Eco Friendly = Health Friendly

Health Friendly Eco Friendly = “If you can’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin.” —Carl Johns

by Carl Johns, LMT, Mountain Medicine Integrative Wellness Center

I’m sure I am not the first person to utter this quote, but I’ve been saying it to massage therapy students for decades — let’s think about what we put on our skin.

What goes into that product goes into you, so take a look at those ingredients and see how appetizing they are.

As a massage therapist,

I only use good-quality organic olive oil on my clients’ skin. The ingredient is organic olive oil, and it has been used as a “beauty product” on the skin for millennia. It nourishes inside and out — which are not separate — so put it on your salad, use it in your cooking, put it on your skin. You can’t go wrong!

We live in an age of chemicals and are exposed to thousands of them all around us every day.

Given the track records of major industrial producers of these chemicals, we would be wise to avoid synthetic ingredients in everything we consume, including through our skin. We should always choose 100% organic products for our skin.

Even if the ingredients are natural, if they’re grown in the realm of industrial agriculture with the use of powerful chemical pesticides and herbicides, those chemicals will also enter you through your skin.

Read labels, ask practitioners what products they are applying to your skin, and make informed choices for your health at every opportunity. Often the things that are most simple, and have been around forever, such as organic olive or coconut oils, are the best choices.

The 20th century brought us a petrochemical revolution, and the rise in use of those petrochemicals in our food, personal care products, medicine, clothing, building materials and household goods has correlated directly with a decline in human health and a decline in the health of the Earth.

Alan Watts, author and interpreter of Eastern disciplines, once said, “As an apple tree apples, the Earth peoples.”

We are of the Earth just like every other plant, animal or ecosystem. All the little choices matter; the most important choices now are the ones that support simple, regenerative practices — regenerating you and regenerating your environment.

Yes, what you choose to put on your skin will contribute to making this beautiful planet livable for future generations.