Women on average use 12 personal care and cosmetic products per day, which is about 168 different chemical ingredients. The problem is that many of these ingredients are toxic, including high amounts of numerous deadly heavy metals, including lead (61-70% of lipstick), nickel (nearly 100% of cosmetics), beryllium, thallium, aluminum, cadmium, and arsenic.

This year has been a year of decluttering, simplifying, and going green, and as a result, I had some surprising farewells in my life. This was done all in the name of staying emotionally and physically healthy. I started with common items that were inevitably negatively affecting my health. The first to go? Plastic.

I've never been so great at making (or keeping) New Year's Resolutions. Last year, as January 1st came and went, I didn't vow to change a thing. However, looking back over this past year, I realized I made some pretty significant changes.