privates can absorb 100%!
It takes a minimum of 26 seconds of some ingredients we apply to our skin to be absorbed into our blood stream. So it is very important that we pay close attention to what we apply daily to our bodies!
As always I am happy to take a look at an ingredient list for you to help decipher if it is safe or not!
I personally have never been able to use a shaving cream as I always broke out in horrible razor burn every time I tried. But, when I used regular body wash my legs would itch and itch SO badly. I FINALLY found a solution in my toxin free Gentle Cleansing Bar and it is all I will ever use to shave my legs now. The gentle soap moisturizes my legs while shaving so I have zero itch after shaving for the first time in my dang life!
Chances are, you’ll use shaving products every day or every week for decades of your life. Even if it takes just two or three minutes to shave every day, this amounts to around a thousand hours of exposure to whatever chemicals are in those products or more if you use toxic aftershave or lotion after shaving.
👩🏻💻 I used some market research to look into some ingredient lists… Out of three women who shared what they’re using, two contained harmful substances including but not limited to:
❌ Phenoxyethanol ➔ A member of the glycol ether family and is the product of the reaction of highly corrosive phenol with carcinogenic ethylene oxide. As a result, it may contain residue amounts of both. The American Society of Contact Dermatitis lists phenoxyethanol as one of its core allergens, even in concentrations as low as 1%.
❌ Fragrance ➔ A chemical mixture of over 3k components used to create or mask a specific scent. The FDA does not require the disclosure of individual ingredients used to create fragrances. Many ingredients of fragrances are associated with contact allergy and may contain diethyl phthalate.
❌ Propylene glycol ➔ It is a controversial ingredient associated with skin irritation. Numerous patch tests on humans have shown that it has a very low risk of causing a skin reaction even at concentrations as high as 20%.
❌ Petrolatum ➔ There is strong evidence that mineral oil hydrocarbons are the greatest contaminant of the human body, amounting to approximately 1 g per person. There have been studies done on women post delivery and scientists have found these contaminants in breast milk as well! -> The scariest of these possible contaminants is called 1,4 dioxane, an impurity found in 22 percent of all petroleum-based cosmetics that is a known human and animal carcinogen.
One awesome gal shared that she uses Dr. Bronner’s Shave Gel and it passes with flying colors
✅ Lots of organic ingredients
✅ Toxin free
I personally have only ever had success with my favorite Gentle Facial Bar. It is the first time in my life that my legs don’t itch after I shave and has been a literal god send.
✅ Lots of organic ingredients
✅ Toxin free
✅ RSPO certified sustainable palm oil
✅ Vegan
✅ Zero Waste
✅ Cruelty Free
✅ Made in the USA
PS – have a safe swap request? Drop it below!
To learn more about the gentle cleansing bar I mentioned and get access to half priced and free products, you’ll want to hop over to my community on FB 🙂 https://www.facebook.com/groups/raisingclean/ ❤️ I’ll see you over there!
Obviously I talk a lot about safe products for women, the men in our lives, and the children in our lives, but what about our fur babies? Bronté often has issues with her paw and I’m always looking for things to do to help it heal and feel better for her. This past time we did lots of Epsom Salt baths and apple cider vinegar soaks but it had me thinking about safe animal products.
So, I stumbled upon this company on instagram and thought it was definitely worth sharing. It is called Natural Dog Company and the post mentioned 100% organic products, so obviously I wanted to do some digging to see if it was greenwashed or not.
I’m ordering the Paw Soother, PawTection, and Skin Soother for my pups. Check out the ingredients:
So much better than the other creams I’ve found for itchy paws that contain ingredients such as:
❌ Propylene Glycol
❌ Petroleum
❌ EDTA
❌ Diazolidinyl Urea
❌ Fragrance
If you’re not sure why those ingredients are bad or you just want to continue learning about living a more toxin free life, please join my wellness community on FB -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/raisingclean/ 🌱🌱
A review of SeneGence(LipSense) was requested by a member of my wellness community.
Please note that I’m not bashing a company. I’m simply reviewing the products. This is not personal; it is merely education. People need to know what’s in the products they put on their skin every day. You all know that I focus on promoting safe, healthy, toxin free skincare and makeup and educating on all things toxin free. This is not what SeneGence does.
Instead of going through each product (because that would be crazy), I will outline the ingredients that the company allows in its products, you may not find each of these in every product, but you’ll find at least one (probably more) in every product.
The ingredients you will find in this brand that I would not personally use or recommend are:
• Artificial Fragrance ❌ “Fragrance” or “Parfum” is a loophole that should be avoided. There are NO laws requiring the ingredients in fragrance to be disclosed and it’s always a toxic storm that will compromise your health.
• Japanese Honeysuckle 🚫sounds super natural and innocent, but it contains parahydroxy benzoic acid, which is found to behave in a similar way (with very similar molecular structure) as a paraben inside the body.
• Loose Titanium Dioxide ❌The health concern involving use of TD involves inhalation of the loose powder form. The International Agency for Research on Cancer identifies inhalable titanium dioxide as potentially carcinogenic.
• Mineral Oil 🚫a liquid mixture obtained from crude petroleum oil used as a moisturizer. It may contain various amounts of carcinogenic Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and other petroleum contaminants, depending on the level to which it has been refined. There is consistent evidence that untreated or mildly-treated mineral oils cause cancer of the skin in humans.
• Parabens 🚫 are becoming very well known to be avoided in cosmetics, skincare, and body products. It is a synthetic preservative that mimics the role of estrogen in the body, wreaking havoc on your endocrine system. It has also been linked to breast cancer and reproductive toxicity. There is some evidence that parabens can accumulate in human breast tissue. Parabens have been found in 99% of breast cancer tumors.
• Parafin 🚫There is strong evidence that mineral oil hydrocarbons are the greatest contaminant of the human body, amounting to approximately 1 g per person. There have been studies done on women post delivery and scientists have found these contaminants in breast milk as well! The scariest of these possible contaminants is called 1,4 dioxane, an impurity found in 22% of all petroleum-based cosmetics that is a known human and animal carcinogen.
• PEG’s 🚫 While PEGs can be mild irritants, they’re less than desirable primarily because they help traffic nasty chemicals across your epidermis, including a slug of impurities they’re often contaminated with. 😱According to a report in the International Journal of Toxicology by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review, pollutants found in various PEG compounds include ethylene oxide (used to manufacture mustard gas), 1,4-dioxane, polycyclic aromatic compounds, and heavy metals (lead, iron, cobalt, nickel, cadmium, arsenic).” 😳
• Phenoxyethanol 🚫 is used as a preservative in cosmetic products to limit bacterial growth. Skin exposure to phenoxyethanol has been linked to allergic reactions ranging from eczema and hives to anaphylaxis. Infants exposed to phenoxyethanol can experience a depressed central nervous system leading to a decreased appetite, difficulty waking, skin color change, damaged DNA, and limpness of extremities. It is neurotoxic to infants…
• Urea 🚫 Diazolidinyl Urea is an antimicrobial preservative that works by forming formaldehyde in cosmetic products. Urea in cosmetics is man-made in the laboratory and the raw materials are ammonia and carbon dioxide. Not something you’d think you’d put on your skin, right?
• BHT ❌ BHA and BHT can induce allergic reactions in the skin. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies BHA as a possible human carcinogen. The European Commission on Endocrine Disruption has also listed BHA as a Category 1 priority substance, based on evidence that it interferes with hormone function.
• Disodium EDTA ❌Is a penetration enhancing ingredient. Which can be absolutely fantastic… but ONLY if it’s enhancing the penetration of great quality instead of enhancing the penetration of toxins.
– No certified organic ingredients are used ▫️Certified organic cosmetic ingredients insure a higher level of purity and peace of mind. Many women with sensitive skin also prefer cosmetics made with as many organic ingredients as possible because the organic certification removes the risk of concentrated pesticide residue – a potential irritant that holds additional health concerns with repeat exposure.
– Unspecified if minerals used are non-nano. Non-Nano and EcoCert are the most pure and safe options that you can look for. One of the many scary things about nanoparticles is that the materials are small enough to penetrate the skin or get inside the body through inhalation. Just to list a few common nanoparticles they are: titanium dioxide, zinc, silver, and fullerene. When these nanoparticles are absorbed into the bloodstream and carried around the body it can cause DNA and cell function damage, brain damage, liver damage, and affects on the immune system. On top of all of that, titanium dioxide specifically has shown MAJOR potential repercussions in offspring.
– Not Leaping Bunny Certified cruelty free. – No explanation needed here. This is such an important certification in my opinion.
-Unspecified if plastics used are toxin free (majority of packaging): Not only is plastic significantly worse for the environment, but not knowing if plastic packaging is toxin free means you risk toxins from the packaging leeching into your product.
Numerous ingredients in these products contain ties to cancer, hormonal disruption, liver damage, skin irritation, eye irritation, breast cancer and birth defects. And this is why I do these reviews. Women deserve to know that they are using products linked to serious diseases. If you’re ready to start detoxing your products and making the change to a more toxin free life, please head over to https://www.facebook.com/groups/raisingclean/ where you will find my exclusive toxin free master list.
We LOVE cereal in my family. Addie snacks on some every day and Christopher and I have a bowl before bed almost every night.
During my last trimester with Adeline, I ate frosted flakes every day and couldn’t go without it. I didn’t find out until after she was born that it has toxic ingredients in it 😔 I was being so mindful about all the products I was putting on my body but was putting poison in my body, unknowingly, with this craving.
Are you wondering what some of the ingredients hiding in common cereals are?
BHT ❌ BHA and BHT can induce allergic reactions in the skin. The International Agency for Research on Cancer classifies BHA as a possible human carcinogen. The European Commission on Endocrine Disruption has also listed BHA as a Category 1 priority substance, based on evidence that it interferes with hormone function.
Artificial Dyes 🚫 Artificial colorings are linked to attention-deficit disorder and hyperactivity in children. They’ve been linked to headaches, stomachaches, asthma, cancer, chromosomal damage, lymphomas, insomnia, eczema, hives, organ tumors, etc. Animal studies have even linked artificial dyes to organ damage, birth defects and certain cancers.
Natural Flavors ❌ Natural flavors is one of those nasty little phrases we avoid at all costs on every label. It sounds so harmless, but do you actually know what status our lovely FDA has given those two words? Proprietary. Trade Secrets. This allows all kinds of toxic or just disgusting things (google castoreum and know that this is allowed within the term “natural flavors”) to be in your food. It is like the term “fragrance” on personal care products, AVOID IT!
Artificial Flavors 🚫 Artificial flavoring is derived from inedible sources, like petroleum. The problem with natural and artificial flavors on a nutritional label is that you have absolutely no idea what you’re consuming.
Now for the good news. You don’t have to consume these things or feed it to your children if you enjoy a bowl of cereal like I do. Now, that I know better, I make sure I do better, and you can too. I started testing out different cereals with clean ingredients immediately after discovering what’s in the cereals I had been eating. It was discouraging at times when I got some that just didn’t taste good at all. But, I kept trying, and now we have a handful that we absolutely love!
I’ve shared my back story and why I started this blog, but I haven’t shared that much about me personally. So, it’s sharing time!
💚 I have a 14 month old daughter who is literally my heart and soul. 💚 I am a certified secondary English teacher who has been blessed with the opportunity to stay home with my baby for a few years thanks to my business. 💚 I love planning and am addicted to planner supplies (give me ALL the stickers!!) 💚 My favorite food group is candy. 💚 I am a fiancé to a man I love with all my heart. 💚 I have two fur babies whom I adore. 💚 I absolutely love to do yoga and Zumba. 💚 I am passionate about the ingredients I put on my skin, on my child, and use in my home.
Sometimes people think I’m this all knowing, health crazed, makeup genius, rockstar sales person. I am a normal girl, learning how to be a mom for the first time, trying to be more conscious about the products my family uses, while sharing the green beauty movement with other women and helping them to reduce their toxic body burden! I love what I do and more than that I love that what I do allows me to be home with my little girl.
If any of this sounds intriguing to you, I’d love to just chat more. NO pressure, you don’t have to sell me your soul (even though I am a ginger..), I’d just love to share with you what it’s really like to do my job.
👇 Drop a fun fact or two about yourself below if you’d like to chat!
Let’s bust a beauty myth 
Hydration: Water hydrates the skin, keeping it moist and supple. Proper hydration is essential for maintaining skin health and preventing dryness and flakiness.
For me, it’s a hard no.
Phenoxyethanol-it is damaging to your DNA, neurotoxin-especially to babies. It is a very “green washed” ingredient.
Raising Clean 