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Colouring your hair? Are hair dyes safe? Not sure you want the answer?! Here’s what you need to consider to reduce your toxic exposure to chemicals in hair colourants:

•    Dyes may come in direct contact with the scalp, which is very porous and absorbs substances easily and quickly.
•    Chemicals may provoke an immediate reaction like burning and itching or may build up in your body and add to your chemical body burden over time.
•    Serious health problems linked to hair dyes: non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, bladder and ovarian cancer, leukemia & multiple myeloma, and rheumatoid arthritis.
•    Others include hair loss, allergies, eye injuries, skin and scalp disorders like eczema and rosacea.

The experts disagree about the impact of chemicals in hair dyes - some studies raise questions about safety and risk of cancer while others do not find “strong evidence” or a “marked increase” in definitive risks. Concerns about hair dye related chemicals are mainly centered around:

•    The combination of ammonia and peroxide (burns skin and eyes).
•    Common petrochemical p-phenylenediamine (PPD), and its derivatives, 4-MMPD and 4-MMPD Sulphate.
•    Coal tar dyes (FD&C, D&C synthetic colours), lead acetate and resorcinol
•    The chemicals in hair dyes also damage, stress and dry out your hair.

Over 480 out of 657 hair colorants ranked at the Skin Deep cosmetics database are considered high hazard. So know what colouring processes you are currently having applied.

If you have always coloured your hair, the thought of simply going natural one day is unthinkable - here’s info to help make your choice less toxic…

The more permanent the colour, the more toxic - reduce exposure by:

•    Highlight/lowlight sections of hair rather than the whole head
•    Try techniques where chemicals do not touch scalp, such as a cap or paint
•    Patch test to determine if allergies to the product are present
•    Darker colours have been shown to be more toxic and increased risk of cancer than blonde and red shades.
•    Hennas, herbal/mineral/vegetable dyes and food based ingredients are the least toxic of all and can leave your hair luscious, healthy and full of shine.
•    What about natural hair dyes? While natural hair-dye product claims exist, few if any of them purport to be chemical-free. Many supposedly ‘natural’ products contain ammonia, peroxide or PPDs or other suspect chemicals.
•    Ask you colourist to use natural products or seek out a chemical free, odor free or a herbal hair salon. Tell us if you find one - they are hard to come by! (Click on the comment link!)

We have likely hit a nerve (or gray hair) with the issue of hair dye and toxins. There’s so much more to say! I invite you to share your thoughts and experiences on moving to less toxic hair colouring and about products and places that can do the job by clicking on our ‘comment’ link!

Did you know it has been estimated that over 80,000 synthetic chemicals, many of them poisonous to our biological systems and fertility, have been developed over the past 50 years?

Did you know that a great number of these damaging chemicals are likely to be a part of your everyday lifestyle if you are not careful with what kinds of products you bring into your home?

How can I protect my family?

Education is the key — by understanding the awful truth about chemicals in your daily life and through taking the time to identify and replace specific dangerous culprits you can protect your health for years to come. This can help you achieve some practical empowerment over your personal environment and reduce individual risks to you and your family’s development.

Chemicals can have a dramatic negative impact throughout one’s system causing a whole variety of imbalances and dysfunctions. Some conditions that can be prevented and even reversed include:

• Allergies • Asthma • Nervous system disorders • Behavioural abnormalities • Chronic fatigue • Headaches
• Genetic damage • Cancer • Liver disease • Infertility • And much, much more!

For practically any chemical laden product there is a natural alternative that will be gentle to you and better for your family’s health.

The solution: Simplify!

Personal Care & Hygiene Items

An easy area to begin is through personal care and hygiene items. This is one of the greatest problem areas because of the high absorption ability of the skin. Chemicals put directly onto the skin are not ‘checked out’ by the liver before being absorbed by the body. They go straight into the bloodstream and do their damage from there. Luckily for you, miessence® is an outstanding natural, chemical free, certified organic range that will ensure your needs are more than satisfied everything from soaps to body creams and even cosmetics. You can have it all, naturally!

Cleaning products

This is another very easy place to simplify and reduce your exposure. Most people get unnecessarily caught up on germ theories when cleaning. The truth is you can do an amazingly hygienic job with everyday natural ingredients such as bicarbonate soda, white vinegar, pure essential oils and just plain water!

Pest Control

This is often the most toxic area. Just consider this… what if cockroaches could really survive a nuclear explosion? It just makes sense that whatever products we are using to kill them really isn’t going to be even ‘OK’ for our health.

Here are a few tips to get you started in a more natural pest control approach:

• Cockroaches: 1 cup sugar + 1 cup boric acid
• Ants: 1tbsp boric acid + 1/4 cup powdered sugar
• Mosquitos: Lavender, citronella, lemon grass plants and essential oils (Either 1-2 drops rubbed on the skin or in a diffuser)
• Flies: 4 cups of water + 4 tsp basil essential oil

The longer it takes you to make these changes the greater the negative impact to your health. So start today!

Natural fertility specialist Gabriela Rosa is the author of three books, including ‘Eat Your Way To Parenthood: The Diet Secrets Of Highly Fertile Couples Revealed’. Gabriela is devoted to helping bring healthy baby into the world and empowering individuals through better health. Towards that end, Gabriela publishes the Natural Fertility Booster, an online publication for prospective parents who want to create the healthiest possible baby. For more information or a FREE subscription to the Natural Fertility Booster please visit www.boostyourfertilitynow.com.