Feelgood Style

In a country where regulations of beauty products are non-existent, the Skin Deep Database was a revolutionary undertaking, providing access to safety information few others have the time or knowledge to decode.

The Skin Deep database, if you are unfamiliar with this resource, provides safety scores for an extensive range of personal care products and the ingredients found in them. Using a complex algorithm, ingredients for each product are entered into a database and, using the available research from around the world, a number from 0 to 10 is given for the product, based on the ratings for each of the ingredients.

As impressive and ambitious as the database is, the system is not perfect. Many reasons exist for this, perhaps none more important than the dearth of research on cosmetic ingredients, particularly regarding their long-term impact on health. The reality is that the Environmental Working Group has taken on what is essentially an impossible task, and they are doing the best they can.

My role as head of a natural beauty retailer has required me to become intimately familiar with the Skin Deep database. Through numerous experiences and conversations, I have come up with a system I believe makes the most of this resource. This Guide to the Skin Deep database is my attempt to help you make the most of the information the database provides, by outlining what to look for, what to ignore, and how to determine whether your favorite products are deserving of your hard-earned dollars. Read the rest of this entry »

Glop and Glam boasts kid-friendly, organic products free of parabens, formaldehyde and alcohol. And, while the line is developed for eco-savvy kids, parents can have fun styling their hair too with products that smell good enough to eat, such as Banana, Chocolate Cream, Watermelon, Bubble Gum and Creamsicle.

Glop & Glam combines organic ingredients with natural nutrients, such as aloe, camellia leaf extract [green tea] and echinacea derived from purpurea extract to protect hair from ever present and damaging environmental toxins.

• Glam Creamsicle Detangler- Perfect for hair that has spent the day in the scorching sun, salty beach water, or chlorinated pool. This detangler incorporates Echinachea and Aloe to condition and fortify hair with necessary nutrients.
• Glam Chocolate Cream- A lightweight anti-frizz shine cream designed to provide instant control for flyaway’s and provides a textured movable hold.
• Glam Bubble Gum Glitter Gel- A lightweight styling gel that provides instant hold and definition with a sparkle and shine appeal. Read the rest of this entry »

When considering whether to wade into the experimental waters of eco-friendlier makeup and skin care, consequently taking on the hassle and expense that always accompany such decisions, you’ll likely find yourself creating a mental list of pros and cons. To complicate matters, misinformation in the beauty industry abounds on both sides of the fence, making it hard for a glamour-lovin’ gal to know what to do. From…ahem…creative uses of the word “organic,” to beauty writers poo-pooing the idea that anything could be toxic enough to warrant ditching semi-permanent lipstick, it’s no surprise many would-be green beauty consumers are confused and conflicted.

To help you sort it all out, I have outlined and, I hope, dispelled three common green beauty myths. Read the rest of this entry »

Do you have someone on your holiday shopping list that really loves salon products?

Then check out the holiday gift sets from Paul Mitchell.

A portion of all proceeds from the Paul Mitchell Holiday Gift Sets will be donated to Amnesty International while a portion of Paul Mitchell’s Tea Tree Gift Sets will be donated to benefit American Forests. So these are traditional gifts that give back. Read the rest of this entry »

The women (and some men) in your life will love finding bath and body products in their stockings…if you choose wisely.

Whether it is sweet smelling perfumes, relaxing bath salts or uplifting shower gels make sure to go for the green…as in eco-friendly green.

Here are a lot of green bath, body and beauty gift ideas that won’t cost you a lot of green. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m one of those label-reading, ingredient poring, information seeking obsessives who needs to know everything there is to know before making a purchase, whether it’s my beauty products or what I eat. How could I have known that obsession would reach a whole new level of pedantic a while back when I became pregnant with twin boys, but it did with a vengeance! While I could write a whole post on the baby industry and it’s unbelievable lack of organic & natural products, not to mention its mind-boggling lack of knowledge by supposed industry experts, the purpose of this post is to bring to your attention a new natural & organic hair care collection by Nine Naturals, specifically targeted to pregnant mothers. Read the rest of this entry »

It seems as though every day I get news of another ‘great new this’ or ‘fabulous new that’, and I’ll be the first to put my hand up & gleefully admit it makes me just as excited as the rest of you to be in the know, to hear of things first, and to be updated on the latest & greatest – however, there’s something to be said for the ancient, the stoic, the classic, the tried & tested. Known and used for thousands of years by island cultures, coconut oil is one such legendary ingredient that falls squarely in that category. Not only has it properties that make it a staple in most organic beauty products as well as most natural skin & haircare collections, Read the rest of this entry »

It seems the moment cooler weather arrives our skin and hair feel the affects; dry, rough hands, tight skin and fly-aways.  Not to worry, there are remedies for these problems.  By adding a few products or ingredients to your existing regimen, you will be flake and fly-away free in no time. Read the rest of this entry »

Occupational Hazards

Always the intrepid investigative journalist, I braved crosstown traffic to respond to a tip about a salon using all natural hair color. Shades Natural Hair Color Studio was founded by Susan Henry in 2006. She was a very successful colorist, with hundreds of Hollywood A-list clients. But around 2001, she became so ill from ammonia poisoning, she could no longer work in a salon. Inspired by her daughter’s botany studies, she developed an ammonia-free, all-natural product in order to continue doing the work she loves.

Susan carefully selects each product she carries and uses in the salon, interrogating the manufacturers even as they avoid divulging their secret formulae. Her products are also sold online, and she just released a boxed version of the home coloring kit which may soon be available in stores. The colors I saw on other clients were lovely, and I immediately recommended it to a friend who is prematurely grey and has been coloring her hair for ages.

In the photo, Susan touches up the gorgeous red on a regular client.

Tina explained to me that many of their clients are cancer survivors who understand as few others do the traumatic effects of the chemicals in our lives. While the health of clients is important, I could not help but think about the health of the stylists who spend the majority of their waking hours inhaling all manner of toxic chemicals. Unlike other salons, I walked in and smelled nothing, even with color clients present. And of course they didn’t have the ubiquitous Prop 65 warning on the door. I recalled a nail salon I’d visited in Spain with such poor ventilation I could barely stand it, so this was a real treat. The nail polish Shades uses is free of toluene and formaldehyde, and the mani included a wonderful oil & sugar scrub.

Read the rest of this entry »

When veteran celebrity makeup artist Christy Coleman decided to toss her top of the line makeup kit and use nothing but natural cosmetics on her clientele, she had no idea what would happen next. It was a risk, to be sure, showing up without the typical high-end makeup brands here clientele were used to. Furthermore, she had no book to peddle, no Makeup by Christy Coleman line to sell; she was doing this solely because she believed shunning the toxic chemicals in commercial cosmetics was the right thing to do.

But quietly swapping out her professional kit seemed insufficient, and thus Coleman created ChristyColeman.com to educate everyday consumers about the best natural and organic makeup and skin care products on the market.

Still, it wasn’t enough. She was consistently achieving gorgeous, high-fashion looks with nothing but natural products (click here to see her “natural portfolio”), something her peers thought was impossible. She knew she could make a bigger impact on the mainstream industry. So ChristyColeman.com underwent an extreme makeover. Read the rest of this entry »