After facing fertility challenges, Nedahl Stelio created Recreation Beauty to promote clean beauty. Here, she discusses the importance of hormone balance and why we must break the taboo around periods.
Name: Nedahl Stelio
Pronouns: she/her
Day job: Founder, Recreation Beauty
Location: Sydney
Describe your work in one sentence.
I don’t think it can fit into a sentence because I wear about 10 hats! That’s the “joy” of being a founder! I make sure all the wheels are turning, from sales to social, marketing, PR, design, production, logistics, product development, etc.
How did your journey to a chemical-free life start?
Years ago, I struggled to get pregnant and gave up toxic chemicals in my beauty and household products. It wasn’t what got me pregnant (I was doing a billion other things at the same time), but even after I got pregnant, I didn’t go back to regular products. Once you learn what’s in them, you can’t unlearn. It set me off on a clean living path, which I have never regretted.
How did learning about endocrine disruptors change your routine?
I had what they called "unexplained infertility." We’d done all the tests, seen all the doctors, and nothing was medically wrong, so I needed to look further. There are a bunch of chemicals known as endocrine disruptors that can mess with your hormones, and they’re in a lot of things we can’t avoid - like plastics, foam, and carpet. But they’re also in many beauty products, particularly fragrances, and this was a real shock to me. To think that products I was layering on my skin every day could be bad for me?! It was a real eye-opener because I worked in the industry, was a magazine editor, and had cupboards full of beauty products that I just gave away. I remade my whole beauty routine with clean products but realised no clean fragrances looked and smelled as beautiful as all my designer perfumes. So, cut to many years later - I made some.
What surprised you most about how beauty products affect hormones?
They can affect everything from your mood (hello, PMS) to your reproductive system, to the way a foetus develops in your body, to triggering autoimmune diseases and worse.
Once you removed them, did you notice a change?
I was doing so many things simultaneously that I couldn’t pinpoint it. There was a lot of naturopathy, Chinese medicine, acupuncture, hypnotherapy, overhauling my diet, and giving up alcohol, dairy, and sugar. I’m sure there was loads of other stuff that I’ve blocked out - ha! It was a lot!
What's the best first step for a slow transition to fewer chemicals?
Definitely the skin on your body - that’s the biggest surface area. Fragrances, because they can contain up to 3,000 chemicals. Also, products on your scalp - we absorb a lot through our scalp, so shampoos are a big one.
What are the worst ingredients to avoid in beauty products?
- Phthalates: Number one. These are known endocrine disruptors and are in almost every fragrance, but the industry doesn’t have to list them as ingredients, so they’re impossible to avoid unless you choose clean perfumes.
- Harmful synthetic musks: Known endocrine disruptors and literally in every fragrance on the shelf unless you choose clean perfumes.
- PFAS: Recent studies have found PFAS chemicals in over 70% of waterproof and long-wearing makeup, so I would steer clear of anything waterproof or long-wearing. If it lasts as long as paint on your skin, you should wonder what it's made of!
"Clean beauty" is a bit of a buzzword - what really should we watch for?
I think the issue is that there’s no definition of ‘clean,’ so each company has a different definition. You need to know your ingredients and choose products without those ingredients. But just because a product says natural or organic doesn’t mean it doesn’t have nasty chemicals in it; you need to check the ingredients.
Why is it important to avoid these chemicals?
Balancing your mood has to be one of the biggest motivators here. We’ve learned to live on an emotional rollercoaster month to month as though that’s normal, but it’s not. When your hormones are out of whack, it’s hard to figure out what’s happening because you’re surging from one extreme to the next. Once hormones are in balance, your mood is stable, your mind is clear, and you can see the big picture for what it is, everything feels okay. You’re good at tackling most things life throws at you. I think that’s worth it.
How do you juggle business, being a mum, and self-care?
There is no juggling without dropping balls. So don’t worry about dropping balls; you’ll pick them up again when you can. Also, prioritise yourself when you need to. I make sure I work out four mornings a week because it's non-negotiable for me to do so for mental clarity and to keep my hormones happy.
Postpartum periods - how did yours change after having baby?
They got very, very heavy, which was a shock because I’d never had heavy periods, and I didn’t know they were going to be so heavy. I was caught out more than once! But they were a lot shorter. So, they were heavy and intense but shorter in days, which was something, at least.
Why do you think periods are STILL such a taboo topic?
I just don’t know how we’re not talking openly about this yet, but I am way too open for my girls, who are about the age where they’ll be getting them any day now. I think I worked at Cleo and Cosmo for too long, and I’m very open about discussing these things, ha! The more we talk about it, the more normal it will be, so I’m all for being open.
What's your top health message for womxn?
Eat more real food, less processed food, and avoid dieting. Real food supports all the bodily functions we need to stay healthy and helps keep our hormones happy.
What’s your vision for the future of periods?
That we can actually do the research needed and take the pain away for those who experience it during their period. If men had to get their period every month, you can bet this would have happened by now. And that girls won’t be embarrassed about leakage or taking time out when they have their period because it’s normal.
