Ladies! Do not feel overwhelmed when it comes to ‘greening’ your beauty routine. Start with these 10 actions, and you will be off to a good start.
1. Reduce Your ‘Chemical Body Burden’ and Take Control Your ‘chemical body burden’ is a term referring to the build up of chemicals in your body. The chemicals come from different sources. Many of which you have little power of controlling such as chemicals in the air you breath or the water you drink. You do, however, have control over what you put onto your body. We know that a certain percentage of what goes onto our body, goes into our body, so take control, and start reducing the amount of harmful chemicals in your body care or makeup.
2. Don’t Get Duped by ‘Greenwashing’ It is what is on the back of the product that counts – not the front. Products with natural or organic plastered on the front of their labels, may not actually be all that natural, not to mention organic. Just because a product contains certified organic plant ingredients, doesn’t mean that it doesn’t contain synthetic chemicals as well. Read the ingredients. Use common sense. Start by reducing the synthetic chemicals in your products. Then start to find products that contain certified organic ingredients, or better yet, products that are certified USDA organic.
3. Learn What ‘Pinkwashing’ means, and Take a Stand. Pinkwasher: (pink’-wah-sher) noun. A company or organization that claims to care about breast cancer by promoting a pink ribbon product, but at the same time produces, manufactures and/or sells products that are linked to the disease (source: www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org). So….common sense right? Companies selling makeup for example, in a cute pink compact, donating a portion to breast cancer research, shouldn’t be using ingredients linked to breast cancer. However, it is very, very, common. Check out the website www.thinkbeforeyoupink.org to find out more
4. When Switching Over to Natural Products , Start With The Basics This is just common sense. Assess what products you use every day. Next time you buy them, switch them out for something with less synthetic chemicals (preferably no synthetic chemicals). For most women, this means shampoo, conditioner, skin care products, deodorant, mascara and foundation.
5. Learn the Difference Between Soap and Detergent Soap: Soap is made by combining fatty acids (natural oils like olive oil, coconut oil, or cocoa butter) and an alkali ingredient (lye or sodium hydroxide). The combo creates soap. Detergent: Detergent bars of ‘soap’ are not really ‘soap’ at all. Detergent bars of ‘soap’ are often referred to as ‘body bars’ or ‘beauty bars’, and are typically sold at grocery or drug stores. Detergent bars are made from petroleum products. They typically contain many artificial preservatives and antibacterial agents, which do not have an agreeable smell. Because of this, detergents often contain fragrance to counteract the odor.
6. Fragrance: The Mystery Ingredient That You Should Avoid Fragrance. You may have friends who get headaches from it, but you may not know about the other health risks associated with your favourite perfume… While companies are legally required to list what goes into their products, they are not legally required to list what goes into their fragrance. Fragrance is therefore considered to be a ‘mystery ingredient’ because you never know what is in it. More often then not, fragrance will include a class of ingredients called Pthalates. They are added to extend to the life of the scent, to make it linger on the skin longer. However, phthalates are linked to a whole slew of health issues including hormone disruption and cancer. See what The David Suzuki Foundation has to say about them here: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/chemicals-in-your-cosmetics—dibutyl-phthalate/
7. Avoid Product With Parabens Ingredients in the paraben class of ingredients are linked to hormone disruption, reproductive issues, skin irritation and dermatitis. They are also linked to breast cancer. A study in 2004 found that parabens were in the tumors of 19 out of 20 women with breast cancer. To learn more, check out this link from The David Suzuki Foundation: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/chemicals-in-your-cosmetics—parabens/
8. Avoid Products With Sodium Lauryl or Laureth Sulfates A few reasons here. This is the same ingredient in your dish soap, or garage floor cleaner. So, should it really be going onto your head? It is what makes shampoo and body wash lather. It gives you that squeaky clean feeling. But it also strips your hair of all of its natural oils – drying out your gorgeous locks. For information on health concerns related to this ingredient, read more here: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/issues/health/science/toxics/chemicals-in-your-cosmetics—sodium-laureth-sulfate/
9. Beware of Bandwagons. The more you start researching the overall topic of toxins in body care, the more bandwagons you will come across. I have been duped by them myself. So be aware. An example would be the issue of Lead in Lipstick. To cut a long story short, I, like many of us involved in the natural product industry, was appalled when the FDA recently found lead in hundreds of lipsticks. However, I then realized that a natural lipstick brand had been tested, and shockingly contained lead. I quickly went to the brand’s website to find their ingredient list. I found it to be shockingly similar as one of the lines that I carry at The Green Kiss. How could this be? After much more research, I found that lead is a contaminant in the natural pigments used in pretty much all lipsticks (unless synthetic colourants are used). I then found that lead is also a contaminant in drinking water, and in vegetables even. Bottom line, from my research, is that anything that comes from the earth – may have trace elements of lead. While I don’t think this is fabulous news, it is seemingly unavoidable at this point in time. So, energy is better spent trying to avoid synthetic and/or harmful chemicals, than it is lead. Point being: Continue your research, ask questions, and be careful of bandwagons sweeping the internet.
10.Stop thinking natural products are not as effective. It is very common, for people to think that natural products are not as effective, when in reality, they often work better for people than their non natural counterparts. Natural products are healthy for your skin, and for your body. Many have great staying power, many are long lasting, many have a 2 year shelf life even. Like with anything, you just have to find the ones that work the best for you.
Where to buy in Victoria:
Body Care
The Good Planet Co. – http://www.goodplanet.com
Rocky Mountain Soap Company – http://www.rockymountainsoap.com/
Free Spirit Botanicals – http://www.freespiritbotanicals.com/
Nezza Naturals – http://nezzanaturals.com/
Makeup, Skincare & Body Care
The Green Kiss – http://www.thegreenkiss.com/
Megan Johns was a speaker at the May 2012 yoUnlimited luncheon, and is the owner/operator of the Green Kiss, a retailer of safe, smart and sexy cosmetics from North America’s most effective safe cosmetic brands. Your style and your health are our priority!
She is based out of Victoria, BC Canada. The beauty bar is located at 764 Fort St. in the heart of downtown Victoria. She has started as a innovative ‘store within a store’ model and is located within The Good Planet Company.
