Green Options » lipstick

Canada Says Chemicals Used In Cosmetics Could Cause Cancer

Andrew Williams — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:20:53 +0000

In shocking news, the Canadian government has announced that two chemicals used in cosmetics are carcinogens that are severely harmful to human health. A further two chemicals found in lipstick and other personal care products have also been found to be highly toxic to the environment.

The two cancer-causing chemicals, isoprene and epichlorohydrin, have been added to the Cosmetic Ingredient Hotlist to prevent their future use in cosmetics. Health Canada is also proposing that manufacturers use best-available technology to control releases of isoprene.

The cosmetics chemicals posing a danger to the environment are the siloxanes D4 and D5, which are used as emollients to soften the skin and are found in most personal care products on the market in Canada and the United States.

Christy Coleman’s Picks for Best Natural Lipstick

Terri Bly — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 05:07:23 +0000

This past spring, Christy Coleman - makeup artist to stars like Sheryl Crow and Emmy Rossum - decided to throw out all of her top-tier conventional products, replacing them with nothing but naturals. Unlike many of the experts who complain that “compromises” still have to be made to get great lip color, Coleman has found some jewels that require no compromising whatsoever. So without further adieu, and in no particular order, here are her picks for the best all-natural lipsticks of 2008 (because you never know what’s around the corner here in the new year):

Peacekeeper: in Paint me intuitive, and Paint me content ($14, drugstore.com).

Should Warning Labels be on Our Beauty Products?

Tiana Griego — Fri, 23 May 2008 01:20:31 +0000

I often wonder why our beauty products do not come with warning labels; most of them are filled with toxins harmful to our bodies and our environment. Ingredients such as parabens, sodium lauryl sulfate, germall, coal tar derivatives, urea, phthalates, toluene, formaldehyde, mineral oil, propylene glycol, triclosan, DEA, TEA, MEA, synthetic fragrances, PEG, BHA, and petroleum. Many of these ingredients have been confirmed to cause a wide range of cancers, reproductive concerns, allergies, and a sizeable list of health problems. Furthermore the ingredients which pollute our bodies also pollute the environment.To see the health effects of your current cosmetics check out the Environment Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database. In the search field of the website, type your brand of cosmetics, or simply type one of its ingredients. Information will appear using a 1–10 ratio scale; 10 being the most harmful brand or ingredient.Your skin is your largest organ. It is porous; everything you apply on your body seeps into your pores. Therefore, what you put on your body is as important as what you put in it. Why not use beauty products kind to animals, kind to the planet, and kind to you?

What’s the solution?After much research concerning cosmetics which are safe, yet provide the desired results, I’ve found a great website to share: Holistic Beauty.

Tip o’ the Day: Yummy Lipsticks

Rebecca Carter — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 15:49:38 +0000

Hungry? It's said that women "eat" or ingest 6 pounds of lipstick over their lifetime. If that's the case, then we want to make sure that we are eating the best lipstick possible!

By checking out Skin Deep, the cosmetics database, it's obvious that there are a lot of lipsticks out there that are full of very questionable ingredients. Revlon's Moon Drops & Super Lustrous lines are among the worst offenders. But no one uses them, right? In fact, Revlon says the Super Lustrous is America's #1 lipstick according to AC Nielsen data.

We have options, however. Of course you can decide to go without makeup, but that's certainly not the only choice. There are many lipsticks available from companies like Canary, Jane Iredale, CARGO, and Peacekeeper that have ingredients that we wouldn't mind eating as much. Okay, okay, so shea butter with a side of castor oil isn't our first for dinner…but it certainly beats propylene glycol ricinoleate.

Rebecca says: I'm very excited to have found Peacekeeper Cause-metics who don't use nasty ingredients and donate all profits after taxes to women's health advocacy & human rights issues. My husband will be happy, too. I haven't worn nail polish in a very long time!