How far do I take this NATURAL Journey?

I've been thinking about the concept of living naturally....being "natural"...eating "natural" foods, having natural hair and so on.  

All this detoxification information I've been loading up on is really challenging me to think about the choices I'm making on this natural Journey.  And I'm not just talking about choosing to sport my natural kinky curly hair or eating all organic, whole foods.  I'm extending the provocation to what I put on my skin....nails....and face.

My personal definition of "NATURAL" is something straight from nature. Food (The Food Journey), hair (The Hair Journey) and everything else in on this earth can have the designation of natural or synthetic. Some synthetic substances are VERY close to their natural models.  Have you been looking around at the budding flowers and trees lately?  The hues and pigments are OUTSTANDINGLY perfect! Bright, vibrant, and pleasing to the eye.  Humans have done quite a job with replicating nature but the full benefits of nature will not be realized in our lives by consuming synthetic substances inspite of how much they resemble the real thing.

A synthetic flower

A real, natural flower

I feel pretty comfortable about the "conversion" to natural hair and food...but what I'm beginning to explore is the conversion to natural PERSONAL CARE products such as deodorant, toothpaste, nail polish, hair dye, lotions, skin creams and the toughest bag: face make up!

Now I'm not a big make up person, but I do like eye shadow, lipstick/lip gloss, and eyeliner....I also love to get creative with my finger and toe nail polish during the summer months.  I won't use synthetic/chemical dyes on my hair that are not natural. So if I'm concerned about the chemicals I put on my hair I should also re-think what I'm putting on my nails, skin and face right?

Synthetic materials are widely used not just for textiles and food, but also for personal care products.  Take a look at the ingredient list of your shampoo or lotion.  How many ingredients can you pronounce or recognize (The Health Journey: Detoxification...the Body)?

If my hair is in it's natural kinky curly state and I dye it with chemicals...should it still be considered "NATURAL"? Is it similar to proclaiming: "I'm a vegetarian....but I eat steak"? LOL.

I took a trek to the local natural food store to find non-synthetic toothpaste, deodorant, bath soap, and make up.  Okay....I can handle the toothpaste and bath soap.  I didn't have time to focus on the make up choices.  But the deo...the deo...the deo! Lord have mercy!  I picked up some mineral crystal deodorant, used it, and did not feel safe to lift up my arms without a whiff of something unpleasant being released!!!! My secret was not secure!!

I admit...I went back to using my chemical laden deodorant.    I'm not sure what the transition period is with the deo.  I'm feeling some kind of way about it....Maybe I need to go on a retreat to the forest get my underarms in order then return to the "struggle"......But I'm still on the search for non-synthetic make up and nail polish.

Any tips?  I need to do my research! I wonder how much more expensive this natural stuff will be? Why are things that are better more costly???? Sheesh!

More to come!

Peace and blessings!