There was one Holiday season that I worked part time at Bath and Body Works. I thought it would be a pretty simple and fun way to make a little extra money. Which was true... until they stopped scheduling me.
I've never been a bad employee- I think most everyone would agree that in general I'm an over-acheiver. So, why did I stop being scheduled at BBW?
Because I wouldn't push "anti-bac." This was in 1998 or so, around the time they were coming out with entire lines of antibacterial stuff- lotions, gels, soaps, etc.
And why wouldn't I push it? Because it's EVIL.
How many of us grew up being prescribed antibiotics for every little sniffle and cough? I know I did. And now... low doses of penicillin don't work. If I get sick it takes a Z-Pack (Zithromycin) to make me well. This is because your body builds up tolerances to the smaller doses over time.
Bacteria do the same damn thing. You douse yourself in antibacterial stuff enough and you do succeed in killing the weaker bugs. But once those weak ones are gone, the nastier ones no longer have any competition so they THRIVE.
Did you know that if you wash with regular soap and water for the appropriate length of time (sing the Happy Birthday song), you don't need anything antibacterial?
Do you think it's any coincidence that hospitals and clinics have antibacterial soaps and gels at every turn and now people get MRSA infections during their hospital stays?
This is just the tip of the iceberg. Not only is antibacterial slowly breeding superbugs with every squirt of hand sanitizer gel, but it's also really nasty stuff.
Check out this website. They rate beauty products based on the nasty chemicals within them and how they can affect you. You can search any brand, product, or ingredient. In the link below I've searched Bath and Body Works Antibacterial.
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/wordsearch.php?query=bath+and+body+works+antibacterial
If you don't have time to look... here's the gist:
BBW Antobacterial Hand Soap with Aloe has ingredients linked to CANCER, DEVELOPMENTAL/REPRODUCTIVE TOXICITY, ALLERGIES/IMMUNOTOXICITY, NEUROTOXICITY, ENDOCRINE DISRUPTION, BIOACCUMULATION, ORGAN TOXICITY... etc. It also rates a hazard rating of 7-10, out of 10!
My soap of choice, Tom's of Maine Natural Hand Soap in Lavender rates a 3 out of 10.
The best stuff you can get is unscented and not antibacterial. Items from Tom's of Maine, Mrs. Meyers Clean Day, and even the aroma therapy stuff from BBW is better for you than all their regular stuff.
And as far as cleaning your home with chemicals- can you imagine how nasty that stuff is? It even says on the bottles to avoid contact with skin and eyes... but you're still breathing it in. The answer instead? Vinegar. Plain white vinegar. When you use it to clean it actually leaves a clean scent (your house won't smell like Easter eggs), and there's absolutely nothing better for hard water stains and buildup either. Not to mention it's crazy cheap!
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Have you done any research on MENTHA soap bars? I have one and love it.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen anything on that. I did a quick search and it just pulled up the C.O. Bigelow Mentha products (available at BBW).
ReplyDeleteBy far, the best soaps are castile soaps, like Dr. Bronners's.
This post reminds me of this article that came out in 2006:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.wired.com/techbiz/media/news/2006/06/71185
Have you ever heard of soap nuts? They're for laundry soap and they're crazy weird...but I really want to try them. Google them when you get a chance. It's soap that grows on trees!!
ReplyDeleteThat's awesome!! Here's an excerpt from their website. I might have to try that. Sadly we have this ginormous thing of Costco Institutional Detergent that says you can even clean grout with it so ANYTHING would be better.
ReplyDelete"Maggie’s Soap NutsTM are the only laundry soap that grows on trees! Truly effective, 100% natural and safe for your most sensitive skin.
Soap NutsTM are the dried fruit of the Chinese Soapberry tree. They contain saponin, a natural cleaner used for thousands of
years to clean clothes, just like the plants used by Native Americans for washing.
Simply put a few Soap Nuts into the included cotton sack and drop it in your laundry."
I intend to try them because according to different web sites it's also cheaper than regular laundry soap. They seem expensive, but I guess they last a really long time, so it turns out to be cheaper. I'm all for being green, especially if I can save some green at the same time:)
ReplyDeleteLet me know how it works!!
ReplyDelete