Whether you're a guy looking for a greener cologne, or perhaps you're searching for reasons to make the switch, or you're a gal trying to help your man reduce his toxic load, here's a little more insight into why low-tox is not just for the ladies.
MUSK AND YOUR MANHOOD
(And a whole lot more you never bargained for.)
Musk is a note used in almost every beauty and personal care product on the market nowadays, from perfumes and colognes to soap, body wash, lotions and hair products. Musk smells amazing, lets be honest, but research shows clearly that synthetic musks (which is the ONLY form of musk used in products these days) create an enormous burden for the environment, being a persistent organic pollutant that doesn't break down and affects the endocrine (hormone) systems of all creatures it comes into contact with.
According to The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, synthetic musks bioaccumulate in the environment and have been detected in human breast milk, body fat, blood, and umbilical cords. Studies show that these compounds can disrupt cell functioning and hormone systems (which can affect the quality and quantity of sperm), and are toxic to your organs, can contribute to obesity and diabetes, as well as contributing to the development of hormone-related cancers in both men and women such as breast, prostate, testicular and ovarian cancers.
IT'S NOT YOU, IT'S THE XENOESTROGENS
Xenoestrogens (synthetic estrogen-like chemicals) are absolutely everywhere. And to cut straight to the point, they reduce your testosterone, dropping your sperm count, reducing your libido and your muscle mass, increasing your propensity to be overweight and have increased breast tissue, as well as impacting your mood and ability to handle stress.
Xenoestrogens are endocrine-disruptors found in everything from plastics or all kinds to items made from vinyl (yes, even those vinyl 'floating' floorboards) to soaps, lotions and fragrance. It might seem impossible to escape them, which is probably true unless you're moving to the forest, but it is possible to minimise your exposure.
As far as grooming is concerned, choosing truly natural shaving cream, beard oil, lotion, sunscreen and cologne will help you to avoid paraben preservatives, synthetic scent and benzophenone, to name a few.
POPULAR DOESN'T MEAN GOOD OR NATURAL
The most popular or most advertised products on the market are likely to be the ones with the biggest marketing budgets, which likely means the less money for ingredients. In short: the most popular products are usually the most synthetic.
So don't just look for products you've seen on TV or recognise. Ask an eco-friendly friend what they use and where they get it, focus more on the ingredients rather than the brand, and don't assume that just because something is popular it's probably harmless.
EVERYTHING IS UNISEXLet's be honest, beyond the pink or grey jar and images of the 'it' girl or guy, what's in the jar or bottle is pretty much the same. Scent aside, the formulas for most skincare and fragrance is EXACTLY the same for men's products as well as for women's. It's all just marketing.
You might be thinking "But what about men's cologne vs women's perfume?" Well since we perfume creators and manufacturers we can tell your the formulas are the same. The only thing that separates a mens cologne from a woman's perfume the fact that men (on average) tend to prefer more woody, clean, dry scents, whereas women more often tend to prefer softer, more floral scents.
But this is not a rule. Do not be governed by it. Get past the packaging and look for products that work for you.
Smell great with rose notes? Fantastic! Prefer your girlfriend's eye cream to yours? Great! Everything is unisex, it all depends on your personal preferences.
And this is especially helpful to know in the current market for natural and organic skincare and fragrance, which barely gives men a second thought. So find something you like and use the heck out of it.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Finally, here are our tips on how to make going low-tox easier for the guys:
1. Widen your vision
Don't expect to find great natural skincare or fragrance at the same old place. Look outside of the places you normally shop. Try a large health food or organic grocery store, larger pharmacies and online retailers. Some of the best brands are the hardest to find if you're only looking at the mall. Ask your low-tox friends where they get theirs.
2. Learn to read labels
That can feel like an enormous task at the start - so many of those words are completely unrecognisable. Reading labels is important, though, on everything you use and everything you eat and drink. It's empowering to know what you're putting in and on your body, and not to just trust that the brands you love would never use questionable ingredients. Because they do. And they are allowed to by lack of legislation in this area.
A basic rule of thumb to start with is to avoid labels with unrecognisable words, or words that sound like chemicals. But that's not quite enough as labelling laws in Europe demand that each ingredient is included in its common name and INCI name (usually latin) as well as allergens declared (which sounds scary but aren't really as even harmless and gentle rose oil contains potential allergens).
Start using resources like The Chemical Maze (an app or a pocketbook), EWG (Environmental Working Group) or The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics as resources to learn more about what to look for, what to avoid, and which chemicals are most hazardous. Some of these databases will also give you suggestions of brands to look for and some to avoid.
You can also download our quick list of common toxic perfume ingredients as a good starting point.
3. Start somewhere.
It may seem overwhelming, all this talk about toxic chemicals being so prolific, and finding ways to avoid them. But it doesn't have to be. While avoiding the ingredients altogether is the ideal, it's not going to happen in the current state of affairs, so the best you can do is minimise your exposure in ways that are possible for you to do.
For every small change you make you are lessening your body's toxic load, and voting with your dollar for safer, more natural cosmetics. So start somewhere.
We suggest starting with deodorant (helps you to avoid aluminium, parabens, propylene glycol and synthetic scent and allows your body to eliminate waste products the way it was designed to - through sweating) and your fragrance (which helps you avoid up to hundreds of synthetic aroma molecules and musks, benzophenone, several phthalates and artificial colours).
Looking for a low-tox unisex scent? Find our collection here.
