How to be as “NATURAL” as possible in the bathroom

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #NaturalGoodness #CollectiveBias

Is it possible to live a clean and somewhat natural lifestyle when you have a family to take care of, a full-time business to run, and an unusual schedule to keep? YES! Sometimes the last thing you want is a DIY tutorial on how to make all of your own products when you have so much to do.

So instead, here is a short list of what we typically do in the bathroom without fancy prep while still managing to be as close to nature as possible:

Using the toilet

You would think that with a blog name called “Modern Life Survivalist” that we would be using the woods for our toilet. You are partly correct. We do use the woods in the middle of the night when we are sleeping out in the tent! We sleep out many nights to get some fresh air and good electrons that you would otherwise be missing out on in the morning when sleeping indoors. During the day or when we don’t sleep out, we use the bathroom like the civilized.

We use this thing called a Squatty Potty Toilet Stool that sits on the bottom of your toilet. You rest your feet on it, so your legs are elevated and your knees are bent more. It’s supposed to replicate the most natural position for bowel movement. I must say, if you are having problems with constipation, the squatting position seems to help!

This may seem ironic for a naturalist, but we avoid using some toilet paper and other paper products that are heavily marketed as “recycled.” We believe that although these may save some trees from being cut down, the process it takes to recycle these products takes a great amount of energy, uses a lot more chemicals, and puts off more pollution to make that happen. Many of these so called “green” products and initiatives, although not all are bad, may be good for the planet in some ways, but on the flip side, may not be friendly to the human body.

Brushing teeth

Before I begin on the topic of dental work, know that we firmly believe from much of Weston A Price’s research on tribal diets that what you eat plays a major role in oral health. That means lots of vitamin K2 sourced from organ meats (or supplementation), organic foods, and low carbohydrates and sugars. When we take care of our insides, our outsides benefit. However, considering the environment we’re living in, we still utilize regular hygiene maintenance to undo any of the stress we experience from external toxins!

I know I said no DIYs, but these are very easy:

Easy DIY: Rob was using activated charcoal for a while. It’s a great supplement to use to draw out toxins in your body. He would just open up a capsule, spill it on a wet (with spring water) toothbrush, and brush his teeth with it. Rinse and repeat (or just rinse). Although it works great for making your teeth cleaner and whiter (ironically), it stains your sink really bad and can stain your clothes too. It was good for his teeth but not good for my sanity!

Moderate DIY: I personally haven’t done the “oil pulling” method where you swish coconut or olive oil in your mouth then spit it out like a mouthwash, but Rob has tried it. It works just like activated charcoal and pulls out toxins. Although not required, you will want to use an essential oil like peppermint if you do not want the smell of coconut or olive oil in your mouth. To make this less of a mouthwash and more of a toothpaste, you can mix lemon juice to the oil and baking soda until the consistency is thicker.

What We Actually Currently Use: Tom’s of Maine® has been our favorite safe brand to use for a commercial toothpaste. We landed on it originally because we were trying to find a non-mint toothpaste, because mint is known to exacerbate acid reflux when you have it. It was really hard to find something like this, but luckily Tom’s has several alternative flavors to mint, and that has been a godsend. We’ve done the fennel one, as well as the propolis & myrrh. There is also a neem flavor that we’ve yet to try. On top of this important personal need that it meets, when we first tried it, we also found to our delight that:

• It has no preservatives or artificial fragrances or colors
• Is cruelty free with no animal testing done
• Is made right here in the USA in Maine

You might have also noticed that they make other natural products like mouthwash, bar soap, and deodorant. You can watch a great intro video of Tom’s of Maine® or go to their website to learn more.

Tom’s of Maine® Simply White® Clean Mint Cavity Protection Toothpaste, 4.7oz. // Tom’s of Maine® Silly Strawberry® Anticavity Toothpaste, 4.2oz.

We’ve tried so many commercial toothpastes and found this brand to be mild and very accessible. Rob is dealing with bouts of MCS (multiple chemical sensitivity), and he can still use this toothpaste without any problems whatsoever. You can even find it at Walmart! Who knew? Right here is where I spotted Tom’s of Maine® toothpaste:

They will be having in-store demos where they will hand out free samples and coupons of Tom’s products at select Neighborhood Walmart locations on September 19th!

Showering

With the exception of days when we are soiled in dirt and heavy sweat, we don’t actually shower much at all. Somehow with a clean and natural diet, we find that we hardly get bad body odor! When we do decide to shower, we just use lukewarm to cold well water and a safe soap of our choosing to clean our bodies occasionally. I have found that this makes my hair grow longer, thicker, and shinier but without the greasy feeling. The cold water closes hair shafts to lock in moisture and leaves hair shiny.

I did get the greasy hair for awhile right after stopping regular hair washing with chemicals. Once my hair got back to nature’s sweet equilibrium, it eventually stopped getting greasy, though. I literally do “no poo,” without having to use apple cider vinegar or baking soda. I simply use water for my hair with the occasional coconut oil on both hair and skin.

Not everyone has the luxury of well water, so buying a shower filter will help get rid of additives in municipal water. These additives like chlorine, added fluoride, and waste products not only dry out hair and skin but also potentially cause much greater health issues. We bought a carbon shower filter ourselves for use outside our bathroom which is blessed with well water.

Miscellaneous bathroom hygiene

As far as shaving goes, prepping your skin with warm water (some do better with cold) and/or using coconut, olive, or shea butter as shaving cream works like a charm.

Rubbing the unskinned part of a potato on your armpits helps lighten dark pits.

———————————–

QUESTION: Care to share YOUR natural bathroom practices?

What easy DIYs and/or safe natural products do you also use (such as Tom’s of Maine®)? I’d love to hear!