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, March 14, 2008

Consumer Alert

I can still blog with minimal effort to the fingers, all I have to do is share info I receive..which brings me to an email I received from the Organic Consumers Association today.. quite interesting!

CONSUMER ALERT:
CANCER-CAUSING INGREDIENT FOUND IN LEADING "ORGANIC" & "NATURAL" PERSONAL CARE PRODCUTS
A newly released study commissioned by the Organic Consumers Association (OCA) and overseen by environmental health consumer advocate David Steinman (author of The Safe Shopper's Bible), revealed the presence of the undisclosed carcinogenic contaminant 1,4-Dioxane in leading shampoos, body washes, lotions and other personal care and household cleaning products claiming to be "natural" or "organic". The study results, to be released this weekend at the Natural Products Expo in California, are already sending shockwaves through the "organic" and "natural" body care industry. Laboratory tests showed that products certified under the USDA National Organic Program DID NOT contain this toxin, but most of the best selling personal care products claiming to be "organic" (but not USDA certified) contained the cancer-causing ingredient. All leading self-proclaimed "organic" brands have at least a few individual "certified organic" ingredients, but for most of these top-selling brands, the product, as a whole, is not USDA organic certified, thereby allowing the presence of synthetic toxins. Similar studies have revealed the presence of this toxin in conventional personal care products, but this is the first study indicating the presence in misleadingly labeled "organic" and "natural" products.
Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/comingclean.cfm
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CONSUMER TIP OF THE WEEK:
HOW TO AVOID 1,4-DIOXANE IN YOUR PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS

Some of the products found to contain 1,4-Dioxane: JASON Pure Natural & Organic, Giovanni Organic Cosmetics, Kiss My Face, Nature’s Gate Organics (see a full list of OCA's study results here)
Remember that just because a personal care product labels itself with the words "organic" or "certified organic" doesn't mean it meets any specified organic standards.
Look for products that are certified under the USDA National Organic Program (or a similar German program) and products that bear the "USDA Organic" seal.
Search product labels for ingredients with the following in their names to avoid products containing 1,4-Dioxane: myreth, oleth, laureth, ceteareth, any other eth, PEG, polyethylene, polyethylene glycol, polyoxyethylene, or oxynol.
In general, avoid products with unpronounceable ingredients to be sure to avoid synthetic toxins and carcinogens.
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QUICK RELATED BLIP:
INDUSTRY IGNORES CONSUMER CONCERNS & CREATES BOGUS "OASIS" ORGANIC STANDARD
A new "organic" standard for personal care products has been created exclusively by conventional industry members like Estee Lauder (owner of Aveda), Loreal and Hain (Jason, Avalon), without any input or comment period from organic consumers, organic farmers or personal care companies who have achieved USDA National Organic Program certification for the majority of their products. The OASIS standard allows a product to be labeled outright as “Organic” (rather than “Made with Organic Specified Ingredients”) even if it contains hydrogenated and sulfated cleansing ingredients like Sodium Lauryl Sulfate made from conventional agricultural material grown with synthetic fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides, and preserved with synthetic petrochemical preservatives like Ethylhexylglycerin and Phenoxyethanol. As always, the OCA recommends consumers look for personal care products certified under the USDA National Organic Program.
Learn more: http://www.organicconsumers.org/articles/article_10886.cfm
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Posted by Julie at 4:08 PM

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