Posts Tagged ‘organic skin care’

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.

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.

Boy have we been busy! Between seeking out and bringing in the hottest new eco-organic product lines like Honoré des Prés, Aromatherapy Personals (introduced to us by green queen Stancie at figandsage), Floc Designs and Chocolate Sun…and launching new products from our favorite lines like Tsi-La’s new, organic Misaki fragrance, spring has blown in loads of product excitement!

We’ve also been making the rounds at our favorite blogs:
We gave Self Magazine’s Behind the Beauty Pages Blog some Green Beauty Shopping Tips you must check out.

We gave the Style Networks MYSTYLE blog some hangover skin care recommendations.

Our CTONICS Shampoo and Intelligent Nutrients Volumizer were featured Green Stars in Elle’s Green Issue and Ctonics Passion was also recommended by Star magazine for “naturally gorgeous” hair.

Ecostiletto calls Spirit their “beauty conscience”

Have you seen our Press page lately?  It seems like the blogosphere has a crush on Spirit Beauty Lounge.  We hope you do too!

Head over to Stylist.com and Greendaily.com to enter to win in our Jurlique and Skinny Skinny GIVEAWAYS!

The more uses you can get out of one product, the better.  Less packaging, less energy, less waste, and less money spent are all good things but memories of those “shampoo plus conditioner” horrors of the 80’s and 90’s turned us off to them.  While they are the greenest way to go, “jack of all trades, master of none” is not what you want from your beauty products.  We’ve discovered, sometimes by accident, a few products that master ALL of their intended (and some non intended) uses…

Patyka Huile Absolute Serum is as fantastic a makeup primer as it is a frizz tamer for hair as it is a cuticle healer as it is an after-shave serum that leaves skin silky, not shiny.  It really does all four of these well and many have reported even more uses! Silicone free and rich in active organic plant extracts, this serum is great to have around for many reasons.

Skinny Skinnys Basil & Mint Shaving Soap is great for men and women, smells fabulous, lathers well and when shaving, lets the razor glide right over the skin. As an everyday soap, it works beautifully on combination skin with tea tree and aloe that soothe and refresh. The greenest part about this soap is not just it’s use for shaving as well as cleansing but the fact that it lasts forever!  We’ve had ours for months!

Our little Sustainable Sea Silk Sponges have replaced all of our cotton pads and latex sponges.  Dampen with water and you have the perfect foundation sponge that will give you an airbrush finish.  Rinse clean and apply your favorite makeup remover to gently yet thoroughly wipe away makeup.  One sponge to apply and remove and no waste!  These are naturally antibacterial, wont fall apart and can last ages.

Patyka Biokaliftin Intensive Cleanser is a makeup remover, cleanser, and moisturizer in one bottle!  Use as a makeup remover first, then use with water to cleanse thoroughly. The perfect blend of organic ingredients leaves skin clean and hydrated. Luxury skin care is rarely multitasking (think: neck cream, eye cream, bust cream, face cream, face serum, night cream, day cream…) so its nice to have a high quality, high end product that does it all without sacrificing the beautiful scent, look and feel of luxury. At $42, it’s quite economical considering its multiple uses.