Safe Cosmetics ~ Healthy Faces by Eve Organics

Eve Organics Makeover at Gluten Free Gateway

Do you have an intolerance to gluten?  Do you have celiac's disease or IBS?  Many consumers who have been diagnosed with any of these problems or are just living a gluten/wheat-free lifestyle have found that personal care products that are FREE of all synthetic chemicals and are also gluten-free fit their holistic outlook.

Loretta Mirabella, founder of the Gluten Free Gateway, has all of the information on a gluten-free lifestyle.  She has a great new blog and website with helpful ideas and current articles.

She recently did a makeover with Eve Organics makeup and posted it on her website.  Check it out here:  http://glutenfreegateway.com/articles/20091002_1

Thanks Loretta!  Keep up the good work. 

Heavy Metals in Halloween Face Paint

Halloween is so fun for everyone.  Dress up and become someone or something else.  It's a time for bonding and family and . . . toxins?

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics has released an article showing the dangers of the ingredients found in the face paints we use for Halloween costumes.

Check it out at the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics website.  Pretty sad that companies can put whatever they want in products that are geared toward children, let alone the human race in general!

Nanotechnology - NOT Cool Technology

I just received this post in a newsletter from the Organic Consumers Association.  Just a note:  Eve Organics does NOT use nanoparticle sized titanium dioxide in any of our products for this reason:

From the Organic Consumers Association Alert of the Week:

Keep Nanotechnology Out of Organic!

A major reason why consumers shop for products that are certified organic is to avoid hazardous and unlabeled Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs), toxic chemicals, and now the most recent, and likely most dangerous hi-tech poison of them all - nanotechnology. Nanotechnology is now a multi-billion dollar Frankenstein monster industry churning out a vast menu of untested and unlabeled products containing tiny nanoparticles including non-organic vitamin supplements, food packaging, processed food, cosmetics, and sunscreens.

The United States Department of Agriculture's National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) has been debating an official ban on nanotechnology in organic. When it meets November 3-5, 2009 in Washington, D.C., the NOSB will consider a recommendation supported by the the OCA and the organic community that would "prohibit nanotechnology in organic production, processing, and packaging."

Nanotechnology is inherently dangerous. Mounting scientific evidence indicates that nanomaterials produce dangerous "free radicals" which can destroy or mutate DNA and can cause damage to the liver and kidneys. Nanotech particles not only injure and kill lab animals - they can kill you as well.

Every day, new evidence of the dangers of nanotechnology emerges:

• Workplace nanoparticle exposure was linked to seven cases of serious and progressive lung disease in China including two patient deaths.
• Nanoparticles present in a chemical found in sunscreens - titanium dioxide - are being examined as possibly causing Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases.

Tell the USDA that you want the National Organic Standards Board to take a strong stand against the use of nanotechnology in organic. Please act before the October 19 deadline.

Go to the Organic Consumers Association website to read more.

The Feminization of the Planet

I have a lot of respect for Dr. Weil.  He is a man of knowledge and, although I don't know everything about him, he strikes me as a person who is genuinely concerned with the well being of us and the planet.

There was a post that struck me recently on Dr. Weil's website mentioning how pollutants are causing global feminization.  Excerpts were later published in the Natural Awakenings magazine in our local area. 

Following is the Clif Notes version:

1.  CHEMTrust, a British organization that advocates for the protection of humans and wildlife from harmful chemicals, has released a report showing a compilation of over 250 scientific studies revealing that male fish, amphibians, birds, reptiles and mammals (humans are mammals! -- so this means basically everything on the planet) are being affected by environmental pollution to the extent that they are losing their masculinity.

2.  Mentioned in this study are the common culprits:

• Phthalates - used in cosmetics, plastic food wraps and many other plastic products;

• Flame Retardants - in a variety of materials (including furniture and clothing); and

• Pesticides - used on crops, grass, bugs, etc.

3.  Previously (as mentioned earlier in this blog and in Eve Organics' Dirty Dozen Ingredients Report), a U.S. study showed baby boys who were born to pregnant women exposed to the above ingredients have smaller penises and feminized genitalia.

4.  The Independent, a British newspaper, also ran an article on a study which shows women living in communities heavily polluted with these chemicals in Canada, Russia and Italy have been giving birth to twice as many girls than boys as the rest of the world.  Reports from more than 20 other countries show that men's sperm counts in the past 50 years have dropped from an average of 150 million per milliliter of sperm fluid to 60 million per milliliter.

Hmmmmmm.  What do you think about this?  Are you wondering why this kind of stuff wasn't studied before these products became so mainstream that they're everywhere now?  Leave us a comment.

Organic Consumers Association - Coming Clean Campaign

Following is a video we received the our membership in the Organic Trade Association.  It is part of a press conference the Organic Consumers Association had on the presence of Dioxane in our personal care products.  This is part of their "Campaign for Organic Integrity in Body Care Products."

Leave me a comment and let me know what you think about the issue. 

FREE Product Wednesday - Skin Optimizer Exfoliating Scrub

I recevied a call from Cindy in New Baltimore, MI last week.  Cindy said she just had to call to let us know that she ran out of her Eve Organics Foundation (in Creme Brulee) while on vacation, so she went to CVS and bought some Cover Girl or some other brand of foundation to hold her over. 

When she got back to the hotel and applied the new mineral foundation, she started itching almost immediately.  And after looking in the mirror, realized her complexion looked very "powdery", unlike the experience she had with Eve Organics.

The "kicker" she said, was that after she looked at the ingredients list (which admittedly she didn't do before she bought it), she threw it away and went the rest of vacation without foundation.  Talc, methylparaben, propylparaben and fragrance, all in her simple mineral foundation. 

Afterall, she was where it was warm and did have a little color.

Thanks for your story Cindy!  We're sorry about the experience, but oh so glad you're back!

Cindy receives our FREE Product Wednesday giveaway - Skin Optimizer Exfoliating Scrub.

Keep your tips, tricks and testimonials coming!  Email me at info@eveorganics.net and you may win next week's giveaway is Sultry Blush.

Guilted into Organic?

 

I just read an article that said (in a nutshell) people feel as if the organic companies are basically guilting consumers into purchasing organic products.  I understand there are extremes, but I think most of the companies releasing scary statistics are only trying to make the public aware, not impose guilt. 

In the latter part of the 20th century, industry grew at such a rate that most new ingredients (which were never used before on such a large scale in everyday products), were never tested for long term effects on the human body.  These ingredients were being used so that products would last forever on shelves so that profits didn't slide if products didn't sell as quickly as hoped. This goes for food ingredients (hydrogenated trans fats, saccharin, etc.) as well as personal care products (petrochemicals, phthalates, etc.).  

Mineral Makeup and It's Green Side

Mineral makeup’s base is made up of crushed earth (minerals).  Different types of minerals, such as titanium dioxide, zinc oxide and mica are crushed, blended to create different colors and sometimes mixed with other ingredients to be marketed as a number of products from foundation to lip gloss.

 

Mineral makeup has become the rage lately because of its positive effect on the skin.  The zinc oxide in mineral makeup gives it an inherent broad spectrum SPF and works on all types of skin (rosacea, acne, sensitive, and post-laser treated skin).  The particle size of most companies’ mineral makeup is larger than the pores, so it does not clog them; and the appearance of one using mineral makeup is natural and dewy and the coverage is exceptional, without looking like your face will wipe off on a napkin.  Mineral makeup is also inert, which means it cannot spoil and therefore needs no preservative. 

 

There is a green side to mineral makeup also; the flipside being there are ingredients that are best avoided when choosing a mineral makeup company. 

 

Bismuth oxychloride, although a mineral itself, is known to irritate skin and stretches pores.  There are many mineral makeup companies that use bismuth to increase profits by allowing the more expensive ingredients to go further. 

 

Carmine, another irritant, comes from crushed beetles and is used in some mineral makeup for a red color.

 

Parabens should never be on mineral makeup’s ingredient list.  If the minerals are pure, they don’t need preservatives.  Therefore, parabens on the ingredient list is a red flag to let you know other ingredients have been added to the minerals to warrant preservatives.

What is the Problem With Conventional Cosmetics?

There are a number of reasons you should be careful when purchasing conventional beauty products.  The United States has virtually no regulations controlling what goes into beauty products.  The ad below, put out by the Safe Cosmetics Environmental Working Group, portrays the scary reality of this fact.  Cosmetic companies can use everything from harmless unnecessary ingredients to dangerous chemical preservatives and hidden toxic ingredients in their products.

Most regular beauty products contain unnecessary additives.  The cosmetic companies have found ways to increase profits by adding cheap “fillers” to the pure active ingredients.  Other ingredients are added to enhance the texture of the product and to change the color or smell.  A number of these unnecessary ingredients in conventional beauty products are the cause of skin irritation, clogged pores and breakouts.  Most women (and men) who seem to have problem skin clear up after they switch from conventional beauty products to products that do not contain all of the fillers and preservatives.

A large number of beauty products on the market are also formulated to last on retailers’ shelves for years. In order to achieve this expansive shelf life, strong preservatives (usually parabens) are added to the products’ formula.  Pathologists have found intact parabens in breast tumors extracted from women with breast cancer.  

The ingredient “fragrance” is a catch-all for cosmetic companies.  Under trade secret law, the term fragrance can encompass up to 200 individual ingredients that don’t have to be listed on the label.  Even preservatives can be hidden under “fragrance” and the product would be considered preservative-free.  Some of the hidden ingredients are harmless, but innocent customers are unaware that, if fragrance is used in a product, dangerous ingredients such as phthalates will not be listed. 

Phthalates are chemicals known to stabilize fragrances so they evaporate slowly and the smell lingers longer; they are also used to make plastics flexible.  The Feb. 2008 Journal of Pediatrics found phthalates in the urine in diapers of children who used shampoos, lotions and powders containing these chemicals.  Phthalates, restricted in California and banned in Europe, are also linked to reduction of semen quality, shortened pregnancies and reproductive defects (i.e. underdeveloped genitalia in baby boys and early puberty in girls), lung liver & kidney disease.  If a product has fragrance listed as an ingredient, it should not claim to be non-toxic or FREE of phthalates, parabens, or preservatives.

Lead Contamination in Kohl Eyeliner

A few weeks ago, we did a presentation at the ACCESS Community Center in Dearborn, Michigan.  Dearborn has the largest population of Arabic residents in the United States.  Nicole Elhardt, the Environmental Assistant at the Dearborn ACCESS Community Center contacted me after finding Eve Organics' eyeliner listed as one of the safest eyeliners in the Safe Cosmetics database at safecosmetics.org. 

An astonishing statistic Nicole shared with me was that even though every other Southeastern Michigan community has reported lead poisoning decreasing yearly, Dearborn's cases of lead poisoning have been on the rise, in women and in children. 

One big reason they think this may be, believe it or not, is the kohl eyeliner Arabic women wear.  But why would the children have an increase in lead poisoning you ask?  It is tradition for Arabaic women to line the eyes of their babies. 

Since it was only a few weeks before Halloween, we also went over some labels for Halloween makeup and were astonished at how many of the "Dirty Dozen" ingredients were listed. . . FD&C Dyes Yellow 5, Red 3, Propylparaben, Methylparaben, Fragrance, Talc, Mineral Oil, Petrolatum . . .  I think I'll wear a mask from now on!