Tom's of Maine

It's tough to be a consumer these days. It all started with deodorant. After questionable links with aluminum DO & cancer, I switched to the aluminum-free Trader Joe's brand. I figured less hazardous chemicals in my beauty products are better for me overall, eh? I didn't make it over to Trader Joe's for a refill and instead bought Tom's of Maine Wild Lavender DO. Yet I noticed over the past week that I had a bad allergic reaction. Find out why I'm comparing Deodorant to Tinder, after the jump.

Brushing my teeth is one of my favorite activities. I beam when my dental hygienist comments on my teeth condition. Yet I use a lot of toothpaste, and those empty toothpaste tubes are a gray area on the green front. Can you recycle them? Can you not? Don't fear my readers... I did some investigating to figure out what we can do with our toothpaste-less tubes:

Researchers took samples of umbilical-cord blood of ten babies and found 285 industrial chemicals present. Scary, right? Common food we ingest, cleaning products we use, and personal care products such as shampoo, toothpaste, and lotion we use on a daily basis ALL contain potentially dangerous chemicals. Lucky for us, Greening Your Family is a concise reference guide that gives us safer alternatives to everyday products. Author Lindsey Carmichael, MPH, outlines what chemicals are dangerous (and how they’re listed on labels) and specific brands that are safe. Easy to read, this book has tables, product lists, and additional references if you need more info. Whether you're starting your green journey or already have most of your house green, it's convenient and easy to sort your green product needs. Thanks to Lindsey, I made the switch to Tom's of Maine toothpaste & cut the Parabens from my shampoo & conditioner. We asked Lindsey a few questions about her book: (Read the full interview & ONE lucky commenter can download the app for free after the jump!)