Gorgeously Green

Once again... Oprah has sucked me in! LOL.

She had the author, Sophie Uliano, of "Gorgeously Green" on her show the other day. It was a really neat segment about Eco-Friendly tips because it was Earth Day. I thought I'd like the book so I hopped in my gas guzzling car and headed over to Barnes & Noble to pick up a copy.

It is a really interesting book. I'm enjoying it for the most part... but that other little part of me is FREAKED OUT!

She has an entire chapter devoted to Beauty. First off, I've always sort of known that our beauty products (cosmetics, bath products, hair products, lotions and potions, etc.) had rather questionable ingredients. But now... after several hours of reading about various products I use and have used... let's just say... I had a mini nervous breakdown. A great resource for ingredient information is Skin Deep.
"Skin Deep is a safety guide to cosmetics and personal care products brought to you by researchers at the Environmental Working Group."

It really is disturbing that there are no FDA regulations for these things that we slather onto the largest organ of our body. Our skin absorbs this stuff and who knows what the cumulative effects to our bodies really are.

Having had Breast Cancer at a young age with no apparent genetic disposition or major risk factors, I've had to ask my self the "why" question. Is it something I did? Could I have prevented it? My answer to myself and from my medical team has always been an emphatic NO. But still I wonder... how could I not?

For me, I've decided that I can't just walk away from the info I've stumbled upon and go back to business as usual. I know I'd regret it if I did. So into the trash went a lot of potions. Think$$ wasted!

One change I made immediately was to replace my Shampoo and Conditioner. I found Burt's Bees Very Volumizing Pomegranate & Soy Shampoo and Conditioner at Target
and I really like it.

The "experts" say to avoid products that contain fragrance because that is not regulated and often a catchall for bad stuff... but I'm not quite willing to give up everything yet! ;)

I also purchased Dr. Bronner's Almond Liquid Castile Soap and Peppermint Castile Bar Soap. I also like them very much.

Just a note though... do your research and don't believe the pretty labels claims of being organic and natural until your read the ingredients.

As far as cosmetics go, I already had a Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer in the Nutmeg shade so I felt I was off to a good start. My grandma had told me about this product because she uses it. It does contain Tocopherol (Vit. E) which can be contaminated but a girl's got to pick her battles. At least there are no Carcinogens or Parabens in it. ;)

I've placed an order with Everday Minerals for some samples of their mineral foundations, blush and concealer. They manufacture an all-natural and organic line of cosmetics that rates safer than what I use now. I just placed it last night and my samples have already shipped! I'll let you know what I think when I get them.

I'm researching some other things like mascara and hairspray and when I decide on something, I'll share.

I've been on a quest to simplify my life for a while now and I'm viewing this as another step in that direction. I've been in the process of "cleaning out" my household cleaning supplies and learning to use safer and cheaper options. I'm really liking the old staples of vinegar, baking soda and lemon. They really do work for a variety cleaning tasks. One product I switched to was Method Brand Pink Grapefruit All Surface Cleaner from Target. It works as good as the Windex and Counter Cleaners I previously used.

So anyway, I feel like I'm doing something good for myself and my family. Hopefully they won't notice when I start switching out their potions and lotions!

Hugs,
Dana