Potions without Poisons: DIY Plastic and Plasticizer-Free Personal Care
By Ruth Ann Smalley
When temperatures start to drop—and with them, the humidity levels—my minimalist hair care routine occasionally needs a boost to prevent “the flyaways.” Argan and rose hip oils are both helpful low-impact, go-to fixes. But a nice non-oily alternative is a salt and sugar spray. This DIY potion has a lot going for it:
Simple: Contains only 3 cheap and abundant ingredients, plus your favorite essential oils
Small Batch: Made in small amounts, so you’ll use it up before it goes bad (and it probably won’t go bad, anyway)
Banishes Plastic/Plasticizers: Store this in a small glass spray bottle from Wellness Bulk, and you’ll know EXACTLY what you are using
This third point is crucially important, and the science documenting it is growing ever stronger. We’re now using plastic to contain just about everything. Industry has worked hard to convince us that it is inert. It isn’t. And it isn’t as simple as “just don’t put it in the microwave and you’ll be okay.”
This is because plastic isn’t just one simple substance. It's a toxic brew. Judith Enck, of Beyond Plastic, offers this straightforward description of the problem:
“Over 16,000 chemicals are used in plastic to give it color, pliability, durability, fire resistance, and more. Of those, at least 4,200 are considered “highly hazardous” to human health and the environment. Thousands more haven’t even been tested for toxicity. Because these additives aren’t tightly bound to plastic, they can leach into our food and beverages from their plastic packages, especially when heated.
(Link between plastic and heart attacks shows it's time to reduce packaging and its chemicals)
Food and beverage packaging is a major source of exposure, but so are many personal care products. These products may expose us to these harmful additives, not solely by way of leaching from the container, but as a product ingredient.
Phthalates are a prime example: now ubiquitous in us and our environments, they are implicated in multiple health conditions, and are known hormone disrupters. Perhaps you heard about this recent study, summarized on NPR: Hair and skin care products expose kids to hormone disrupting chemicals, study finds
The somewhat good news: phthalates don’t stick around in the body as long as “forever chemicals” such as PFAS. The bad news: because they’re in so many products we use daily, they tend to be constantly replenished in our bodies. Unless we act to reduce exposure. We need to demand that this class of chemicals be banned, and in the meantime, we can look for alternatives.
This presents a bit of a problem for even the best label-readers among us. You may see DBP (Dibutyl Phthalate) on fingernail polish labels, but Diethyl Phthalate can be hiding in products as a fragrance additive and not be listed. If a product says fragrance, or even fragrance-free, it could contain it. Perfume, parfum, and even “natural fragrance” are all tip-offs that phthalates could be lurking. Like the multitude of ingredients Enck points to in plastics, “fragrance” is also legion. As the David Suzuki Foundation notes, “Of the thousands of chemicals used in fragrances, most have not been tested for toxicity, alone or in combination” (The Dirty Dozen: Parfum (a.k.a. fragrance) - David Suzuki Foundation). My take is, when possible: DIY to simplify.
So, strike a blow against “the flyaways” and the hidden phthalates at the same time, by whipping up this simple spray potion. You can make your own substitutions for essential oils, or use none at all.
Mix these ingredients in a small glass spray bottle:
1 half cup filtered or distilled water
1 Tbsp Epsom salt
1 Tbsp sugar
5 drops each of rosemary, clary sage, and lavender
Shake well before each use. Happy spritzing!
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