Spring is finally here! And in today’s episode of the Positively Green Podcast, we’re talking all about sunscreen. Believe it or not, we need some sun exposure without any sunscreen to help our bodies get Vitamin D. We’re also talking about the ingredients in conventional sunscreens and their health effects, as well as how they are negatively impacting the environment. Then we also leave you with safe, non-toxic, mineral sunscreen options. We’re all about practicing safe sun exposure over here!

• Why we need Vitamin D and the sun 
• Ingredients in conventional sunscreens and their negative health effects
• Why these ingredients are also harmful to the environment and contributing to coral bleaching
• Safe mineral sunscreen options

Studies:

• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21310306
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3033008
• https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00244-015-0227-7

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Environmental Working Group’s Sunscreen Guide

Becca’s SPF Recommendations:

• Raw Elements
• Laguna Herbals
• Blog post about SPF, sunless tanners, etc.

Kelsey’s DIY Recipe:

• 1 Tbsp shea butter
• 1 Tbsp Coconut oil
• ¼ tsp beeswax
• ½ tsp non-nano titanium dioxide powder
• ½ tsp non-nano zinc oxide powder

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Download the free dminder app! 

If you have been on the path or curious about healing your body holistically, there are five incredibly important things to know as you go on your holistic living journey. These crucial discoveries took me by complete surprise as I healed myself holistically over the last ten years (yes ten!).

​I’ve conquered adult acne, Celiacs, gut dysbiosis, and adrenal fatigue all from a holistic perspective. I wish someone would have gently told me these five things right away when I started so I could have saved myself from mountains of frustration.  

So today I want to share them with you, so you can heal faster and with more grace than I did.

We did a three-day fast safely and effectively and the results were surprising. I want to share our fasting experience with you in hopes of demystifying fasting and ultimately give you the tools to try it for yourself.

First things first, if you have a significant other, it will be a million times easier to complete the three-day fast if they do it with you. Imagine you are on day two of not eating and your partner cooks up some pastured bacon and eggs in the morning. I swear to you that you will not last. Paul and I did our fasts together and it helped immensely to be able to share the experience with someone. Send your partner this post to encourage them to try it with you!​

For those of us who deal with dysmenorrhea, aka periods from the seventh circle of hell, I’ve got a good line up of zero-waste and holistic period pain management options for you. When PMS rears its ugly head for many of us ladies, the conventional options are all we feel we have at our disposal to help manage the pain.

Thanks to my endometriosis, I’ve tweaked and tested so many snake oil remedies out there and have weeded out the ludicrous. I know every lady is different, but I hope some of these suggestions can bring you relief as you journey towards a more sustainable and zero-waste lifestyle.

In my first post we talked about why it's important to have a toxin-free and eco-friendly menstruation cycle, in my second post we chatted about what zero-waste options you have for menstruation, and this final post covers all things period pain management. Enjoy!

In this post we are going to go over the sustainable and zero-waste options you have for your menstruation cycle.

In my last post, I explained why switching to these options is so important for our health and the earth's health. Be sure to pop over to that post if you haven't gotten a chance to read it yet!

There are three options at your fingertips to complete a zero-waste and non-toxic period - the cup,  absorbable washable undies, and washable pads. Let's go over all three in depth and talk about their learning curves as well!

Well hello my fellow bleeders! Who’s excited to talk all things menstruation? The topic of your period and how to approach it with a zero-waste mindset can be super overwhelming. There are multiple points to consider when working towards a low to no-waste and toxin-free option for feminine care and your cycle.

I want you to take a deep breath and know it has taken me nearly a YEAR to finally get to a zero-waste period. I had done all this research, bought all the things, and then had to get through the last of my disposables before trying (and failing) for a few cycles to get to a no-waste solution.

Please oh please be patient with yourself. Don’t force yourself into a sustainable solution that doesn’t work for you because then it’s not truly sustainable! We often forget on this sustainable living journey that our own emotions and willpower require a sustainable mindset as well. Cultivate kindness and patience with yourself as you try out the following various zero-waste menstruation options.

In this first post, we will go over conventional products, like tampons and pads, and the significant issues they pose for our bodies and the environment. Then in my next post, we will chat about the zero-waste options you can use instead. Finally in the last post of this series, I’ll share some awesome zero-waste and toxin-free pain management tips for your monthly visitor.

First, though, I need to teach you about your mother of all souls, ahem, I mean vagina.

In Part One of this blog series we talked about why it's crucial to switch over to a natural hair care routine, in Part Two we set you up for natural shampoo success with the acclimation period, and now we are going to talk about the top five toxin-free shampoos and conditioners I've used. Let me be clear and state that everyone’s head of hair is different. There is no definition of a good or bad head of hair here. That’s why there are five choices and not one be-all end-all choice. I encourage you to try one, stick with it for a month, and then try another if it isn’t working for you.

Allow me to personally vouch for these shampoos and conditioners, as I have tried all of them for extended periods of time (at least 1.5 months). At the moment my hair is somewhat thick, un-dyed, medium length, slightly wavy, and gets greasy in about three days. My post-shower routine is to not blow dry unless I have to be somewhere special, which ends up being maybe three times a month. I used no post-shower product while implementing these shampoos and conditioners. I have blow dried with each of these products though, and all of them passed the test.

Typically, post-shower I run a wide toothed comb through my hair as sparingly as possible. Next, I turn my head upside down and shake my wet roots loose from my scalp to give them some drying oomph. I look like a wet dog when I shake my hair out - I promise it’s fun! Then I’ll let my hair air dry. If I’m feeling sassy, I’ll twist it up into a loose top knot once it’s halfway dry with a singular bobby pin and let it get a slight curl to the ends. That’s it!

Alright, let’s jump into my top 5 favorite toxin-free shampoos and conditioners...

Don’t be upset if you go to try natural shampoo for the first time and aren’t pleased with the results. For those that have tried natural shampoo already, you know how frustrating using a natural shampoo can be. Enter the acclimation period. Every time we make a change to our rituals or our habits, our body always needs a little time to catch up. Once I realized that results were not going to be instant I calmed down a touch. I had also experienced this acclimation period with natural deodorant and was met with success, so I knew there was hope if I stuck it out. When it comes to hair, sometimes acclimation can take two weeks, sometimes a month or more. The pain point here is that it sucks to have a bad hair day out in public for an extended period of time. Luckily I have a few hair care tricks and perspective shifts to push you through it!

Whether you have long or short locks, finding a shampoo that actually works and is free from harmful chemicals can feel impossible. My own toxin-free shampoo journey has been rife with greasy hair, dandruff, and itchy scalp. I spent countless showers in hopes that a new random hippy dippy shampoo I found on Etsy would finally be my saving grace, but my early shampoo adventures wound up disappointing and left my hair feeling like it hadn’t even been washed. So why go to all the trouble of finding a toxin-free shampoo? As Part One of my Natural Hair Care Series, we are going to dive into the reasons why you should avoid these main culprits that are in generic shampoo and consider switching to a natural hair care routine. I encourage you to click the linked studies cited below and read further into the findings for yourself.  Let's get started!