Opting for Organic

I looked at myself in the mirror this morning and almost fell over with shock.  Does anyone else do that?  Look in the mirror (without really being clear about what to expect) and find that what’s staring back is barely recognizable as themselves, even though there were no actual expectations involved?

It’s bizarre.  I don’t square up to the looking glass with the unrealistic expectation that I look 28.  Good Lordy, I’m decades past that!  However I’m still sometimes completely unprepared for how I really do look, and whenever I’m in that zone, seeing myself, well ... it’s often a bit of a shock, especially post winter, when the whole body wants to emerge and reclaim its rightful glowing state, after a full season of unmitigated neglect and abuse.  I’m talking about the months of comfort food (aka stodge), too much wine and chocolate, too much exposure to fires and central heating and not enough moisturizer, fresh air, or glasses of the all-important water that keeps the organs functioning to process those toxins we've relentlessly foisted upon them all winter long! 

Most of us are a marginal mess, come spring, and we know it. Many of us feel inspired to do something about it, determinedly digging around for those brochures we picked up last autumn for discounted spring spa treatments that we squirreled away in “safe places” that posed a serious challenge to ever being found again.  We generally give in to the over-riding desire to overhaul our gnarly feet and fingernails, get some much needed salvation rubbed into our skin and shave or wax our way to smooth sophistication, to shine once again like the spring flowers we all long to be.

Ok, your Honour, me too.  I’m guilty as charged.  As I write this, I’m thinking about slinging a desperate, dehydrated fist full of cash at a beauty therapist to “overhaul me” and make me fit for spring and summer.  But this year, I’m going one step further.  I’m going to find one that’s “green”, because if the recent research I've done into the state of the planet, the threats to health posed by chemicals, and the evolving attitudes of responsibility for it all are any indications, that is the way beauty therapy needs to go if it is going to survive.  More and more customers are now feeling the need to take better care of their health, be more responsible for the state of their environment, and they are starting to prefer or even insist on organic products being used on their skin instead of the seething chemical-infested mass of what has traditionally been on offer for as long as beauty clinics have been in existence.  Parabens, in particular, have had a big role to play in the composition of so-called beauty products, but BE AFRAID.

Paraben is fast becoming a dirty word, and rightly so.  Parabens are preservatives - used to prevent the growth of microbes in cosmetics products.  They are absorbed through skin, blood and the digestive system and have been found in biopsies from breast tumors in concentrations similar to those found in consumer products.  A 2004 UK study detected traces of five parabens in the breast tumors of 19 out of 20 women studied (read about it here), and while this small study doesn't prove a causal relationship between parabens and breast cancer, it is still important because it DID detect the presence of intact parabens—unaltered by the body’s metabolism—which is proof that these chemicals do penetrate skin, stay in breast tissue, and do not tend to break down or be processed efficiently by the body. Another more recent study found higher levels of parabens in the area nearest the underarm of the breast - the region in which the highest proportion of breast tumors tend to be found. 

Sadly, parabens are everywhere, and are particularly prevalent in a wide variety of beauty products including shampoos, lotions, deodorants, scrubs, moisturizers and eye makeup.  Worryingly, they have been found in nearly all urine samples tested from a cultural cross-section of U.S. adults, with adolescents and adult females having higher levels of methylparaben and propylparaben in their urine than males of similar ages.  This obviously places women, the primary users of beauty therapy clinics and any dodgy products that might be on the bathroom shelves, at high risk of the toxic effects of parabens.  The fact that adolescents are showing the presence of these chemicals in their systems has worrying implications for long term health if they continue using the products which contain them. Given the world's sad obsession with the preservation of youth, that is entirely likely.

Of greatest concern is that parabens are known to disrupt hormone/endocrine function, and are linked to increased risk of breast cancer and reproductive toxicity. They mimic estrogen by binding to the receptors on cells, increasing the expression of genes usually regulated by natural estrogen.  These genes cause human breast cancer cells to grow and multiply.  Parabens are also linked to immunotoxicity, neurotoxicity and skin irritation, and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to realise that something which kills bacteria in water-based solutions, and therefore has toxicity to certain cells, has no place in human skin or vulnerable tissue where it can penetrate and lodge in vulnerable organs to potentially percolate and cause serious health concerns further down the line..

Other chemicals contained in beauty products also have some worrying long-term effects.  Sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS), which helps soap, facial cleansers, and other cleansing products (e.g. shampoo) lather up, can irritate skin, and other potential irritants include benzyl alcohols, which are used to scent and preserve perfume, makeup and hair dyes.  Cocamide MEA binds the ingredients of many moisturisers.

A Daily Mail online health report has declared that the industry magazine “In-Cosmetics” alleges that the average woman absorbs nearly 2.2kg (5lb) of chemicals from toiletries and make-up every year, with no idea about any of the possible side effects, seen and unseen, of the interaction of the various chemicals contained within the variety of products used.

So, even if one of these percolating chemicals isn't harmful in and of itself, what happens when you add several others to it?  And can you imagine having absorbed the equivalent of five 1lb blocks of butter every year in potentially harmful chemicals?  Even if the figures are wrong, the presence of these chemicals in human tissue is proof that we are ingesting some of it.  And ANY at ALL is unacceptable, in my book.

So I’m off to find a “green” beauty therapist; someone who is committed to sustainability in their work practices and ethics, who uses bona-fide and endorsed eco-friendly products, including fair trade tea and coffee that they serve in cups they are prepared to wash instead of cheap and nasty drinks in paper or styrofoam cups that typically get sent to landfill. I want to go to someone who uses eco-friendly equipment and supplies too, like recycleable containers and refills.  I'd like to find someone who has effective and sustainable recycling waste policies, whose staff share their commitment to sustainability and health, and who won't be putting my health and safety at risk (even inadvertently), by using products on my skin that have the capability to do me serious harm. 

I genuienly and wholeheartedly believe that green clinics are the way forward.  Green beauty and hair salons have a REALLY BIG future, not just here in the UK but worldwide.  I run a chemical free domestic cleaning business and our Customers love it that we don't bring chemicals into their homes!  We're actively committed to ensuring their homes are clean without the use of chemical agents they really don't need, and they see the sense in it.  The same goes for the body that each one of us lives in and expects so much from.  Our bodies don't need parabens or other foreign chemicals. They don't need to be put at risk in any such way that forces them to store unwanted substances that have no helpful place in them.  So yes, certainly, do what I plan to do - visit a clinic or salon for the big spring overhaul or makeover, but I encourage you to do some homework first about the products they use, and don't be afraid to ask questions about their commitment to sustainability, in areas like I've mentioned here. That way you can make an INFORMED decision about who you go to for your treatments, what gets put onto your skin, and whether or not you have contributed to the ongoing sustainability of the world you and your family live in.

Looking good and feeling great are important to our sense of well-being, our feelings about how the world sees us, and our confidence levels, and it should NEVER have to come at a life-threatening price, or even the suspicion of one. Every decision we make towards health and sustainability, no matter how small, makes a difference overall.   Eventually, every type of beauty treatment will hopefully be non-threatening to health and the planet.  If we take advantage of what is currently on offer for organic and natural beauty therapy, it all helps guide manufacturers towards making ALL of it safe.  Create the demand, the producers will respond.

Have fun with your makeover!  Click here if you fancy treating yourself to some truly gorgeous, organic, natural skincare and aromatherapy products that you can have delivered to your doorstep. And if you'd like a chemical free spring clean of your home, click right here.