Introduction

You've been dying to try that new shampoo that’s supposed to make your hair thick, lush and shiny. You can’t wait to use that new exfoliating scrub because the label tells you that it’s going to make your skin soft and glowing. You love that new cologne, every time you wear it you get so many compliments on how great you smell!

You love these products and how they make you look and feel, but did it ever occur to you that what you put on your hair or your skin could make you sick? Did you know these products contain chemicals, toxins and hormones that can cause anything from an unsightly rash to learning difficulties to birth defects and even cancer? Even though each product may contain a limited amount of these toxins, please keep in mind, most people use several products each day, from the moment they wake up ( soap, shampoo, conditioner, shave cream, deodorant, toothpaste, hand soap, make up) until they go to bed. After many years of daily use, these toxins accumulate in your body to cause the ailments I've listed above, among many others. If they cause these concerns for adults, just imagine the damage they can do to children who are smaller and weigh less. Although each product you may use may contain a restricted amount of chemicals, hormones and toxins, they can, and many times they do cause a myriad of damage to us all.

Not only are these beauty products toxic for humans, they are toxic to the environment, as well. Many of these products are made with petroleum based ingredients which contributes to global warming. Did you know that if you switch just one bottle of a petroleum based product for a vegetable based product we could save 81,000 barrels of oil in one year. How’s that for incentive to switch?

So now you decide it’s time to go “green”, you go to the health food store and purchase “Organic” or “Natural” products and you no longer have to worry about these concerns….or do you?

I have a favorite website: http://www.safecosmetics.org/, which is an online cosmetics-safety database for consumers, called "Skin Deep". Skin Deep highlights ingredients in beauty products that may pose safety risks in humans.
Skin Deep is maintained by the nonprofit Environmental Working Group (EWG). It lists ingredients in over 27,000 products, a small chunk of the personal-care products on the market, considering most of us use 15 or more cosmetic and toiletry products each day. I recently found an online article from the Seattle Times which states "The personal-care products we use contain 10,500 different chemicals, according to the Seattle-based Toxic-Free Legacy Coalition." That's a large amount of chemicals in most of the products offered on America's retail shelves.

I think Skin Deep is a great tool. I encourage you to go onto this site and punch in any of the products you use. Skin Deep will tell you how toxic the product is on a scale of zero to ten, and what concerns these toxins cause. I went to the Natural Products Expo East, this past September and after I came home with my "goodie bag" full of products, I went onto Skin Deep to see how these “Natural” products rated and I was amazed how high some of these products scored on the scale. Just because a product claims to be "natural" or "organic" doesn’t mean there aren’t any toxins, chemicals, hormones or synthetic ingredients lurking among the "natural" goods you just purchsed .

A little bit about myself: My name is Julie and I am a product junkie (cosmetics, hair care and the like). I love beauty products and I love to shop. I'm a very young and immature 40, and I have a wonderful husband and a beautiful four year old daughter. I have been recycling for several years, my favorite home cleaning products are baking soda and vinegar and I try to buy organic foods (most of the time..unless the organic strawberries are $7 a pint). I have been concerned about toxins and hormones in our food for a long time, but just recently became aware of the same concerns in my beloved beauty products. I am concerned about the health of my family and my planet, and I am now obsessed with informing you and your family of the dangers of these seemingly harmless products.

The point of this blog: Now that I am committed to buying the least toxic products, how do I know if these low-toxic or earth friendly products work, how do I know if they're any good? Unfortunately, we have no way of knowing how good or bad these products perform, until we spend our hard earned cash and buy it. With that being said, I thought I would make it easy for everyone and take advantage of my love of shopping. I am going to buy a couple of products per week, try them out for a week or two, then give you my critique about whether I think the product is worth purchasing or if I would not recommend the product to you. I will also keep price in mind, (some of these products are pretty expensive), so I will let you know, even if I like the product, whether I think it’s worth the price. I am going to focus on products that score low (0-2) or moderately low (3-4) on the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics scale. I also hope that you feel comfortable sharing your opinions with me. I have added a space for comments so if you have tried a product that scores low on the Skin Deep/ EWG scale, please share your opinion with me. If you would like me to try a product, let me know what it is and I'll try it. The only thing I ask of you is that you are honest, if you are affiliated with a company, please disclose your affiliation to the company you are reviewing.

Thanks,
Julie

Thursday, December 27, 2007

I'm Torn

I'm not a fan of fuzzy legs, so I end up having to shave my legs daily. As you know from an earlier blog, I purchased a few products from Samantharoma, one of which was, Smooth Shaving Oil for Her. I have never used a shave oil before, just shaving creams or gels, so I must admit, the first couple of times I used it, I just didn't get it. Oil is messy, the bottle is oily, my razor got clogged, but oh, were my legs smooth! Day-um, were my legs soft and moisturized. So I guess I'm kind of torn on this product. On one hand, even though it's oil, it doesn't spread that well. When I shaved my underarm's this morning, I applied the oil, but I totally nicked my skin just above where I applied the oil. With cream, it usually doesn't matter, once the cream is on the razor, the razor is usually pretty slick, but for some reason, even though the oil clogs up the razor, it doesn't help to spread the oil around your skin. I also didn't love the price, $10.95 for a 2oz. bottle is a bit steep. The 2oz. lasted me about 3 weeks, shaving my lower legs everyday, upper thighs once a week and underarms every other day. This isn't a big deal, but I also had to rewash under my arms after I shave there because the oil really sticks to the skin. What I do like is, I got a really good, close shave. Like I said above, my legs have never been so smooth which again, is very important to me in the winter. You can also use this to shave on wet or dry skin, so that's quite convenient. The base is made of "a blend of essential oils, golden Jojoba which mimics the skin's natural sebum and conditioning Sunflower Oil. Tea Tree Oil is added for its anitseptic, antiviral and antifungal properties".
*Samantharoma is also a Compact for Safe Cosmetics signer, which means "The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics — of which EWG is a founding member — is a coalition of public health, educational, religious, labor, womens, environmental, and consumer groups working on the ground in communities, in the halls of lawmakers, and directly with cosmetic manufacturers to encourage reformulations and safer ingredients. Over 500 companies have voluntarily signed a pledge called the campaign's "Compact for Safe Cosmetics," a pledge to formulate products that do not use ingredients that are known or suspected to cause certain health harms within three years of signing."
All in all, I think it's a great product if you like an oil, but I guess I just prefer a cream or gel. I also don't know that I think it was worth almost $11.00 (more after paying for shipping) for a 2 oz. bottle of oil, just to shave.
*This product is rated a 0 on the Skin Deep/ EWG scale.
*The Samantharoma website is http://samantharoma.com.
*This product was $10.95 for a 2oz. bottle.

*January 30, 2008- I would like to thank Samantha for her feedback. I agree with Samantha, and I encourage you to try her products for yourself. I have not only enjoyed trying her products, but I also think she must have a degree in customer service. Any time I had a question for her, I have always received very quick feedback. I believe she started this business not only for her passion for making the products, but because she truly cares about her customers and their well being.
-Julie

2 comments:

samantharoma said...

"Julie, thanks for your positive comments on Samantharoma's Smooth Shaving Oil. We agree - there is no smoother shave out there! I would like to reply to a couple of the comments that you made.

First on price, our Shaving Oil is definitely more expensive than mass-produced shaving cream or gel. Of course those products are loaded with harsh, cheap chemicals that make their producers rich! If you compare our product with a similar shaving product it is priced very favorably. A competitor's product sells on www.drugstore.com for $6.38/0.68 fl oz. Our product only costs $2.17 for the same amount!

Secondly, we are very surprised that your oil lasted only 3 weeks. We believe that you may have been using more than is necessary. Most consumers report the product lasting two or more months. The easiest way to apply the product is to dispense a small amount into the palm of your hands, rub your palms together & then apply to the area to be shaved.

Again, thank you for trying & reviewing our product. Whilst we have many satisfied users of our Smooth Shaving Oil, we take all feedback seriously. Samantharoma is dedicated to bringing you quality, affordable products that are kind to you & the environment. We encourage readers to visit www.samantharoma.com & try the product for themselves!

Samantha Moore
Owner, designer
www.samantharoma.com
Indulge. Enjoy. Be Kind."

tclimb said...

Thanks for the post. Very helpful!