Honest Book Review // Clean

I have recently read the book “The Honest Life” by Jessica Alba. I read the 225 page book front to back in less than one week! Maybe for some of you, that is normal, but for me, that is a miracle! I’m not much of a book reader. I try. And I usually fail. I can’t remember the last time I read a book all the way through in 6 months or less, but this one… a week! If that doesn’t tell you how good this book is, then I don’t know what will. I love this book & the information in it so much that I have decided to do a review to share my thoughts & some very important information I learned. If you care at all about your health, your family’s health, clean living, clean eating, etc, then you will want to read this book. If you don’t care about any of that at all then shame on you. This book contains so much good & important information that I’m breaking it down into multiple posts. Let’s get learning!

How did I find this book?
I stumbled across this book at Barnes & Noble while waiting for my hubby to pick me up. I was specifically looking for holistic eating/living books when The Honest Life caught my attention. I had heard about The Honest Co by Jessica Alba a while ago & thought it was stupid. Why would an already famous, rich, & successful person need to create a company to sell overpriced (or so I thought) fashion diapers?! That’s ridiculous, I thought. Truth is, even though I thought it was stupid, I began reading in the store. About 3 pages into the book, I had to buy it!

Why did Jessica start this company?
Jessica was pregnant with her first baby at the time. Jessica’s mom told her about a “safe” laundry detergent to use for baby clothes & when you have children. It was expensive, but her mom swore by the stuff! Jessica tried it & started sneezing & had an allergic reaction on her hands. What was supposed to be an eco, fragrance-free, safe detergent made Jessica break out in a rash! And so began her journey of research about ingredients in our everyday products…

So why did this “safe & eco” detergent that Jessica’s mom used all the time make her suddenly break out in a rash? The book says it perfectly, “There are way more chemicals in the marketplace today. Most of these chemicals have never been tested for human safety–and in fact, the way the system works, they need to be proven unsafe to be banned. So we have no idea what they might do to our health–or, more important, the health of our kids–in the long term.” << Are you kidding me?! Did you just read that? More chemicals are constantly being put into our products (probably mostly because they find cheaper & cheaper chemicals or fillers), & they have to be proven unsafe?!?! Here’s another alarming fact, “Today there are more than 80,000 chemicals on the market that have never been properly studied to see if they’re toxic to our health.”

Many of my friends know that almost a year ago I heard about Arbonne. Some of the things that I learned about ingredients in our make-up from having an Arbonne party were very disturbing. Arbonne is different. Their motto is Pure, Safe, & Beneficial. That’s where I started beginning my own research on make-up & skincare, & then decided to start selling Arbonne myself. I wanted to have it as another small income, but I really cared about informing people about this stuff! I’ll get more into make-up in another post though.

Let’s get into cleaners (bath, body, cleansers, etc)…

Here are some deceiving labels to look out for:

Hypoallergenic

We think this means that it’s been tested so it won’t cause any allergic reactions.
It really means nothing! Companies can define “hypoallergenic” however they like.

Natural

We think this means it is made with all-natural, plant-based ingredients.
The government doesn’t regulate this term, so, again, it’s up to the company to define it.

Organic

Unless something is USDA Certified Organic & tells you what percentage of the ingredients are organic, it only means some of the ingredients are organic. Look for a high percentage.

Unscented

We think that means they didn’t use any synthetic fragrance.
It really means that it may contain a fragrance, but they use masking agents to block the smell.

What ingredients to stay away from:

Petrochemicals – mineral oil, petroleum jelly, propylene glycol, & paraffin
These chemicals are found in many lotions, cleansers, creams, lip balms, & lipsticks.

What do these chemicals do?
They block your pores & cause breakouts. It is also possible that they can cause cancer. These chemicals are also used in antifreeze & gasoline! No thanks!!

I first learned about petroleum ingredients from my Arbonne party. They don’t contain any mineral oil or petroleum ingredients. The way it was described to me is that these chemicals are like wrapping saran wrap around your body, hence, clogging your pores. They don’t let any bad toxins out, so they get trapped inside of you. Also, mineral oil is the 2nd most aging thing for your skin… 2nd to the sun! And to think, anti-aging creams & serums contain mineral oil! It creates a vicious cycle!

Triclosan & Triclocarben
Many anti-bacterial soaps, hand sanitizers, toothpastes, & deodorants contain these chemicals.

What are they?
They are antimicrobial agents that prevent odors & kill bacteria.

Why are they bad?
These chemicals absorb into our body & can disrupt hormones. It also creates dangerous bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics!

Formaldehyde – DMDM hydantoin, imidazolindinyl urea, & quarternium-15
Found in shampoo, body wash, polish remover, nail polish, hair gels, etc.

Formaldehyde is a preservative that prevents bacteria growth.

These ingredients can cause cancer with chronic, long-term exposure. It can also cause allergic reactions, rashes, nosebleeds, & respiratory issues.

So, this is a simple start to living an eco-friendly, non-toxic life, but I promise there’s much more! I will be doing a post on make-up/skincare as well as food & recipes & possibly baby care. If you have read this whole post, thank you! I love that you are interested in living a healthier lifestyle for you & your family, but please, buy this book!!

*Watch this short video to see what else Jessica covers in her book!