Jezebel 
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New York, 4:14 AM
Mon Nov 9
19 posts in the last 24 hours
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09/14/09
09/14/09
You can look up individual products OR ingredients to determine whether a product is safe, AND you can use it to find better alternatives. (Type in 'shampoo' and it brings up a huge list in order from safest to most dangerous.)
They are sort of like Consumer Reports, in that they are completely unbiased. Some "natural" products rate poorly and some cheap drugstore stuff rates well. They don't care - they just want the information out there so we can make wise decisions on our own.
Everything we put ON our skin seeps into our bodies and bloodstreams, which is logical b/c we know there are "trans-dermal" medicines that work via a skin patch. (Nicotine patches, birth control patches and many more.)
Everything I use now is well-rated. And, if it's good for YOU, it's good for the environment, too. All of the horrifying chemicals from our soaps, shampoos, etc. wash down the drain and make it back to streams, rivers and oceans and are wreaking havoc on marine life, there.
PLEASE CHECK IT OUT!!!
love, beth
09/14/09
A good example I can think of off the top of my head is henna. Henna has been used for centuries by women in Northern Africa, the Middle East, and India to create temporary body art. Its tones range from brown to orange to red, and very few people are allergic, making it a good choice for body art. The dye molecules stain the skin, but do not completely penetrate, so as the skin sheds dead layers, the stain appears to fade and eventually disappears. However, if an agent like tea or coffee is mixed in to help create an initially darker stain, the caffiene does penetrate completely and can enter the bloodstream.
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'm on a bit of a tangent, but human and environmental health are one and the same in my mind. Maybe human health concerns and environmental concerns will drive the adoption of better standards all around.
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If you want to see what's in the eyeliner, shampoo, lotion, etc. that you use & how they compare to others in terms of safety, look them up in Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database: www.cosmeticsdatabase.com
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(This isn't the first time I've heard this...this is just my general outrage over it)
09/14/09
I got in trouble when I used to work at Blockbuster because we were selling a video poker set that plugged into your TV and you and 3 friends could play Texas Hold'em or something. They set them on the counters so the cashiers could see the backs and the customers saw the front. These were like, $60 sets and I noticed there was a warning label and started pointing it out to people. My manager's weren't happy, but the assistant manager with the pregnant girlfriend was thrilled that I showed him before he bought it.
09/14/09
I avoid products with known endocrine disruptors (the funky chemicals that bio-accumulate, act as estrogen, and may lead to cancer in a subset of people).
Still, I haven't found something to substitute my St. Ives apricot scrub and the Neutrogena bath oil. Both have para-benzoic acid. :(
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Obviously other things might be less natural and are advised to be avoided, but is that because they are definitely harmful to a fetus or because they haven't been tested on a fetus and it's better to be safe than sorry?
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As for chemicals in makeup.....I tend to not worry about things like that. Lead, for example, people get all worked up about lead in anything from makeup to toys, when it's really such small amounts that it doesn't make a difference. Not as much as, say, the shit air we take in every day. Ever pick your nose after a day out in London? It ain't pretty.
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That's really the key. They have safer ingredients, they can make their products (though perhaps not as cheaply) with them, but they won't do it until they're forced to – either by a governing board like the FDA or consumer demand.