Is your Bra Toxic?

I'm sure you are thinking what? My bra, toxic? What is this chic talking about? Well ladies I have a little story to tell you that shocked me too! 

Last week I went out to find new bras. I was all excited because I actually got to do this without my toddler! So I set off to the mall to pamper myself a little with some new undergarments. Fast forward to Monday morning. I wore said new bra on Saturday and Sunday and woke up to extremely itchy skin and there it was a bra shaped rash on my body. (I'll spare you and not share any photographs  :) Now I did what any good oiler would do and I grabbed my Lavender and Helichrysum. Lavender can be used to cleanse and soothe minor skin irritations, can be soothing to the skin after a day in the sun, reduces the appearance of blemishes, and supports aging skin. While Helichrysum is perfect to add to your daily skin care regimen to enhance the appearance of skin and make a great post workout massage too! I slathered them on and went about my day.

But something kept bothering me. Why was I having a reaction to a bra? So I asked a friend who happens to be a lactation consultant and pretty much knows everything about the "ladies" and I was shocked to learn that most likely my reaction was from formaldehyde! Yup you heard me formaldehyde! So I went to do a little research on what it would be on my bra. 

Formaldehyde, most commonly known as embalming fluid, serves a number of purposes in manufactured products. It is actually frequently used in fabrics to give them a variety of “easy care properties” such as:

According to the American Contact Dermatitis Society, rayon, blended cotton, corduroy, wrinkle-resistant 100 percent cotton, and any synthetic blended polymer are likely to have been treated with formaldehyde resins.

Now I have know for a long time that formaldehyde is a common ingredient in many personal care products such as hairspray and even baby products (I will not mention any names but you all know who I'm talking about here). I have been making my own hairspray with essential oils like Lavender and  Cedarwood for about 2 years now and purchase all of my other personal care products that I don't make from Young Living to reduce the toxins. But my clothes! Really! 

While I will be returning these to toxic bras and searching out more natural alternatives that won't irritate my skin in the meantime I will be making sure to wash everything I wear in my Thieves laundry soap before wearing it to help reduce the amount of chemicals on my clothing. It's funny I always wash ALL of Berlynn's clothes before I ever let her wear them but just never did it for myself : ) 

To find out more about living a toxin free lifestyle and Young Living join me for an online class.