March 9, 2010
Posted by marta
I have been seeing double recently. So have some of our readers – especially the eagle-eyed Kim and Joan. We have been finding products with exactly the same formulas made by completely different companies. Often the only thing that is different is the price and that can be vary by as much as 100% or even 300%. I got the double vision thing only the other day when I started to test the new Nutra-Lift Lash Renue ($49 at the TIA shop) and began to think there was something very familiar about it. Sure enough, it was a nearly identical twin of Cilea ($69.99). Read more...
March 1, 2010
Posted by copley
It all happened so suddenly. For months since my last hair cut, I let my long blonde hair (formerly one of my best features) hang free, proud of its effortless shine and volume. Then one day a trend emerged: I had taken to hiding my hair under hats and headbands without fully realizing why. My once bouncy, worry-free strands had transformed into limp, lifeless strings. Even though my hair looked perfectly normal right after a shower and blow dry – BAM! – a grease bomb would drop out of nowhere and drown my crown under an oil spill by lunchtime. No matter how many times I shampooed (in one count, three times within a 24-hour period), I kept encountering the same oily streaks. Despite looking and feeling clean elsewhere, I felt ashamed that people might perceive me as dirty. Read more...
December 16, 2009
Posted by marta
As you deck the halls with holly or duck a sloppy kiss from Uncle Walter under the mistletoe, you’ll be pleased to know that these festive fripperies play a serious role in skincare and medicine. Perhaps some of these will give you last minute ideas for gifts. If nothing else, you’ll have something to say when the conversation with relatives or neighbors starts to flag. For example, did you know that kissing under the mistletoe is a winter tradition that began with the Greek festival of Saturnalia, celebrated in late December.
Mistletoe is a powerful antioxidant and so far we have found it in Aubrey Organics conditioner and 3Lab PERFECT Foaming Cleanser. Balsam, one of the most popular Christmas tree species, has radical scavenging monotepernes and is in Aveda’s Be Curl Conditioner and Rare 2B Rare Natural Care. Cedar is an astringent, amongst other things. You’ll find it in Rare Natural Care and John Masters Organics styling gel. Read more...
December 6, 2009
Posted by marta
When we ran our post on Naturtint hair dye and its potentially harmful chemical colorants, we also noted that there are safer dyes such as Surya Henna on the market. This prompted some of you to point out that Surya contains dyes such as HR red 3. It seemed to be time to try to round up the various dyes and pigments in makeup and hair dyes and determine which are safe to use.
The most common synthetic colors used in cosmetics and hair dyes are called FD&C colors and they are derived from coal tar, which in turn is a by-product of petroleum. Because some coal tar dyes have been known to cause cancer, they are are regulated by the FDA as to the amount of lead or arsenic they contain, limiting these elements to 10 parts per million. In the USA, the following artificial colorings are permitted by the FDA: Read more...
December 1, 2009
Posted by marta
Everyone knows that vitamin D3 or cholecalciferol is important for keeping bones healthy and strong. This is because it is the precursor of the active steroid 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3 (calcitriol), responsible for calcium metabolism. Three in four Americans are vitamin D deficient and, according to a recent blood test, that includes me. So I’ve been boning up on vitamin D and it turns out to be essential for skin and hair too.
It was only recently discovered that this vitamin D precursor is in many more tissues than bone, and skin is one of them. Vitamin D metabolism in the epidermis begins with 7- dehydrocholesterol, which produces both cholesterol and previtamin D3. This generates calcitriol when the skin is exposed to UV. Calcitriol is jolly useful with antimicrobial activity (ever noticed how acne clears up in the sun), prevention of several skin deseases, protection from UV damage, and protection of the hair follicle. Read more...
