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

In a nutshell, 'neutraceuticals' use natural substances with medicinal properties that promote health benefits. These natural ingredients are selected for attributes and properties that are used to treat or prevent a range of diseases, afflictions, or conditions.

Just as the growing neutraceutical industry looks to Mother Nature for these rejuvenating ingredients, so can you!

Your skin needs nutrients, antioxidants, vitamins and minerals to heal it and protect against further damage...here's just one all-natural DIY remedy towards that end:

Laura Klein's Minty Green Goodness Toner

This is an excellent post-facial mint toner. It's ideal for normal to oily skin, removing left-over residue, closing pores and restoring balance to the skin.

Healing Ingredients:

• 1 teaspoon of loose organic peppermint tea (you can use a tea bag if you can’t find loose tea)
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/4 cup witch hazel
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 5-10 drops of your choice of essential oil

Additional Tools:

1 spray bottle, 10 oz or bigger; or 10 oz screw top for application with a cotton ball

How To:

Place tea bags in a medium size bowl. Bring water to a boil. Pour hot water over tea leaves and steep for 15 minutes until cool. Strain tea into your glass jar. Add witch hazel and lemon juice. Shake to combine.

Apply after cleansing with an organic cotton ball or if using a spray bottle, mist face and décolleté.

Say goodbye to pricey, over the counter 'neutraceuticals' - start making your own -- at home -- today!

In the new report, researchers retested 12 perfumes, deodorants and hair sprays that previously had high phthalate levels. Nine have reduced or eliminated phthalates, the report shows. Two of the products — Secret Sheer Dry Regular deodorant and Arrid XX Dry Ultra Clear Ultra Fresh spray — have no phthalates. And Christian Dior's Poison perfume — which used to contain four types of phthalates — is virtually phthalate-free. Three samples of Poison had undetectable phthalate levels, while a fourth had low levels, according to the report.