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Women spend an average of four hundred hours a year on their beauty routine. That's a lot of time spent rubbing in lotions, potions, and the like. As a green girl, I realized that I needed to make absolutely sure that everything I used from bubble bath to blush was safe. Without knowing it, we slather ourselves with toxins morning and night. One product alone is unlikely to cause harm, but repeated exposure to these chemicals can eventually lead to health problems and environmental pollution.
I don't have a lot of time for my beauty routine anymore: work, husband, and six-year-old daughter meltdowns have seriously compromised my glorious "me" time. I comfort myself by using the most nourishing, luxurious, and safe products I can find. I need to know that I am not only saving myself but also the planet. Moreover, if I use harmful chemicals on my body, many of them wash down the drain and contaminate the groundwater and urban runoff. So it's a win/win situation to get Gorgeously Green in the beauty department.
I adore makeup. It makes me feel sexy and glamorous. It can transform me in seconds from an old hag into a goddess. Even on my worst day, a quick lick of shimmering lip gloss and a dab of mascara can change my mood immeasurably. When I first started becoming green, I worried that I would have to seriously compromise in the beauty department. I had visions of the vegan woman named Joy who lived next door to us growing up. She let her natural gray hair grow down to her waist and wore Abba-style beauty-without-cruelty makeup. Things have changed since then. There are so many wonderful companies that offer everything our hearts might desire.
It's time to get savvy about your choices right now. You are about to take the second step of the Gorgeously Green program, so let's examine exactly what you plaster all over your body on a daily basis. Is it really good for you or are you harming yourself and the planet?
Your Skin
Your skin is the largest organ of your body. It is living and breathing and absorbs everything you apply to it. Unlike food, which goes through your digestive system before being absorbed into your body, the chemicals you put on your skin are directly absorbed into your bloodstream. It's insane that the government demands regulations for food labeling but not for cosmetics. This will probably change in the future as the large cosmetic companies come under greater scrutiny and organizations lobby for them to remove dangerous chemicals, but for now we have to be detectives.
We are lucky that a fantastic nonprofit group called the Environmental Working Group has taken matters into its own hands and given us a ton of information. This group has also put pressure on companies that are not towing the line. It will not be a wasted journey for you to visit its Web site at www.ewg.org and give the group some support. This group covers every aspect of the environment, pushing the companies and organizations that need it, to make our world a healthier place.
We tend to focus mostly on the skin on our face. When I think of the crazy amounts of money I used to spend on miniscule pots of antiaging cream filled with useless and possibly dangerous chemicals, I'm more than a bit annoyed with myself. Seduced by the packaging, I'd bring the precious pot home with the sales assistant's claims ringing in my head: "erases every single one of your fine lines in just a week!" I'd carefully unwrap the cellophane, open the box, and fish around to find the paper leaflet, which would confirm what the assistant had told me. After a week, when all the fine lines were still firmly entrenched, I felt more than a bit silly but had to still keep on believing in the claims because I'd spent so much money. By the way, it's not just me! Women spend an average of $650 a year on beauty products.
Now that I'm older and wiser, I walk the other way when one of those painted beauties approaches me in the department store. I smile not because I think that beauty comes from within (we all know it does—but come on!), but because I'm savvy now about what's safe and effective.
We'll focus on our hair and body to begin, since these areas absorb more products. The Gorgeously Green program is going to make this supersimple for you. There is a ton of information available, so let's deal with the most important issues first.
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Thanks for such an in depth and amazing article. My stomach literally churned when I read about all the chemicals that I am putting into my body. We so often think that because we are not physically ingesting the stuff that it is not hurting us, but when I read that skin is the largest organ in the body and that it is so sensitive, it really hit home. Now all I need is a list of several companies that I can count on to make safe beauty products so that I don't have to read every ingredients list? Is there something like this available?
jh
Jan 6, 2009 10:50:37 AM