Most of the people on this planet face a daily struggle with constant violence, lack of food, safe water, housing & medical access. Most of us fortunate enough to live in North America have never had to deal with these obvious threats to our health & well being, & should always remain aware & truly grateful for the life style that we enjoy. There are many less obvious dangers, however, that lurk below the surface, ever present, mostly unseen. Compared to the threats & dangers described above, they may appear small, but because of their insidious nature & hidden presence, they can be deadly over time.

Consider a standard everyday ritual most of us perform. We get out of bed, shower or bathe with “soap”, shower gel, etc., apply gel or mousse to our hair before drying it, then toner, moisturizer & make-up, with deodorant & perfume for women, or shaving cream, aftershave, cologne, etc. for men. Well, we have just poisoned ourselves a little. All of these everyday items contain a wide variety of toxins – the damage from which may be negligible over the course of a day, but over weeks, months & years it becomes a heavy & dangerous burden.

Even though we are becoming more aware about the importance of eating clean & preferably organic foods, most of us don’t realize that our governments don’t require testing of cosmetic ingredients. We think that if something was detrimental to our health, the government wouldn’t allow it to be used in products we buy & use. It’s time for us to take a closer look. There are over 10,000 chemical ingredients commonly used in personal care products sold in North America & only 11 of them have been tested & found toxic. In Europe, however, over 1100 of these same ingredients (that we are exposed to everyday) have been banned, with skincare companies forced to change their formulas in compliance with the regulations.

While a few companies in North America make products that would be safe enough to eat, the majority commonly use chemicals that are linked to many health problems, including cancer & birth defects. In other words, of the few chemicals that have been tested here, many are known carcinogens, neurotoxins & hormone disrupters. Imagine what may be lurking in all the synthetic ingredients that have never been tested ?

So why would companies choose to use toxic synthetic ingredients in their products ? Simply put, they are readily available & VERY inexpensive, making for a much higher profit margin. On the flip side, all natural & organic products are going to cost a lot more to manufacture. As a small example, a tiny bottle of pure rose essential oil can cost over $ 900.00, while the same bottle of rose fragrance oil can be had for a mere $ 9.00. Most perfumes are made of synthetic fragrance oils, which can consist of hundreds of different chemicals, with one of the most pervasive & dangerous categories being phthalates. Tests have shown these chemicals can damage the lungs, the liver & kidneys, & seriously harm the developing testes of male fetuses. Phthalate free perfumes & fragrance oils are very rare, & since almost all personal care products are scented, & are not required to include phthalates in their ingredients list, these dangerous compounds can be very difficult to avoid.

It makes sense to educate ourselves about the dangerous ingredients in all the products we regularly use. Of course, we can never remove all toxins from our lives, they may be present in the air we breathe, the water we drink & many of the foods we eat, but if we start reading labels and deciding what we will & won’t accept, we can make safer choices that will greatly reduce the toxic burden on ourselves, our children & our planet.

By the way, if a product doesn’t show the list of ingredients (it is required by law, yet many of the large & well known companies seem to be curiously immune to the law) it is immediately suspect. If a product container is too small to print all the ingredients on, there should be there should be additional info included. Many companies also only mention the natural sounding ingredients which may only account for 1 to 5 % of the total. This is known as greenwashing” or “dusting”. They don’t want to mention what’s in the remaining 95 to 99 % as these ingredients would greatly detract from the “natural” image they are wanting to portray.

This is a serious problem with long term effects. Take the time to check out some of the resources shown on our site, such as EWG – the Skin Deep site online (url listed below), or www.chemicalbodyburden.org, or the books Drop Dead Gorgeous or Not a Pretty Face, and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

1)Join the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is a coalition of public health, educational, faith, labor, women's, environmental and consumer groups. The mission of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics is to protect the health of consumers and workers by requiring the cosmetics industry to phase out the use of chemicals that are known or suspected to cause cancer, genetic mutation or reproductive harm.Founding organizational members of the Campaign include: Alliance for a Healthy Tomorrow, The Breast Cancer Fund, Commonweal, Environmental Working Group, Friends of the Earth, Health Care Without Harm, National Black Environmental Justice Network, National Environmental Trust and Women's Voices for the Earth.

2) Sign a Petition  At the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics website, a petition is available for consumers to sign, addressed to companies that make cosmetics and personal care products, demanding that these industries stop using chemicals known or suspected of causing cancer, birth defects, allergic reactions, and other health effects.

3) Environmental Working Group Report, "Skin Deep" Read more from the EWG about cosmetics and personal care products and their ingredients at http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/findings/index.phpDo a "home survey" of your own cosmetic and personal care products.

Look up the ingredients at the Environmental Working Group's on-line study http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/index.php

4) Letter Writing Campaign Over 200 companies have signed the "Compact for Safe Cosmetics", agreeing to formulate the products they manufacture domestically and/or globally to use only ingredients that are not known or suspected of causing cancer, mutation, or birth defects: http://www.safecosmetics.org/companies/signers.cfmLook up the names of the companies whose products you buy on the webpage above. If a name of a company is on the list, write that company thanking them for their pledge and letting them know you will continue to buy their products.If the company is NOT on the list, or if you find an ingredient that is potentially harmful to human health in one of the products you use, write that company and ask them why that ingredient is in their product and/or why they have not signed the pledge.

5) Safe Cosmetics Action Center Take action for safe health and beauty products.6) For future updates, alerts, and information on how you can take action in your community: http://action.safecosmetics.org/join/

FACIAL CARE

Some companies carry a multitude of different facial care products for a multitude of skin types. This can be confusing to the consumer, & downright onerous to wade through all the information & ingredients trying to find what “ skin type” you are & what product would best suit your skin.

We are not dermatologists, but have read a number of books & articles written by dermatologists, &  have discovered that though they may not all agree on everything, there appears to be some common threads linking them all. If you combine their expertise with a little common sense, you’re bound to find the products & skin care routine that will serve you best, without having to scour stacks of medical journals.

SKIN TYPES

There are 3 basic & obvious skin types, being : oily, normal & dry/mature. What isn’t as obvious, is that it is rare for someone to have only one “type”. You may have oily or acneic skin as an adolescent, yet change into “normal” skin in adulthood, then change again to dry as you age. You may also have different “skin types” on the same face, at the same time ! It is quite common to have oilier skin in the T zone (forhead & nose) while having very dry cheeks & chin.

One often sees reference to the “sensitive” skin type, but this can refer to anyone with ANY of the above skin types. You can have oily & sensitive skin or dry/mature & sensitive skin. You may be sensitive at one point in your life, & not during another. The more I read about sensitive skin, the more I believe these sensitivities are linked to the growing preponderance of chemicals in our environment – in our food, air, water, soil & everything we use in our every day lives. Some of these things are outside of our control, but the personal care products we choose can have a great impact on the toxic burden we carry, & this is one area we can have a lot of say about.

Sometimes, what makes a product so exceptional is not so much what is in it, as what is NOT in it. Keeping things simple, with as few synthetic materials as possible, & focusing on nutrients that can benefit all skin types, can work wonders – even for sensitive skin. Of course, if a person knows that they are sensitive to a particular plant, oil or chemical – then it is especially important for them to really study the ingredients of the product they use in order to completely avoid elements that may cause problems for them.

SKIN CARE 101

This is pretty basic & can be accomplished in just a few minutes – more detail will be provided in our newsletters, for those that are interested.

CLEANSING

     I’ve had some people tell me all they’ve ever used to wash their face is water. If you’ve got a non oily skin type, don’t ever wear make-up & never really get dirty this may work for you. We all, however produce sebum (in varying amounts), our body’s natural moisturizer, & this combines with dead skin cells, salt & minerals from sweat, particulate matter in the air from smoke or dust as well as invisible residues in the air ( ever clean the top of your stove hood – that sticky grease didn’t splash up there, it traveled in the air) This can plug pores, which eventually can stretch them, leaving them large & unsightly.

     Most of us can benefit from a gentle cleansing routine . This not only removes any accumulated dirt, but also exfoliates the top layer of dead skin cells, revealing the fresh glowing skin beneath. If your skin tends to be oily or acneic, it is best to use foaming, surfactant based cleansers. It is wise not to use  cleansers with SLS (sodium laureth sulphate or sodium lauryl sulphate) as these are very harsh degreasers (commonly used to clean vehicle engines) with a very small molecule that can travel past the surface of the skin, down to the more delicate tissues below & beyond. Also, being a small molecule means that it can act as a transport system for other even less desirable chemicals. You can find out more about the problems with SLS in our INGREDIENTS section. The best surfactants to choose will be large molecule, plant based ingredients known for their mild & gentle, yet effective cleansing action. You don’t need to use scratchy or mechanical tools to effectively cleanse – just gentle circular motions with a nubbly washcloth.

     Always rinse thoroughly. This cannot be stressed enough, for no matter how mild a cleanser is, it can be irritating if any residue is left on the skin. Usually a good cleansing is only necessary once a day, in the evening before bed. This will remove any daily grime & make-up. Usually a quick splash with water or toner is sufficient in the morning.

     Foaming cleansers can sometimes be too drying for people who already have very dry skin. Milk & cream cleansers are the best choice in this situation. They gently remove dirt & debris with stripping the much needed moisture away.

TONING

This brings us to the next step, & according to dermatologists, the step that is most often overlooked. A good toner will remove any remaining dirt or cleanser that could cause irritation, it can tighten the pores through astringency, adjust the pH back to the most beneficial & protective acidity as well as be a medium for aqueous based water soluble vitamins & nutrient that can sooth & calm irritated & inflamed skin. Just in case you don’t think nutrients can be absorbed through the skin, consider a growing list of drugs that are delivered topically through skin patches or creams. You can & do absorb up to 30 % of what is put on your skin – both good & bad, so choose wisely.

MOISTURIZING

This step can be quite important for most people, unless you have very oily skin, & even then chances are it will only be oily in certain places, leaving other spots high & dry. It is important to look for ingredients that are as close to their natural state as possible, with lots of soothing botanicals, vitamins & essential fatty acids. Take a look at our INGREDIENTS list to find the most beneficial. Many plant oils can penetrate deeply, providing nutrients that soften, plump & even help in regeneration.

There are many other products available that are specific to certain areas of the face, such as undereye creams or gels, or heavy night creams for those with really dry skin, and many serums & treatments promising to reverse time & remove wrinkles, dark circles & age spots.  Some of these products do contain ingredients that can be somewhat effective in firming, toning & providing nutrients that can help in regeneration of healthy skin cells.  The wilder the claims, however, the less likely the product will be to deliver.  Remember, a huge amount of money goes into slick promotional TV & magazine ads & graphics to convince us to believe in the impossible.  Again, it falls to each of us to read & research the ingredients, & decide what we need & what we're willing to believe.  Sometimes, an extra product or two may make a difference in the way our skin looks & feels, but in most cases, the main benefits can be had by just developing the above daily habit & sticking with it. It only takes moments – put your best face forward !