HOW TO IMPROVE OUR FEMININE HEALTH

It’s not like keeping our feminine health requires us to go through a complicated routine, right? As long as we keep up with our regular monthly check-ups, we should be good. Unfortunately, that’s not the case. With the way our lifestyle is set up nowadays, we run ourselves ragged and don’t realize how it affects us until we experience certain symptoms.

It is increasingly common to hear women in their twenties, thirties, and even forties talk about how they are “too young” or “not there yet” to start thinking about what to do about their health. But the plain truth is that all of us should be aspiring to have healthy bodies, along with a strong immune system. After all, bad health doesn’t just affect older people – many young adults are also noticing symptoms of certain conditions that can become more severe as they age.

MY FEMININE HEALTH EXPERIENCE

As a young lady, I had no idea what effect my body care products were having on my health. I just blindly followed the herd and used what everyone else used: harmful or ineffective products that caused me immense harm or no results. It wasn’t until I got into the self-care, skincare, and beauty industry that I learned the truth about these products and their ability to destroy my health, both short-term and long-term (hint: it’s bad). This post is for all of you lovely ladies out there who use harmful, poor-quality products on your body all day, every day.

While beauty is subjective, and an individual’s ‘ideal appearance’ is typically based on societal principles and the significance we place on physical appearance in our culture, we should be conscious of what we put on our bodies.

EFFECTS OF CERTAIN PRODUCTS ON FEMININE HEALTH

There are some of the things that we often do without giving much thought—the everyday activities that can put a strain on our reproductive organs. It is a known fact that the type of products we choose to use on our body can have a direct impact on how healthy we are both inside and out. The items women use every day are destroying their feminine health. Does that sound like an overstatement?

Well, on the last episode of the women and health series, we interviewed Kannava Clothing, Lone Design Club, and had a briefing on what OrganiCup is about. I realized that adopting a sustainable lifestyle should be the priority for most women if not all.

Here’s why, as women, we tend not to consider the amount of waste created each month by disposable period products, the chemicals they often contain, that we put inside our bodies, and the young people who stay away from school because they are ashamed of their periods. Let’s be honest, we put tampons and pads in our bodies every month and never really think about it. We automatically assume that these products are safe and they do not cause any damage to our health.

Imagine you were throwing away around 5-7 tampons or pads every single day, every single month. Chances are you’re reading this and can’t even imagine how many that is, the poor wildlife that the plastics and pads enter every month, but most importantly: what these products do to your body and health.

Think about what you’re putting in your body when you combine the toxins in tampons and pads. The average woman uses around 16 lbs of tampons and pads in their entire lifetime! And yes, before you even get your hands on this blog post, I know all about organic cotton and unbleached unprocessed paper products. But these products are incredibly hard to find, especially the organic and unbleached kind, and more than likely they were made by a company that doesn’t utilize the highest level of environmental protection practices.

It’s not even that I’m here to tell you that there are lots of choices when it comes to your feminine hygiene, but that when you really look at the damage they do to your body and health, you should eliminate them completely. Letting your body cleanse (and heal) naturally instead of relying on chemicals and plastics will do wonders for your life. And that is what OrangiCup prioritise.

CHOICE OF CLOTHING ON FEMININE HEALTH

What about our clothing? Are we conscious of what they are made up of? What are the processes involved? It’s not just toxic chemicals in your hair, makeup, and skincare products that are affecting your health. Almost all non-organic fabrics are doused with toxic chemicals including formaldehyde, microfibers, dyes, flammable liquid treatments, flame retardants, and pesticides. When it comes to female health, many of us are guilty of the following three everyday habits. Clothed in synthetic clothing, soaked under steamy showers, and predisposed to toxic chemicals.

Unfortunately, most of these toxic chemicals are released into your body the moment you wear any non-organic fabrics – including underwear – against your skin. This includes lingerie.

So, here’s the score. Synthetic fabrics – including your non-organic underwear – constantly release toxic chemicals into your body. You’re constantly being exposed to a cocktail of nasties that are slowly deteriorating your natural ability to regulate hormonal levels and constantly causes more of those pesky hormones to be filtered out of the urine through your kidneys, which of course results in continually high or constantly fluctuating hormone levels.

To exacerbate the situation, your skin is the largest barrier in protecting your body against harmful toxins. Therefore, even if you were able to wash away most of the toxins in the water or in soaps, you still have to worry about toxins penetrating through your skin when you wear non-organic fabrics. That is why I found the interview with Kannava Clothings really enlightening.

Kannava is a social enterprise that aims to support a number of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. They are a slow fashion brand that believes in sustainability and is anti-fast fashion. They work in partnership with female refugees, paying a fair wage to allow them to become economically empowered, and improve their living conditions. To improve education, Kannava contributes a portion of profits to schools operating in the refugee camps.

So, now we have established reasons why you should start considering a more sustainable lifestyle, Where do you start? Now we know that these fabrics and some feminine hygiene products may be destroying your health, you can do something about it. Start buying organic. Buy organic, natural fiber clothes and bedsheets. Make your home toxin-free by purchasing natural, chemical-free cleaners and disinfectants. Instead of having foam or microfiber pillows that leach toxins into your body while you sleep, consider using an old-fashioned feather or buckwheat pillows.

But where can you source these organic products? you may wonder. The Lone Design Club. The mission of the Lone Design club is to connect you to ethical, independent fashion and lifestyle brands. They have a portal to their community of independent designers, open anytime, anywhere. Each designer in the Lone Design Club community is available on their online store, with exclusive glimpses into their design process and inspiration featured. The selection of designers constantly evolves as new brands join. This should be your one-stop store if you are considering switching to a sustainable lifestyle.

I strongly suggest you visit them and read up on other feminine health issues I have previously talked about here

Until next time, continue to be conscious about your body, grow and develop – we never stop learning.

Do follow us on social media for daily encouragement 🙂

Lots of Love,

C xx