I think I need to rename this blog as there are other issues I'd like to deal with healthwise. For instance I've been dealing with neck, shoulder and arm problems for years. After attending a chiropractor for a few years the pain has been reduced dramatically. I still need control when I want to go to the chiropractor as opposed to my pain determining it.

I'm always searching on the internet for ways to help my health and I just happened to come across this site:

http://www.drbookspan.com/StretchingArticle.html

Honestly I found this site this morning and by tonight with doing the few stretches recommended throughout the day...even after an hour workout (30 minutes of Hip Hop Abs and 20 minutes of Wii yoga and strengthening) I feel the best I have in a long time. I really like how they tell you to do a stretch then test it right away with the standing wall test.

Anyhow I just thought I'd put this out there as not only does excluding chemicals in our body important but also keeping ourselves properly aligned crucial to our well being.

What chemicals are hiding in your daily products?

Need a place to search for ingredients in products? Well take a look at the link below and you will definitely be surprised to see what is in some of your cosmetics, soaps, hair dyes and more: 

Environmental Working Group (EWG) Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

Let me tell you story that happened yesterday and this will show you how important it is having this website exist. For a week my dad was itchy and broke out in rashes all over his face, back arms and couldn't figure what the culprit was. I had mentioned to my dad that he had been painting right before this happened and it could be he's allergic to the paint which has caused other allergic reactions to come out. Which is what happened to me a few months ago (that will be another blog entry lol)

Anyhow in paint there are a lot of chemicals but the main culprit is formaldehyde. My mother called me up yesterday and said they figured out what was causing his breakouts. She said she put a Camay pink soap in the basement powder room a while back. Well over the last two weeks my dad has been using the downstairs bathroom to get ready to go out if my mother was using the other one. I entered Camay soap in EWG's database and low and behold it contains: DMDM HYDANTOIN What is that? Well they actually give you a breakdown: 

Restrictions & warnings, Allergies/immunotoxicity, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Contamination concerns (FORMALDEHYDE)

You can also add your own products to get a score and warnings about a product not in the list. 

Sanotint Light Hair Dye - Colour Light Brown #74

I've been getting more and more sensitive to hair dyes over the years where I was trying the ammonia free ones with little success of covering greys and/or the colour lasting more than two weeks. Besides the last one I used I broke out in a rash all down the sides of my face, I could hardly breath so badly I had to take my inhaler and rinse it off earlier than I should have. It's been since May since I dyed my hair so my roots had grown out about 3 inches.

After much searching on the internet I finally decided to break down and buy Sanotint Light which is free of PPD where their other types are not. This means you cannot go more than two shades lighter than your natural hair colour. At this point I'm happy with just covering the grays and having my hair all in one colour. Cost with shipping was about $32 for one box.

The application of this product is longer than the normal boxed hair dyes since you have to apply it with a brush and it is not watery. I actually thought I wouldn't have enough but I just barely made it to the end with not a drop left.

My hair is a little darker than I thought it would be but the important part is it took out all the red tones I had and my hair is really brown, no bad smells and soft. I avoided using the shampoo and conditioner that came in the box as it's not gluten free. Instead I used the Curelle brands I currently use and left a bit of conditioner in without rinsing. Overall I'm 100% impressed. I will update the review as the next few weeks go by to see how the dye held up.

This is where I bought mine and it was delivered within 4 business days:
http://lavitanuovainc.com/contents/en-ca/d3.html

Manufacture website:
http://www.cosvalitaly.com/cosval/categoria.asp?lang=eng_&id=283

This company has all the information on Sanotint products:
http://www.aviva.ca/article.asp?articleid=162