Acne.org Products
Good blog. This post is about raising healthier children but its good info for everyone. Contains links to many recipes for making your own products. http://wellnessmama.com/4800/9-easy-ways-to-boost-your-childs-health/
Also, I've been meaning to post a link to the Crunchy Betty blog. Especially big on making masks out of food, but there's all kinds of recipes for avoiding chemicals, saving money and not playing the whole consumer game. You'll have to google.
I also found some much easier ways to make laundry soap. For a liquid, which usually means cooking and a lot of work, you cut bar soap in chunks and put them in a jar with water and let sit. Eventually they'll dissolve and you can stir in the borax and such. For a powder, which usually mean's grating and food processing to turn it to powder, laundry bar soap can be microwaved for a bit. It'll puff up in a weird blob, but when it cools, you can crumble it to a fine powder with your hands. I don't know if you can do that with glycerine or other natural soaps.
These are in my Pinterest board. I'll have to find them and post details.
Also, if you just want to save a lot of money, you can make a very cheap laundry soap with 2 T dish washing liquid, 3 T washing soda and 3 T borax in water. The blogger I found this on for some reason added this to a gallon of water and then used about 1 cup of the watery liquid for each load. I don't see why you wouldn't add it to a smaller, empty detergent bottle with less water and then using the included measuring cap. Easier than keeping a soapy, sticky measuring cup around. Also, she used Blue Dawn dishwashing liquid. And perhaps that works just as well with liquid glycerine soap.
Several skin care recipes here. It includes a milk and baking soda scrub they swear clears blackheads.
http://www.expressnightout.com/2010/04/diy-natural-skin-care/
Illegal cancer causing chemical found in nearly 100 top brand shampoos
Just like what I've been saying. Just use oil:
http://www.treehugger.com/organic-beauty/how-keep-your-hands-moisturized-during-winter.html
Also, I recently saw a post in which someone mentioned using Magnesium Oil for Deodorant. Have to research for more info. Magnesium oil is a great way to supplement magnesium though. Use it to soothe sore muscles. Better than epsom salts. And you can make it. Just buy Magnesum Flakes.
This article says that cheap drugstore brand Wet N Wild nail polish is free of the 3 worst chemicals that make nail polish one of the most toxic things you can do to yourself--formaldehyde, toulene and dibutyl phthalate. Some major brands like Revlon, Loreal, etc have products that are free of even more harmful chemicals, but do not assume that is so with every product they make. You have to look them up or read labels.
Wet N Wild tends to get good scores in the EWG's Skin Deep database. But the color affects the amount of bad shit so you have to look up the specific shade. Paler, sheerer colors are safer.
Microbes that can help protect us from the harmful chemicals we've filled our environment with
Mostly common probiotics. And yeasts, which I don't know if they are common or not. I'd have to look them up. Kefir & Kombucha both contain yeast strains. They are started with a SCOBY which stands for Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria & Yeast.
Example: Per animal studies, Bifidobacterium breve and Lactobacillus casei, common probiotics, can help prevent absorption of BPA in plastics
The P. Acnes strains in your skin protect you from MRSA.
Parabens accumulate in breast tissue.
- Recent research found higher concentrations of parabens in the upper quadrants of the breast and axillary area, where antiperspirants are usually applied, suggesting they may contribute to the development of breast cancer. One or more paraben esters were detected in 99 percent of the tissue samples collected from mastectomies. In 60 percent of the samples, all five paraben esters were present
- Overall, topical application of personal care products containing parabens appear to be the greatest source of exposure to these estrogen-mimicking chemicals, far surpassing the risk of the aluminum in antiperspirants
- Aluminum chloridethe active ingredient in antiperspirantshas been found to act similarly to the way oncogenes work to provide molecular transformations in cancer cells. Like parabens, aluminum salts also mimic estrogen, and bioaccumulate in breast tissue, which can raise your breast cancer risk
- Despite the fact that parabens are used in such a wide variety of products, their safety is primarily based on a rat study from 1956, as modern toxicology studies are lacking, and not a single study on the chemicals carcinogenity follow acceptable regulatory standard carcinogenity study protocols, according to a recent review
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The featured study by Barr et.al. discovered one or more paraben esters in 99 percent of the 160 tissue samples collected from 40 mastectomiesiii
. In 60 percent of the samples, all five paraben esters were present. There were no correlations between paraben concentrations and age, length of breast feeding, tumor location, or tumor estrogen receptor content.
While antiperspirants are a common source of parabens, the authors note that the source of the parabens cannot be established, and that 7 of the 40 patients reportedlynever used deodorants or antiperspirants in their lifetime. What this tells us is that parabens, regardless of the source, can bioaccumulate in breast tissue.
And the sources are many. Parabens can be found in a wide variety of personal care products, cosmetics, as well as drugs. That said, it appears the dermal route is the most significant form of exposure.
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Also, consider if you even need to use anything. It isn't essential. I used anti perspirants for a bit in high school because I thought it was essential, like applying soap all over my body. But I've realized they don't do much for e at all. If its really hot and muggy or im doing a lot of physical activity, I'm going to perspire all over so what's the point of stopping it under my armpits? And on most days, I don't sweat that much.
Wonderful. Also, underarm odor can usually be lessened by cutting out processed foods and eating more veggies, especially greens.
Pacifica makes some wonderful fragrances that are all natural and come in more conventional scents (floral/fruit) however, wearing your own mix of essential oils as a perfume is both healing and uniquely beautiful.
Essential oils to add fragrance and healing to the home are also wonderful.
The glyphosate in Roundup which is what is sprayed in massive amounts on Monsanto's roundup ready GMO crops is an endocrine disruptor.
Visit The Story of Stuff project & watch the short movie "The Story of Cosmetics."
http://storyofstuff.org/movies/story-of-cosmetics/
Then watch the rest of the movies. Hopefully they'll inspire you to make some changes. Remember, you don't have to buy what they are selling. You don't have to play their game.
Interesting thread.
Regarding the homemade laundry detergents, I've been buying grated organic prickly pear soap from a local family who owns a prickly pear farm. They add a drop of cold pressed petitgrain oil. it's been great.
I always itch like crazy if I use store bought detergents. my guess is that's why my back and chest acne was always so persistent.
Interesting thread.
Regarding the homemade laundry detergents, I've been buying grated organic prickly pear soap from a local family who owns a prickly pear farm. They add a drop of cold pressed petitgrain oil. it's been great.
I always itch like crazy if I use store bought detergents. my guess is that's why my back and chest acne was always so persistent.
That's interesting. I'd like to know more about that. We have prickly pear at the urban farm. And I've been wondering why not use cactus or aloe 'slime' to make a shampoo that's slippery and doesn't require sudsy detergents to work it though your hair.
Article about the pervasiveness of petroleum-based chemicals in our bodies, primarily from topically applied cosmetics and other chemicals. Versus the benefits of coconut oil.
And speaking of chemicals getting into our bodies, on an episode of one of his shows, Bill Nye the Science Guy commented that they don't need to use as much formaldehyde to embalm dead bodies any more because the bodies are already full of it. Of course, he said it took twice as much 20 years ago than it does today, and it just can't be true that we are half embalmed. And this guy points out that they remove your blood when they embalm, so it would make no difference. Still, that new car smell is a bad thing. And the new paint and any other strong chemical odor. Use low or no VOC paints and let anything else air out, in the sun if possible, until the smell is gone.
The petroleum found in skin care isn't crude oil. The "petroleum", AKA petrolatum, in skin care is highly refined and the hydrocarbon numbers are 25+. Yes, petroleum is combustible, but the main concern is transporting and storing the raw product, not a finished lotion.
Greenmedinfo concluded incorrectly on the mice study. First, mice aren't people, and second, there were so many problems in the study you can't conclude anything from it. No randomization (apparently not until later or something? It's confusing), small sample size, the table conflicts with reported data, missing data from the mice on the follow-up, and at some points the data actually shows no difference between the treated and untreated mice. I've combed through the paper twice, and I wouldn't be surprised if I missed a few more flaws.
Article by Mercola on 7 ways to avoid carcinogens in the home includes this statement on carcinogens and toxins commonly used in cosmetics and skin care. And a few tables listing several of them.
'Putting chemicals on your skin is actually far worse than ingesting them, because when you eat something the enzymes in your saliva and stomach help break it down and flush it out of your body. When you put these chemicals on your skin however, they're absorbed straight into your blood stream without filtering of any kind, so the toxic chemicals from toiletries and beauty products are largely going directly to your internal organs.
There are literally thousands of chemicals used in personal care products, and only a tiny fraction of them have ever been tested for safety. According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, nearly 900 of the chemicals used in cosmetics are known to be toxic.'
Not true with the bolded part. The stratum corneum blocks a lot of things (that's the whole point of the stratum corneum), and that doesn't account for ingredients degrading between the layers of skin, particularly the epidermis. Substances with high lipophilicity and under 500 Daltons tend to penetrate the skin the best. Polarity and penetration enhancers like propelyne glycol and occlusives like petrolatum also influence penetration, as well as if you have diseases like psoriasis or atopic dermatitis. How much you apply, where you apply it and the concentration matters too.
Article by Mercola on 7 ways to avoid carcinogens in the home includes this statement on carcinogens and toxins commonly used in cosmetics and skin care. And a few tables listing several of them.
'Putting chemicals on your skin is actually far worse than ingesting them, because when you eat something the enzymes in your saliva and stomach help break it down and flush it out of your body. When you put these chemicals on your skin however, they're absorbed straight into your blood stream without filtering of any kind, so the toxic chemicals from toiletries and beauty products are largely going directly to your internal organs.
There are literally thousands of chemicals used in personal care products, and only a tiny fraction of them have ever been tested for safety. According to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health, nearly 900 of the chemicals used in cosmetics are known to be toxic.'
Not true with the bolded part. The stratum corneum blocks a lot of things (that's the whole point of the stratum corneum), and that doesn't account for ingredients degrading between the layers of skin, particularly the epidermis. Substances with high lipophilicity and under 500 Daltons tend to penetrate the skin the best. Polarity and penetration enhancers like propelyne glycol and occlusives like petrolatum also influence penetration, as well as if you have diseases like psoriasis or atopic dermatitis. How much you apply, where you apply it and the concentration matters too.
And if you cause occlusion, such as with petroleum-based oils.
And yes, obviously I did not mean to imply that absolutely every drop of every thing that touches your skin goes straight to your bloodstream. That would be crazy and I seriously doubt anyone interpreted my statement that way other than you. Also, those aren't my words, they are a quote taken out of context.
And many of us do have atopic dermatis, one of the many things that occur when linoleic acid is deficient in sebum. And acne prone skin has been found to be deficient.
There, two reasons why a high linoleic acid plant oil is a far better thing to put on your skin than petrolatum.
Article about the pervasiveness of petroleum-based chemicals in our bodies, primarily from topically applied cosmetics and other chemicals. Versus the benefits of coconut oil.
And speaking of chemicals getting into our bodies, on an episode of one of his shows, Bill Nye the Science Guy commented that they don't need to use as much formaldehyde to embalm dead bodies any more because the bodies are already full of it. Of course, he said it took twice as much 20 years ago than it does today, and it just can't be true that we are half embalmed. And this guy points out that they remove your blood when they embalm, so it would make no difference. Still, that new car smell is a bad thing. And the new paint and any other strong chemical odor. Use low or no VOC paints and let anything else air out, in the sun if possible, until the smell is gone.
The petroleum found in skin care isn't crude oil. The "petroleum", AKA petrolatum, in skin care is highly refined and the hydrocarbon numbers are 25+. Yes, petroleum is combustible, but the main concern is transporting and storing the raw product, not a finished lotion.
Greenmedinfo concluded incorrectly on the mice study. First, mice aren't people, and second, there were so many problems in the study you can't conclude anything from it. No randomization (apparently not until later or something? It's confusing), small sample size, the table conflicts with reported data, missing data from the mice on the follow-up, and at some points the data actually shows no difference between the treated and untreated mice. I've combed through the paper twice, and I wouldn't be surprised if I missed a few more flaws.
Don't have the study memorized and don't have time to look it up, but will say that mammalian skin mostly functions the same. Which is one of the reasons they can used rats in these studies. Shall we go over all the flaws in the studies into pharmeceuticals? And the outright fraud?
And if you cover with something that makes occlusion occur.
And yes, obviously I did not mean to imply that absolutely every drop of everything that touches your skin goes straight to your bloodstream. That would be crazy and I seriously doubt anyone interpreted my statement that way other than you.
And many of us have atopic dermatis, one of the many things that occur when linoleic acid is deficient in sebum. And acne prone skin has been found to be deficient. <blockquote>
How can anyone else not interpret that statement the way I did with these lines: "Putting chemicals on your skin is actually far worse than ingesting them... so the toxic chemicals from toiletries and beauty products are largely going directly to your internal organs"?
Also, some of the ingredients Mercola claimed were "toxic"/cancer-causing on that page actually aren't, especially when they're in very low concentrations that can't really absorb through the skin and accumulate, and he's misleading on the formaldehyde part.
True, investigators have been looking into linoleic acid, but it's not at the "approved" stage yet.
Don't have the study memorized and don't have time to look it up, but will say that mammalian skin mostly functions the same. Which is one of the reasons they can used rats in these studies. Shall we go over all the flaws in the studies into pharmeceuticals? And the outright fraud?
Yes, rat skin is similar, but not so similar that we can just enroll rats in clinical trials and have to go straight to the market. Lots of promising medications crash and burn after the in vitro and rat stage. The same thing happened to oral resveratrol for a lot of diseases. There's a call into researching the conjugates instead.
Yes, there are flaws in studies and there is a lot of fraud in pharameceuticals. Read Ben Goldacre's Bad Pharma: How Drug Companies Mislead Doctors and Harm Patients if you haven't already. But there's a ton of fraud in alternative medicine too, as exposed in Goldacre's Bad Science book.
If you are going to consider a study to be flawed because it uses rats, then you have to apply that to a hell of a lot of studies into your beloved pharmeceuticals & cosmecueticals.
And one of the biggest flaws in studies that decide chemicals are safe is that they don't study them long enough or study the cumulative affects of the massive amount of chemicals we come in contact with today.
Also, a hell of a lot of things are lumped into alternative medicine. So yeah.
If you are going to consider a study to be flawed because it uses rats, then you have to apply that to a hell of a lot of studies into your beloved pharmeceuticals & cosmecueticals.
And one of the biggest flaws in studies that decide chemicals are safe is that they don't study them long enough or study the cumulative affects of the massive amount of chemicals we come in contact with today.
Also, a hell of a lot of things are lumped into alternative medicine. So yeah.
Yes, rat studies are extremely common. Rat studies are used as a jumping board, not solid, irrefutable evidence that it does the same in humans. One shouldn't imply or claim that results from a rat study would be the same in people, especially all the time. One should also know how to interpret the results, as well as look into the study's quality.
Investigators determine whether a chemical is safe by looking at its bioavailiability, how it could accumulate, and what the chemical be used for and it what dosages. Inhaling vs. ingesting vs. topically applying the chemical makes all the difference between dangerous and safe. Again, you must look at study quality.
True, there are some treatments called "alternative medicine" because of how the surveys worded it.
Just used henna for the first time. The color turned out great. And you don't need nearly as much as many vendors say you do. Which is crazy because the reason I didn't try before now was the expense of the amount one site claimed I needed. Which is 300-500 grams for long hair. And I bought a much cheaper brand on Amazon anyway. . http://www.amazon.co...keywords=henna. $10 for 500 grams. And I didn't measure in grams, but I mixed 1 1/2 cups. less than a third of the bag, and it was still way, way more than I needed. One $10 bag is going to be enough for many months.
No fumes. No "fragrance" that could mean anything. Smells like dried grass.
I left it on for 4 hours. Next time, I plan to do the roots only and try 3 hours. It is a little drying even though I applied a little coconut oil to the ends. So I applied more afterwards. Other than that coconut oil after the henna, I've had no need for conditioner since I stopped shampooing my hair.
If you are going to consider a study to be flawed because it uses rats, then you have to apply that to a hell of a lot of studies into your beloved pharmeceuticals & cosmecueticals.
And one of the biggest flaws in studies that decide chemicals are safe is that they don't study them long enough or study the cumulative affects of the massive amount of chemicals we come in contact with today.
Also, a hell of a lot of things are lumped into alternative medicine. So yeah.
Yes, rat studies are extremely common. Rat studies are used as a jumping board, not solid, irrefutable evidence that it does the same in humans. One shouldn't imply or claim that results from a rat study would be the same in people, especially all the time. One should also know how to interpret the results, as well as look into the study's quality.
Hmm. I think "Well Duh!" is the appropriate response to those comments. I've no idea why you made them.
However, you claimed an above study was flawed, citing the fact that it was done on rats as a reason. That's not a flaw. That's merely "not solid, irrefutable evidence that it does the same in humans." Although odds are good that it does. Otherwise, there'd be no point in doing rat studies. Most species respond to toxic substances in similar ways. Especially we omniverous mammals. Our skin functions mostly the same and we can metabolize mostly all the same substances. Now, if the study was on a frog with it's amphibious skin that absorbs everything or a Cat that can't metabolize all kinds of compounds we can, then odds wouldn't be quite as good that it is applicable to humans. But that's why they don't do the studies on frogs & cats.
And yes, I know what they look for when supposedly deeming something to be safe. 1) They do that in other countries as well. And very often ban things our agencies tell us are 'safe.' and of course, our chemical and pharmeceutical companies have zero concerns about selling banned substances in countries where they have no such agencies. And 2) They don't study enough. As I said before "they don't study them long enough or study the cumulative affects of the massive amount of chemicals we come in contact with today. "
In some other countries, like Scandinavian countries, they've begun to measure & consider the body burden. And many now banned substances were once determined to be safe. Until they discovered that they weren't.
http://www.pbs.org/tradesecrets/problem/bodyburden.html - Bill Moyers, for those that don't know, is one of the best, most respected Journalists in the United States, ever. Especially amongst TV journalists.
As part of a study of pollutant loads in the human body sponsored by the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, samples of Bill Moyers' blood and urine were analyzed. Eighty-four distinct chemicals were found.
His test results “ much like a chemical fingerprint “ revealed evidence of hazardous chemicals in common use “ as well as compounds banned for more than a quarter century “ and others so obscure that almost no public information is available to identify what products might have resulted in Moyers' exposure.
The results are not unusual. Each of us has some load of industrial chemicals stored in or passing through our bodies. These chemical residues “ termed the "chemical body burden" “ can be detected in blood, urine and breast milk. Most people are unaware that they carry chemical compounds in their bodies.The health effects of chronic exposure to low levels of chemicals are only beginning to be studied. In addition, scientists have never assessed the effects of exposures to the endless combinations of chemicals found in people.
The chart below lists the broad groups of chemicals detected in Bill Moyers' blood and urine tests. The potential health effects discussed are based on persuasive evidence from studies of laboratory animals and wildlife, as well as some evidence from human studies. More
Just say no to as much as you can.
Interesting thread.
Regarding the homemade laundry detergents, I've been buying grated organic prickly pear soap from a local family who owns a prickly pear farm. They add a drop of cold pressed petitgrain oil. it's been great.
I'd like to know more about that soap. I'm growing prickly pear to eat.
The Environmental Working Group has published it's report on the sunscreens of 2014. Found 2/3 either ineffective or contain harmful ingredients.
Summary article with links to sources such as EWGs report
Your skin has numerous defenses to protect itself. They come from nutrients that you must eat and from the lipids you need to quit washing out of your skin.
Get some sun exposure to make vitamin D, then put on a hat & shirt.
Thought I would add: seasoned cast iron instead of nonstick cookware. I love my cast iron, and some of it is over 100 years old. I've also heard from my doc that it's probably why my iron levels are so good now even though I had anemia in high school. I'm really leery of nonstick stuff due to chemicals. Now if only I could get all my neighbors to stop spraying Roundup everywhere... These people are nuts. I'm weighing the pros and cons of putting a sign in my front yard. They might think I'm batshit, but maybe it's worth it.
Thought I would add: seasoned cast iron instead of nonstick cookware. I love my cast iron, and some of it is over 100 years old. I've also heard from my doc that it's probably why my iron levels are so good now even though I had anemia in high school. I'm really leery of nonstick stuff due to chemicals. Now if only I could get all my neighbors to stop spraying Roundup everywhere... These people are nuts. I'm weighing the pros and cons of putting a sign in my front yard. They might think I'm batshit, but maybe it's worth it.
Yes. And you want to get vintage cast iron from family, thrift, antiques store, yard sales, etc. that cheap stuff lodge makes these days isn't ground smooth like it should be. You'll never get it seasoned. Don't worry if it has rust. Clean it off with salt and oil, then put it in oven or fry something. Just this once because it's a good way to season the pan.
You can get preseasoned pans from lodge, but they are expensive.
Reviving this topic!
I'm trying to reduce my exposure to chemicals. I'm a poor student so it's not always so easy for me to make big changes like buying all organic food, but I've got to start somewhere 
Recently I've bought Fat and the Moon Deodorant cream, Earthpaste toothpaste, and pure olive oil soap. I already wash my face with a DIY oil cleanser of watermelon seed oil and cromollient.
In the near future I'd like to replace my plastic tupperware with glass, start drinking water out of only glass, and replace my nonstick pans with cast iron or stainless steel ones.
Reviving this topic!
I'm trying to reduce my exposure to chemicals. I'm a poor student so it's not always so easy for me to make big changes like buying all organic food, but I've got to start somewhere
Recently I've bought Fat and the Moon Deodorant cream, Earthpaste toothpaste, and pure olive oil soap. I already wash my face with a DIY oil cleanser of watermelon seed oil and cromollient.
In the near future I'd like to replace my plastic tupperware with glass, start drinking water out of only glass, and replace my nonstick pans with cast iron or stainless steel ones.
To save money, evaluate whether you really need the soap & deodorant. And I mix up a tooth powder with calcium bentonite clay & baking soda which I use at bedtime. And dry brush in the AM and whenever else I feel the need. I eat a lot of things that make your mouth feel cruddy or get stuck between teeth or stick to gumline like nuts & seeds.
Wide mouth canning jars are good cheap food storage. and watch yard sales for cast iron. You might want to look at the cheap Lodge pans I mentioned above. Feel the surface. Then you can tell the difference between that and old pans you might find at a yard sale or thrift store. And so you don't buy that unseasonable cheap lodge stuff that's in the yard sale or thrift store because the previous owner couldn't season it.