A few years ago, I started listening to a health podcast that was run by a man named Dave Asprey. I started following him, listening to him, and reading his blog. He made me realize that I am surrounded by so many chemicals and taught me ways that I could do my part to keep my environment as clean as I possibly can. I started doing some research on the products I was using. I used an app called Think Dirty that Dave Asprey suggested (I will write more about this app later on in this post). I started scanning the products in my bathroom with this app. I could not believe how many chemicals were in my bathroom products. I was surrounded by dirty products that were not good for my health. Not one product I had was clean! My bathroom was like one big, giant monster made out of chemicals! Picture the Mindflayer from Stranger Things Season 3 when he is running after the car while Dustin is singing to his girlfriend. Me being the people in the car, chemical products being the Mindflayer! I needed to take this monster down... maybe not by singing though :)
My Painful History With Contact Solution
I use a lot of products so it has taken me a while to gather up all these clean products. I didn't want to break the bank so I accepted the dirty products I had and slowly started to make the switch. I first started with my contact solution. I had a terrible experience with the contact solution so this needed to be the first switch. I was using Clear Care solution, the solution with the red cap, that was supposed to be deep cleaning my contacts. It was going okay for a while but the next bottle was painful. I opened the bottle and continued my normal routine. But this time it wasn't so normal. Something happened that had never happened before. My skin turned white, bubbled up, and I had a burning sensation. My eyes turned red and were burning. I had to quickly wash my hands and get the contacts out of my eyes. My eyes watered for a while afterward. I couldn't believe it. I had to wear my glasses for the rest of the day. I tried the solution again the next day, thinking it was just a fluke situation. Nope. The same thing happened. I went out, got something else, and started doing research about which contact solution was the cleanest.
Making the Switch
I found that Clear Care had phosphoric acid in it, an ingredient that is found in cola beverages, coffee, breakfast cereal bars, and more. I'm not sure if that is what caused the reaction but it was a major difference in the contact solution I am using now, which has no phosphoric acid. It was pretty hard to find a completely clean contact solution because many contact solutions on the market have sodium borate in it which is an ingredient that is half clean and half dirty. I found a contact solution that was rated at a 5 on the Think Dirty App instead of an 8 so I decided to go with it. It is Opti-Free Replenish. The ingredients listed are sodium borate, rated at a 5. Propylene Glycol rated at a 3. Sodium Chloride, rated at a 0. It has a lower risk of respiratory and skin irritation and a lower risk of damaging fertility than other contact solutions. Switching to this, I have no issues as I did with Clear Care. My dry eye irritation has cleared up, my eyes are not red, and my contacts are clean. I feel much better using this solution. I was on my way to wiping out the giant chemical monster that was my bathroom!
Think Dirty App
The Think Dirty App has been a gamechanger in my life. I am able to have an app on my phone that is unbiased and easily accessible that helps me keep my products clean. This is an app that scans products, tells you what ingredients are in them, and whether they are clean or dirty. If an ingredient is dirty it tells you why and what it can cause. They take the ingredients and assess the overall risk of potential health impacts. It's a companion that has helped me stick with my goal of switching to a cleaner home. You can also shop through their app. When you scan a product, they give you a list of cleaner options to choose from. You click on the product and it tells you where you can find it. The clean product list is pretty extensive for most products, so you will have no problem finding something you want or like. Check it out on Google Play or Apple Store. It's FREE to download! Start searching for chemical-free products you can check out today!
Your Certified Brain Health Coach,
Ashley, Owner of SustainaBRAIN
