DIY Scented Bath Oil

Although making bath melts was fun, sometimes I just want a light bath oil with a scent that can be whipped up in five minutes.

Enter: DIY Scented Bath Oil

Safety First:
Although essential oils are used frequently in the environmental and yoga worlds, it's important to remember that "natural" does not always equal "safe". If used properly, essential oils are a wonderful addition to your green and yoga lives.

General Safety Guidelines:

• Do not place directly on your skin. Essential oils are very concentrated and should be diluted for topical use. 
• If you have a serious medical condition or you are pregnant (congratulations!), please consult your family physician (or Naturopathic Doctor) prior to using essential oils. 
• Do a test patch of bath oil on your skin prior to bathing... immersing your entire body in a allergic reaction in waiting doesn't sound like fun eh?
• Some essential oils can be toxic to our drinking water supply (i.e. tea tree oil), please check prior to disposal.

(For more detailed guidelines- check out Mountain Rose Herbs.)

DIY Scented Bath Oil

STEP ONE: 
Choose a vegetable carrier oil that will feel lovely for your skin. I used Sweet Almond oil because it was affordable and I can use it in my whipped body butter. Other options include jojoba oil, grapeseed oil, argan oil, apricot oil and even olive oil (although the smell of olive may come through your essential oil blend).

STEP TWO:
Choose your essential oil(s). In a glass (or ceramic) bowl mix in about 15-30 drops (depending on strength of scent) of your essential oils until the combination and scent is what you wanted. What I have recently discovered: anise+vanilla+cocoa=marshmallow. Just saying.

STEP THREE:
Add in about 2-3 oz (ish) of your carrier oil. Mix with a spoon. Give it another smell to make sure the strength of scent is what you'd like.

STEP FOUR:
Pour mixture into a clean, dry small glass container. I happened to have a few random jars from previous products all cleaned out. If you really want to assure that your oil will last for months, store in a tinted glass jar that has been sterilized (boiled in water and set to dry- like canning jars). Store in a cool dark place.

STEP FIVE:
In the running water of your bath, pour about 1 tablespoon of oil. Make sure your bath water isn't too hot as your oil will also heat up.

Please note- when getting out of the tub be careful!! Everything will be super slippery.

Enjoy a beautiful, synthetic chemical free moisturizing scented bath!

Natural Medicine and our Planet: A Cautionary Tale

My life has been a bit chaotic and my body is letting me know. Aches and pains, tired- all I feel like doing is popping extra strength Advil and sleeping. A recent visit with my cousin has brought up discussions on healthcare and natural medicine. 

Now, to be honest, I strongly believe that we need to be careful about an extremist type of view that can crop up when talking about healthcare in yogic circles. Western medicine can be helpful and life saving when necessary. That said, as a pagan and Planet Lover, I feel like we can reconnect with our roots in a lot of ways that are easier on our bodies, Spirit and Planet.

A Recap on Pharmaceuticals and our Planet:

Canadians spent 20$ billion on prescription drugs in 2005 (not counting over the counter). Aggressively tested on animals (and reportedly on our world's poorest peoples- see "The Body Hunters" by Sonia Shah).

WASTE: Big Pharma pumps out billions of pills a year; 

Water wasted per day: 266 millions gallons (way back in 1990!)

Much of the chemicals and solvents used are considered untreatable by regular wastewater treatment systems and are hazardous. 

Pollutants spewed in our air: cyanide, VOC's and neurotoxin toluene (among many others).

Pollutants in our water: From 50 to 90% of the active ingredients aren't broken down by our bodies- they're peed (and pooped). Some of them can't be broken down by sewage plants (IF your city has one, Halifax was without for over a year. All those drugs and raw sewage straight into the ocean). Anti-seizure drugs for example. Although no research has revealed that these drugs (over 100 different kinds in the US and Europe) are having an affect on humans, estrogen from birth control pills are feminizing fish all over. (Ecoholic 2006 p. 45)

'I use only Natural, Chinese-Ayurvedic-Tibetan medicine, so I'm not contributing' you say?

It would appear that many 'Natural' medicines don't really give a crap about the environment or how the ingredients are harvested. 

(Echinacea field- credit here)

Wildcrafted herbs can be some of the worse. We think of them as being 'better' for us because they shouldn't have pesticide residue, but there is basically zero regulation regarding limits for harvesting these herbs. Ingredients like ginseng (now on the Canadian Federal endangered list), wild echinacea (endangered in the US) and lady slipper (endangered in both Canada and the US), licorice root (depleted by 60% in the wild), goldenseal (officially a threatened species in Canada) are disappearing in the wild due to overharvesting (Ecoholic 2006, p.48).

According to the WWF, of the estimated 40,000-50,000 plants used in natural medicines, most are harvested from the wild. Of course, like all large crop farming, huge plantations of herbs and popular ingredients have been pushing food crops out in countries such as China. (Ecoholic, 2006 p. 48).

Since natural medicine is also less stringently regulated, contamination can be a concern. In 2005 Health Canada issued a warning that some Ayurvedic tablets were contaminated with high levels of lead, mercury and arsenic. In 2008, a study found that of 230 requested Ayurvedic products, 20.7% contained heavy metals (all of which exceeded 1 or more standards for daily metal intake). The study is fabulous, if you're interested you should check it out: 'Lead, Mercury and Arsenic in US-Indian...'.

Adria Vasil of Ecoholic recommends that you purchase authorized natural medicine with an 8-digit Drug Identification Number(DIN), Natural Product Number (NPN) or homeopathic number (DIN-HM).

Natural Medicine Musts:

Wildcrafted: if you're interested in supplements, look up your ingredient and find out if it's endangered (Nova Scotia's Species at Risk). Check out smaller, local companies with fabulous reputations.

Organic herbs are great solutions to avoid pesticides and sustainable harvesting.

Avoid animal ingredients at all costs. So many species are being killed to extinction for benefits that have not been supported by research. Never worth it.

Eat healthy, stay physically active and most importantly: don't discount western medicine. The best healthcare would be a natural, preventative balance of both eastern and western working together.

Blessings to your and the planet's health!

article and photograph copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Eco-Shampoo in GLASS bottles!

Out of all my "eco" changes, the cosmetic-y, beauty stuff has been the most difficult. It would seem that I really like what all those chemicals did to my hair, eyelashes and face! By far, shampoo and conditioner have been a total eco-adventure.

I used to be an avid Aveda-fan. I had their shampoo, conditioner, allll their face stuff (cleanser, toner, moisturizer AND exfoliant), body lotion and wash and hair styling products. Aveda uses wind power and they push their products as being "natural" and healthy. I honestly assumed that because it's implied that they use "pure" and "natural" ingredients that their products would have less synthetic chemicals...

Then I read the ingredients on the back of my shampoo bottle. Their Color Conserve has a nice purple sticker on the front that says: "Made with Organic Lavender". On the back, after we get through the 10 plant extracts (whoa!) we see: ammonium lauryl sulfate, disodium laureth sulfosuccinate, lauramidopropyl betaine, cinnamidopropyltrimonium chloride (wtf??)... ok the list goes ON. We have some PEG's and some parfum's (i.e. formaldehyde).. not so natural. Check out my post for more discussion on this sad break-up.

Check out Skin Deep's online cosmetic ingredient rating system to find out what YOUR shampoo's ingredients may be doing to your health.

So, I needed a natural replacement that would keep my hair just as shiny and clean. I really wasn't ready for the "no-poo" shampoo of washing with apple cider vinegar and baking soda. Getting through two weeks of icky hair just makes me cringe. There must be another alternative.

I started with the obvious- Green Beaver's shampoo. I love their body lotion and wash, why not their shampoo? Well I think I lasted about three days and my hair was so greasy and disgusting that I passed the shampoo along to Andrew and moved on to Giovanni. Unfortunately, Giovanni isn't the "cleanest" (term for chemical-free) shampoo out there and still it wasn't that wonderful. On to... you name it I've tried it. (ok maybe! I tried a lot let's just say).

Finally I gave up, I was tired of constantly having crappy hair, so back to Aveda it was (hence having the ingredients handy). At least Aveda's products were made with recycled plastic (although it says right on the bottle that recycling the shampoo bottle is limited...so what am I supposed to do with that?). Ideally I wanted something with no or better packaging (i.e. a bar or glass). I tried a few shampoo bars and wasn't a fan. Even Andrew, who had been the garbage disposal for all my shampoos over the past three years (aww- he's so cute and supportive of my non-wasteful ways!) hated the shampoo bars. Also, since I am not a fan of Lush; too much scents, hidden synthetic ingredients, I was stuck.

Until one fateful day my parents were up to visit and I decided to "show" them our local organic grocery store (hehe, I am such a geek!). While I gave them the "tour" I happened to spot new shampoo GLASS bottles... BISH! I had heard of a local hair stylist in Halifax who was making his own shampoo and conditioner. I think perhaps a little "WOO!!!" slipped out, scaring my parents just a tiny bit. As I oohhed and ahhed over how they were in glass bottles, no synthetic ingredients, made in Halifax, smelled pretty.... my dad and Andrew slowly inched away.

The hair stylist, Kevan Bish, formerly worked for L'Oreal and was tired of their non-eco production habits (btw, L'Oreal owns Aveda...). Five years ago he opened his own salon here in Halifax (The Swanki Guru...I KNOW) and began making his own shampoo and conditioner. My friend's mother who is a hair stylist uses all his products as she recently had breast cancer and decided to completely cut out chemicals from her hair salon.

I emailed him as soon as I got home to see if he did bottle exchanges and to find out if his shampoo was actually bottled here in Halifax as well. His response was that yes, he does accept bottle exchanges and that they are made (the bottles I'm assuming?) in Winnipeg but that he was hoping to find a local producer soon. Which I'm assuming his bottles them himself in his lab. COOL.

The verdict?
I've been using this shampoo for about a month now. So far I have lasted four consecutive days before my hair becomes slightly dingy. It took a week to figure out that I was squirting WAY too much and it was cloggin' up the hair pores or whatever. Ick. After four days I switch and use Aveda for one or two and then immediately go back. BISH smells phenomenal and leaves my hair nice and soft. I'm wondering if I push it and after a certain time frame my hair will reach that turning point of gross to nice that so many "no-poo" shampoos have... I'm not sure.

I also have been using the conditioner as a shaving lotion and it's AMAZING. Better than any other lotion I have ever used (method, soap bars, even chemical-creams!). It leaves my legs super smooth. The shampoo can also be used as a body wash (which I have).

I feel as if finally the perfect eco-shampoo and conditioner are within my grasp (cue maniacal laughter...).

What do you think? Think I should just go beyond the four day mark and see what happens?

Blessings!

article and photos copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Spiral Arteries and Ashtanga Moon Time Restrictions

This is my "moon time" and I am having some difficulty keeping my happy smile up. Since I've shed my estrogen-pee habits these times have become more trying. At least I can say it's natural.

Why am I sharing this? Because I am on my period and I still practice yoga. Gasp. It would seem that we talk a lot about menstruation here, with my copious praises to the Diva Cup... however I do firmly believe that menstruation is something that isn't talked about enough in our society. We hide it, continue to view our periods as dirty and *gross* when 50% of the human population (between 11-55yrs) has this week-long phenomenon monthly. So why are we still ashamed? Perhaps the thousands of years of cultural negativity has some blame. Just maybe.

I remember when I first started my period, I thought my life would END for the entire week. I shouldn't go hang out with friends, couldn't swim, couldn't do too many physical activities... What if I didn't get to a bathroom in time? Being a teenager sucks, especially a monthly bleeding one. Now, although I had grown considerably (many many feminist readings, classes and empowering friendships later), when I started to practice yoga this period-stop your life- theory applied. I had SUCH difficulties with those ridiculous tampons. They weren't comfortable, they leaked, they caught... I hated them. I hated practicing yoga during my moon time, it gave me pause to seriously consider punking out each month.

The Diva Cup completely changed that. Now, moon times mean no rush to the store, no leaks, no worries for the entire day (12 hours!), as much physical movement as I would like! Oh the freedom! Now my yoga is not dependent on my menstruation.

A recent comment has reminded me why I have resisted reading specific texts in detail... It was asked whether I was aware that Ayurveda recommends never placing plastic in the vagina, including tampons. Actually, no I wasn't aware. But now that I am... my answer is: The Diva Cup is silicone.

I agree, plastic (with it's petrochemicals and leaching BPA properties), especially chemically bleached cotton, should never have graced my beautiful vaginal walls. Just like that new chemically dyed pink breast cancer toilet paper won't come within ten meters of my bum. I am so happy that I have found a safe and chemical leaching-free alternative.

Now, if the theoretical reason behind this "no plastic in the nether regions" has to do with some sort of no-obstruction rule... than I have to say that I disagree. And this is where the ancient texts study "block" comes into the picture. For practical reasons I cannot see why I would want to use a diaper-styled apparatus to "catch" my flow. I find them uncomfortable and restricting. I don't want to be restricted by the fact that I menstruate. Further, as far as I have read there has been no overall scientific data stating that catching the flow with a silicone cup is damaging in any way to the vaginal walls or overall health of a woman.

These thoughts started me thinking about how in certain practices, women are either restricted completely, discouraged strongly or told to practice a modified sequence while on their period. The theory (and please clarify if I've interpreted too loosely as I haven't read actual theoretical Ashtanga texts) is that it should be a time for rest.

Like my body stops functioning properly when I'm on my period. Right. Menstruation has actually been found to be a time of heightened activity, intellectual clarity, feelings of well-being and general happiness. (Woman: An Intimate Geography p.107). The theory that shedding our endometrium lining is calorically expensive (i.e. that bleeding decreases energy levels) has been refuted by several scientists in recent decades. Keeping UP our rich caloric-eating uterine wall would in fact be MORE costly than shedding and regrowing once a month (Strassmann, B; Human Nature 1992). From this we can infer that women should in fact be MORE tired pre-post menstruation than during.

Furthermore, I'm always cautious when interpreting medical texts. The Western medical system has been fraught with misogyny and patriarchal roots. Modern medicine has always been a "man's" world and subsequently the study of female anatomy and physiology was either minimal, or biased. It has only been in the past two or *maybe* three decades that science has taken a more feminine spin. Also, we need to remember that most traditional texts were written by men, from a culture with a history of hundreds (if not a thousand) years of patriarchy. Blood was viewed as a reason for concern, and instead of being celebrated was often thought of as some sort of injury, malaise or "wrongness" (to name some nicer terms).

Now I may be more clumsy, I may have a bit less balance (personally trying to practice Tree pose during my moon time is wobbly!) and I may choose to practice more soothing postures... but the key word is "choose". As there is no anatomical nor physiological reason why practice a sweaty vinyasa practice should somehow "damage" my uterus, should I feel inclined I will.

The theory that inversions during menstruation could be harmful has also been poorly supported empirically. Kinda like the theory that a tampon could get "lost" up there. Up where? It's not like the menstrual stuff is going to tip up and leak back in. The cervix takes care of that.

Menstruation is most definitely NOT a passive process. We don't passively leak out from gravity's influence. Menstruation is dynamic. Our spiral arteries (three) feed two superficial layers of the endometrium. Pre-period these arteries grow longer and tightly corkscrewed and circulation to the endometrium slows down. 24 hours prior to the flow, they constrict tightly and blood flow ceases completely. As a result, the endometrium tissue starts to die, followed by a release of the arteries and blood flows again, pooling beneath the lining and forcing it to separate. A few more start and stops and essentially we have menstruation.

Where in that active process is there any indication that blood flow is controlled willy-nilly and could be redirected elsewhere (by say, an inversion?). I'd say that if you hold an inversion for long periods of time and start to feel wonky... perhaps it's because you'd held the inversion for a long period of time... and not because you have a uterus that sheds.

For all of that, I have no problem with other women choosing to: wear pads or not practice during their moon times. My wish is that we can make these decisions based on solid non-biased information as opposed to traditions that imply something lesser or restricting.

Many Blessings!

article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Mission De-Monsterfy Skin: Eco-Style

No one told me that at the age of 25 I'd be inducted into the acne after school club. I had endured an undergrad, IBS riddled honours and a two year intensive, crazy-living in Montreal Masters without a single little red bump peep. In the spirit of oversharing, here is a quick picture of the culprit...there is way way more on the rest of my face... but truly only these tiny bumps were what I could endure to share so publicly. Dramatic? Yes.

Cue insane move across the country to desert, moisture sucking Okanagan-land and my newest acquaintance: Le Acne. I suppose this was also around the time that I finally weaned myself off of those crazy oxy-wipes... Hey less chemicals is supposed to be BETTER for your skin right? After checking out the scary chemicals I slathered all over my face twice a day (cleanser, toner, exfoliant, moisturizer) I vowed I would no longer be exposing myself or my precious skin to phtalates, parabins, formeldahyde... etc etc.

Over the past three years I have moved from Aveda (ack- not even a baby step) to finally cutting out all synthetic face-stuff from my daily regime. Where has that left me??? With a scary, monstrous, attack of the "trying to keep you in your teens!" acne. Here's a quick rundown of the products I've tried over the past three years (and trust me, I used them until the bottles were empty... I'm too broke to not... oh and it's pretty darn wasteful too...)

- Aveda (ok, we're not kidding anyone here on this one, so much synthetics this was kinda a lame half-a** joke on my part)

- Green Beaver: I've used the Grapefruit cleanser, the bamboo exfoliant (ack my poor, scraped skin!) and the acne foam. To no avail.

- Miessence: This was my desperate "I will pay anything!!!" moment in BC where my skin had eczema it hated me so much. Although beautiful, it came from Australia on a plane/ship (hello carbon footprint) and I couldn't recycle the bottle. Oh ya, and it cost a zillion dollars. And I still got acne.

- Druide: no dice

- Carrot Complexion soap from Birch Bark Soap: Although I ADORE Sherry's soaps (every single one so far!) this one didn't help my complexion at all. Other than to mock me with it's non-acne fighting. Didn't make it worse but didn't make it better- an ambiguous soap really. Despite this- check out her awesome soaps on Etsy- she even donates a portion to her proceeds to Kiva- very zen :)

Ok, maybe I've been approaching this whole endeavour from the wrong perspective. Perhaps I need to stop buying cleansers and just cut out chemicals completely. So many wonderful people use oil to "wash" their faces and are so completely happy with the outcome! Like Yoga Witch over at Greenspell (check out these posts for her fantastic advice and comments along her journey!). Alli over at Oceans Treasures also posted a link to a "as clean as you can get" face scrub recipe. Unfortunately, it would seem that the key acne fighting ingredient in these cleansers is... tea tree oil.

As we speak I have submitted my wrist/arm skin to a "in-denial" allergy swab test. Just in case I was hallucinating when my hands and face swelled up to crazy bloated hands the last time I washed my mat with two drops per 750ml water of tea tree oil. Just in case you know?

For the past three weeks I have been "washing" my face with the following concoction:

1/4 cup of sweet almond oil

3/4 cup of sugar

1 organic herbal lemon-rooibus tea packet (I didn't have any dry herbs... LOL)

annnnnd.... nothing. In fact, I think it's worse. I am on the verge my eco-friends... of putting on some sunglasses, a scarf, a hoodie and running across the street to the Sobeys and buying... gasp... clearasil face wipes. I know. It's bad. I've been dreaming about using them.

Last night, on our walk over to watch the new Harry Potter (eh, it was ok) I dashed into Planet Organic, marched myself over the beauty section and when I normally would have said "No thank you" to the "Can I help you?"... I gasped: "YES".

So now I am on day one of Ayu, a Canadian company who claims to take it's name from Ayurveda, Ayu meaning "life". The ingredients are ridiculously "clean", it was made in Canada and it's #1 plastic so can be recycled in HRM.

My other step on Mission: De-Monsterfy Skin, I have a facial booked. Now, before you judge me (I mean really, a facial??? LOL) I was totally talked into it (I am easily influenced at times, gotta catch me at the right moment, like when my face is a giant pimple) and was interested in the product: Eminence, an organic company. Supposedly this facial only includes the use of their organic line... so I will endure the stigma of actually getting something as frivolous as a facial. For the Mission DMS.

And if this allergy test works out I will be adding some tea tree fighting power to my night time routine.

I hope it's not just me that feels the "being green in the beauty department sucks" mode...

And on that note- Blessings and may acne disappear from the face of the planet. Forever. :)

Beltane, Rain and Hemp Bags... An uplifting Combo

Sigh. Thank goodness it's Friday and Beltane. I'm in need of some spiritual rebirth. Our brief sunny tease has been replaced by rainy spring-ness. Which, despite the doom and gloom, has given way to beautiful leaf buds waiting... waiting to spread and gather sunlight. They're so cute! (tree buds outside our balcony tonight!)

I love to wear black. It's just so flattering.... and goes with the craziest handmade earrings I can find! Unfortunately I have been informed that it gets a bit old, so in the spirit of spring (and to help boost my own!) I went to visit the Bhavana Yoga Boutique here in Halifax.

Tucked upstairs from the vegetarian restaurant Heartwood, which I really have to convince Andrew to eat at, this Boutique is super cute and welcoming. The owner; Krista, is a super sweet and friendly Yogini who teaches yoga at the new 108 Studio in the farmer's market. She carries wonderful alternatives to the crazy Lulu-bots being spewed forth lately. From Jade Yoga mats (beautiful eco-alternatives, see a 

more indepth review of rubber eco-mats here) to sustainable and soft Halfmoon cork blocks (I ADORE mine!) her boutique is a fantastic yogic experience. (picture curtosy of Bhavana's home page- it doesn't do the store justice!)

During this latest visit I was able to purchase a beautiful Skyler top. Skyler is a Canadian company that hires talented mothers who have the freedom to work from home, supporting their essential roles as mothers. Fantastically progressive. Bhavana also carries Karma and Cura clothing both made in Vancouver BC (which Krista reports Cura is closing up shop!). I Heart my new chocolate Cura shorts, perfect for outdoor practice. I'm also excited to see if Karma's bamboo eco-line will be carried there!

Finally, I found my non-nylon solution to the portable, tiny awesome flip and tumbles... Envirosax. Now, I have seen the nylon versions everywhere, and although cute and small, they are still nylon. I already have two nylon spheres of plastick-y death thank you very much. While at Bhavana I spied.... NATURAL Envirosax options!! WOOT!! I did a little dance. Andrew laughed. Bhavana carries bamboo, linen (ouu fancy!), and hemp roll-up bags! I chose hemp, which is a fantastic, renewable source that is extremely strong and doesn't require the nasty chemical changes that bamboo does (check out the

Oldies but Goodies post on this for more details). Also, linen seems a bit much for a bag... I mean, I had a linen skirt once and had to iron it constantly... which means I never did. 

They come with their own tiny bags.... which I think is a wee bit wasteful, a bag for a bag??This bag with a bag is contained in a (recycled) paper box... Sigh. I am forever warped. Regardless, it fits nicely in my purse and has been used several times! I'll probably upcycle my bag's bag (lol) into a cute pouch for something...

On top of all these beautiful, innovative products, Krista offers regular workshops out of her Boutique, including an Introduction to Ayurveda. 

On this happy note, Happy Beltane and Spring!

Blessings :)

My Aveda Saga... and why we had to break-up

My introduction to Ayurveda and the sister science to yoga was ultimately through the Salon Spa "Aveda". While waiting in the trendy spa I read their Ayurveda book and discovered my "Doshas. Aveda's ingredient philosophy taken from their website claims: what you put on your body should be as healthy and natural as what you put into it (http://aveda.aveda.com/aboutaveda/green_ingredients.asp on January 7th 2009). They were a healthy, eco-friendly choice and continue to claim to be so.

Until I read "Ecoholic" by Adria Vasil and with increasing horror read the ingredients on the plethora of Aveda products (ridiculously expensive I might add!) gracing my bathroom. ACK! 

This is the ingredient list taken from Drugstore.com (since the aveda website doesn't provide a complete ingredient list and I no longer have any Aveda products...):

Aqueous Purified Water Extracts: Camellia Sinensis Extract, Citrus Aurantium Amara Peel Extract (Bitter Orange), Astragalus Root (Membranaceus) Extract (Milk Vetch), Schizandra Chinensis Fruit Extract, Pinus Tabulaeformis Bark Extract (Pine), Vitis Vinifera Seed Extract (Grape), Sedum Rosea Root Extract, Rehmannia Chinensis Root Extract, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Lauramidopropyl Betaine, Cinnamidopropyltrimonium Chloride, Quaternium 80, PEG 7 Dimethicone C8-C18 Ester, Babassuamidopropyl Betaine, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Amyl Salicylate, Amyl Cinnamate, Lycopene, Lecithin, Tetrahexyldecyl Ascorbate, Tocopherol, Sucrose Palmitate, Stearamidopropyl Dimethylamine, Glycol Stearate, Glycol Distearate, Polyglyceryl 10 Oleate, Polyquaternium 7, Fragrance, Cistus Ladaniferus Oil, Glycerin, Citric Acid, Disodium EDTA, Propylparaben, Methylparaben, Methylisothiazolinone, Methylchloroisothiazolinone

 

Ummm. I see some SKETCHY ingredients in there! WTF? The bolded black ingredients are just the biggies that I've come to look out for when checking ingredient lists. Every single bottle contained a version of these ingredients. This isn't healthy at all! Seriously I was so disgusted that the entire company that claims such spiritual and ethical superiority above other beauty products would be so misleading! sigh. What to do? Well after emailing Aveda and asking why they include ingredients such as parabens and Disodium EDTA in their products (with no response) and getting vague ambiguous answers from the Aveda Stylists- Aveda and I... we broke up.

I gotta say- Aveda does seem to be accomplishing some fantastic eco-endeavours above and beyond their run of the mill shampoos- they claim to be wind-powered, promoting sustainable plant and herb harvesting and supporting fair trade farming (they even have VIDEOS about this in their salons for you to watch while you wait for your... ahem... wax!).

But after the flagrant disregard for truthful marketing with their philosophy on ingredients and their obvious recalcitrance to be forthcoming- I'm now wary of all their claims... How do I truly know they aren't "greenwashing" their other eco-claims, just like with the ingredients in their products?

So- I went and found other amazing products that are cheaper, honest and forthcoming with the awesome green-nest :) 

Ayurveda (the actual science) on the other hand is still my friend :)