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5 everyday products I’d look at first, if I was starting my low-tox journey again.
How many of us really use gloves when cleaning our home? Everyone is pretty aware that our cleaning products have some nasty chemicals in them, but do we know what is really in our body care products?
If you’ve ever looked into low-tax living and felt instantly overwhelmed, you’re not alone. I remember feeling like I had to question everything. Every product. Every label. Every ingredient. And then when I did start looking into things, I realised some of the “natural” products weren’t really that natural, or safe, after all. It’s a lot.
So if you’ve been sitting there thinking “Where do I even start?” then you’re in the right place.
The truth is…
most of what we’re exposed to doesn’t come from rare or complicated things.
It comes from the everyday products we use without even thinking about them.
So instead of trying to change everything…
I want to gently show you a few places you could start.
No pressure. No perfection.
Just a simple place to begin.
1. Fabric softener
This is one of those products that feels so normal. It smells “clean”… so it must be a good thing, right? We’ve watched the ads and been trained to believe that when our clothes feel soft and smell a certain way then we know they’re clean.
But that strong laundry aisle smell usually isn’t coming from anything natural. I avoid that aisle during nearly every visit to the shops.
What to look out for:
That overpowering scent that lingers long after the wash. If your fabric softener proclaims to be have a certain scent, scan the ingredients and find how it’s added. If it’s a lavender scent and it contains pure lavender oil, then that’s fine, but if it doesn’t, it’s likely to be a lab created imitation lavender scent.
A gentle first step:
Try going without it for a week and see how your clothes (and skin) feel. If you want to make your own replacement there are a couple of simple recipes on my Free Resources page. You can either use straight vinegar with a pure essential oil of your choice, or a mix of salt water and vinegar with a pure essential oil of your choice.
2. Deodorant (for the whole family)
This one is easy to overlook because it’s such a daily habit, and again, we’ve been sucked into the marketing that tells us we need 24 hour (or sometimes 48 hour) “protection” from sweating.
We don’t really question it — we just use it.
What to look out for:
Long ingredient lists and strong artificial fragrance ingredients. Anything that is labelled as an “anti-perspirant” contains chemicals that stop your pores from sweating – keeping all the toxins locked inside your body.
A gentle first step:
When your current one runs out, give your arm pits a detox by using any face mask on your arm pits. Try a simpler option (a deodorant rather than an anti-perspirant) and give your body a bit of time to adjust. I wrote about the recommended steps to swap to a natural deodorant instead of a toxic anti-perspirant.
3. Perfume
This is a big one — and often the most surprising.
Perfumes are designed to last… which means they’re often made from synthetic fragrance rather than real plant ingredients. I speak more about these synthetic ingredients and the impact they can have on your body in another post.
What to look out for:
Anything labelled just as “fragrance” without a clear natural ingredient. The big companies are allowed to label their perfumes with ‘secret’ ingredients to protect their brands, but the consumer is the one that suffers.
A gentle first step:
Start becoming more aware of what you’re wearing each day — you don’t need to throw everything out at once. Start by replacing one of your everyday perfumes with a natural version – check out this short list of options. Be extra vigilant about what perfumes you allow your growing children to access.
4. Candles
Candles can make a home feel calm, cosy, and welcoming. They have also been used as beautiful, trendy gifts for the last decade or so.
But again — that scent usually isn’t coming from natural sources. And that means you’re breathing in toxic chemicals again. If you find candles calming find some alternatives here. If you use candles to make your room or house smell a certain way, then use a diffuser instead.
What to look out for:
Vague ingredient lists and candles that create soot.
A gentle first step:
Notice how often you’re using scent to shift the feel of your home — and swap one candle for a pure essential oil in a diffuser instead.
5. Air fresheners
These are often full of synthetic fragrance too…even the ones that seem “fresh” or “clean.”
What to look out for:
Anything that smells like lemon, lavender, or orange — but isn’t actually made from real ingredients. Usually air fresheners only have one purpose – to disperse a nice smell throughout a room, but sometimes the choice you make at the shops results in toxic chemicals being dispersed around your house instead.
A gentle first step:
Start swapping out one product at a time rather than trying to replace everything at once. If it’s a simple room spray you need, find an empty bottle and fill it with witch hazel extract or vinegar and choose the pure essential oil you desire (orange for a toilet spray, peppermint for an office spray).
A simple way to think about it
If all of this still feels a bit confusing, you’re not alone.
Here’s something that helped me simplify it:
If something smells like orange, lavender, or lemon…but isn’t actually made from those ingredients…that’s a good place to start paying attention.
You don’t need to understand everything.
You just need to start noticing.
The main reason I focus on these everyday products is because some ingredients can interfere with our hormones. And that matters — especially when we’ve got growing kids and when our own bodies are moving toward perimenopause and menopause.
But again — this isn’t about fear.
It’s just about awareness… and small changes over time will make a big difference.
If you’ve been wanting to make some changes, but didn’t know where to start…I hope this gives you a simple way in.
You don’t need to do all of this at once.
Just pick one thing that feels doable this week.
If you’d like a really simple checklist of what to look for (without needing to overthink it), I’ve put everything into one place for you. You can grab my Ditch the Toxic Load Cheat Sheet and just take what feels helpful 💚
✅ If you could only do one thing this week…
Start with perfumes.
Have a quick look through what you’ve got at home.
If there are perfumes you haven’t worn in years — it might be time to let them go.
And instead, invest in one natural perfume you’ll actually use and feel good about.
Some of my favourites are: