Green Options

See that profile pic of me? The hair? Yeah, my tresses are long.  Long as in, close to touching the pronounced rump.

That must take a whole lot of time to care for, right? Wrong.

I have a hair confession: I shampoo less than the average American.

Not only are home made beauty supplies less expensive, they’re better for you and for the planet.

Conventional beauty products often contain harmful additives to increase lather or give the product a creamy texture. Ingredients like Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate (SLS), for example, are in pretty much every skin- and hair-care product. SLS is a known mutagen and skin irritant and is even a suspected carcinogen! Even many natural products even contain some of the more toxic beauty industry chemicals. You can keep harsh chemicals off of your skin and out of the environment by making beauty supplies at home!

Using nontoxic organic beauty products should be a no-brainer by now, as we all know that what you put on is as important as what you put in.  Today you can effectively swap out any conventionally produced, toxin-laden product for a safer version that looks and acts just like its synthetic loaded counter-part.

Yet, many still opt for simpler skincare and go homemade.  While this is an easy and cost-effective route, there are certain products that need to be created, manufactured and packaged by professionals to provide the results and safety we all want and need.  Whipping up an exfoliant or cleanser is do-able and even fun.  Hair products and makeup are a completely different ballgame.

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.

Weeks back we discussed the delightful scents and overall loveliness of Lush’s deos. And how could I possibly have forgotten to post on one of my favorite shampoos! I am singing in the shower these lyrics: I o-la-la-la-la-la love luscious Lush:

“lemon-lime margarita shampoo adds shine and body to fine hair… It’s this saucy, sassy, salty shampoo! BIG combines shine-enhancing citrus juices with the beautifying, hair-buffing impact of sea salt and genuine sea water for

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Testing eight washed and eight unwashed hair samples, the University of Missouri’s Lakshmi Pandrangi and Glenn Morrison found that, on average, unwashed hair absorbs around seven times as much ozone as freshly washed hair. “Ozone is probably reacting with components of hair oil,” says Morrison.

Read Green Option: Shampoo Skipping

Source: New Scientist

Photo: shaaditimes.com

Sometimes the best way to cut down on your consumption is just to use less stuff. Green Options writer Maria Surma Manka gave me a tip suggestion recently that will help you do just that: "Wash your hair every other day. I started doing this about 1 1/2 years ago and besides spending less time in the shower using up water, I buy shampoo and conditioner much less (half as much, actually).

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