Low-Tox Living

The bathroom is where we go to cleanse and purify, but are the products we're using in the bathroom doing more harm than good? 

Some of the chemicals contained in our personal care and cleaning products are hard to spell and even harder to pronounce. A good rule is, if you can’t pronounce it, stop using it. So what is our alternatives?

Peekapoo has ten tips to help reduce the toxins you use on yourself and in your bathroom. As a bonus, these are cruelty free, sustainable and environmentally friendly, which is what we're all about. 

1. Shower Cleaner

We usually gather our arsenal of cleaning products to tackle the dreaded shower. Due to it being a high use, wet area, showers are prone to mould, mildew, soap scum and glass residue. The good news is the shower can be cleaned and purified using natural ingredients. 

Mix together bicarb and water to create a paste. This will cleanse and scrub simultaneously. For more stubborn dirt or grime you can use vinegar instead of water. 

As a side note, wiping out your shower daily will reduce the moisture, resulting in less cleaning being needed. 

2. Multi Purpose Spray

1 cup vinegar

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon melaleuca or eucalyptus oil

Place the ingredients in a spray bottle and shake well. You can use this on bathroom surfaces to remove soap scum and other bathroom residue. 

3. Mould and Mildew

Natural ventilation is the best way to prevent mould and mildew building up in your bathroom. Opening windows to air out the space and ensuring towels and linens are able to dry completely, will help to prevent growth from the beginning. 

It is important to note that bleach does not kill mould, instead use a mixture of 80% vinegar and 20% water for surfaces effected by mould and mildew. 

4. Toilet bowl cleaner

The simplest way to give your toilet bowl a deep clean is citric acid. Pour about half a cup into your bowl and let it sit for a few hours. A light scrub will leave your toilet sparkling clean with minimal effort and no toxins. 

5. Perfume

It has been said that our skin can absorb up to 70% of what we put on it. Many designer perfumes, colognes and body sprays contain large amounts of synthetic chemicals and we spray these right onto our skin. Amanda from @strongandwell_ says that these chemicals can cause havoc on our hormones due to their application directly over our the thyroid glands and high toxicity.

An alternative to your favourite perfume is this Orange and Frankincense perfume created by Amanda, which can be easily recreated or altered to design your signature scent:

30ml of fractionated coconut oil

10 drops of Patchouli

10 drops of Orange oil

10 drops of Frankincense oil. 

Add some organic flower petals for aesthetics and leave it to sit for 24 hours. 

6. Self Care Products

There are many recipes to make your own self care products including soaps, shampoos, body lotions, and skin cleansers. There is also many companies who provide you with environmentally friendly, low-tox solutions. Koala Eco products are plant-based, non-toxic, natural and sustainable. Their self care products include hand wash, body lotion, natural hand sanitiser and body wash. The Australian sourced essential oils make them heavenly to use. 

7. Laundry Detergent

Our towels and bathroom linens can also be a source of high toxicity due to the products we use in our washing machine. Simply Nurtured is a small business on the Sunshine Coast that creates 100% natural and organic products. Their laundry detergent, made up of coconut soap, sodium bicarbonate, Himalayan salt and pure essential oils, is hypoallergenic, great for our environment and leaves your towels clean without the nasties. 

8. Fabric Softeners

Methylisothiazolinone is commonly use in fabric softeners and is a potential cause of skin allergies. The easiest alternative to fabric softener is to soften the water. Dissolve 1 cup of bi-carb in water and add this to your wash. Easy!

9. Deodorant

Traditional deodorants use parabens, aluminium and phthalates, some of which are linked to cancers and reproductive issues. There are many natural deodorants on the market now. No Pong is a deodorant that is all natural and says 'no' to all the right things- No plastic packaging, no synthetics, no parabens, no triclosan, no animals testing. It’s also Australian made!

10. Peekapoo Toilet Paper and Facial Tissues

Here at Peekapoo we are committed to low-toxic living. Our toilet paper and facial tissues have zero toxic scents or dyes. The added bonus - Peekapoo is plastic-free from ‘product to packaging’, uses 100% sustainable bamboo and is super luxe!

Keep in touch @peekapoopaper