Archive for the ‘Advice + Q&A’ Category

While everyone is talking about (as they should) what ingredients to watch out for in beauty products and BPA’s, phtalates and lead in lipstick are finally making national headlines, it occurrs to me that there are still so many of us out there who not only don’t have the information we need to make informed decisions about what we put in our bodies. Getting the word out is something we each do in our own way; whether it’s by walking into a room and telling everyone who compliments your glowing skin and fabulous makeup, proudly, that you only use natural beauty products, or writing a blog, or just influencing your family and loved ones by example. I never mean to demonize “Big Beauty”. It is after all, a monster of our own creation and a lifetime passion of yours truly. Still I find that despite huge waves of change in the way we all think about what we eat and absorb, there are 4 groups of people who really get the short end when it comes to the availability of knowledge and of products Big Beauty will afford them…

1. Persons with Acne..
I can’t argue with scientific data that supports the efficacy claims of the top two non prescription acne treatment ingredients: benzoyl peroxide (known highly toxic / possibly carcinogenic) and salicidic acid (petrochem), but I will say that in my nearly lifelong experience with my own and others’ acne issues, I have never seen either of them cure this condition. What I have seen is skin that has become highly sensitized and arguably the worst result of using OTC acne products: REBOUND ACNE! Yep, what I see more oft than not is that conventional OTC acne treatments cause more acne and with the increased sensitization, more scars. That’s because most of Big Beauty’s acne solutions are meant only to dry out and strip the skin, believing that over-production of sebum is the culprit causing the acne. The reality is that over drying oily skin only causes the skin to produce more oil and not all acne prone skin is even oily which makes treating it harshly even worse. The real cure for acne if there is one, aside from diet and hormonal balance, is oil. Believe it or not, what may seem so wrong is one of the most effective treatments I’ve seen. Both astringent (tea tree, neem) and fatty (argan, babassu) oils, properly formulated, are 100 times more effective than any conventional chemical concoction. Try Organic Apoteke Active Face Hydrating Gel (pictured left) with anti-bacterial neem leaf oil and antioxidant lemon oil.

2. Black Women.
It’s not the chemical hair relaxers that concern me about black beauty products. Sure, they are some pretty strong and scary chemicals but they don’t come into contact with the skin and they aren’t typically used more than once every 1-6 months. My problem with Big Beauty’s products targeted at black women is that threefold. Go to your local drugstore or beauty supply store and walk down the “ethnic” aisle. You’ll see a garden of “carrot oil”, “shea butter”, “silk”, “coconut” and “olive oil”, all, of course, claiming to stop breakage and magically grow long hair with “stimulating botanicals”. Now grab any one of those jars, turn it around and I’ll tell you what you’re looking at; a vat of vaseline. Petrochemicals are more widely used in ethnic products than they are in any other personal care sector and yet over the last 5 years, they are twice as likely to be marketed as natural. And it’s not just that they are used that is troubling, it’s why. Many women with coarse hair are misled to believe that their hair is dry and that heavy duty “moisture” is the best way to restore hydration. In fact, petroleum products will do nothing to restore hydration to hair. They only make it feel smoother by coating it. Black women are also often misled to believe that washing their hair too often will lead to their hair becoming even drier and less manageable. What that ends up meaning is that they are sitting with petroleum (and most likely parabens) on their scalps for several days at a time, which not only prolongs exposure the the toxins themselves, increasing their hazard, but it also STOPS and stunts hair growth, by clogging the hair follicles. Petroleum is not water soluble! All this when the reality is, just like not all acne-prone skin is oily, not all coarse hair is dry. In fact, I have found that many black women have oily scalps but in treating their perceived dry hair, they are worsening their scalp conditions. Years of this type of mistreatment almost always leads to alopecia. Some coarse hair is actually better softened by being cleaned and conditioned frequently. If the hair is truly dry from heat styling or chemical processing, wearable, natural, light, non-petroleum oils are the best solution. Try Amazon Beauty Rahua Leave-In Conditioner to soften coarse hair and lightly hydrate dry hair.

3. Mature Women.
We all know that Big Beauty makes it’s real money, capitalizing on every woman’s desire to find the fountain of youth. Some of the worst beauty “innovations” (nanoparticles, Botox…) of the last decade have been in the anti-aging skin care field. But the real reason we end up victims as our skin matures is because we have spent a lifetime being told what Big Beauty wanted us to think: that simple ingredients don’t work and that if you really want to turn back the hands of time, you’re going to need super hi-tech lab inventions that you can’t pronounce. It is very hard for some of us to accept that a.) most anti-aging claims are unfounded and unproven anyway, and that b.) the real secret to youthful skin has been under our noses all along – in healthy living, sun protection, and pure, natural skincare. While they are more rare and expensive for the manufacturer, from what I’ve seen, the best anti-aging natural ingredients like argan oil, carrot oil and acai can match the results of any expensive department store cream without a.) being hazardous to your health and b.) causing skin to actually age more rapidly over the long term. Now just try convincing your moms of that! Simply Amazing: Ila’s six ingredient miracle, Ila Face Oil.

4. Men. Yes, Men.
While men may be at lower risk of exposure to toxic chemicals in beauty products simply due to less frequent use than women, the personal care products they do use; deodorant, shaving cream, shower gel, etc., should be just as green as ours. The reason men are victims of Big Beauty is because in their desire for what they think are simple, affordable, easy to use products, they are usually unknowingly getting something that is not so simple at all. Men aren’t driving or inspiring manufacturers to clean up their ingredients because they aren’t educated about the risks and because frankly, for a man, making demands for any specificity in his personal care products may make him feel less masculine. We need to reach out to all of the men in our lives and offer them the same information about ingredients that we have and advocate for them, even facilitate in finding products for them so that they’re not left out. My significant other’s favorite natural guy product: Intelligent Nutrients Styling Gel.

Some of you have already gotten used to – and I’ve heard – may even like the fact that sulfate-free shampoo may NOT lather. But for those of us who have thick, coarse or curly hair, getting the shampoo to span scalp to ends, without the aid of foam, can mean we end up using way too much product, which can lead to hair that ends up a straw-like, dull mess. Well, I’ve been using a DIY solution for years and I am pleased to reveal to you:

THE MUSTARD BOTTLE

…or an old hair dye squeeze bottle would do. Add a couple squeezes or pumps of shampoo to the empty bottle. Fill the rest up with warm water from the shower. Shake it up pretty good and voila! You’ve got foam! This isn’t going to rival the old conventional type of lather that a rubber duckie could float on but it will allow you to use the nozzle to evenly dispense the product throughout long or thick hair, and directly onto the scalp without going through half a bottle.

Ok,  it’s not rocket science but I bet you hadn’t thought of it yet, had you?!

Pick up a copy of Natural Solutions magazine this month for some of our skin care tips. If you aren’t familiar, Natural Solutions mag is an absolute treasure trove of green living information, tips and resources every month – definitely worth getting a subscription.

People ask me for organic based alternatives to their favorite department store products or “product conversions” so often, I just have to post a few.

Keihl’s Lip Balm #1 = Jurlique Lip Care Balm

Swap out the nasty petroleum for castor seed oil, beeswax, shea butter and jojoba seed oil and you’ve got the perfect year round lip healer!

La Mer Creme de la Mer = Patyka Biokaliftin Creme Visage Reparatrice

Though it claims no “miracle broth” of Sea Algae extract in it’s ingredients, the Patyka Creme has been known to deliver the same results without the mineral oil, petrolatum and frightening octosyllabic chemicals.

Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser = Organic Apoteke Buttermilk Cleanser

The classic dermatologist reccomended facial cleanser for ultra-sensitive and irritated skin is no more than some water, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, alcohol, Propylene Glycol, and three different parabens.  The preservative seems overkill in this simple solution doesn’t it?  Why not opt for an extremely gentle natural alternative like Organic Apoteke’s Buttermilk Cleanser instead?

Revlon Super Lustrous Lipstick = Nvey Eco Organic Lipstick

If there is one thing you have got to give up now it’s toxic lipstick! I grew up with Revlon Super Lustrous lipstick, not knowing that what (my mother and)  I were putting on our lips was nothing but pretty poison. You wear it, you ingest it and it’s full of known neurotoxins and carcinogens.  Opt for the rich, hydrating natural based Nvey Eco Organic Lipstick instead!

Clinique Dramatically Different Moisturizer = Ila Face Oil

For many years, the driest of skins have relied on the Clinique classic for all day dryness relief.  Take a look at the ingredients and you’ll find that it’s basically artificially colored vaseline.  Slathering your skin with mineral oil everyday will certainly make your skin feel less dry but it won’t do anything to rebalance or actually restore hydration to your skin.  This is the type of product that if you go one day without it, you shrivel up and flake because it’s not healing your skin at all, just coating and clogging it. Instead, try using a restorative blend of natural oils like ila face oil.  It’s not heavy enough to give you the feeling that petroleum products do right away but over time, the wild grown argan oil and organic rosehip seed oil along with healing vitamin E could actually rebalance your skins own natural moisture levels.

Do you have a product you’re trying to give up but can’t find a safer alternative that works? Challenge ME to find it for you and I’ll post your results here on our blog!

Did you know that how you wash your face is as important as what you wash it with? Did you ever find that with conventional chemical based skin cleansers, they work great and then after a few weeks, your skin starts to feel drier or oilier every time? That’s because typically, the chemicals used to give you a great squeaky clean foam or that baby soft feel or that wonderful fragrance, are actually wreaking havoc on your skins natural ph balance and ability to self-renew. With organic and natural based cleansers, you can use less product and get better, lasting results without the yo-yo, as long as you know how to get the best of them.

There a two basic types of facial cleansers: Milk or Lotion cleansers and Foaming Cleansers. Both are available for all skin types but you may find that cleansing lotions work better for dry skin and foaming cleansers work better for oily skin. Cleansing lotions usually double as great makeup removers while foaming cleansers are perfect post-workout.

Lotion Cleansers
I often hear people say their skin doesn’t feel clean when they use cleansing lotions. Often it is because they are not meant to be used the same way you use conventional cleansers that you rub, scrub and rinse with. By following these tips may get you much better results. With a lotion cleanser, the first thing you want to do is moisten the face with warm water, loosening the dirt and oils in your skin. You may pat a wet washcloth to the face if you’re not in the shower. Next, you would pump the cleanser into your hand and apply evenly, directly to the skin. This is the part where we usually mess up. DO NOT rub your face with cleanser! This action could potentially only cause dirt and oils to be shoved into your pores, so to speak, rather than lifted from them.
Instead, press your palms, not fingers, to your face and roll them back and forth and then lift and repeat. You’re trying to create a suction action that will actually draw dirt out of your pores and onto the surface of your skin to be rinsed away. You don’t want to rush this process. Take your time as the natural, active oils and nutrients in the cleanser rebalance your skin. With any type of facial cleanser, washing it off too soon is the most common mistake and can leave your skin unbalanced.
If you are wearing eye makeup or a lot of face makeup, you may skip the pre-moistening step. Apply the cleanser directly to the face and use a warm, soft washcloth to wipe the makeup off. Then proceed with regular cleansing.

Foaming Cleansers
Think of foaming cleansers as concentrates. The most common mistake is applying them directly to the skin, foaming them up and then washing them off. By applying the concentrated cleanser without foaming first, you may be using too much product. This process can leave your skin unbalanced, overdry or unclean. With most foaming cleansers, instead of rubbing your face with them to build up a lather, you should rub them between your hands with water first and then gently rub the foam to your face. Rub only enough to evenly distribute the cleanser and then begin to pat and roll, creating suction. This process should take at least 30 seconds. Don’t rush it! Rinse thoroughly. If your skin feels tight or dry after using a foaming cleanser, it is posible that the product is not right for you but you may need to rinse longer or you may have used too much product.

As with any new skin care product, it can take some getting used to and not seeing results right away can be frustrating.  If you are trying natural based cleansers for the first time, when you don’t get the same feeling you’re used to right away, you might think about going back to conventional products but remember, that feeling never seems to last does it?  By being patient with the process, and using these tips, you may end up finding an effective, healthy cleanser that you can use for years to come and continue to get great results like I have!