This week Geri of Fab Over 50 is hosting Fashion Flash. There are literally hundreds of blogs online for women but few have the informative and interesting posts that appear daily on Fab Over 50. There are a platoon of experts that offer cutting edge advice on a wide range of subjects including cosmetic surgery women’s health, family dynamics and sexuality. You can send in a question, any question and Fab Over 50 will get you an answer. Cool.
The Green Beauty Guide
April is Environmental Awareness Month and the perfect time to take a look at The Green Beauty Guide by Julie Gabriel. I get many questions and comments about chemicals in skin and hair products and The Green Beauty Guide is filled with useful information on natural beauty care.
The book begins with extensive background info on potential hazards and toxins in commercial products such as DEA in shampoos and petrochemicals in baby cleansers. Gabriel also points out that some so-called green and/or green beauty products can inadvertently contain toxins used in the manufacture of the products. Scary stuff but the book just does not just raise problems, it offers solutions.
The Ten Commandments of Green Beauty
The author raises a lot of issues and offers some pretty dense science, but then puts her approach into an easy to understand format with ten green beauty rules. These include a list of ingredients to avoid ( eg caoal tar, phenols, phthalates, formaldehyde and synthetic fragrances), avoiding celebrity endorsements and advice, tossing out products when they pass their ” use before date”, and don’t overspend on skin and hair care.
I was esepcially impressed with her dozens of home recipes that used organic yet inexpensive and readily available ingredients. For example I I LOVED her green tea and lavandar cleansing powder that also contained vitamin C and a crushed aspirin tablet. The green tea provides world class antioxidants, the dried lavendar is anti-inflammatory and the aspirin contains salicylic acid which is a super safe and effective exfoliator. Brilliant.