Authors: Julie Gabriel
Tags: #ebook, #book
The Green Beauty Guide: Your Essential Resource to Organic and Natural Skin Care, Hair Care, Makeup, and Fragrances (10 page)
Even if you try to do research on your own, the chances of finding unbiased information are scarce. In the beauty industry, it is almost impossible to examine the long-term health effects of any chemical substance without relying on research conducted by the beauty industry itself. Finding an expert without corporate ties is difficult.
“Show us the dead bodies,” cosmetic regulators say when asked about harmful effects of toxic ingredients. “A pinch of glitter cannot kill. Show us the evidence against parabens or aluminum involving humans, not rodents or cells in a test tube.” The recent lawsuit filed in California against manufacturers of 1,4-Dioxane-contaminated personal-care products shows that we are slowly waking up to the dangers of toxic beauty. But to win a lawsuit against a cosmetic company for causing your cancer, there must be scientific proof that your disease was caused by your exposure to this exact chemical. To obtain such proof, series of “double-blind” studies on humans must be conducted. But who would participate in them?
All of us are eating, drinking, and breathing a chemical cocktail of pesticides, heavy metals, and plastic compounds. Hundreds of synthetic substances have accumulated in our bodies over decades while we strived to keep our faces youthful and hair shiny. It’s impossible to find a perfectly healthy, uncontaminated group of women who would participate in a study proving the harmof 1,4-Dioxane, aluminum, or paraben preservatives. And even if such women exist, I doubt they will agree to rub aluminum and nitrosamines into their skin just to prove how deadly these substances are.
Any solutions? I cannot possibly recommend that you stop washing your hair, brushing your teeth, or wearing makeup. You can still do all those pleasant and rewarding steps of your beauty regimen without inhaling, swallowing, and absorbing toxins. There are many wonderfully effective gentle and safe cosmetic products that won’t wreak havoc on your hormones, liver, and lungs.
If you cannot bear parting with your chemical-laden but it-feels-so-good-on-your-skin foundation, you may be surprised to learn that its European-sold version contains much less toxic chemicals. As of September 2004, cosmetics sold in the European market had to be reformulated to comply with the new law banning many toxic ingredients. Now cosmetic manufacturers are required by law to make versions of their products without carcinogenic or toxic substances to meet European regulations. Such versions are not always available in the United States. Can you really expect a hair dye box to carry a label saying “May Cause Bladder Cancer”?
Blaming the system for all our woes is very unproductive and oh-so-out-of-fashion. Remember that through the ages, women happily used highly toxic cosmetic agents such as mercury, lead, or belladonna to make themselves pretty.
So instead of nursing your paranoia and musing over the ugly side of the conventional beauty industry, let’s adopt a constructive approach. The first step would be learning how to avoid products that contain toxic, even carcinogenic, ingredients and instead choose products that are made with ingredients less likely to add to your body’s toxic burden of harmful chemicals. Such products do exist.
Green Fact
In January 2003, the European Union passed legislation banning the use in cosmetics of chemicals known to cause, or strongly suspected of causing, cancer, mutations, or birth defects.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OF GREEN BEAUTY
Let’s start our journey with some basic guidelines that can help you get through most of the information packed in the chapters ahead. Here are Ten Commandments of Green Beauty. Memorize them and repeat them every time you crave that new shimmery pink blush, dreamily squeeze and sniff a flower-scented lotion at the beauty counter, or read about a celebrity must-have hair mousse in a glossy magazine. Once you learn these commandments, you will gain a better perspective on what you are really paying for at cosmetic counters, and whether any of this can hurt your skin and put you at risk for a serious medical condition in the future.
1.
Thou Shalt Not
buy beauty products that contain phthalates, formaldehyde, phenols, sodium laureth sulfate, coal tar, toxic dyes, and synthetic fragrances.
2.
Thou Shalt Not
buy cosmetics based solely on advertising claims or celebrity endorsements. Very few celebrities actually use the products they advertise. Neither do models whose faces are used in the ads, no matter what models say in interviews. Read the label, scan the ingredients list online using the Skin Deep (
www.ewg.com
) tool for chemical hazards, read online reviews, and then decide whether this product is worth your money or not.
3.
Thou Shalt Not
believe that just because a cosmetic product is called “natural” it is generally safer. Cosmetics may claim to be “natural” or made with “organic” ingredients, but may still include paraben and formaldehyde preservatives, synthetic fragrances, phthalates, or other toxic ingredients.
4.
Thou Shalt Not
believe that you have to spend a lot of money on organic beauty products. Many inexpensive natural cosmetic lines have wonderful products that perform just as well as expensive ones because most plant extracts, vitamins, and minerals are not exclusive to one company. High-quality ingredients do not necessarily cost a lot more; many cosmetic companies buy ingredients from the same farm or wholesale supplier. There are many organic beauty manufacturers who grow their own ingredients, too. The only difference may be the concentration of these plant juices and extracts, and in the next chapters, you will learn how to choose products that really deliver.
5.
Thou Shalt Not
believe there is such a thing as a magic beauty bullet. There are no secret ingredients that can instantly cure all your skin’s woes, but there are many new, effective active ingredients that can do wonders for your skin.
6.
Thou Shalt Not
compare your skin or hair to those of celebrities and spend hours moaning over a pimple, a wrinkle, or a stray lock. All celebrities are humans with their flaws and insecurities, and their picture-perfect skin is not due to the use of some secret potion but rather skillful hairstyling, makeup artistry, and computer retouching.
7.
Thou Shalt Not
share your mascara or lipstick, keep the jar of moisturizer open, lick the tip of your eyeliner, apply face cream with dirty hands, dilute shampoo with water—simply put, contaminate your beauty products and shorten their life span. Never use beauty products when their “best before” date is overdue.
8.
Thou Shalt Not
believe that you need a special moisturizer for hands and another one for the rest of your body; that you need an eye cream and a separate face cream and a really cute neck serum; that you cannot use baby bath gel to cleanse your face; that you should have a different sunscreen lotion for each part of your body. In other words, do not let smart marketers manipulate you. Less is more, especially when it comes to organic formulations. From an oat scrub to a honey mask, the best things in beauty come incredibly cheap, and you don’t need to spend tons of money to look great and be healthy.
9.
Thou Shalt Not
believe that if a famous doctor, chemist, dermatologist, yoga guru, hairstylist, or movie star created the formula, it would mean a world of difference. Lots of dermatologists, biologists, herbalists, and even aerospace engineers are involved in whipping up beauty products. It’s the juice that counts, not the bottle, as Aubrey Hampton, the pioneer of organic beauty, used to say, and your skin doesn’t care whose name is on the packaging. Read the ingredients list, ask smart questions about the concentration of particular ingredients, check reviews, be skeptical, and take everything with a grain of sea salt.
10.
Thou Shalt Not
keep it a secret. Spread the news. Help teenage girls avoid toxic beauty products. If you work in a spa or in a health-care facility, explain the dangers of toxic chemicals to your patients and clients. Phone the companies whose products you use and express your concerns directly. Many product labels carry toll-free phone numbers. Be an informed, vigilant consumer because what you know (and what you don’t) can turn really costly in terms of your looks and health.
become
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expert
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eeping your skin glowing and hair lustrous can cost thousands of dollars, and for many of us, “holy grail” beauty products are the result of a lengthy (and costly) quest filled with hope, patience, and disappointment. Every year, hundreds of products claim to be the newest, cutting-edge, and most effective for everything from acne to wrinkles and everything in between. We constantly look for the magic lotion or potion that will make us look like that porcelain-skinned fifteen-year-old Estonian model.
Since the cosmetic manufacturers are not ready to help us—more likely, they will fill our already confused heads with new fantastic claims—your best bet to protect your skin is to seek out pure and safe skin care products.
When choosing beauty products, the ingredients list should be your number-one reference point. According to new United States and Canadian legislation, product labels must list all the ingredients regardless of their quantity. Often, cosmetic manufacturers will separately list the concentration of the active ingredient, such as “2 percent lactic acid.” If you are savvy enough, you will easily spot ingredients you should keep away from. However, sometimes even if you stumble onto a relatively safe and properly formulated product, there’s always something that can go wrong, and the search continues. Still, there are certain ways to minimize the money and time wasted.
Twelve Lessons in Smart Beauty Shopping
Choosing a new beauty product is an exciting, rewarding process. Many of us, including me, buy a new lipstick or moisturizer as a reward. How many times have you bought a lip-gloss to treat yourself for a weeklong abstinence from some of life’s guilty pleasures (such as ice cream, booze, bickering with in-laws, online gaming, eBay hunting, or too much impulse shopping)? I cannot count how many pretty rose lippies I have collected this way. Each one is like a badge of honor, and I cherish them.
Yet all this excitement and pleasure of finding another age-delaying magic potion can get slashed by the disappointment caused by yet another shattered hope. The shimmery rose lipstick may leave lips dry; the flowery-smelling, green tea–loaded lotion ignites a constellation of pimples right in the middle of a cheek; the sexy, powdery scent of a “most wanted” fragrance will send you (and a few dozen passengers in a subway train) sneezing and wiping away tears. You lost money since you cannot find the receipt to return the irksome stuff. Besides, who has the time and courage to face the sleek cunning of a salesperson who hates to lose her commission?
The truth is, beauty doesn’t come in a bottle, and even if it does, choosing what’s right for you is not easy. But there are ways to take perfectly good care of your skin. In this chapter, you will find twelve lessons that will help you become a Smart Green Beauty Expert, the good judge of ingredients and aficionado of textures who won’t ever get waylaid with false claims or ineffective “snake oil” products; who won’t “lemming” the latest celebrity must-have; and who will spend money wisely and remain cool under the heavy artillery of salespeople. More importantly, when you’re a Smart Green Beauty Expert, your priorities will be sorted out, which will allow you to treat the avalanche of beauty information with healthy skepticism.
Lesson 1: Scan Ingredients Lists with Graceful Ease
The best way to shop for skin care products is to become ingredient-wise. You have to stop being afraid of the fine print and learn to read product labels to determine good and bad product ingredients, so you can select skin care products that are most beneficial for you.
Quickly scanning the ingredients list for offending substances is probably the most important skill you have to master. Being able to quickly decipher the ingredients list instead of listening to a salesperson’s chatter will save you money, time, and frustration. I have long lost count of how many times a salesperson offered me “completely natural” stretch mark butter or an eye cream, even while the ingredients list was bursting with parabens, PEGs, and formaldehyde preservatives.
Many cosmetic manufacturers don’t help us at all. The worse the formulation is, the harder the box is to read. To discourage curious customers from prying into cosmetic secrets, they print ingredients lists in all-capitalized dense letters with very small spaces between lines, so the whole area looks like one grayish square filled with chemical jabber. Often the lavish design masks the most noxious ingredients. Some of them may be hiding under natural-sounding names or abbreviations. Cocamide DEA may sound natural, but in fact it is coconut oil diethanolamine, and we already know that diethanolamine, along with triethanolamine, may be contaminated with carcinogenic chemicals.