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

Friday, January 11, 2008

I Heart Moroccan Oil

A friend of mine turned me onto this product called "Moroccan Oil" for hair. She first read about it in Lucky Magazine, then a few months later she was in NY City where she saw it in a salon and decided to purchase it there. Anyway, my friend, I'll call her G, swore this made her long, dry, curly hair shiny, soft, silky and smooth. It controls frizz, softens hair and makes it more manageable. She's convinced that this product repairs damage from environmental factors such as the sun and wind. She and I went to cosmetology school together in 1988-1989 (wow!! we're old) and we both know nothing can repair split ends, but she is convinced this is a miracle in a bottle, she actually refers to it as liquid gold. This product is also supposed to decrease blow drying time, and with her long thick hair, she swears it does just that for her and several other friends. She also loves the scent so much she dabs a drop on her wrist at night before bed, it's an aromatherapy treatment for her as well. Anyway, with all of this lovey dovey between her and this product, she told me she would give me a bottle because she knew I would love it as much as she does. Now, I'm not one to decline a challenge, so I fell for it. I'm thinking she's crazy...my hair is thin, fine, as straight as a pin... the last thing my hair needs is oil.....well, guess who's eating crow now. Yep, I admit, it, this is THE BEST HAIR STYLING PRODUCT EVER!!! There I said it, I was wrong....after all these years thinking I would never use a serum or oil or anything like that, I can't live without this stuff. It's for all hair types it doesn't leave my hair greasy and it doesn't weigh my hair down at all. I use it right after I towel dry my hair, before I blow dry it and I can't say enough about it. I used to use hair thickeners, mousse and anything to give my hair volume, but with this product I don't need any of that, I don't know how a product that smooths long, curly hair can add volume to my baby fine hair, but it does, and the shine is amazing! The thickeners made my hair feel nasty and full of product, now I can run my fingers through my hair and they don't get stuck from all of the product. It can also be used in hair color to help condition the hair while you're frying it with the color. I'm telling you I am soooo excited about this that after 39 years I finally found a product I LOVE.
Now that I gave you all of the good points, here it comes (you knew there had to be a catch), it's like $40 or $50 for a 3.4 oz bottle, depending on where you purchase it. It's sold at salons or through distributors. You can go onto their website, punch in your zip code and it will reveal what local salon or distributor carries it.
I know it is quite expensive, so unless you have a nice chunk of disposable income, it's not really affordable. I received the bottle on Black Friday and I still have about 1/4 bottle left (my hair is close to the Pob bob, so it's pretty short).
*There is nothing by the Moroccan Oil Company in the EWG database, therefore, I think it's safe to assume, they are not a Compact For Safe Cosmetics signer.
*This product was not in the Skin Deep/ EWG database but when I added in the ingredients, it came up as a 3. *This information has not been verified by the EWG.
*The Moroccan Oil website is http://www.moroccanoil.com/.
*As mentioned above, depending on where you purchase this, it is most likely going to set you back between $40.00 & $50.00.

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Posted by Julie at 7:51 AM

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