Words of Wellness with Shelly

Shelly's Shares: A Few of Her Favorites, Small Swaps, Longer Life: The Case For Low-Toxin Living

• Shelly Jefferis • Season 2 • Episode 147

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Want a simpler path through the wellness maze? Shelly opens up about two decades of testing “clean” products and shares the standouts that actually deliver: low-toxin skincare that feels good on your skin, safer scents that don’t hide mystery chemicals, and home essentials that make daily life easier without compromising your health. We also unpack the mindset behind better choices—clear standards, patient experimentation, and faith-grounded routines that keep you steady when marketing noise gets loud.

You’ll hear why a strong morning routine matters and how resources like the John Maxwell Bible, Activate Your Impact, The Miracle Morning, and Stillness Is The Key can shape focus, leadership, and calm. We walk through practical swaps: Branch Basics dishwasher pods that cut through dishes without the questionable ingredients, local soaps with transparent sourcing, and what we learned when a hyped non-toxic candle failed on burn time and scent throw. On the personal care front, Primally Pure’s antioxidant balm earns a spot in the nighttime lineup, Dazzle Dry nails the quick, durable manicure at home, and Kayla Gray perfume stands out for transparency and beautifully balanced fragrances.

Nutrition gets the same scrutiny. After ditching a “wellness” shake with artificial sweeteners, Shelly set a clear standard—no artificial flavors, dyes, or pesticides—and found Isagenix for clean protein, collagen, and organic, mold-tested coffee that’s gentle and jitter-free. For wine lovers, Scout and Cellar offers lower sugar, low-sulfite bottles made without chemical shortcuts, proving you can enjoy a glass and still feel aligned with your health goals.

If you’re ready to reduce toxins without chasing perfection, this episode gives you a practical roadmap and vetted recommendations you can trust. Share the show with a friend, leave a quick review to help others find us, and message us to join the Moms Who Flourish wellness mentorship starting in January. Let’s build steady habits, swap smarter, and feel better together.

CONNECT WITH SHELLY:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wellnesswithshellyj https://www.instagram.com/momswhoflourish
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ShellyJefferis

A few of Shelly's favorite clean products:

High quality, clean nutrition and beauty products: https://shellyjefferis.isagenix

Clean-crafted wine, free from chemicals & pesticides:
https://scoutandcellar.com/?u=healthyhappyhours

Cayla Gray- Non-toxic cologne & perfume: https://caylagray.com/wellnesswithshellyj (10% discount)

JuJu Non-toxic candles & air fresheners:
https://goodjujucandles.com/?ref=mrtgnygh
Coupon code for 10% off: ShellyJefferis

Thank you for listening to the Words of Wellness podcast with Shelly Jefferis. I am honored and so grateful to have you here and it would mean the world to me if you could take a minute to follow, leave a 5-star review and share the podcast with anyone you love and anyone you feel could benefit from the message.

Thank you and God Bless! And remember to do something for yourself, for your wellness on this day!
In Health,

Shelly

SPEAKER_00:

I have been really involved in the last, I don't know, two decades or so of learning and researching toxins and trying products that are non-toxic, striving to find products that are non-toxic. And, you know, it's an ongoing journey. And for those of you who are doing the same thing, you know what I mean. There's a lot of products out there that may might claim to be clean, might claim to be toxic-free, when in actuality they they might not be. So sometimes it takes a little extra time, effort, and research to really determine what is actually clean and non-toxic. Do you get confused by all of the information that barbards us every day on ways to improve our overall health and our overall wellness? Do you often feel stuck, unmotivated, or struggle to reach your wellness goals? Do you have questions as to what exercises you should be doing? What foods you should or shouldn't be eating? How to improve your overall emotional and mental well-being? Hello everyone, I am so excited to welcome you to Words of Wellness. My name is Shelly Jeffries, and I will be your host. My goal is to answer these questions and so much more. To share tips, education, and inspiration around all of the components of wellness through solo and guest episodes. With 35 plus years as a health and wellness professional, a retired college professor, a speaker, and a multi-passionate entrepreneur, I certainly have lots to share. However, my biggest goal and inspiration in doing this podcast is to share the wellness stories of others with you, to bring in guests who can share their journey so that we can all learn together while making an impact on the health, the wellness, and lives of all of you, our listeners. The ultimate hope is that you leave today with even just one nugget that can enhance the quality of your life and that you will, we all will, now and into the future, live our best quality of lives full of energy, happiness, and joy. Now let's dive into our message for today. Hello everyone. Welcome back to Words of Wellness. I am your host. My name is Shelly, and I'm excited to be here. And for all of our listeners, thank you for tuning in and listening. And if you're new to our Words of Wellness podcast, thank you for being here. We welcome you and appreciate you tuning in. Today's episode is our Shelly's Shares episode. And for those of you who are new, every Monday I put out an episode titled Shelly's Shares, and it includes either some education, information for our listeners, and or a little bit of my personal journey or a personal experience that I might be going through at that point in time. And then on Wednesdays is when we have our Words of Wellness guest episodes that come out. So thank you for being here and I appreciate you so much listening. Please, please feel free to share the podcast with a friend or a loved one. And if you haven't done yet done so, I would so appreciate a review, a five-star review that will also help get our podcast out there and be able to spread more of our words of wellness with the world. So I wanted to jump in today. Depending on when you might be listening to this, we are getting closer to Christmas and getting closer to the end of the year. And I just thought it would be kind of fun for me to share a few of my favorite things with you all. And I have kind of randomly shared a few things here and there on my podcast. I do have a few links in the show notes to some of my favorite products. And I'm just gonna share a little bit with you guys today of some of my favorite items. And for those of you who might not know, I have been really involved in the last, I don't know, two decades or so of learning and researching toxins and in trying products that are non-toxic, striving to find products that are non-toxic. And you know, it's an ongoing journey. And for those of you who are doing the same thing, you know what I mean. There's a lot of products out there that may might claim to be clean, might claim to be toxic-free, when in actuality they they might not be. So sometimes it takes a little extra time, effort, and research to really determine what is actually clean and non-toxic. And it's also a lot of trial and error. You know, some products out there I might try and go, ooh, I really like this, and then others I try and I go, not so much. I recently tried a candle that is non-toxic, and I really did not like them. Their fragrance wasn't there, and I I understand, you know, I understand it's non-toxic, so it might not be as fragrant, but also it it was it burned really fast. So, you know, when you purchase a candle these days, you want it to last some time. And these did not. And I'm not gonna share what company it it was, but it was a company I had been seeing and I'd been wanting to try them, and when they went on sale, I thought, let me give them a try. And uh I I wasn't really I wasn't really that impressed. So I have for many years ordered and used Antique Candle Company, and they're a hundred percent soy candles, and you know, I don't know that they are completely toxic-free. There are some other brands out there that I do want to try, uh, but they are they seem to be pretty clean, and they're the fragrance are very nice and very mild. So that is something that I have been using for many years. And so I wanted to share what I've discovered. Most of these products are are non-toxic, and I also want to share uh like my favorite book, a couple items like that with all of you. So let's let's dive in. So I was thinking about you know, like my morning routine, and I I take time in the morning. I have a couple Bible apps that I really, really love. And my Bible that I've been reading out of for the last year or so is the John Maxwell Bible, and I really love it because not only is it a great Bible, there, but there are also sections almost not every single page, but throughout the Bible that really kind of like highlight and break down some of the verses, and also it's a leadership Bible, so it breaks it down to to areas that apply to those of us who are leaders and entrepreneurs, and it's really, really cool. So if you haven't seen that yet, I highly encourage you to check it out. The John Maxwell Bible, it's really, really great. And I have to say, I have read so many books through the years, and I continue to read so many books, but I'm gonna share with you right now my favorite book. I'm actually reading it for the second time, is called Activate Your Impact, and it's written by Brooke Thomas, and it's a faith-based book, and it relates to our overall lives, business, family. It's so, so great. And like I said, I'm I'm reading it now for the second time, and I'm going through now and kind of highlighting and and making some notes, and it's it's an excellent, excellent book. Um, another one that I read years ago, um, The Miracle Morning, that's a really great book. And one last one I will mention is called Stillness is the Key. That book is excellent as well. I don't have the author right now off the top of my head, but Stillness is the key. It's a small book, it's a pretty easy read, but every chapter just shares a little bit different way to experience stillness in our day-to-day lives. So, like one chapter uh talks about walking and how to incorporate that. And it's just, it just is excellent. You know, I really believe that so many, so many people could really benefit from more stillness in their lives. So if that is you, grab this book. You will love it. Stillness is the key. And going into some of the products, so kind of moving on. I have some fun ones, I have some not too exciting ones. I mean, when it comes to cleaning products, I'm still kind of trying some various products to find what I really like. Um, and what I find is there might be something from one company that I really like, and then I get something from a different company. So perhaps I get laundry soap from one company and I get dishwasher soap from another. So one thing that I'm really liking for our dishwasher, Branch Basics has non-toxic cleaning products, and they have dishwasher pods that I'm really, really liking. So I've been using those for the last few months. Uh again, they're non-toxic, really easy. There's just a little pod you put in the dishwasher and you're good to go. You don't have to deal with liquid and squeezing out the liquid and the the, you know, the dishwasher soap. It's just a little pod that you put in the little container and you're good to go. And it works great. Uh, we have a local shop that makes soaps and laundry soap, so it's very, very clean. And so um, I love their their, especially their soap, smells so good. So if you can find something locally where you know that they're making the product right there in-house and that it's clean and non-toxic, by all means go for it, support locally anytime that you can. And then I have a company called Primary Pure that has non-toxic skincare, but they also have body wash, body care, deodorant, um, candles. And again, I have found a couple products from them that I really love. There's an antioxidant balm like a uh uh that I put on at nighttime on my face, and it's really great. So the company is primally pure, and so far, everything that I've tried from them, I have I've really liked. I haven't been a big fan of the masks that they have, but again, here's the thing: this is the beauty of this. You find these different companies and you try different things, and you're gonna find your favorites, and that's what I've been doing, and I've been doing this for a long time, so that's why I have certain favorite favorites with different companies, and I love that, and that's the way to go, you know, you might not like everything from one company, but find your favorite product, and and there you go, and and you can, you know, know that you have that that you're gonna order, and then maybe find some different products from another company, and find some favorites with another company when it comes to like your even your skincare. You know, you might find some different parts of your skincare routine that you you products you get from a different company, so you can mix and match. That's the beauty here, is my point. My favorite cologne, my favorite all-time cologne is Kayla Gray. And I love the founder, I love the owner. She's just a love, and uh, she has designed a product line of colognes, perfumes that are that are very low, potentially non-toxic, low toxin. She's very transparent with her ingredients, they smell amazing, and it's the only cologne that I use. And I discovered Kayla Gray about three and a half years ago now, I believe, and it's all I have used ever since. And if you go into the show notes, you'll see a link. And if you put in the um in the code, coupon code box, wellness with Shelly J, you will get a discount. So jump in and order. So, so good. My absolute favorite fragrance that she has is called Cozy, and I I have all various ones from her that I just absolutely love, but my all-time favorite has always been Cozy. So check it out. I also discovered non-toxic nail polish. Now, I've kind of through the years enjoyed doing my own nails. I don't, I haven't gone to the salon. I went, I think, before a vacation about a year and a half ago, but otherwise, I do my nails. And I don't know if how many of you have heard of Dazzle Dry, but it's a non-toxic nail polish. And it it's really fast. Like you put a couple different, there's a base coat, you put the color coat on, and then the top coat dries within five minutes. And they say that it dries and it looks like you've had a gel manicure done. And I will tell you that it looks great and it lasts a long time. So that's the non-toxic nail polish that I've discovered. And then when it comes to nutrition, I discovered years ago Isogenics, that is the wellness company that I am partnered with and the products that I do use. And you know, I everybody discovers products and finds their favorite. They're all coming from a different perspective and they all have a different story. My story was I had tried a company that had some protein powder products, um, one of which was a kids' shake, was giving it to my son, and looked at the label and discovered that it had artificial ingredients and artificial sweeteners, and so I threw the rest of that bag into the trash. Now, this was from quote a wellness store, end quote. So I made the mistake of assuming that it would be clean when it was not. So after that experience, I knew that any other nutrition product that I tried, it was gonna be clean from any of these artificial ingredients. So that's when I discovered a while bit later, I discovered isogenics. And it does not have any chemicals, no pesticides, nothing artificial, no artificial sweeteners. And that was exactly what I was looking for. So little did I know that it would also change my health, boost my energy, just change everything about my nutrition and my my day-to-day routine and my overall health. It's just blessed my life tremendously as it as it has blessed many, many others. But it's definitely my favorite protein powder, my favorite superfood shake, uh, my favorite collagen, um, so many products that I love from the company. And another favorite is our coffee. It is incredible. If you are a coffee drinker, this coffee is incredible. It's organic, it is tested for mold, it's very, very clean, and it's very, very mild on the stomach. Um, no jitters from it at all, and it tastes amazing. So I I mean I could go on about other other items, but those are some of the top ones that I love. But I again I could continue. But again, my link is in the show notes if you want to check any of the products out. Feel free to to browse, check it out. And as always, feel free to reach out with any questions. I'm always, always open to answer any questions that you might have. And then I was going to share one last item for those of you who perhaps enjoy a glass of wine on occasion. A few years ago, and actually to be honest with you, it was when the country was shut down, I discovered a company called Scout and Seller. And the reason I got so excited was because it offered wines free from chemicals, free from pesticides. And they still do. So I don't order a lot of wine, but when I do, I try and I try and catch their sales. I do have a link in the show notes here as well. But their their wines are are very clean. Again, no chemicals, no pesticides, nothing artificial, very low in sugar, very low, if any, sulfates, and it it's amazing. Very, very clean wine. Um, and when you start to kind of learn about how commercial wine is processed, just like our food supply, right? When you start to really kind of dive in a little bit, maybe do a little research and kind of start to learn how how food is processed, how wine is processed, it will make you want to seek out cleaner versions, I promise you. So again, check out the link if you'd like, it's there in the show notes, and you can kind of browse and see the selection. They have every single type of wine, and everything that I have tried has been great. So if you're looking for something that's clean, if you if you are cleaning, cleaning, eating clean, you're a healthy eater, and you seek out non-toxic items and you seek out consuming non-toxic foods, then I encourage you to check out the wines from Scout and Cellar if you are a wine drinker because they have the non-toxic wines and they were really, really great. So that's kind of all I was going to share with you today. I also have one last link I'm going to share with you is Juju Candles. I have the link again in the show notes. And I met the owner of this company probably about four years ago or so. And she also has non toxic candles. Smell amazing. And she also has room fragrance that's non toxic. So, again, you guys, this is a big deal because so much of what we use to make our Houses smell better. Those, you know, the room fragrances, the plug-ins, the room deodorizers, those are all full of chemicals and are so, so bad for us. So when you can seek out and find products that are non-toxic, it it's it's it's a game changer, and dare I say a life changer, because quite frankly, a lot of what we're being exposed to is affecting our our way of life, our our health, and our lifespan. So I highly encourage you to you know seek out non-toxic products as as much as you can, um, not to be obsessed or to be completely worried or consumed, but just to be aware. Be aware of what you're using, maybe start to swap out one or two things, and it's again, it's an ongoing journey, like I mentioned earlier. But I just wanted to hop on and share some of my favorite items, some of my favorite things, some of my favorite non-toxic items that I've discovered as well. So I hope that you have found this helpful. And check out the links in my show notes. And if you have any questions about any of the products that I mentioned today, again, please feel free to reach out to me on Instagram at wellness with ShelleyJ or at moms who flourish. And with that being said, I hope that you do something for yourself and your wellness on this day. And quickly, I will finish off with a note to all of my moms, a special message that we have our moms who flourish wellness mentorship kicking off in January. We are going to spend a few weeks together, meeting once a week through Zoom, where we will have a topic. I will be coaching and mentoring all of you. I will bring in guest experts and guest coaches. Every week will be a different topic related to wellness. And then we will also weave in motherhood, the different milestones that we experience in motherhood, the different phases, and we will be there to support one another through all of it and to empower all of you to put your health, your wellness, and your self-care as a priority from a faith-based perspective. And then we will also focus a lot on family as well. So I would love to have you join us. Please message me for the link. If you have questions, please message me and let's get your spot reserved so that you can kick off the new year with this incredible community. And with that being said, everyone, have a great, great rest of your day and a beautiful, blessed rest of your week. And we'll see you next time on Words of Wellness. Thank you so much for tuning in to today's episode. I hope you gained value and enjoyed our time together as much as I did. And if you know someone who could benefit from today's episode, I would love and appreciate it if you could share with a friend or rate and review Words of Wellness so that more can hear this message. I love and appreciate you all. Thank you for listening. And if you have any questions or topics you would like me to share in future episodes, please don't hesitate to reach out to me through my contact information that is shared in the show notes below. Again, thank you for tuning in to Words of Wellness. My name is Shelley Jeffries, and I encourage you to do something for you, for your wellness on this day. Until next time, I hope you all have a healthy, happy, and blessed week.