The exact products I use on my skin, hair, and body.
These are the clean / low-tox products I actually reach for and have personally used for years. Everything here is fragrance-free, gentle enough for sensitive skin,
and one click away on Amazon. And you DO NOT need to toss your whole cabinet this weekend... The best way to implement this is to swap one thing as
it runs out, and continue to do this. Also, there is a grocery cheat-sheet at
the end too, for when you are reading labels in the store!
@byleilabela
Start Here
How to use this
The goal is fewer synthetic fragrances and shorter ingredient lists, over
time. Every product here earned its spot by being something
I use and love.
The one rule
Fragrance is the first thing I swap. On a label, "fragrance" or
"parfum" is a legal catch-all that can hide dozens of undisclosed ingredients / endocrine disrupters.
One word worth knowing
"Unscented" is not the same as "fragrance-free." Unscented
can still use a masking scent to cover the smell of the other ingredients. Fragrance-free means
none was added (or if you check the ingredients, no "fragrance" words should be on there).
The 60-Second Skill
How to read a personal-care label
A few things to keep an eye out for, the biggest no-nos:
Fragrance / parfum. The big one. A single word that can stand in for a
long list of undisclosed ingredients. Fragrance-free is the friendlier pick.
Phthalates. Often tucked inside that "fragrance" line, which is one more
reason going fragrance-free handles it.
Where "unscented" hides. "Unscented" can mean a masking scent was added to
cover a smell. The words that mean none was added are fragrance-free.
Shorter list, words you recognize. The same rule that works at the grocery
store works in the bathroom. When two products are otherwise equal, reach for the shorter one.
None of this is about fear. It is about knowing what you are looking at, so a
cleaner choice feels like second nature instead of a research project.
The Swaps · 01
Body & hair
The everyday basics, all fragrance-free. This is the easiest place to start
because you replace these the most often anyway.
Body wash
Dr. Bronner's Pure-Castile Liquid Soap
One honest bottle. Baby Unscented is fragrance-free castile soap that lathers with plant oils and rinses clean, no synthetic detergents. A little goes far, so I water it down in the shower and it lasts forever.
Sulfate-free, fragrance-free, and gentle enough for a sensitive scalp. Jojoba and green tea do the softening instead of a heavy scent, so my hair feels clean without that stripped, squeaky feeling.
A mineral-salt spray with no aluminum chlorohydrate, no parabens, and no synthetic fragrance. My trick: mist it on straight after the shower and wipe it off with a towel, and it holds all day. The one clean-swap that people are most surprised actually works.
Fluoride-free and SLS-free, with nano-hydroxyapatite (the mineral that tooth enamel is made of) doing the work instead of fluoride. Real peppermint oil, a short list, and a recyclable metal tube. This is the one I switched to.
Fluoride is a personal call, so talk to your dentist about what is right for you.
I reach for the fluoride-free version and my routine has felt great on it.
The Swaps · 03
Face
The routine that changed my skin.
This is the part people ask me about the most. Four fragrance-free, alcohol-free products,
used in this order morning and night. Since I simplified down to these, my skin has never looked
more even or felt more calm. Nothing harsh, nothing stripping, just quiet consistency.
1 Cleanse2 Tone3 Serum4 Moisturize
Step 1 · Cleanse
S.NATURE Aqua Rice Foam Cleanser
A soft rice-foam cleanser with an EWG green-grade list. It takes the day off without that tight, over-washed feeling, so my skin feels clean and still comfortable. Fragrance-free and vegan.
A milky rice-water toner with niacinamide and ceramides. I pat a few drops in after cleansing and it preps my skin so everything after it sinks in better. This is the glass-skin step. Fragrance-free.
The one everyone knows for a reason. Five weights of hyaluronic acid, lightweight and fast-absorbing, no sticky finish. This is my hydration step and it plumps everything up. Fragrance-free and alcohol-free.
A gel-cream that seals it all in without feeling heavy or greasy. It calms any redness and leaves my skin bouncy instead of coated. The soft landing at the end of the routine. Fragrance-free.
I only use mineral sunscreen, and only non-nano zinc.
Daily SPF
Sky and Sol Mineral Sunscreen SPF 50
A grass-fed tallow base that actually sinks in, at SPF 50 and fragrance-free, with a list short enough that I can read the whole thing on the tube. It blends without the chalky white cast I kept running into with other mineral formulas, so I reach for it.
I make this one myself for only my body. It does wonders and I've never looked back. Also a great and loving gift for others :)
Store lotion is where hidden fragrance / harmful chemicals love to live, so this is the swap I make from scratch.
Three whole ingredients and a little vitamin E. The trick to creamy instead of oily is the
ratio and the whip, so follow the proportions and do not skip the cool-and-whip
at the end. Links to all the products I use at the bottom!
What goes in
1/2 cup raw shea butter
1/4 cup raw cocoa butter
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tsp vitamin E oil
More butter than oil is what keeps a creamier consistency.
How I make it
Melt the shea and cocoa butter together in a double boiler over low heat,
gently, until just liquid.
Take it off the heat and stir in the coconut oil last, so it melts from
the residual warmth instead of overheating.
Stir in the vitamin E oil at the very end.
Chill the bowl in the fridge for about 30 to 45 minutes, until the edges
turn opaque and it is soft-set, not fully hard.
Whip it with a hand mixer for 2 to 3 minutes until it is light and
fluffy, then spoon into a clean glass jar. That whip is what makes it creamy instead of
oily. Amber glass keeps the oils from oxidizing in the light.
Low-tox doesn't only apply to household / beauty products. The exact skill that works on a shampoo bottle works
on a cereal box: flip it over and read the ingredients. The front
of the box is marketing. The back is the TRUTH. Here is what I reach for and what I avoid.
Reach for
Whole, full-fat milk and yogurt, plain
Butter, olive, avocado, and coconut oil
Grass-fed and pasture-raised when the budget allows
A short list of words you recognize and can read.
Real cane sugar, honey, or maple, in small amounts
Soybean & "vegetable" oil. On a label, "vegetable oil" almost always
means soybean, canola, or a seed-oil blend, the most processed and most common fat hiding in
packaged food. I cook with butter, olive, avocado, or coconut instead.
"Natural flavors." One tidy line that can legally stand in for dozens of
undisclosed extracts and additives. Not alarming on its own, but fewer mystery terms is
always a nicer sign.
High-fructose corn syrup. A cheap sweetener that tends to travel with the
more processed products. Cane sugar, honey, or fruit lower on the list is the friendlier
version.
Artificial dyes. Color that came from a lab, not from food. The easiest
thing to spot and swap, and the organic version of the same snack almost never has them.
Artificial sweeteners. Aspartame, sucralose, ace-K, common in "zero sugar"
and "light" drinks. Worth noticing, especially on anything for kids.
Why I buy whole milk
When the fat is skimmed out, the fat-soluble vitamins go with it,
and vitamins A, D, E, and K actually need fat to absorb. Full-fat also keeps me fuller longer, so it also minimizes any cravings for more and that munchy never-full feeling. I buy it plain and whole and add my own fruit or
honey. Flavored cups are often where brands sneak in gums and added sugar.
The one rule, again
When two products are otherwise equal, reach for the one with the
shorter list of words you can pronounce. That single habit does most of the work, in
the bathroom and the kitchen both.
None of this is about fear or cutting the joy out of food. It is about knowing what
you are looking at, so a better choice feels effortless.
The Swaps · 07
Protein powder
The one I would change first.
Protein powder is the swap I put off the longest, and it is the one I would change first now.
In 2025 the Clean Label Project tested 160 of the best-selling powders in the US. Nearly half went
over at least one federal or state safety threshold for heavy metals, and about a fifth came in at
more than double California's Prop 65 limit for lead.
The pattern underneath that number is what actually changed how I shop. Plant-based powders carried
roughly three times the lead of whey-based ones, and chocolate came in far higher in cadmium than
vanilla. Both make sense once you know that plants and cocoa pull metals up out of the soil they grow
in. The powder is only as clean as the dirt behind it.
I am not telling you protein powder is dangerous. I am telling you that almost no brand shows you
what is in the tub. That is the only question I ask now: do they third-party test for contaminants,
and do they publish the certificate.
Daily protein · 20g
Lineage Animal-Based Complete (Chocolate)
Grass-fed milk and whey with organs, colostrum, and real fruit, and no gums, fillers, or artificial sweeteners. They test every ingredient for 300+ contaminants and publish the COAs right on the product page, which is the part that sold me. For the chocolate they screened more than a dozen cocoa sources and picked the one lowest in heavy metals. This is the tub on my counter.
Toasted coconut, macadamia, and vanilla, with 20g of grass-fed protein under 200 calories. No sugar alcohols, gums, or fiber syrups, so it does not sit heavy. Same testing standard as the powder. This is the one that lives in my bag.
My link takes 15% off with the code LEILA10 at checkout. It opens the full shop rather than a
single product, so pick your flavor and size from there.
The Swaps · 08
Clothing
The swap nobody talks about.
This one took me the longest to see. Performance fabric is where PFAS live, the water-repellent and
odor-resistant coatings that do not break down. Dyes and wrinkle finishes sit in the same category.
You wear all of it warm, damp, and pressed against skin for hours at a time.
I donated the pieces I did not feel aligned with anymore, and I replaced the rest as they wore
through, starting with what sits closest to me all day, which was underwear. Now when I put on
polyester I can feel the difference. It is restrictive in a way I did not notice until I stopped
wearing it.
Everyday basics
Allwear
Organic cotton hoodies, crews, and sweat shorts, certified free from PFAS, pesticides, and toxic dyes. They publish the standard instead of gesturing at it. Sizes run XXS up, and the pieces hold their shape after a lot of washes.
A Copenhagen brand doing underwear, activewear, and the plain layers I reach for without thinking. Lower-impact materials, and the fabric still feels soft rather than stiff. This is most of my drawer now.
Organic Pima cotton, which is longer-staple than standard cotton, so it wears in instead of pilling. The Genny thong is the one I buy on repeat, and their pajamas are the best I own.
LEILA10 takes 10% off at Allwear, and my Organic Basics link takes 10% off at checkout.
Skin Worldwide is not an affiliate link. I include them because I wear them.
✦ ✦ ✦
Start with one swap
You do not have to change everything to change something. Pick one swap this week, let it become your new normal, then reach for the next. Low-tox living is not a rulebook you follow perfectly. It's about creating a new standard of defaults you and your families can reach for.
If this made your cabinet feel a little lighter, come find me. I would love to know which swap you are starting with.
If this resonated with you, and you want to live a more holistic life and glow up from the inside out, that's exactly what I do with my girls.
This guide is educational and reflects my own personal-care routine. It is not medical advice and
does not diagnose, treat, or cure any condition. Patch-test new products, and check with your
doctor or dermatologist for what is right for your skin.
ByLeilaBela
The Clean Swaps List
My go-to low-tox swaps for your home and your routine. Add your details and it’s yours.
The PDF opens right after this, and a copy lands in your inbox. Unsubscribe anytime. No spam, ever.
