If you haven’t read any of my articles before it may come as a surprise to you that the cosmetics that you use may be hazardous to your health. Believe it or not, not all cosmetics are safe. Safe cosmetics are, in fact, hard to find.How can this be? Why in the world would the cosmetics that you use be dangerous? Surely the FDA regulates anything we use in or on our bodies to make sure that they are safe for us to use?Sadly, no. Yes drugs are regulated and the drug companies need to conform to certain safety standards, but those standards don’t apply to either companies making cosmetics, or companies making skin care products or personal care products and health and beauty products. Basically these companies can use any ingredient in their cosmetics, regardless of whether they’ve been shown to be safe for human use. And big multi nationals being what they are, if there is an ingredient that they can use in their products that is cheaper than a safe alternative they’ll use it.Regardless of whether it results in some risks to users.Here’s an example. A recent study found lead in over 50% of big brand lipsticks tested. Lead? Are you kidding? In our lipsticks? Sadly again it’s true. Some of the biggest names in lipsticks contain lead.This prompted the California legislature to legislate against lead in lipsticks.Regulation on safe cosmetics ingredients is sadly lacking in the US. Standards are much much stricter in Europe. So the cosmetics that you and maybe your daughters use can contain dangerous ingredients.I have personal experience of this. My then 7 year old daughter was due for her first ballet concert and they used all the normal cosmetics on her and within half an hour she had a terrible rash all over her face. We removed the cosmetics, the rash disappeared and hasn’t reappeared. We now use safe cosmetics for her ballet concerts.The problem is so bad that there are now whole organizations set up to promote safe cosmetics and alert the public to the danger of the big brand cosmetics. And do the cosmetics companies change their behavior? Do they use safe ingredients in their cosmetics? Still no. They don’t.One such organization is called the Campaign For Safe Cosmetics. They attempt to expose as many of the risks of dangerous cosmetics as possible, to try and force our government to regulate the industry and the companies to produce safe cosmetics. And they run a Compact for Safe Cosmetics. Cosmetic companies that are prepared to dedicate themselves to produce only safe cosmetics can sign the compact to evidence their commitment to safe cosmetics.And there is an organization called Teens Turning Green which helps direct teenagers towards safer cosmetics and other products, amongst their goals.So how do you find out if the cosmetics you are using now are safe cosmetics or dangerous cosmetics. There is a way. There is a database called the cosmetic safety database, and you can use their database to search either the product that you’re worried about, or the name of the company that makes them.I just searched the Avon Ultra Moisture Rich Lipstick by way of example. On a scale of hazard from 1 to 10, 10 being the highest hazard, it rates a 9. High hazard. I’m told the ingredients in this lipstick are linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergies and immunotoxicity and a whole host of other hazards including neurotoxicity and more.Scary isn’t it. However there are cosmetics companies dedicated to making safe cosmetics and personal care products. Dedicated to using such ingredients as certified organic ingredients and natural ingredients that are proven to be safe before they are used. That set their highest goal as producing high quality safe cosmetics and personal care and beauty products, rather than just focussing on profits.There’s not many, but there is some. And if you’re worried about the safety of the cosmetics that you, or maybe your daughters uses, you need to find them. Now.
Archive for March, 2010
Safe Cosmetics. Find Out if the Cosmetics You Use are Safe, or Dangerous
Thursday, March 25th, 2010Bikini hair removal techniques
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010Bikini hair removal is a very popular option for the modern woman of today. If you have to wear a skimpy swimsuit or outfit and want to appear hygienic and clean then a bikini hair removal is essential.
Basically, a bikini hair removal technique uses wax to remove hair from the bikini region. There are several kinds of bikini hair removal techniques you can choose from these days. However, the Brazilian waxing technique remains the most popular. In this technique, all excess hair from the genitalia and other associated regions are removed completely from the root. In this method, there is no trace of hair left after the waxing treatment. The treatment can be quite daunting especially for those women who are waxing for the first time. However, with a little perseverance total body hair removal can be accomplished.
Apart from waxing, laser technique of hair removal is also extremely popular. It is much less painful compared to waxing and the results are more long lasting as well. In this technique, pulses of intense light are focused on the bikini line area and the excess hair is dissolved from the follicle. Since the laser form of bikini hair removal focuses on dissolving the hair from the root, it is a sure way to ensure the hair does not re-grow again. The primary reason laser techniques of hair removal are preferred over conventional shaving or waxing techniques is because it is painless. It is thus possible to have more confidence while wearing low-cut bikinis or revealing undergarments.
Most people ask if laser technique of bikini hair removal is permanent or not. The real truth is that it helps reduce hair growth as much as 90% but it does not completely stop hair growth for the rest of your life. However, what is assuring is that you can expect no hair re-growth for as much as a couple of years after the treatment. Thus, laser forms of bikini hair removal are much better as compared to conventional home hair removal treatments. Unlike these conventional methods, which do not provide long lasting results, the laser bikini hair removal is more long lasting. Typically, to get the complete hair removal results, all you need is around 3 or 4 sessions of laser hair removal. After this, you can be sure of a hair free bikini line.
Compared to regular home hair removal treatments like shaving and waxing the laser forms of bikini hair removal are more comprehensive. They are also painless in comparison. The procedure for bikini hair removal when done through laser is performed carefully to ensure minimal pain during the process. Probably the kind of pain felt during such a hair removal process is like a rubber band snap. If there is a bit of bruising or redness in the area it tends to subside in a few days. Thus, the post treatment recovery of laser bikini hair removal is minimal.
Conserve Environment With Eco Friendly Printing
Monday, March 22nd, 2010Environment conservation is a priority for all of us. We have now realized the urgency of keeping the environment free from harmful emissions and chemical interactions. Anything that disturbs the ecological balance and pollutes the environment is hazardous and should be avoided or at least minimized to a great extent. The production and usage of various commodities should comply with eco friendly standards. This has given rise to the term “environment friendly” that essentially refers to the processes, products and services that cause minimum harm to the environment.
Printing is one such process that produces harmful wastes leading to environmental pollution. The use of petroleum inks, varnishes, laminates and adhesives leads to the production of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The release of VOCs in the atmosphere has adverse environmental effects. This not only pollutes the air but also leads to respiratory ailments.
To save the environment, publishing houses should print green i.e. the printing process/ technology should be eco-friendly. Printers should comply with environment friendly rules and regulations to check the VOC release. The printing industry uses the natural resources in a major way. To control this heavy use of natural resources and save the environment, a new kind of printing process have made way into the printing industry. They are called green printers. Such printing houses use environment friendly processes and rely on recycled paper rather than non-recycled ones. Use of recycled paper does a lot of good to the environment by saving trees that would otherwise be cut to produce paper. Apart from this, recycled papers leads to energy saving and reduced release of air pollutants. Green printing houses source the paper from well managed forests that comply with strict environmental standards. The printing process is planned carefully to achieve optimum output by minimal usage of energy. The papers are sourced only from FSC (Forest stewardship companies) certified companies.
Green printing is a responsible and specialized job and thus it is offered by only a handful of printing presses. Green printers comply with all the environment friendly standards offering optimum production at minimal environmental damage.