Happy Melaleuca Monday!
It's been a while since I've done one of these posts because I've been SO busy with my list of house projects but after many requests, I decided to get back into it.
Just to clarify, we never stopped using Melaleuca products during my break from "Melaleuca Monday" posts. We have been Melaleuca customers for over a year now and absolutely LOVE our products!!
If you are new to the blog, please know that through each Mela Monday post, my intention is to EDUCATE readers on ways to improve and live a healthy lifestyle, NOT to scare. Although, I will say, the research out there about our everyday household products is just plain scary!!
The Melaleuca product I want to focus on today is their hand soap for kids called Koala Pals...
EVERYONE needs and buys hand soap of some kind, especially during cold and flu season. We use several different scented hand soaps by Melaleuca in our house and have been pleased with all of them! Melaleuca makes a specific line of products for kids called Koala Pals. This line includes hand wash, tooth paste, hair wash, body wash, bubble bath, and body paint! Having a kids hand wash is important because their skin is much more delicate than an adults.
As consumers, we really need to be careful about what hand soaps we use because many of the name brands on the market today contain an ingredient called "triclosan" for its antimicrobial properties. The following information was sent to me in a
yahoo article that I found both eye opening and fascinating...
"Researchers from the University of San Diego School of Medicine say that Triclosan could have long-term repercussions for health.
The study, published in
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that exposure to triclosan caused liver fibrosis and cancer in mice. Mice exposed to triclosan for six months—the equivalent of 18 human years—were more susceptible to liver tumors, and their tumors were larger than those in mice who were not exposed to the chemical. This isn’t the first time the safety of triclosan has come under scrutiny. Studies have shown that triclosan changes hormones in animals, a CDC study found that 75% of humans have traces of the chemical in their urine, and it’s present in the breast milk of most lactating women. And as it turns out, many scientists agree that t
riclosan isn’t even more effective than washing hands with simple soap and water. Colleen Rogers, Ph.D., a lead microbiologist at the Food and Drug Administration, has said that antibacterial soaps don’t prevent illness any better than regular soaps. “New data suggest that the risks associated with long-term, daily use of antibacterial soaps may outweigh the benefits”. Perhaps surprisingly, concerns over triclosan are decades old. “Unfortunately, the FDA started looking at whether it was going to allow triclosan to be used in these products in 1978, yet they never actually finalized that decision,” says Mae Wu, a senior attorney at the National Resources Defense Council. “So, with the boom in antibacterial soaps, triclosan continued to be used.” In 2011, the NRDC brought a lawsuit against the FDA, ultimately settling on an agreement: The FDA would meet new deadlines and rule on triclosan. “We’re in the midst of that right now,” Wu says. The FDA is expected to finalize its decision by September 2016; meanwhile, a Minnesota ban on triclosan goes into effect in 2017."
SCARY RIGHT??? Do you really want your kids to be using a product like this, MULTIPLE TIMES A DAY!?!?!
If Minnesota is banning the use of triclosan in hand soaps, then I hope and imagine that other states will follow suit very soon. So far in my research, ANY soap that says "antibacterial" on the label, means it contains triclosan. Check your labels the next time you buy soap.
So, now that I've probably scared the living daylights out of you (not my intention!) , lets talk about the safer alternative...
Koala Pals Hand Wash is a foamy, berry-scented soap that nourishes skin with vitamin E, aloe, and green tea extract. It is free of harsh dies, formaldehyde, triclosan, and parabens. Koala Pals is 100% safe and effective for your kids and their germy little hands!
There are other safe alternatives out there, you just have to make sure they are effective. I never had to go through a trial and error period with soaps after switching from Dial to
Melaleuca because it is just as effective.
As I have mentioned before, we changed over all of our household products to Melaleuca shortly after our baby was born. We have been living in a "toxin free" home for over a year now and have been very satisfied with our decision to switch from name brand to Melaleuca.
If you would like more information or are interested in becoming a Melaleuca customer, email me at lemonstolovelys@gmail.com.
Remember, when life hands you lemons, turn them into something lovely!
-Marci
Labels: all natural, hand wash, koala pals, Melaleuca, melaleuca monday, non-toxic, triclosan
