Pick up any beauty magazine, and you’ll likely find an article on buying the right hairbrush. Unfortunately, the information is often wrong.

Let’s start with basic physiology. Hair is a fiber—one whose structure and integrity must be protected if you want lush locks. Our follicles produce these fibers, which are composed of hair keratins: fine, tightly packed structures covered by a protective cuticle.

Think of the cuticle as the shingles on a roof, which form a barrier atop the underlying structure, suggests Paradi Mirmirani, MD, an assistant clinical professor of dermatology at the University of California, San Francisco. When damaged, the cuticle will break apart, exposing those inner fibers. You’re probably familiar with the result: frizzy, flyaway or dull hair.

Choosing the right hairbrush helps you protect the cuticle. While some hairstylists promote boar-bristle brushes (organic and nonorganic) as the best option, Dr. Mirmirani says they’re a bad idea.

“Boar-bristle brushes, which are quite expensive, put a lot of friction on the hair because the bristles come into contact with hair against its natural grain,” she says. “This can cause a considerable amount of damage.”

Dr. Mirmirani recommends using inexpensive plastic brushes with wide-spaced needles. Plastic, however, often contains PVC, so I avoid the animal bristle/plastic problem with my eco-friendly Earth Therapeutics Natural Wooden Pin Brush (see photo, above).

Suggested Reading

• Want Beautiful Hair?
• Stressed-Out Hair
• Organic Skin Care Solutions
• Real Beauty 101

For me, autumn-proofing my skin focuses on the driest parts of my body: feet, elbows and knees. 

There’s no need to buy fancy and expensive products to treat these areas, according to Sarah Callard, author of The Little Green Book of Beauty: 250 Tips for an Eco Lifestyle. 

“For dry skin, use olive oil, organic if possible,” she writes. “It has excellent moisturizing properties and has been traditionally used as an intensive conditioning and moisturizing treatment for areas prone to dry skin.” 

Callard recommends applying it at bedtime so you can wake up with smoother skin. 

Also by Sarah Callard 

• The Little Green Book of the Home: 250 Tips for an Eco Lifestyle
• Green Living: A Practical Guide to Eating, Gardening, Energy Saving and Housekeeping for a Healthy Planet

As summer yields to fall, temperature changes will require you to alter your organic skin-care regimen. 

“While the autumn weather may encourage outdoor activities, your skin will retain less moisture because of the cooler, drier air,” says Joshua Fox, MD, founder of Advanced Dermatology in New York and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Dermatology.

 “The same happens indoors as the heat goes on and up,” he continues. “Key symptoms of ‘autumn skin’ include dryness, fine lines, dull and sallow skin tone, sun and age spots, flaking and irritation, as well as the flare-up of some chronic conditions.”

 There’s no need to completely overhaul your daily routine. Simply make some minor adjustments.

 “Three things that everyone should do to protect their skin in the autumn include drinking lots of water to remain hydrated, applying moisturizer before going outside to give it time to be absorbed and, importantly, continuing to use a sunscreen with an SPF of at least 15.”

 Stores like Whole Foods Market have a wide array of natural and organic skin-care lines.

Suffering from dry, chapped and/or scaly summer feet and hands?

How about a “Southern Secret”: a pink lemonade aromatherapy soak, exfoliating key lime scrub, hydrating lavender paraffin wrap and berry fusion mois­turizer massage?

That’s just one of the pampering treatments available at Recess, a completely green nail spa in Los Angeles.

Nail technicians use products featuring hand-blended organic ingredients that are free of formaldehyde, parabens and dyes.

Only metal instruments are used (and promptly autoclaved), and foot files, buffers and orangewood sticks are never reused. Nail polish is toluene-free.

New customers can enjoy a $50 Basic Manicure/Pedicure Special. The salon will eventually launch an online store for product purchases.

Location: 8408-B Beverly Blvd. (east of La Cienega)

Phone: (323) 782-9919

DIY Beauty Treatments

If you’re outside the L.A. area, try some of our soothing DIY treatments, including Bedtime Piña Colada Callus Treatment and Don’t Sweat It! Foot Spa.

Typically, the iconic department store’s off-the-rack offerings bore me to tears when it comes to gift shopping.

But when I found out that Farmaesthetics is sold at some of the larger Macy’s locales in their ‘Beautiful Planet’ green boutiques, I was thrilled!

Farm Fresh
Ten years ago, Farmaesthetics CEO and owner Brenda Brock was whipping up her all-natural, homemade concoctions in a blender at local farmers’ markets. Today, she’s the owner of the premier green skin care line at Macy’s, which can also be found at luxury spas nationwide.

Lauded in Treehugger’s coveted 2009 BEST of GREEN as their Best Skincare Brand pick, Farmaesthetics use only organic herbal and floral ingredients and no preservatives grown on small American farms. Products include Fine Herbal Cleanser, Eyebright Eye Makeup Remover & Treatment Oil, Nourishing Lavender Milk, Cool Aloe Mist and many more.

So next time you need a gift for someone else – or yourself! – check out Farmaesthetics either online or at Macy’s and support organics, small American farmers and a feel good American Dream!

Via The Herald News

The mass media have trained us to recoil at the thought of eating dietary fat. In reality, the body requires “good fats” (unsaturated) to do its job. You want to avoid polluting your circulatory system with “bad” fats (saturated and trans fats).

Unsaturated fats provide energy and nourish our skin and hair. They’re also an excellent source of antioxidants like vitamins A, C and E, which slow the aging process.

When we’re deprived of essential fats, our skin can become dry, scaly and wrinkled, according to Apostolos Pappas, PhD, a research chemist with Johnson & Johnson Consumer Products in Skillman, NJ, and coauthor of The Saint Tropez Diet: The Delicious and Healthy Weight Loss Plan Presenting the Best Scientific Principles of the French and Mediterranean Omega-3 Diets.

In his book, Dr. Pappas encourages readers to:

1. Eat more foods that contain healthful unsaturated fats, especially omega-3 essential fatty acids.
2. Combine them with foods rich in vitamin A.
3. Eliminate foods with unhealthful ratios of omega-6 to omega-3 essential fatty acids (This is why I’ve eliminated tilapia from my diet, even though it’s a sustainable fish.)
4. Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables to boost consumption of nutrients with antioxidant activity.

As dermatologist Rebecca A. Kazin, MD, pointed out in Winterize Your Skin to Prevent Damage:

When shopping at your local natural and organic food store, remember your skin. Choose foods that are rich in antioxidants, including strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and green tea. Also opt for foods with essential fatty acids, such as salmon, walnuts and canola oil.

Green Beauty Prediction: Expect to see more skin- and body-care products that contain vegetable oils and fruit extracts to treat and prevent dryness.

5 Salmon Recipes

1. Maple Wasabi Glazed Salmon
2. Spring Thyme Salmon
3. Salmon Niçoise Salad
4. Salmon Burgers With Dill Sauce
5. Slow-Roasted Copper River Salmon With Organic Fava Bean Sauce

I really like this! Although, I was more surprised to see people still read newspapers. Now, as a city urchin and if I had room for a garden, I would totally make one of these, but I’d ditch the flowers for tomatoes.

Via Green Inc.

Relax! Lipstick makes you feel great – not sick.

Beware! Traces of lead, a neurotoxin found in some lipstick, accumulates over long periods of time in your body and can create adverse health effects.

What to believe?

Thanks to A Simple Smooch or a Toxic Smack, a recent New York Times article on the subject…that’s still unclear (with all due respect to the old gray lady and crack reporter Abby Ellin).

The piece quotes doctors like Dr. David Bellinger, who say simply “no level of lead exposure appears to be ‘safe;’” and still other doctors like Dr. Therese Bevers, who says “lead hasn’t been linked to breast cancer, colon cancer or other cancers.”

Need to know highlights from the piece include…

• One-third of 33 lipsticks had lead in excess of 0.1 parts per million, the federal limit for candy (according to research done by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics)
• Worst offender #1: L’Oreal Colour Riche “True Red” lipstick (with a lead content of 0.65 parts per million)
• Worst offender #2: Cover Girl’s Incredifull Lipcolor “Maximum Red” (0.56 parts per million)
• Lead is typically found in the pigment of the reddest lipsticks

Price is not the Point

Wet and Wild Mega Colors “Cherry Blossom” contained no lead, whereas a $24 tube of Dior Addict “Postive Red” contained 0.21 parts per million.

How do you know?

The Times writes:

There are no F.D.A. standards limiting lead and other toxins in lipstick. The agency leaves it up to manufacturers to decide which safety and efficacy tests to perform on products. Cosmetics companies are required to list their “intended” ingredients on labels. But lead would be considered an “unintended” byproduct of the manufacturing process.

That sounds like a very convenient excuse for makeup manufacturers to me.

Be your own advocate – read up on the top personal care ingredients to avoid, and tap into www.cosmeticdatabase.com where ingredients of over 42,000 products are clearly listed. Only then can you pucker up with peace of mind.

Via: A Simple Smooch or a Toxic Smack

If you’re reading this, you may be a candidate for eye yoga.

Or at least that’s what Paul McCartney’s advice might be!

In a recent TV interview, Sir Paul raved about taking advantage of this little known fitness routine he discovered on a recent trip to India. He shared what he learned:

“He told me eyes are muscles (and) are just like any other muscles, and they need exercise to keep them working properly. Spending so much time at computers or (watching) the TV or reading books, we are only using one set of muscles in our eyes. The yoga gives a workout to the other ones.”

According to holistic-online.com, eye yoga “tones the eye muscles up and keep them elastic. If you already have eye problems when you begin these exercises, you will find your eyesight improving after a few months.”

Don’t take our word for it – check out what Sir Paul has to say about it!

Now get your zen on and body and soul too…and don’t forget to dress the part!

via: Ecorazzi

flickr: karen_d

It’s an astonishing fact: Europe has banned 1,100 chemicals for beauty care products that the U.S. has not, including coal tar in shampoo, lead in lipstick and petroleum distillates in mascara.

So if you’re a beauty buff, it’s buyer beware. Here’s some top tips for getting smart when it comes looking pretty.

1. Keep It Simple
Look for minimalism when it comes to cosmetic label-reading. Low numbers of ingredients you can’t pronounce increases the chance that the product is better for you. Avoid products with parabens, fragrance, sodium lauryl or laureth sulfate, PEGs, triethanolamine and DEA.

2. Good Enough to Eat
Look for products that contain ingredients that you can eat. Truly organic products can include a mix of organically grown herbs, fruits and vegetables.

3. Signed Up?
Cross check whether your choice in cosmetic brands has signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics (www.safecosmetics.org). This pledge includes companies who don’t use chemicals banned in Europe. Of the 1,000+ companies on the list, it’s worth noting that major brands including L’Oreal, Proctor and Gamble, Avon, Estee Lauder, Revlon and Unilever are NOT board.

Learn more about links between breast cancer and cosmetics and be your own advocate!

Via: Vail Daily

Suggested Reading

Organic Skin Care Solutions

Do-It-Yourself Organic Spa Treatments

Skin Deep