Switching back to old ways

The only immediate thing that came to my mind was to switch back to natural oils. I had always been a huge fan of olive oil and now was a reason to fall in love with it even more! Olives and olive oil have been mentioned many times in the Holy Quran and not just in the Quran, they are mentioned in the Bible as well. I found a concise slide show about the properties and uses of olive oil here

I headed straight to Dollarama in search of a plastic pump bottle which I filled up with extra virgin olive oil for convenient usage. I have my daughter apply it after taking showers and I would do the same. Olive oil absorbs quickly into the skin, so we don't really have to worry about our clothes getting stained.

The little pump bottle has become my best friend ever since :) I use it for massaging my three month old baby, applying it after baths and even to keep him diaper rash free. Warm olive oil is also very good for hair and scalp massages. Alhumdulillah it works really well for many thing. But I'll be honest, my daughter does not like applying oils very much. She would rather have her creams and lotions... things that smell good and have a nice feel. I knew I would have to find some substitute for her very soon.

My journey begins

                     In the name of Allah, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful

The inspiration for writing this blog came to me from my 10 year old daughter who recently started blogging on her class website :) My intention for starting this blog is primarily to increase awareness among people about effects of the many harmful chemicals present in our everyday personal care products. I am hoping that this effort may help others to identify these toxic chemicals present in our cosmetics, creams, soaps, deodorants and many other products including tooth pastes! The only way we can avoid these risky, harmful ingredients is first of all to have knowledge of what they are.

 My journey started a few years back when my older daughter (now 13) who always had sensitive skin started developing mild eczema. Over the few years her eczema became quite worse. It was then that I started researching natural home remedies for her and stumbled into articles which suggested that one of the things I needed to do was to stop using chemical-laden products such as lotions, creams and soaps that are adding more toxins into her system. The exact cause of eczema is unknown, but it's thought to be linked to an overactive response by the body's immune system to an irritant. It is this response that causes the symptoms of eczema. 

I was mortified to find this because I had no idea that the lotions, creams and vaseline I slather on my little girls skin in hopes of getting it cured were actually very harmful for her. I came across Dr Mercola's extremely informative article: http://www.mercolahealthyskin.com/ which was a huge eye-opener for me. Almost every lotion and cream I picked up had harmful ingredients in them such as sodium laurel or lauryl sulfate (SLS), parabens, mineral oils, paraffin, petrolatum, propylene glycol and the list goes on....

This completely changed the way I looked at my beloved Jergens that I used to apply every night and my Olay bodywash which I showered with everyday (sigh...) My outlook had changed completely and now was the time to make some serious life style changes. I knew I could not change everything all at once but reform had to come one step at a time.