A Comment on Lush's "Derived from Blueberries" Parabens

We all know that "parabens" are sketchy right? In case you're like "para-what?" here's the low down:

Parabens (methyl-, butyl-) are used as preservatives and can be hidden under the "fragrance" ingredient in most commercial cosmetic products. They also mimic estrogen behaviour and there have been studies questioning their safety. 

The problem is that parabens easily penetrate the skin and enter the bloodstream and the European Commission of Endocrine Disruption categorize them as a 1 priority as parabens discrupt hormonal function.

But what if they are "derived" from food? What if they are labeled "food grade"- that makes them safe, right? It would appear that parabens also appear in low levels in certain foods, so if we eat it, it should be safe.... right? 

Lush makes the connection that parabens are found in certain foods like blueberries and some of their customers are under the impression that they actually derive their parabens from berries.

Well... there's arsenic in apple seeds, but that doesn't make it safe. Just saying.

The problem with this reasoning, other than the fact that just because it's naturally derived doesn't automatically mean it's safe, is that parabens in food is not the same thing as parabens in cosmetics.

1. The paraben levels in food are low and are easily metabolized through our digestive system that is well equipped to handle naturally occurring levels (or we'd all have died off from cancer thousands of years ago...). Our stomach acids are hardcore, and often destroy most harmful substances prior to reaching our bloodstream.

2. However, when applied directly to the skin, parabens are easily absorbed and enter our bloodstream intact. This results in a higher probability that they may affect hormonal function.

3. Finally, the studies on paraben safety haven't looked at the interaction between the dozens of products containing different parabens that enter our bodies through cosmetics. According to David Suzuki, some studies show that women are exposed to over 50 mg of parabens per day from cosmetics. Even if each individual product has "low" levels, combined they add up.

(David Suzuki Foundation- Parabens, Ecoholic 2006, Ecoholic Body)

So... the next time a company tries to sell you the safety of their "naturally derived parabens"- politely inform them to eat some apple seeds... 

The BEST DIY Whipped ChocoCocoMint Body Butter!

Despite the fact that Nova Scotia is almost completely surrounded by ocean, as of yesterday we have officially switched the "suck out all the moisture from the air and dry out your skin" season. And I had JUST run out of body butter last week- Hooray!

Look at all that whipped moisturizing stuff!

Thank goodness it's just so ridiculously easy to make whipped body butter, or I'd continue to be a flaking, itchy mess.

I am now creepily smelling my fingers every few minutes so I can inhale the delicious coconut, chocolate and peppermint scent of yumminess. I'm not even pretending to be subtle.

I tried this recipe about a month ago and it has been heaven. I've decided that this year for Yulemas everyone will receive a miniature gift package with ChocoCocoMint whipped body butter among other goodies. It'll be affordable, easy to make and delicious, all without the ick toxins. 

I think the most challenging aspect of this recipe is actually figuring out how long to leave the oils to harden before attempting the "whipped" process. The first time I didn't leave it in the fridge long enough and had to re-chill and re-attempt- but the end result was great. This time I left it in slightly too long, but the end result is still pretty darn fine. I was panicking though because several recipes have all these descriptive type instructions with vague photos. Bottom line, if it doesn't whip up, rechill for about 15minutes and try again.

ChocoCocoMint Whipped Body Butter

Time needed: 1hr (15min of actual work time)

Ingredients:

(makes 1 cup of whipped butter)

2 tablespoons of Shea butter

2 tablespoons of cocoa butter

2 tablespoons of coconut oil (the smelly kind!)

2 tablespoons of a liquid oil of your choosing

10 drops of peppermint essential oil (or scent of your choosing)

5 drops of clove essential oil

All you need is four (or less!) ingredients and an essential oil (or not!)

(Note: of course you could substitute or double some of these oils. The trick for the whipped butter to keep it's substance and not fall apart is to keep the ratio at 75% solid oil at room temp and 25% liquid)

In a double boiler melt the oils together (I just put a metal bowl over a pot with a couple of inches of boiling water- instead double boiler!). Pour into a ceramic bowl, add essential oils and stir. Place in fridge for about 45min until a good inch around the edge has hardened and the middle looks kinda goopy. While waiting, read a fantastically fluffy (or good) book.

Unfortunately, I left mine in the fridge for too long- so it shouldn't have been this solid. But it still worked! Also, I added some oil that had herbs soaking for extra healing oomph. Some of the herbs escaped into my butter oil...

Scoop goop into a stand mixer. Set on 7 or 8 with the whipping attachment thingy and watch it go! The first time I tried this, nothing really happened except it looked a bit froth-y. If this happens to you, just rechill for another 15min and try again. 

Just yellow goop when it's first scooped in!

Whip until it makes fluffy peaks (it should also thicken in consistency). 

(You could potentially handwhip this, or maybe use a handheld mixer, or borrow a friend's standmixer- but then you'd probably have to share the spoils)

.

It's amazing how it turns completely snow-white in a few minutes!

yum yum!

Spoon into a small jar and Tahdah! Done! This lasted about a month for me, but that was because I LOVED the stuff and glopped it on every day. Put it on right after the shower, do a few things before getting dressed and the oil shouldn't rub off onto your clothing and within an hour should be all absorbed into your skin!

The most delicious body butter EVER!

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

Easy DIY Solid Chocolate Peppermint Body Bars

This week has been pretty rough. From travelling and working late nights, to having a run-in with some critters from a B&B (thankfully contained but the aftermath is horrible) to finally topping it off with a good dose of the flu.

Due to said critters which will remain nameless, I have uncomfortable arms and legs that could really use some soothing peppermint body butter.

I had tried a solid body butter a few weeks ago, but sadly it melted at room temperature. A quick look at other body butter ingredients and they all contain: Beeswax. Thankfully, I had purchased some solid little nubbies of beeswax at the Seaport Farmer's Market a few months ago (25 cents a piece!).

 (I am loving these unused previously as muffin silicone containers robo-moulds for my melts and body bars!)

I just tried the solid bar this morning and it was lovely and smelled like chocolate lavender peppermint... mmmm.

The trick to using more oil-y natural moisturizers is to do as much as you can BEFORE you get dressed, allowing the natural oils to soak into your body: brush your teeth, do your hair and makeup etc. This recipe should last 3 months outside of the fridge, or 6 months in the fridge and should make two 2x2 bars. Feel free to swap some of the oils, but I would stick to a 75% solid and 25% liquid oil so it doesn't fall apart OR add more beeswax.

(beeswax being chopped up!)

Solid Chocolate Peppermint Body Butter Bar:

Equipment:
Double boiler (I just use a pot with 2 inches of water and a metal bowl on top)
silicone type mould (you could try plastic or glass, I'm just not too sure how you'd get the bar out)
Ceramic bowl

Ingredients:
Beeswax (should be able to find at a health food store or farmer's market)
1/4 cup Cocoa Butter
1/4 cup Shea Butter (feel free to use one instead of both, just double the amount)
1 tablespoon Avocado oil (or another liquid oil)
10 drops Peppermint essential oil
5 drops Lavender essential oil

Chop beeswax into six 1 inch long and 1cm thick sticks. Kinda like your pinky finger. Bring water in double boiler to a simmer and place beeswax in double boiler.

Once the beeswax is melted, add the Cocoa and Shea butters and the avocado oil. Melt together.

Pour melted mixture into the ceramic bowl. Add 10 drops of peppermint oil and 5 drops of Lavender oil (feel free to mix it up or add more peppermint- it tends to dilute in scent once it hardens). Stir with a spoon and then pour into your moulds.

Place the mould in the fridge until they harden (if you can wait overnight, that is ideal).

And... you are done! Total work time should be: 30minutes.

(Robo-body butter bar!)

Uses for Chocolate Peppermint Body Bar:

• Travelling- no spillage, no mess!
• Refreshing soothing rub after a yoga class- easy to put in your yoga mat bag!
• Nourishing dry skin during winter months.
• Easy Yulemas gifts
• Massage bars.... ;)

article copyright EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

DIY Customizing Beauty Oils: Easy Cold Infusion

I have no idea why I ever bought body lotion now that I have my amazing cocoa/coconut calendula infused body butter. It was so ridiculously easy to make and works magically.

That said, infusing the calendula in a saucepan requires extremely low heat and a delicate hand... otherwise you end up with a stinky singed herb smelling body butter (which I suffered through for the last batch I made).

There's another way to infuse oils with herbs, it just takes a bit more planning in advance. Which I don't typically like to do, but my friend H. and I will be making a batch of cocoa/coconut body butter in a few weeks, so she stopped by today with a fresh batch of dried calendula petals and a promise that she would be infusing her oil in preparation. I can't be lazy and punk out now.

Infusing oils is all the rage in the eco-sphere, I am SO behind on this easy way to add some pizazz to my oils. It's just such a pain to research all the different herbs and what they're good for on the internet. I've just never had THAT much of an interest to go digging.

(The awesome chart with herbs and skin matches. Descriptions of their helpfulness are also included throughout the book)

Until, a few months ago at the Spring Crafter's Fair I bought this handy dandy book, "Make your place" By Raleigh Briggs that has a little table outlining a whole slew of herbs and what they're good for. Golden!

Infusing oil is a super easy way to customize your facial or body butters to suit your specific skin needs.

(My herbs all ready to go!)

A few important tips:
For cold infusion always use dried herbs. Honestly, you'll be placing these pretties in a jar for a few weeks on end. Fresh herbs have water which breeds bacteria. Bacteria like to grow in oil too, so you really don't want to be slathering bacteria laden oil on your face or body. You could always add some preservative (like vitamin e oil, or vodka...) but if you have fresh herbs think about drying them or infusing them using heat, just make sure you store your oil in the fridge and be conscious of it's shelf life.

For more info on how to DIY with water based products, check out Crunchy Betty's excellent post on the topic.

Also, this blog post on Lovin Soap Blog on how to colour soap naturally with infused herbs is amazing! I especially am interested in the slow cooker method.

Ok, now on to it!

Step One:
Sterilize your infusion jar for 10 minutes in boiling water. This is important, the oil and herbs are going to be sitting for two to three weeks. If anything is already in there you don't want it growing up to be a nasty on your face.

(Sterilizing equipment is not only easy, it's safest)

Step Two:
In dried and cooled jar, plunk in about two-three tablespoons of your herb(s) of choice. Today I chose Calendula and chamomile for their healing and soothing skin properties and licorice bark for it's anti-microbial properties (seriously, yoga+running+sunscreen+sweat= skin blemishes popping up not just on my face).

In Halifax it's very easy to find dried herbs: Planet Organic has a nice little apothecary type wall filled with jars of extremely affordable dried herbs. You could also find some at the market (there's a local lavender farm that sells products at the Seaport Farmer's Market for example).

Step Three:
Add enough oil to cover the dried herbs. Your oil of choice should be influenced by what you want to use the oil for. Olive oil and jojoba oil have a long shelf life, so they're great choices. I chose Sweet Almond Oil because I'm out of jojoba, and it will be gentle on my skin (and I have a bunch left).

Step Four:
Leave in the jar in a cool dark place for about two weeks. Shake once a day.

Step Five:
Strain out of the jar using a mesh strainer or cheesecloth. Tahdah! You have a just for you customized oil to add to your body/lip butters, bath melts or face oils!

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

DIY Lavender Cocoa Body Butter

I am a DIY cocoa body butter makin' fool. That first attempt at creating a body butter just for my ridiculously dry skin was a revelation- body butters are easy as heck! I have since made two more... just because I can (and I've trialed lip balms and bath melts... not ready to post those recipes yet- they need tweaking).

Take a quick peak at your store bought body butter and it has a whole slew of ingredients, most of which rate on Adria Vasil's "Mean 15" list of chemicals that are known carcinogens and hormone disruptors. And you're slathering that so your skin will ABSORB those chemicals... ick. Even if you buy "organic, 100% natural" and can pronounce all the ingredients on your body butter... they are so easy to make yourself for much cheaper- why wouldn't you?

Ok, so here's the deal. It took me less than 30min to make my last batch of body butter. No seriously. And that's WITH infusing the oil with herbs for 20min. I now have two options for body butter: calendula smelling but uber effective or yummy lavender+chamomile (and still extremely moisturizing).

For the calendula recipe- check out this post.

Here's how I managed to make a body butter in under 30 minutes:

(Lavender cocoa body butter in liquid form pre-fridge!)

DIY LAVENDER COCOA BUTTER



FIRST:
In a small saucepan pour in about 1/3 cup of sweet almond oil.
Add one teaspoon of chamomile flowers (dried)
Add one tablespoon of lavender flowers (dried)

(chamomile and lavender flowers infusing almond oil...both are soothing to the skin)

On VERY low heat (minimum), infuse for 20minutes (or longer). If you put it too high the oil takes on a slightly burned smell and the yummy benefits of the flowers are burned away and lost.

THEN:
While that is infusing, sterilize your mason jar in boiling water for 10 minutes.
Microwave your cocoa butter for about 45 seconds.

AFTER:
In your faux double boiler (the pot to which previously sterilized your mason jar), add:
3 tablespoons of softened cocoa butter
3 tablespoons of coconut oil (unrefined)

With water simmering, melt both oils together.

NOW:
Strain the herbs from the infused oil into a bowl.
Add the cocoa and coconut oils
Scrape in 3 vanilla bean bits
Add 5 drops of lavender essential oil.
Stir and place in the refrigerator to help prevent herb bits and vanilla from sinking to the bottom.

(all ready for the fridge!)

To use:
Remove from the fridge a few hours (I remove it the night before) to allow the oils to soften.
Apply liberally, you might need to get a few other things done in your drawses (teehee) while you wait for your skin to absorb the oil. Like blow dry your hair, put on makeup, do a little dance... whatever :)

Store in a cool dark place. I wouldn't leave this more than 6 months, as you've added vanilla extract, which could have some water. If you use it regularly though, it should last about 2 months anyway :)

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

DIY Body Lotion for Eczema

Remember my "DIY coconut oil" moisturizer?" I thought it would be the end of store bought moisturizer for life.

I was so stubborn I went TWO weeks thinking my skin would eventually get better with this two ingredient regime. Everyone has coconut oil as their cure all for eczema, so of course this will work! It's friggin' oil for frack sakes- it should be uber moisturizing!

After two weeks with patches of scary red, blotchy skin appearing all over my body and feeling itchy for all my awake hours (and waking up to having scratched in my sleep), I gave up and purchased Green Beaver's Après Ski with Calendula.

A slight improvement, but months have passed and I'm still suffering from dry patches and itchiness.

Last night, I decided that I was going to try making my own Calendula body lotion. Why not? I had some cocoa butter, unrefined coconut oil and I could just buy Calendula right? Whatever it is really, an herb or something. I'd just go to the Health Food store (Planet Organic) and search the herb section until I saw "Calendula" and whatever form that was I would buy some. (according to wikipedia, Calendula has been documented to decrease inflammation).

It's a yellow flower.

So, weirdly enough there wasn't any sort of "make your own Calendula, cocoa butter, coconut oil lotion" recipe online. Oh, there were plenty of various lotion recipes, but all had random ingredients I didn't own, or involved processes that were too time consuming. So I kinda decided to just wing it, take a few different recipes and see what happened.

What happened was that I made an oily body lotion that I used today. For the first time in MONTHS I am red blotchy, scratching and itchiness FREE!! No seriously, and I am almost a little shocked here, it actually worked. And it smells absolutely divine and wasn't that difficult.

My lotion immediately after poured into the mason jar last night!

EcoYogini's Cocoa Calendula Lotion 

Hardware: a double boiler (or makeshift one. I had to google what that was... cuz Andrew wasn't around for me to confirm that it's a large pot, with a metal bowl that sits on top but doesn't touch the water in the pot. In case there are other noobs reading this and not just me lol).
a small pot
a metal tablespoon
a mason jar (or glass container)
a mesh strainer
Optional: probe thermometer (it was handy)

Software:
1 tablespoon of dried Calendula petals (or 2 if you want more Calendula power)
3 tablespoons of unrefined coconut oil
3 tablespoons of cocoa butter
1 ounce of jojoba oil
1 ounce of olive oil

My double boiler and infusing oil!

Directions:
- In a small pot mix the jojoba and olive oil (honestly I just squirted what I thought was about an ounce each)
- Add the Calendula petals (I mushed them in a mortal to release some of the oils first).
- Heat the oil at low-medium, or so it's 170F (this is where the probe thermometer came in handy and I realized it was at 240F!!)
- Let sit for 20min at about that temperature.

Petals being infused

- Heat the cocoa butter in the microwave for about 35 seconds or until soft. (This was weird since it had been sooo long since I had heated anything plastic in the microwave. It felt wrong).
- In the metal bowl you'll use for the double boiler, add the coconut oil and cocoa butter. Bring water in the pot to a simmer (um, yup had to google simmer vs boil) and then place bowl with oils on top and melt.
- Once the Calendula is infused for 20min, strain the oil into the double boiler. Mix and pour the entire mixture into the mason jar. Allow to sit until at room temperature until hardens.

I really wanted to try it today, so I put it in the fridge overnight. The problem with that is it was rock solid in the morning and I had to heat it up again.

It smells absolutely delicious (even though the Calendula is STINKY while infusing).

The lotion tonight after being at room temperature all day. You can see it's a bit like vanilla pudding looking, but it actually separates as soon as you touch it. I might keep it in the fridge...

Some thoughts- the oils do separate and get a bit goopy, which is awkward to manage. Also, although it has worked miraculously, it takes a LONG time to absorb and is extremely oily. More so than the coconut oil alone. I had to get ready (do my hair and makeup etc) with minimal clothing and I even used a towel to pat some of it up. But it wasn't long that my skin soaked it up and no residue was left on my clothing!

That said- this is totally doable with basic ingredients and about an hour of your time. The stuff supposedly should last up to 4 months, or even longer if you put it in the fridge.

Enjoy!

article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

Plastic-Free Eco Mascara: TWINK!

I wear makeup. Yep, blotchy skin (hello rosacea) and under eye circles mean that every day I put on concealer, mineral powder, blush a bit of eye shadow and mascara. Those are the basics. Unfortunately I have had the most difficult time greening my makeup routine. Most affordable eco-makeup just doesn't live up to the toxic chemical filled stuff, or if it does it's because it's an in between-er.

(mascara coated lashes, photo by Roomic Cube- Flikr)

Why should you care about your mascara/makeup ingredient list?

1. If you're an EcoYogini who wears makeup, you're sweating those ingredients into your skin. Mascara, eye shadow and eye liner all are applied close to your eye. Do not tell me you've never gotten face paint into your eye before. Or rubbed your eyes? Our skin (and eyes!) can absorb the makeup ingredients into our system. Sweating opens the pores to allow even more ingredients to be absorbed. 
2. Cosmetics are not regulated well by the FDA (or at all really). Although there are some restrictions on what chemicals can be added to makeup, the term "ingredient" is pretty loosely defined. Chemicals that are used in the manufacturing of the cosmetic that could contaminate the product do not have to be included- so we'd never know. The FDA has no authority to require cosmetic companies to test for safety (Skin Deep- Myths on cosmetic safety).
3. If you wear makeup every week day (5x a week) for years think of all the bioaccumulation of the ingredients. We also really don't understand how chemicals interact with each other in our body, especially what would happen over time. Sure the dosage might be small that one time, but every day for years....we just have never exposed ourselves to that many chemicals for that length of time. It's like we're our own chemical soup guinea pigs.

Ok, so my precious MAC makeup is not ideal for my long term health. However, finding "clean" makeup that works is challenging on my wallet and my patience. I've tried Suncoat mascara and was disgusted with how easily it ran (all under my eyes with one small rub or mist- and Halifax is a misty place!). I've tried vegan eye shadow- STRIPT and was not impressed with the lack of luster or colour. Dr. Hauschka, a supposedly top of the line clean mascara rates a 4 on Skin Deep- a Moderate Health Concern; super expensive and not even very green!

Recently, on My Plastic-free Life, Beth Terry mentioned a sans plastic mascara- one that comes in a packed "cake" form in a tin! I thought... why not?

T.W.I.N.K. beauty (Two Women In Nature's Knowledge) is based in Florida with the two founders creating all cosmetic products by hand in their shop! No sketchy ingredients, no plastic in the tins. I ordered mascara (black), a pretty bronze mineral eye shadow and "almond" face powder.

 (cute tin with my mascara gunked finger prints all over it. Please ignore random clothing on the floor in the background....lol)

I will say that the mascara tin is SUPER cute and fun! I was prepared for the crappy "wand" and rigged up my own new brush from an old MAC mascara (if you bring in six products MAC will recycle them for you and give you a free eye shadow. So I had some lying around).

Mascara ingredients: purified water, aloe vera, candelilla wax, acacia gum, iron oxides, vitamin e, vitamin c, grapefruit seed extract and potassium sorbate.

Yesterday was day one. Honestly, opening the tin is a pain. That said, it was easy to kinda rub the brush around and then apply. (although, I guess you're SUPPOSED to put in a drop of water... who knew? I suck at reading instructions).

(My lashes at 9:30pm, application at 7am, significant walking around in high twenties heat)

Verdict-Mascara: Day One lasted through a full day of work, intense walk home in 28 degree Celsius freak Halifax heat, 1 hour of Yoga in the Park. Yep, no running at all! AND it was SUPER easy to wash off. Today- even better. My only complaint? Figuring out what to do with the mascara wand. I've decided I just have to wash it after every application- which really only takes a few extra minutes.

The eye shadow? LOVE! It's beautiful, rich and vibrant and also lasts all through my work day.

The face powder? Meh. Sadly, ordering from coloured dots on a webpage doesn't result in the most accurate skin match. It wasn't quite my skin colour and doesn't really last as long as my other mineral face powder.

I am happy to say that I can now phase out my MAC mascara with a new, affordable eco lash paint that will survive work, sweat and Yoga!

article and not otherwise specified photos copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

DIY Natural Face Exfoliant for NYE

New Year's Eve is coming upon us and I don't know about you all (y'all for my American peeps!), but I adore the self-painting and primping that is involved with the night. Beyond that, all that healthy sheen from a great yoga practice can benefit from a good cleaning on a regular basis.

I had given up facial exfoliants after realizing that most scrubs are either: A) made from small plastic nurdles making their way from my drain to fish bellies B) made from "natural" products that have sharp edges that will scratch and tear at my skin or C) made with dirt dissolving chemicals that are sketchy.

Unfortunately, with winter well on it's way, my skin is drying out and needs some exfoliation (my amazing honey cleansing routine just needs that little boost).

A few months ago a local company, Pur Alternatives, was sadly closing shop and having a ridiculous sale. I purchased a few products I wouldn't typically purchase, including a "natural" exfoliant using grains. I was skeptical that a jar filled with dry grains could do the trick. Except... this stuff was AMAZING. Seriously, the BEST EXFOLIANT EVER. And the ingredient list was stuff you can eat!

Recently, I ran out. So off to Planet Organic bulk and herb section to give my own version a try. I tried it this morning and it rocks! I had a funny feeling that the oats were the gently, moisturizing ticket and I was right. My mixture has only four ingredients, all naturally round and gentle on your skin, super easy to put together and will leave your skin soft and smooth!

EcoYogini Lavender Oat Exfoliant

Hardware: mortar and pestle (or something to squish the oats a bit)
                  large bowl
                  small glass container (could be a small jam jar)

Software: 1 tbsp of whole lavender buds (organic and ethically sourced is best!)
                 1/4 cup of rolled oats (not cooked)
                 3 tbsp of amaranth (easy to find at natural bulk stores)
                 1/4 cup of quinoa (white)
(Ingredient measurements are approximations, I actually didn't measure any of mine!)

In the mortar and pestle lightly crush the oats. You can leave some larger pieces, and truly this will be to what texture you'd like in your scrub.

In the bowl add all the other dry ingredients. As I didn't actually measure mine, feel free to add or remove to the amount of each you'd like. The lavender really makes it smell delicious, but once you add water that lavender smell disappears into the "oat".

Store in a small glass jar.

To Use:
In the shower (or at the sink), pour out about a teaspoon of grains into your palm. Drip a few drops of water into the scrub and gently massage over your face. Use once or twice a week only. For a fun facial mask add some yogurt and honey!

Now your face is all ready for some yoga-ing, dancing healthy New Year's Eve Shine!

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

DIY Beet Blush: FOYF (Food On Your Face)

Makeup has definitely been a difficult eco-change in my life. I just like me my MAC products ya know? They're just so darn amazing- the down side are the chemicals... I know many of you are makeup-free gals (or makeup minimum) which I say 'Good for you!' but I like to paint my face. It's fun, evens out my skin tone and makes my sleepy eyes more awake.

So when I saw this fantastically easy tutorial by a former makeup artist on EcoEtsy I thought: I can DO that! Seriously. I can. Three ingredients? I am a GO.

We just had to buy some beets. Which typically come in bunches. Since neither Andrew nor I eat beets, the rest will get donated to Home Heather, who LOOOVES them :)

There were definitely a few little bumps in this process of making the beet blush, but in the end it ACTUALLY WORKED. Even Andrew was shocked and surprised. So here's the process with a few little editorial comments on the process from yours truly:

Ingredients:

1 beet

1 tablespoon of honey

2 tablespoons of olive oil

Equipment:

Blender or food processor

wire mesh strainer

glass container for storage

dealy to squish beet mush through the wire strainer

Step 1: 'Cut your beet in half and trim off the skin. Cut in tiny pieces'

 (the colours are so pretty!)

Ok- at first I honestly thought that despite the ingredient list calling for 1 beet, that cutting it in half meant we used half the beet. Not so- after trying to blend half the beet I quickly realized that it really didn't look like enough. **Note: you need the WHOLE beet.

ALSO- since when is peeling a vegetable easier after you cut it in half?? Too late I realized it would have been so much easier to peel the beet first then cut in tiny pieces.

Modified Step 1: Peel your beet and cut in tiny 0.5 cm pieces

Step 2: 'Add all your ingredients in the food processor and blend until liquified, strain and separate liquids from solids'

 (ew- horror movie worthy)

I saw in the pictures that she had used a magic bullet. Whoa, we TOTALLY have one of those! Score. So I gave it a whirl. It was noisy and a long and painful process. If you have a food processor please use it. Or a stick blender even.

The straining of the beet barf (seriously, it had chunks, it was weird) was not fun. I realized that Andrew and I don't actually own a metal mesh strainer or even cheese cloth. I do have a straining mechanism in my reusable tea mug... So that's what I used. 

(my ghetto straining process)

It was pretty darn awkward. I had to use a plastic spoon that I had kept from a previous outing (I know, but at least it got used!). 

After the separation I noticed that MY blush was especially liquid-y while hers looked more like a smoothie. WTF? How the crap did she 'strain' hers?? Anyhoo- I kept the weird chunky stuff in case I would need it.

Modified Step 2A: In preferably a food processor or stick blender, add olive oil, honey and cut up beet and blend until liquified or smoothie texture. 

Modified Step 2B: Using a large metal mesh strainer, strain the larger chunks out.

'Step 3: Pour liquid stain in a glass jar or other air tight container.'

This was a moot point- I had to press the chunks into the glass container. DONE! yes :)

'Step 4: Using a lip brush or cotton swab, slide the stain over clean dry lips.'

Oops, forgot to try this. Will after blog is finished!

 (before picture, I actually have face powder on to make sure it worked with my regular makeup routine)

'Step 5: Using the same tool, dab three dots of stain onto the apple of your cheeks. Smile to help placement.'

(after, I don't like a lot of blush, so it's pretty subtle, which makes me happy)

'Step 6: Blend onto cheek in a circular motion until skin absorbs the stain. Repeat on the other cheek.' 

I so didn't use any tool... I just used my pinky finger. It was clean and worked just fine. And I'm lazy and only like my kabuki brush and angled eyeshadow brush. That is all. 

'Step 7: When done, store in refrigerator for up to 4 weeks or freeze for up to 2 months.'

I was a little nervous that this stuff wouldn't wash off my face- I mean my fingers appear permanently stained right now. However, I tried it before taking pictures first. I was totally able to wash it all off to redo for the Before-After pictures no problem at all! 

Amazing stuff. It's also not as purple or pink as it appears when you first blend it up. 

I am suitably impressed. Who knew that beets could be used as blush? Now I know they're good for something :)

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

Searching for Yummy Smelling 'Eco' Lotions

After our "What does Sustainable Healthcare Mean to You?" I was reminded how prevalent cancer and illness are in Nova Scotia (higher rates than any other province in Canada). We may leave in a country with "free" healthcare, except for when most cancer medications aren't covered by medicare.

When my uncle, a lobster fisherman, was diagnosed with terminal cancer and was informed that the life prolonging drugs were not covered by medicare, his options were... die sooner.

When we find out that products we slather all over our skin, products plural, contain cancer causing toxic chemicals... why would we continue to choose these products?

I've found we continue to choose those products because it's just so darn difficult to find comparable alternatives that are truly "clean" of chemicals and similar in price. That works.

For example, my latest attempt to find a yummy smelling body lotion that is equally moisturizing that it is clean... AND smells like summer.

THE YUMMY SMELLING TOXIC LOTION
Alba's Kukui nut lotion. Although Alba is sold in health food stores and in the "natural" section, it most certainly is far from free of chemicals. Having a little statement that says it has 100% Vegetarian ingredients really doesn't mean much, especially when you have the following ingredients:

polysorbate 60, dimethicone, phenoxyethanol, ethylhexylglycerin, fragrance.

The scariest of the above five? The "fragrance" which of course is one of my favourite parts. According to David Suzuki, "fragrance" or "parfum" is one of the "Dirty Dozen" cosmetic toxic ingredients to avoid at all costs and can hide any of 3000 chemicals. Many of these are triggers for migraines, asthma and allergies. Some ingredients have even been linked to cancer causing agents and neurotoxins. (p. 8 of David Suzuki's Dirty Dozen Backgrounder).

THE WINTER WINNER CHICKEN LOTION
Ok, all winter I have been using Green Beaver's Après Ski lotion which is clean of chemicals and works like a dream, no residue and moisturizes all day. It's just... after I apply this stuff I smell like a well roasted chicken. Now, although Andrew thinks it's pretty hilarious and yummy, I'm really kinda tired of smelling like a thanskgiving turkey. (It's the rosemary).

Sadly, the other Green Beaver options just aren't as moisturizing... so I went in search of something else.

THE REPLACEMENT FAIL
I found Dr Bonner's Magic 'All-One' lotion. Yes.... I know, 'Magic All-One' lotion?? Who NAMES these products??? I picture a smokey, sweet haze and some tie dyed shirts. Seriously though.

Anyhoo, the ingredient list is fantastic. It smells like yummy peppermint... and even though I KNOW peppermint can be drying, it was that or an icky orange or patchouli type. I really just didn't want to smell like sandalwood patchouli. Ya know?

As you can seen, I'm leading up to something. The lotion feels greasy and sticky going on. It smells very strongly of peppermint and I feel nervous eating anything after having the stuff on my hands. Eventually the greasy feeling does go away, but after a few hours my legs are itchy, flaky and dry and my arms are red.

The price was right, the ingredients were perfect, even the post-consumer recycled packaging was great. Sadly the actual lotion lacked in awesomeness.

Ah well... the search continues...

Blessings!


article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

OverShare: Dry Scalp... Ew.

Winter here is dragging... and although we live right on the Atlantic Ocean, so is the dry dry weather. This winter has been especially bad for... gasp... DRY SCALP. (ugh!).

It first became apparent I had a problem while getting my hair cut- I looked down and gasped at the small little winter wonderland on the cape. Awesome. Weirdly enough, the hairstylist recommended a dandruff shampoo.

Let's get one thing straight- dry scalp and dandruff are two different things. Dandruff is usually oily flakes that are being shed due to three possible reasons:

1. Skin oil commonly referred to as sebum or sebaceous secretions^[7]
2. The metabolic by-products of skin micro-organisms (most specifically Malassezia yeasts)^{[8][9][10][11][12]}
3. Individual susceptibility (wiki)

Dry scalp, on the other hand, is your scalp being dry... like your skin. Since I don't have a chronic condition of flaking, they're not oily and I don't have psoriasis or eczema, AND I have had to use intense moisturizers on my face and body for the winter due to dry skin, it's easy to assume that I have dry scalp and not dandruff. Which makes sense, my scalp is covered with skin and if I'm moisturizing every other inch of my body due to dryness, why would my scalp be any different?

Atreyu guaring my moisturizing arsenal.

Of course, changing shampoos isn't really the best answer either. Shampoo is for your hair, and although some shampoos have extra "stuff" (i.e. chemicals) for your scalp, the main purpose is hair. My hair is actually dry-oily and adding an uber moisturizing shampoo or conditioner will simply make my hair oily and my scalp will remain dry. Yum.

What I needed is a moisturizer for my scalp. I searched around everywhere and found some people who use olive oil and... that's about it. Although really weird, I decided that oil in some manner would be the solution, but I had another obstacle: time. I really don't have enough time in the morning to massage oil in my scalp and leave it long enough to do anything before showering. Also, washing the oil away might also negate the moisturizing effects.

The only way would be an overnighter of oil. This means I really didn't want my hair to smell like olive oil all night (ew). My final solution? Five Seed's Lavender Moon Balm. Yep, the stuff smells amazing and the ingredients consist of nice and natural coconut oil, soothing lavender and vanilla. Perfect.

The result? It definitely helped! I haven't been consistent and should probably be doing this once a week until winter finally goes away (it's a bit embarrassing to come to bed with a "hi honey, like my oily, spiky, yummy smelling hair??"), but the few times have been a success. It has helped with the sensation of itching and my hair appears healthier and happier too.

Do you have any other suggestions that might help?

*******Beware of Dandruff Shampoo:
Most dandruff shampoos have icky toxic ingredients like coal tar- linked to cancer in miners, asphalt workers and chimney sweeps (plus the actual mining of the stuff is ridiculously bad for the environment). They also have zinc- which a Swedish study found that when they poured dandruff shampoo (3 millilitres) in a 1000 litre aquarium waited 24 hours and added fish, half the fish died within 4 days.... where do you think your dandruff shampoo goes after you rinse it out? (Ecoholic, 2006)


Also, strangely enough, most dandruff shampoos contain a scalp irritant- SLS (Sodium Laurel/laureth Sulphide).


Alternatives: cutting back on sugars and refined foods, taking antifungal oregano oil or washing with tea tree oil shampoos (or add a few drops in your regular shampoo). I've read that apple cider vinegar can really help too.

Saying 'No' to Misleading Cosmetic Certification

I walked into Lush today and was alone in my ventures. Why? Because the rest of our crew cannot handle the strong scents in the self proclaimed 'natural' store. Yep, I walked straight over to the shampoo section... hoping for something natural to pop out and say 'Pick Me!'.

You'd think choosing a natural alternative for cosmetics would be straightforward, but spend a few seconds closely reading the ingredient list in any Natural Health food store and you're in for a nasty surprise. Lush does have the odd synthetic-ingredient free product but I really wasn't in the mood to read every single tiny, barely legible label in the store. So I asked... and was kinda the annoying customer on this one. When she asked me to specify what I meant by 'clean', I chose a shampoo bottle and started reading some of the synthetic and sketchy chemical ingredients- 'anything without these?' She pointed me to a few that had less, but I pointed out that I really wasn't in the mood for a half a** job here, go eco or go home.

Bottom line, I went home.

Here's the problem. Labels like 'natural', 'organic', or environmentally friendly really mean jack sh*. when it comes to the beauty industry. Women slather a ridiculous amount of products every day, so you'd think the industry would be more closely regulated. Ah no.

According to Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database, the FDA has been quoted 'FDA cannot require companies to do safety testing of their cosmetic products before manufacturing....' and '... a cosmetic manufacturer may use almost any raw material as a cosmetic ingredient and market the product without an approval from FDA...' (FDA 1995 as quoted on Skin Deep). They've also found that the Cosmetics Ingredient Review has only reviewed 13% of the 10,500 ingredients over the past 30 years for safety... which means that nearly 90% of all cosmetic products have not been evaluated for safety. Nice.

Even labeling is pretty wonky and can be misleading. Take 'Ecocert' certification labeling. To qualify for a certified organic labeling products only need to contain 10% certified organic ingredients by weight. Wow. Even though Ecocert has other fabulous aspects like not allowing testing on animals or the majority of ingredients by natural origin (um, whatever that means), when you see a shiny label saying 'certified organic by Ecocert' do you think only 10%? (Adria Vasil, Ecoholic).

Some exciting news though? Whole Foods will be requiring all cosmetic products with a claim of 'organic' to be certified through USDA certification by next year... or their product won't be carried in the store. USDA organic certification requires that at least 95% of the ingredients are certified organic by food grade standards. So companies like 'Avalon Organics' or 'Giovanni Organic Hair Care' can't just have that as their name anymore without certification to back it up. Yay for us the consumers!

Even though I know I was the annoying customer in Lush today, I really think that things won't change until we talk with our moneys. It's not unreasonable to say 'I'm not ok with misleading greenwashing silliness- I care about what I put in and on my body' and standing firm. No ingredient list? Ask for one, and walk away if they aren't willing to provide you with one. The shorter the ingredient list, the better. If you don't feel comfortable or understand the ingredients on the list, don't feel embarrassed or bullied into buying it.

Come on EcoYogi(ni)s! I support you! :)

Yoga in the Park sans Skin Cancer

This past week the weather here has finally begun to feel more like summer, mid to high 20's (celcius) and sunny sunny skies. Sunny weather of course means... Guerrilla Yoga in the Park!

Our last Yoga in the Park happened two weekends ago... and I only remembered that I might need sunscreen when we got there. One hour of practicing yoga in the hot sun next to the ocean and you can be assured I had some key red spots! My arms and shoulders were actually sore for about three days. Skin cancer is not ideal.

The reason we didn't get sunscreen this year was my want for something sans chemicals.

Sunscreens and sunblocks don't just provide a friendly 'stay away please' to UVA, UVB rays, they often contain potential estrogenic mimicking chemicals such as parabens. The Environmental Working Group assessed over 800 sunscreens and proclaimed only 16 percent to be both safe for our health and environment and effective. Oxybenzone, found in 400 products, is a weak hormone disruptor found in the urine of 95% 6-8 year old girls tested... with some freaky ovary producing, oxybenzone showing fish near sewers. Not to mention the loads of other unstable chemicals present in sunscreens and sunblocks (Adria Vasil, Ecoholic).

So instead of protecting our skin from harmful skin cancer, we're slathering on chemical filled creams that are absorbed into our bloodstreams and-or wash down into our waterways creating ovary toting fish (which of course eventually gets re-consumed by us via water system). According to EWG, the FDA failed to finalize it's 1978 safety standards, resulting in an understudied industry.

Here are some pretty troubling EWG statements on sunscreen:

1. There's no consensus that sunscreens prevent skin cancer.
2. There's some evidence that sunscreens may increase the risk for cancer
3. Although there are more higher SPF products out there, there's no evidence proving they're better.
4. The common ingredient in sunscreen, vitamen A, may speed up skin cancer.
5. Free-radicals and other skin-damaging chemicals are by-products of sunscreen.
6. Choosing between nanomaterials and potential hormone disrupting chemicals...(click on the link for detailed discussion on each).

EWG have conveniently put together their 2010 sunscreen guide with an easy rating system. Erin, over at The Conscious Shopper, has recently tried out a sunscreen (and found it wanting). The EWG's FAQ section has a ton of information regarding sunscreen safety (who knew it was so complex??).

Sadly, most of the 'safe' sunscreens are difficult to find in Canada. As Adria Vasil of Ecoholic points out, simply buying a sunscreen from a Health store doesn't assure a free pass on chemical-ville.

Quick tips to keep your Guerrilla Yoga easy on the environment and your health:

• choose sunscreen with key ingredients zinc oxide, titanium dioxide. If the cream isn't white, than it probably has nano particles... which may be a bit sketchy, but EWG basically thinks they probably aren't. Read their description as to why.
• Wear protective UVB, UVA clothing (Patagonia has some pretty awesome stuff).
• Choose sunscreens of SPF 15 or 30. Don't choose anything over SPF 50.
• Avoid sprays or powders (yum, inhaled chemicals!)
• avoid ingredient 'retinyl palmitate' (vitamin A) as it may speed up cancer.

The one sunscreen I recognize... Jason's sunscreen. I'll be looking around this weekend for my anti-skin cancer friendly to the trees sunscreen.

Strangely enough, that day practicing in the sun, my face was absolutely fine. Not even a bit of pink. And wouldn't you know I was wearing my mineral powder? Yep. Sunscreen protection. (please don't judge makeup wearing prior to outdoor yoga... it's one of my personal journey processes...).

I hope everyone enjoys the sunny weather and Yoga in the Park! (For those Haligonians reading- Sunday June 13th, Point Pleasant Park Tour Site 10 at 11am :) )

Blessings!

article copyright of EcoYogini at ecoyogini.blogspot.com

pur alternatives; finally taking the guesswork out of ingredient list

Moving back to Halifax has proven to be a bit challenging with finding natural, synthetic-free products. Although I *knew* I was spoiled with a province where being "hippie" and "green" has been the rage for quite a few years now (ahem, BC) I wasn't quite prepared for the absolute lack of knowledge regarding ingredient and product lists. Quick example- lady at Planet Organic assured me that Dr. Hauchka was synthetic-free "because their product video told us so". Right.

Which is why I am very excited about "pur alternatives", a beautiful local store that has opened in Halifax. Although they have encountered some difficulties recently (like being told they couldn't put up their promo posters in the mall because it was offending other retailers (ahem, hair salons who SELL the crap), they are beautiful souls and Halifax needs them. They have extremely stringent rules regarding product ingredients and environmental footprint that they carry- which takes the guess work out! Anyhoo, they can tell it better than I:

1. As a relatively new Halifax Natural Product store, what prompted you (Stephanie) and Chris to open pur alternatives?

SK: It all started when we started researching products and what they contained just for our own use. I was trying to cut the chemicals out of every aspect of my life. I found that it was just too overwhelming to figure out what every ingredient was and if it was safe...that was when I had the 'light bulb' moment: What if somebody had done all this work for me and there was a store I could get all the safe products without having to worry about understanding everything on the ingredient label or greenwashing? This was the birth of pur alternatives.
 

CG: Another factor though - and probably the one that had us working together on pur alternatives - was that I, as a geologist had been spending a lot of time away from home; and as much as I enjoyed the work, it was making it hard to settle down. We'd been discussing raising a family but we weren't able to do that with me away so much. So I took the concept of opening pur alternatives as my opportunity to be home with Stephanie and move into that next phase of our lives (which of course also led to the birth of our baby, Ava)

 
2. Halifax (I have found) can be a bit tricky when it comes to availability of natural 'eco' products and openness to change. What sorts of things have you found difficult in the past year while getting your space up and running?

2) A big obstacle for us was sourcing the right products. We'd be searching the other 'natural' stores, and we were noticing that the 'safe' products were few and far between on the stores' shelves and almost always mixed amongst the products that still contained a few (or lots of) not-so-safe ingredients, and some kinds of products simply weren't available at all. So it ended up taking a lot of searching (including a lot on the internet) to find truly safe products that encompassed the essentials.

Of course once we found enough to start with, the next obstacle proved even more challenging; getting access to the resources to open pur alternatives. As it turns out, all those 'incentives' being offered to new businesses with green initiatives aren't as available as they let on. For example, there is no support for retail start-ups. And if you've still got student debt hanging over your head you can forget about it. Obviously we did end up getting what was needed to open pur alternatives, but it was a combination of a lot of luck, big credit cards, and being very annoying with a good banker. And we still operate on a skeleton budget.

And even once we got up and running it has been taking some time in convincing people why we would operate on such a strict commitment to ingredients. There are customers who don't understand why the items they find in the "organic" section of the grocery store aren't as natural as they think. There are always fellow businesses who feel we are cutting ourselves off at the knees by being so strict. These mindsets are by no means limited to Halifax, but preconceived notions can always go any number of ways, and as much as we've developed (and continue to do so) a loyal following who appreciate our policies, there are plenty others out there that just don't get it.

3. Your company states so pretty firm guidelines around product selection: What guidelines and 'rules' do you follow when choosing to offer a product or company?

It takes some understanding but by thoroughly reviewing the ingredient lists we can wean out the good companies from the ones who are only going halfway pretty quickly. Before carrying any product or product line we request full ingredient lists. If, for some reason, this is not provided, then we won't even consider the product for pur alternatives. We pick out all the synthetic ingredients (which are often contaminated) or the irritating ones and if they're present, those products aren't allowed on our shelves. Secondary to that is a company's overall policies on the ingredients they use.


Household cleaning products are not always required to give full ingredient lists; in these cases the exact formulation is generally classed a 'trade secret.' Some words used that you may have seen (that actually don't tell you what the ingredient is) are "plant-based surfactant" or "naturally derived" (to name just a few). And with some, it takes a bit of knowledge on how certain ingredients are derived, how they can get contaminated, and how stable they are ("urea", for example can be entirely natural, but when combined with water, it breaks down and releases formaldehyde). So it can be difficult; but it's also important to note that neither of us are chemists or toxicologists. The information is available - it just requires patience and dedication to making sense of it sometimes. In the end, product safety is always the top concern but in addition to that we look for sustainability and where possible, locally made.
 
4.I notice you don't carry some well known lines of natural products- why is that?

Many of the more well-known "natural" brands are only going halfway with their formulations (i.e., using some good ingredients and then using suspect or harmful emulsifiers, surfactants, and preservatives). Some of them are actually subsidiary's of larger corporations (for example, still not many people realize this, but since several years ago, Tom's of Maine has been a subsidiary of Colgate-Palmolive; similarly, Burt's Bees became a subsidiary of Clorox). So it goes without saying that we need to be careful who we align ourselves with.  

Ultimately though, it's about the ingredients; if those brands aren't going as pure and natural as we are, we won't sell their products. (Lisa-why I love this store!)

5. What do you see as the 'next steps' in pur alternative's future? What would be on your wishlist? 

We are currently trying to develop the education side of pur alternatives. We are hoping to make a few workshops and talks available in the near future, as well as expand the resources available in-store. Likewise accessibility of non-toxic products continues to be a concern, therefore one thing we'd like to be able to provide are additional locations. 

6. Over the past year of being in business, what has brought you the most joy (perhaps unexpectedly?) 
  
CG: For me there are two: One is return customers, who come back every time telling us how much they love our products. And the other is brand recognition: meeting new people out there who have heard of pur alternatives, and already know what we stand for.

SK: In addition to what Chris has already mentioned, I distinctly remember seeing the store 100% put together just before we opened our doors, and seeing in reality the exact image I had had in my mind's eye: that was a joy!

 
From Thursday until Saturday (May 20th-22nd) pur alternatives is having a "toxic product" swap! Bring in an old icky, chemical filled product and they will swap it for a clean green one (40% off!). Ridiculously awesome and fantastic for our community.

Go check them out!

Blessings!