The Green Beauty Guide: Your Essential Resource to Organic and Natural Skin Care, Hair Care, Makeup, and Fragrances (14 page)

I don’t expect you to instantly discard all your time-tested beauty treasures. If your heart bleeds, put them in a box and try switching to green, natural skin care for just one month. Give it a try. After one month, if you still feel like it, you can always go back to your chemical skin care. But something tells me you won’t want to.

Lesson 12: Spread the Word

As you gain more knowledge about the principles of green beauty, don’t keep it to yourself. Before going to a store for a new lipstick or a shampoo, make it a habit to do a bit of online research. Read unbiased reviews on skin care boards and forums such as
MakeupAlley.com
. In most cases, the product that caused 75 percent of reviewers to break out will make you break out, too. The same applies to redness, stinging, or flakiness. Post your own reviews and write comments on green blogs. For a deeper insight into cosmetic ingredients, head to the Environmental Working Group’s website (
www.ewg.org
).

If a cosmetic product causes irritation or an allergic reaction, take action. First of all, return the product immediately. Depending on the severity of the symptoms, apply over-the-counter medication or contact your healthcare provider. Call the manufacturer of the offending product and let them know what you have experienced. Most likely, you’ll spend twenty minutes on hold before you talk to a call center person, but don’t give up—and follow up with an e-mail. If you have suggestions or criticisms, be proactive and speak out: it’s the only way to trigger changes.

chapter
4

understanding
green
beauty

I
f you are reading this book, you are most likely open to exploring alternative ways of treating your skin and hair. Good for you! In fact, it’s good for all of us. The world of natural beauty is full of amazing discoveries that will keep you wondering how you could have used synthetic chemical skin care for so long. And as you learn the price you’ve been paying for conventional skin care, you will no doubt be longing to know if there are any alternatives.

People worldwide are striving to make their lifestyles cleaner and safer. As governments begin to take action against climate change, growing landfill (and sea-fill) sites, and the threatening energy crisis, we can’t help but consider lifestyle changes and rethink our purchasing habits. Organic has gone mainstream, and it’s no longer just about eating organic food or driving a hydrogen-powered car. Hollywood celebrities are installing solar panels, sharing tips on composting, and driving cars that smell like French fries. They are shopping for organic lettuce and oil made from olives grown at an ancient farm in Tuscany, harvested according to moon cycles and hand-pressed to ensure pure virginity. And the rest of us follow the lead. In the United States alone, sales of organic food have steadily grown by approximately 20 percent every year. In 2006, retail sales of organic foods exceeded $15 billion, compared to only $6.6 billion in 2000. That’s double the growth in just six years! Four in ten consumers today buy some type of organic food every time they shop for groceries. Personal care items are among the most popular organically produced goods, along with fruits, milk, and meats.

Four in ten consumers today buy some type of organic food every time they shop for groceries.

There are 40 million “green boomers” in the United States today, according to a survey released byAARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons. These environmentally conscious consumers make up more than half of the country’s 79 million baby boomers, and combined with the younger generation of green-minded consumers out there, this is a very influential consumer group. This is why even a small change in your consumer habits makes a big difference. If you refuse to buy one bottle of toxic shampoo, this means that 40 million bottles remain unsold! This way, corporations have no other choice but to take note.

This book is designed to become your simple yet comprehensive guide to natural, organic, and ecoconscious skin care, hair care, fragrances, and makeup. It will help you make smart choices and mold the principles of organic beauty around your personal style.

Contrary to what some people say, green beauty isn’t expensive. My recent check revealed that many organically grown vegetables cost only 10 percent more than their pesticide-laden neighbors. The same with beauty: it’s becoming more practical and affordable because many plant ingredients are cheaper to grow than synthesize. Many natural shampoos double as shower gels, so you can get away with using one product instead of two, and they are more concentrated, so you don’t have to buy the product as often.

With green beauty, you will be saving some money and becoming healthier. That brings us to the next big topic: what is green when it comes to beauty?

Green Beauty Decoded

Today, many people associate “green” with eco-consciousness, sustainability, organic farming, chemical-free foods, and low-emission vehicles running on biofuels or electricity. In beauty, green means understanding nature and the human body as a whole, improving your looks naturally and holistically, and abstaining from synthetic, hazardous chemicals.

When I started writing this book, I planned to name it
The Organic Beauty Bible.
In this title, I was thinking about “organic” in its general meaning, as it was used in the beginning of the 1990s before governments started to regulate organic foods and certify producers that meet standards for organic production. Today, organic is better defined and less inclusive. When someone claims their fruits or juices are organic, they must produce proof that it’s really so. Back in the 1990s, though, organic was still associated with all things holistic and esoteric. So instead of focusing on a few cosmetic brands that use only certified organic ingredients, I decided to come up with “green beauty.”

Today, organic is better defined and less inclusive. When someone claims their fruits or juices are organic, they must produce proof that it’s really so.

In this book, “green” means that a cosmetic product has been formulated without harmful toxic chemicals—including paraben and formaldehyde-based preservatives, sulfate-based detergents, synthetic penetration enhancers, and artificial dyes and fragrances. Such a product should ideally contain certified organic ingredients whenever possible. It may be packaged in recyclable or recycled boxes and bottles, and it shouldn’t contain chemicals that poison the environment, such as phosphate and sulfate detergents, petrochemicals, and phthalates.

Green beauty does not need to be completely plant-derived. Minerals, such as zinc oxide, titanium oxide, mica, and others, as well as vitamins, glycerin, and certain claysmake wonderful and very beneficial additions to cosmetic formulations. Other newly developed active ingredients, such as coenzyme Q10 (ubiquinone), kinetin, human growth factor, and various peptides cannot be obtained by simply distilling themfromfruits and herbs. These ingredients are derived from natural sources, but undergo complex chemical treatment before they become suitable for use in cosmetics.

Green beauty isn’t necessarily certified organic. Many plants cannot be grown in certified organic farms. Many excellent green beauty products use plants that are wild-harvested or grown locally on clean soil without any chemical additives. When you mix and blend homemade masks and hair treatments, you are not exactly doing that according to certified organic standards.

“We use natural ingredients, but this does not mean we use rosemary stems straight out of the dirt and bottle them,” says Suki Kramer, the founder of Suki Naturals, favored by Eva Longoria, Jennifer Garner, and Edie Falco, to name just a few ecoconscious celebrities. “We process and refine ingredients down to their essences. Exceptionally powerful and potent ingredients do exist in nature. Science has created more natural sources to create potent active ingredients, and as consumer knowledge grows, synthetic is becoming obsolete. Part of our goal is to teach people that you do not need synthetics to have great, effective cosmetic treatments and great skin.”

Shades of Green Beauty

It’s not uncommon to find labels such as “organic,” “hypoallergenic,” and “cruelty-free” attached to your favorite skin care products. But when you buy green cosmetic products, it’s hard to tell whether the word “organic” on a label is a genuine claim. Green claims sound reassuring, but you should be warned that too often they have little, if any, meaning. More often than not, closer inspection reveals that such products contain minuscule amounts of organic herbs, and the rest of the bottle is filled with preservatives and chemicals. The advice in this chapter will help you understand which natural cosmetics on the market really are what they claim to be and which are hyping their products as something they’re not. Here are some tips that may help you buy green products that are truly green, not just colored green with synthetic dyes.

Organic

Variations:
78 percent organic ingredients, made with organic ingredients and contains organic extracts.

Some people see organic as a way to reduce the environmental load on Mother Nature. To poetic natures, organic is a return to cosmic harmony and natural rhythms of the universe. Others would rather support a local farmer and shop for local seasonal produce instead of buying organic kiwis shipped on an airplane from New Zealand. The rest—the majority of shoppers—would buy organic because they look for products that contain no harmful chemicals such as preservatives, colorings, or pesticides. Chemical-free, grown in natural conditions, packaged without preservatives, and bursting with more nutrients and vitamins: this is what organic means to us when it comes to food.

As defined by the U.S. National Organic Standards Board, “Organic agriculture is an ecological production management system that promotes and enhances biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity. It is based on minimal use of off-farm inputs and on management practices that restore, maintain and enhance ecological harmony.” This means that plants used in organic beauty products are minimally processed without artificial ingredients, preservatives, or irradiation.

“Certified organic” means that an ingredient or the whole product has been grown or produced according to strict government-enforced organic agricultural standards and verified by an approved third-party organization. There are many independent organic certifying organizations. Their standards include the following: no synthetic chemicals, pesticides, or fertilizers; no sewage sludge; no genetically modified organisms; and no animal testing of ingredients or completed products. Organic ingredients must be grown without fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides, or genetic twisting, and processed using natural methods, without chemical ripening. Animals raised on an organic farm must be fed organic feed and given access to the outdoors. They should never be given antibiotics or growth hormones. It’s impossible to organically certify water and salt, although many food manufacturers go to extra lengths and use water from springs that flow on organically certified soil.

Biodynamic

Biodynamic is a forerunner of an organic movement, and it’s more holistic in approach. In addition to organic practices, such as crop rotation and composting, biodynamic farms use special plant, animal, and mineral preparations, and the rhythmic influences of the sun, moon, planets, and stars to create a thriving ecosystem. “Biodynamics is a process of healing the skin or the soil, as opposed to replacing the substance or relieving the symptom,” says Susan West Kurz, holistic skin care expert and president of Dr. Hauschka Skin Care. “Organic tends to replace synthetic substances with botanicals, but biodynamic asks,Why is there a pest or a weed in the first place. Where is the imbalance? If there are larvae on your broccoli, it tells you that there is something wrong with the health of the soil. So we would apply our biodynamic spray on the plant or on the soil to help it regain balance.”

Biodynamic farming is an approach based on the work of Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner. In 1924, he believed that the quality of food was downgrading “thanks” to artificial fertilizers, pesticides, and the whole chemical approach to farming. A central aspect of biodynamics is that the farm is seen as an organism and therefore should be a closed, self-nourishing system. “Biodynamic agriculture includes the forces that make food nutritious and that are of benefit to health,” says Michael Bate, the head gardener of Weleda. “It is the art of the biodynamic farmer to create a harmonious balance between the various realms of nature. Biodynamic gardening enhances the working of the forces coming via the earth, also through light, air and warmth, and from the influences of planetary rhythms, to create vitalized soil and plants.”