More Ways to be Smart, Beautiful & Green

Read the label on everything! Then go to http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/ to enter any ingredient or product to find out more about it. Use Wikipedia to look up definitions of chemical compounds. Use google to further investigate ingredients, definitions, uses.


Remember: you get what you pay for when buying personal care products. Spend a little more for products that have no synthetic fillers or extenders (esp. in makeup, the most common being talc) and the amount needed for each use is considerably smaller, thus extending the total overall numbers of use.Only a fraction of pure products and ingredients are needed for each use compared to those that are not.


Mineral makeup is superior to traditional makeup, in that it is longer lasting, sits on top of the skin rather than soaking into the skin and being absorbed, like liquid makeup. Liquids contain preservatives. Minerals are more pigmented so less is needed to cover. Longer lasting, since pores have room to breathe – you won’t sweat it off. Beware of BISMUTH OXYCHLORIDE, a common ingredient in some mineral lines for an opalescent sheen that is a product of lead refinement. It usually turns up in the more expensive lines (Trish McEvoy, True), rather than the cheaper ones (Afterglow, Alima)


Just because something is labeled as a baby product (baby oil, baby lotion, baby shampoo, etc) doesn’t mean it’s more safe and gentle. Baby oil is mostly mineral oil, which is a liquid mixture of hydrocarbons obtained from petroleum. Baby products, unless specifically formulated from organic ingredients without toxic preservatives, are still going to contain the same things as adult products – parabens, etc.


Traditional lipsticks and lipgosses contain mostly mineral oil or vaseline type ingredients. The average woman will ingest 10 pounds of petroleum by-product during her lifetime from simply licking her lips while wearing lipstick. Good alternatives are shea butter, candellila or canuaba wax.


Cochineal, Natural Red 4, C.I. 75470 or E120, is a pigment of a bright red color obtained from by boiling dried insects in water to extract the carminic acid and then treating the clear solution with alum, cream of tartar, stannous chloride, or potassium hydrogen oxalate. Carmine is used as a food dye in many different products such as juice, ice cream, yogurt, and candies, eyeshadow, lipstick, etc. Although principally a red dye, it is found in many foods that are shades of red, pink, and purple. As a food dye it has been known to cause severe allergic reactions and anaphylactic shock in some people.


Search for nail polishes that do not contain formaldehyde, toluene, or DBP (pthalates) which are incredibly toxic ingredients – both for our bodies and for the earth. (toluene is a key ingredient in gasoline, and all gasoline pumps in the state of California are required to post health warnings about toluene!)Look for non-toxic polishes at Whole Foods: Honeybee Gardens, Causemetics, Online: Zoya, Priti (coming soon)
Buy homemade/handcrafted soaps with herbs and flowers in them at farmer’s markets – support local business and avoid chemical additives. Beware of Greenwashing – just because something is labeled ‘organic’ or ‘all-natural’ doesn’t mean it’s free of toxic ingredients. Consider packaging – the less, the better.

April Fool's...

This is no joke: Women do not like to be made fool’s of. In the spirit of education and enlightenment, it’s critical that we all begin to read the labels of our personal care products.
What you will find, if you investigate, are an outrageous array of highly toxic ingredients that also show up in car wash detergents, oven cleaners, embalming fluid, gasoline, and engine degreasers. To me, this is a feminist issue of the highest concern: women overall use many more personal care products on a daily basis than men. We are the ones to whom the vast multi-billion dollar cosmetics and beauty industry is created, marketed, and sold.
And we are the ones who are showing the ill effects of it in the deadly rise of the breast cancer epidemic, to the pre-mature onset of menses in girls as young as 6, 7 and 8 years old, to the multitude of “inexplicable” everyday cases of contact dermatitis – rashes that are treated by mainstream dermatologists with even more chemicals (medicine)!

The lotions, potions, balms, and softeners that we put on our face and body are at their very heart, meant to soothe and comfort us through their textures, their aromas, their good intentions. The act of body care is a sacred ritual, and the ingredients we use in that ritual should be just as sacred, as special, and as SAFE as we can possibly make them. That no one (ie: government) is regulating these ingredients, that toxic chemicals are even considered to be acceptable for use on our skin, is beyond comprehension, and a boondoggle of the highest order. The worst offense is for a company to label their products “green” or “organic” or “all natural” while still continuing to include known carcinogens is beyond the pale.

Herewith, in the spirit of wising you up: Take this list shopping with you.

10 Ingredients to Avoid In Personal Care Products:

1) DEA (diethanolamine), MEA (momoethanolamine), TEA (triethanolamine): often appear on labels as Cocamide DEA and are commonly found in cleansers, shampoos and body washes as emulsifiers and foaming agents. According to a 1998 research study by the National Toxicology Program, these chemicals affect hormone function and are known to produce cancer-causing nitrates and nitrosamines in laboratory animals. The FDA is currently in the process of evaluating the link between DEA and cancer in humans.

2) FD&C Color Pigments: often made from coal tar, these artificial colorings can cause skin sensitivity and may be carcinogenic.

3) Added Fragrance: can be very sensitizing to the skin. Many of the compounds in fragrance are toxic and can cause headaches, dizziness or nausea.

4) Imidazolidinyl Urea & DM Hydantoin: these are the most commonly used preservatives after parabens. They are the second most identified cosmetic preservatives causing contact dermatitis according to the American Academy of Dermatology. These preservatives also release fomaldehyde, a chemical that can cause skin irritations as well as health problems such as migraines, allergies and asthma.

5) Isopropyl Alcohol: a petroleum-derived solvent found in hair rinses, hand lotions and shaving products. Also used as antifreeze at industrial strengths.

6) Mineral Oil: a petroleum-derived oil that is sensitizing to the skin and can inhibit the ability of the skin to breathe. Baby oil is 100% mineral oil.

7) Paraben Preservatives: Developed in the 1930’s, synthetic Methyl, Ethyl and Propyl Parabens were derived from benzoic acid and were considered effective and economical since they were inexpensive to use as both a cosmetics and food grade preservative. However, recently this preservative system has come into question as these substances have been found in cancerous tissues, especially breast tissue. The greatest concern of these preservatives focuses on their estrogen-mimicking factor in laboratory animals (i.e., their ability to mimic estrogen in the body). More research needs to be done to see if similar exposures to humans produces similar findings.

A study performed by the British Industrial Biological Research Assoc. that recorded the effects of parabens
in decreasing testosterone levels and sperm counts on the male reproductive system.
(British Industrial Biological Research Assoc. PG: 8 p YR: 1989 IP: VI)


It is estimated that 99% of all cosmetic and body care products contain some form of paraben preservatives.

8) PEG: is an abbreviation for polyethylene glycol and is used to break down oil or help thicken products. PEGs are often used in oven cleansers and are irritating to the skin.

9) Propylene Glycol (PG): an alcohol that can be manufactured synthetically, usually from petroleum or naturally, from corn. Synthetically derived, it is used as a surfactant or wetting agent and is an active ingredient in industrial antifreeze. Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) on propylene glycol warn users to
avoid skin contact as it is systemic and can cause kidney and liver abnormalities. Propylene glycol may damage cell membranes causing rashes, dry skin and surface damage to the skin.

10) Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) & Sodium Laureth Sulfate: are used as detergent surfactants to remove dirt from the skin. These compounds are also found in car wash soaps and engine degreasers and yet are commonly found in many shampoos and shower gels. SLS is very irritating to skin and can be toxic to eyes.

Not only are these “immortal ingredients” toxic to our bodies, but they also, if petroleum-based, deplete the earth’s resources and can be toxic to the environment. Several studies have shown high levels of benzene and naphthalene in the brain tissue of rainbow trout and Coho salmon.