Essential oils and IVF

[Xmishell37]

Hello, I've recently been making efforts to free my home as far as possible from environmental toxins in preparation for my next round of IVF, the book 'It starts with the egg' recommends not using plastics with BPA etc and also using fragrance free products like hand soap etc, I ordered alot of products from the website MadeKind recently which are all plant based (hand soap, dish wash, shampoo, body wash etc) but they're not fragrance free, they contain things like lavender, geranium, peppermint and rosemary, the whole point of it is that BPA in plastics etc are known hormone disruptors but i recently read something about lavender being a hormone disruptor and now I dont even know what to think now, its Saturday night and not being able to find appropriate shampoo/body wash/skin care products etc is driving me mad 😅 any advice/experience welcome 🤗 xx

[MrsOrangejuice]

Purely from personal experience I used products that had essential oils in during IVF rounds and also two pregnancies and everything's been fine. There are hormone disruptors and microplastics in mains water, and if you live or work in a city you'll likely be getting lungfulls of pretty heavy toxins. Not that any of this is OK and if you can cut out synthetic chemicals and plastics that have been shown to be hormone disruptors in a negative way, that's great. But also in the scheme of things it's very difficult if not impossible to avoid most of this stuff now and we've used and been exposed to natural essential oils for a lot longer than plastics and synthetic chemicals, and I'm not sure there's concrete link to any issues especially if it's small doses on your hair and skin, which is would be with cosmetics. Personally I wouldn't think twice and would prefer natural as far as possible. But if it will worry you and you'll blame yourself for any poor outcome, it may be worth trying a fragrance free range and maybe asking at a health food/natural beauty shop to see if they have any options - maybe ranges for sensitive skin/eczema etc.

[Xmishell37 in reply to MrsOrangejuice]

Thank you 💗 I agree it's impossible to avoid chemicals in daily life and when I first read ISWTE I initially felt alot more in control of things preparing for round2 ....until I went down the rabbit hole of looking into EVERYTHING and took it too far and just got stressed 😂 like u say il just do my best ☺️ xx

[Eggfreezer2015]

I also did the same, here are some of the things that I ended up doing/using and I’m 30wk+3 - natural as possible and fragrance free where option was available. They are all SLS and paraben free.

Tropics skincare range - they do hair, face and body - mainly purchased face products, basic makeup and there shampoo and conditioner

Sanex Zero - shower gel

Deodorant- salt of earth crystal

Body cream - varied between Weleda and balmonds

Perfume - none

Faith of nature and original source plant based handwash

Kiko - organic lipstick

Method and cover cleaning products

It is challenging to completely eliminate but cutting down where you can is the best that you can do.

Hope that helps x

[Xmishell37 in reply to Eggfreezer2015]

Oh wow thank you so much 💗 this is what I need...someone to tell me exactly where to go as I am SO done reading ingredients online!! 🤗 Happy shopping to me thanks!! Xx

[Wishinandahopin]

essential oils are fine, you just wouldn’t want to use concentrated essential oils direct on your skin. And a bit of lavender is fine- better than parabens and phthalates etc etc

The reduction you’ll have already made will be the biggest jump, it’s impossible to remove everything and it can drive us crazy and stress us out trying to do so. I found a balanced approach the best way.

I’m as clean-living as possible but still use some cleaning chemicals at home (for limescale etc) , I got my nails done a few times during pregnancy. I haven’t really checked my make up (though I only wear make up very occasionally). Etc etc. I’m now 36 weeks.

So just try and do what you can and let the rest go. (As hard as that is) the last thing you want is getting overly stressed about using the right products.

Wishing you so much luck!

[Xmishell37 in reply to Wishinandahopin]

Thank you 💗 you are right it's so easy to get stressed over it and I went from feeling great after reading the book, to becoming obsessive over reading ingredients within a few days 😂 I will take a chill pill and do what I can 😎 good luck for the rest of ur pregnancy!! 💗 Xx

[Am93]

hey, I’d recommend downloading the Yuka app, you can scan the barcodes of your usual products and the app will come up with a score of whether the product is excellent to poor and will suggest alternatives if needed. I’ve used it for a lot of things and it’s really useful to help you switch to better alternatives.

[Xmishell37 in reply to Am93]

Ohhhh this is what I need in my life before I go insane reading ingredient lists!! Didn't know this existed thank you so much 💗☺️ xx

[Am93 in reply to Xmishell37]

You’re welcome ☺️ I know it’s so much easier than trawling through ingredients and not knowing what to look for! Happy shopping 💖

[Xmishell37 in reply to Am93]

I've downloaded this already and it's seriously a game changer 😲 everyone should know about this app!! I'm walking about my house scanning everything and anything 😂 and telling my friends about it, love that it gives suggested alternatives!! Thanks again 🤗💗 xx

[Am93 in reply to Xmishell37]

😂 happy to have helped! Xx

[NemoFish]

That book has probably caused more grief through anxiety for people than it helps! It sounds like you’ve done a huge change already, and like others have said it would be near on impossible to completely eliminate everything. If the evidence for the book was totally justified then clinics would be recommending it from the start, but they don’t. I went down the rabbit hole when I started treatment a few years back and it just got obsessive. In the end all it did was make me more miserable! X

[Xmishell37 in reply to NemoFish]

I agree it's so easy to get caught up in it all and obsess over it, I'm already a very indecisive person so when it came to choosing products I just ended up stuck then regretted spending so much on fragrances (natural) products and thought i should have just went for fragrance free.... I'm replacing some bits this weekend then I'm done! It's taken over my life for a week and I do need to take a step back and chill and be comfy with the fact there are some things that just aren't within my control 🤗 xx