Below follows a extract from an article that appeared in the English Daily Mail on Tuesday Sept. 4 2006. Written by Pat Thomas.

BATH PRODUCTS:

These days most of us don't use soap in the shower or bath.  Instead we lather up with bath foams, shower gels, facial scrubs, all of which rely on complex detergents - often the same ones used in heavy industry -  to wash away simple dirt. The difference between soap and detergent is like the difference between cotton and nylon. Soap and cotton are produced from natural products by relatively small modification. Detergents and nylon are produced entirely in a chemical factory. There is no difference between the detergents in your household cleaning products and those you use in your bath. It is simply a matter of concentration.

Bubble baths, which are highly fragranced, have the greatest potential to cause skin irritations, allergic skin reactions and headaches. In the US, they carry a health warning, alerting users to the possibility of skin irritation and urinary tract infections. Body washes essentially contain the same ingredients as bubble bath. Both bubble bath and shower gels have the potential to penetrate the skin and lungs. Soaking in any bath product will prolong its contact with your skin, increasing the risk that chemicals will be absorbed.

Your bubble bath is likely to contain potentially irritating detergents like sodium laureth sulphate and cocomidopropyl betaine (the latter is also a penetration enhancer, allowing other chemicals to be more easily absorbed); preservatives such as Tetrasodium EDTA, a potential irritant and methylchloroisolthiazolynone (both potential mutagens - substances that speed up gene mutation).

If it contains cocomide EDTA (or similar compounds ending with DEA, TEA, or MEA) along with formaldehyde-forming substances such as bronopol, DMDM hydantoin, diazolidinyl urea, imidazolidiyl urea and quaternium-15, it is likely to contain cancer-causing nitrosamines. Studies show up to 93 percent of toiletries and cosmetics contain these compounds.

Healthier options:

Use products based on plain old soap. Vegetable and glycerine soaps are best. They foam beautifully and are made from enriching oils such as coconut and olive. They are usually scented with essential oils (check label)

SHAMPOO:

Cheap or expensive, modern shampoos are usually a mixture of the same handful of detergents. The choice of detergents is as much to do with the final look of the product as it is with it's effectiveness.

Unfortunately, rather like bubble bath, some of the common ingredients in shampoos can break down into formaldehyde during storage. When formaldehyde-forming agents mix with some of the other emulsifying ingredients commonly found in shampoos, such as diethanolamine (DEA), triethanolamine (TEA), monoethanolamine(MEA), they can form carcinogenic n-nitrosodiethanolamine, or NDELA. This is particularly problematic in shampoos, because we use them so frequently and in such great quantities.

HEALTHIER OPTIONS:

Read labels, use shampoos with as few chemicals as possible (soap based ones are best).

Extracted from "What's in this stuff "by Pat Thomas.

Willows Natural Products
The copy of this article was brought to you by Willows Natural products, manufacturers of EEKO liquid castile soap products which are 100% natural and non allergenic and contain non of the above mentioned harmful chemicals.

These days, looking after your family's health in more subtle ways than taking vitamin pills in winter, seems to become more important, as we are coming down with unexplained rashes, asthma attacks, headaches and other more serious health problems.

One important way you can do this is by cutting down on the use of chemicals in your household, especially in your laundry, cleaning and personal care products. For example have you ever taken the trouble to read the list of ingredients of the laundry product, pre-soaker or fabric softener you are using at the moment? Chances are the ingrdients are not listed, but you may take the trouble to call the toll free number on the packet to ask some more questions. Below follows an ABC of the most commonly used ingredients used in laundry products.

AN ABC OF THE MOST COMMONLY USED INGREDIENTS IN LAUNDRY PRODUCTS

B for BLEACHES: Bleach consists of sodium, potassium, calcium or magnesium chloride. If too much bleach is used, "free Chlorine" can react with other organic matter in the sewage and form very dangerous organoclorines.

B FOR BUILDERS: These are added to soften water and increase the power of the surfactant. Phosphates, NTA and ECTA are used. NTA and EDTA combine toxic metals already in the environment. Both are suspected of causing cancer.

B FOR BIODEGRADABLE: In Australia, the label "biodegradable" doesn't necessarily mean the product is 100 % biodegradable. Products that biodegrade to 50% may still be called biodegradable. Only old-fashioned soap made from vegetable oils is 100% biodegradable.

C FOR COLOURS: There are potential toxicity issues with these synthetic ingredients.

D FOR DETERGENTS: For centuries, soaps made from fats have been used to clean just about everything. It wasn't until 1907 that the first synthetic detergents were made from crude oil. World production in 1984 was 17.000.000 tonnes. Many detergents are not readily biodegradable and pollute waterways long after use.

E FOR ENZYMES: These are proteins used to hasten stain removal in laundry products and in most pre-wash soakers. They can cause severe allergic reaction in some people, and may also cause asthma in people who handle them a lot. They are called biological detergents (not to be confused with "biodegradable").

F FOR FILLERS: Sodium sulphate is the most common filler. Fillers are used to create extra bulk and improve flowing qualities.

F FOR FLUORESCERS (optical brighteners): These are added to powder for that whiter than white look. They don't clean, but optically brighten by absorbing ultraviolet light and re-emitting blue light. They give the appearance of whiteness but not a guarantee of cleanness. They are usually petro-chemical sourced and may present a risk of developmental and reproductive effects in people.

P FOR PERFUMES: Generally synthetic, they are unnecessary and may cause allergies

P FOR PHOSPHATES: They act to soften hard water, increase alkalinity and help suspend dirt in water as it is removed from clothes. Water pollution occurs when phosphate rich water adds nutrients to waterways, upsetting the balance between algae and plant life, which can cause bluegreen algae or choke the waterays with weeds, causing lifeless waterways and streams.

S FOR SURFACTANTS (surface active agents): This is the name often given to detergents. They are generally only a component of detergents and are used as a wetting agent to enhance the power of detergents. They are generally made from petrochemicals (although soap made from fats is a harmless version), some of which, under anaerobic conditions, biodegrade into nonylphenols, which are highly toxic to marine organisms.

S FOR SOLVENTS: These are used in many pre-wash treatments. They are harmfull to aquatic life.

By becoming informed about the ingredients your laundry products contain, you will be able to make a more conscious decision to purchase products that are without the above mentioned chemicals, thereby protecting your family's health and at the same time care for the environment

Willows Natural Products
This article was brought to you by Willows Natural products, manufacturers of EEKO SUDS laundry and Nappy gel. Our products contain non of the above ingredients as they are based on soap made from vegetable oils, mineral salts and essential oils. Therefore they are 100% biodegradable and non allergenic.

There is much misinformation and hype surrounding the topic of sun tanning, burning, cancer and sunscreens. In this article, we will attempt to decode the catchphrases and steer you in the right direction.

The most obvious and important issue is that, in Australia, we enjoy a climate which sends us outdoors for much of the year and we are living under one of the thinnest sections of the earth’s protective ozone layer. It is well established that the UV radiation that beats down on us is harsher and more direct than in many other parts of the world. So what is this UV radiation and what are its effects?

UV or ultraviolet radiation is classified into three different wavelengths of light. Two of these wavelengths, referred to as UVA and UVB radiation, affect our skin. UVC radiation is largely absorbed by gases in the Earth’s atmosphere and does not reach our skin. While both UVA and UVB can cause DNA changes within the layers of our skin, it is predominantly UVA which causes the most common forms of skin cancer (melanomas) and accelerates the visible signs of aging. UVB predominantly causes burning. The purpose of a sunscreen is (or should be!) to reduce the severity of UVA and UVB affecting our skin negatively (sunlight is also constructive for several biochemical processes, including our production of vitamin D and the regulation of our sleep - or circadian rhythm - obviously, it was once natural to spend time in the sun).

However, not all sunscreens achieve this. When you buy sunscreen you most likely look for the SPF number (Sun Protection Factor), but what does this number refer to? It indicates the length of time you can stay in the sun without burning relative to your normal burn time if you apply the sunscreen first. For example, if you would normally burn after one hour of exposure to sunlight and the SPF of the sunscreen you are using is 15, then technically you can stay in the sun for 15 hours before burning. This can be incredibly misleading. It means that the sunscreen guarantees to block out UVB radiation 15 times NIL protection but in fact there are no guarantees regarding UVA radiation, i.e. radiation that causes melanoma.

If you feel safe staying in the sun for longer and there is no protection against UVA radiation in the sunscreen, skin cancer risk could be 15 times higher than normal. Queensland has the highest incidence of skin cancers in the world. Have we all been misled by the sunscreen marketing?

According to the American Food and Drug Administration website (see references), no system yet exists to rate UVA protection. You must also reapply sunscreens after sweating or swimming unless the product states “water resistant”, meaning the SPF stands even after exposure to water. PROMOTION – leave out -  Due to the ambiguities of SPF ratings, Third Stone Botanicals’ Sunfilter Lotion does not carry an SPF rating; instead, the directions will include recommendations for lowering your risk of overall UV damage.

So let’s look at the sunscreen ingredients themselves. Generally, sunscreen ingredients are divided into their modes of activity. They are either UV absorbers or UV reflectors or have a combined action. UV absorbers physically contain the UV radiation to stop it from reaching our skin. In this process, the active particles become energised to a higher energetic level (or frequency) to contain the UV radiation. This is the key to the problems with this type of sunscreen ingredient. When UV exposure reduces (when you come out of the sun), the energetic level of the sunscreen particles drops to their former frequency, releasing energy again. The energy is released into the epidermis of your skin where it can then cause changes to the DNA, predisposing the skin to cancer.

UV reflectors work by scattering UV light so it cannot penetrate the skin. Generally, this process depends on the physical size of the sunscreen particles. Hence, application of these ingredients is usually thicker and opaque. It is the UV reflectors which are most effective at blocking UVA radiation. The possible downside of UV reflectors, apart from (or because of) the thick application necessary is that they tend to plug the pores of the skin which can produce miliaria, a consequence of blocked sweat glands. Due to both modes of action, all sunscreens need to be washed from the skin thoroughly once you have come out of the sun.

Now we’ll look at some sunscreen agents commonly in use:

Octyl Methoxycinnamate and other cinnamates cause photo and contact allergy and do not effectively block UVA. We must ask, what is the point of using a sunscreen agent that causes allergy in the presence of sunlight?

Benzophenones/oxybenzone/benzoylmethanes do absorb some UVA radiation but have been found to cause photo/contact allergy and most significantly, they tend to imitate and therefore exacerbate existing skin disease (including acne).

Titanium dioxide effectively blocks out UVA radiation and therefore protects against skin cancer. Although this is also a photon scattering agent (UV reflector), it does absorb UV radiation which produces free radicals in the presence of water, predisposing the skin to cancer. Many manufacturers use different methods to “coat” the particles, making them less reactive. However, this is usually done after the particles have been reduced in size to reduce the pasty appearance of the naturally large titania particles. They can then block the sweat glands more easily as they can penetrate the skin deeper.

Salicylates commonly cause photo allergy. PABA (Paramino benzoic acid) is part of the B group of vitamins. Taken internally, it can help prevent UV damage. Used externally, it causes phototoxicity and sensitisation. PABA generates free radicals when exposed to sunlight, predisposing the skin to cancer. It does not effectively block UVA radiation.

Zinc oxide effectively blocks out UVA radiation, has the benefit of being inert on the skin (it does not absorb UV radiation) and has skin healing properties. It does, however, contain large particles and forms a paste when applied to skin (as in the old zinc creams).

Iron oxide is found naturally in mineral clays which have an ochre colour due to the ferrous (iron) content. Due to the large particle size, iron oxide also acts as a UV reflector and is inert in the sun (does not produce free radicals). Natural mineral clays also contain varying proportions of other UV protectors such as titania.

It must also be noted that this discussion of the active constituents in sunscreens is academic without paying respect to the ingredients in the carrier or base formulation. Do they cause free radical damage themselves and in particular, how well do they stand up to sun exposure?

There are instances of people using sunscreens who have reacted to the excipients (base materials/carriers) included in the formulation, such as preservatives, fragrances and emulsifiers, which have caused contact allergies. So there is cause for concern not only about the active ingredients in sunscreens, but about the inert ingredients as well.

Look for a sunscreen that contains antioxidants such as vitamins C and E at effective concentrations. Vitamins C and E (tocopherol) are known to protect against skin cancer, particularly when applied topically as they prevent free radical damage from UV radiation. Shea butter, sesame and wheatgerm oils are also key ingredients to look for as they have natural UV protective qualities, primarily due to their vitamin A and E content. Shea butter also protects against burning (UVB radiation) and is an excellent emollient, softening the skin and preventing the formation of wrinkles.

Tess Dingle :: Adv Dip HSc (Nat/Hom), Dip HSc (HM)
Founder and Creator of Third Stone Botanicals
www.vitalenatural.com.au

Are you passionate about the health of your skin? Are you passionate about the health of your body?  Are you passionate about the health of your planet?  Choosing certified organic skin care lets you answer YES! to each of these questions.  Here’s why!

Healthy Skin – Most skin care products on the market today are made from ingredients that have no direct benefit to the skin.  It’s true!  Petro-chemical by-products; synthetic fragrances; cheap chemical fillers and chemical preservatives are combined with the current most fashionable "sexy" ingredients - vitamin E oil, rose hip oil, glacial marine mud, silk amino acids etc - to produce products that allow you to believe you are looking after your skin.  Are you really?

Since time immemorial people have applied plant extracts to their skin to soften, soothe, heal and nourish.  Rich in vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids and emollients, nut, vegetable and flower  extracts, as well as and clays and minerals, are wonderful sources of nutrition for the skin. 

However, most skin care products on the market today contain only small amounts of natural ingredients.  They might be called "natural", they might even be called "organic" but, in most cases, they will consist mainly of petro-chemical derivatives that have been formulated so they feel good when applied to the skin.  They’re a bit like fast food - a quick hit, then don’t think about it again until the next time!

Your skin has its own natural balancing and hydrating processes, although modern living means it needs support!  Using products containing petro-chemical by-products, synthetic fragrances and toxic preservatives is like a person living on fast food - you can manage it for a few years through your late teens and early twenties but, over the long term, your skin is going to suffer!

You can empower your skin by using genuine natural and organic skin care products made from ingredients that will support and complement your skin’s natural processes. This is your best anti-ageing defence!  Don’t be fooled by products that tell you they can do the anti-ageing for you - the simple truth is - they can’t!

Ultimately, skin care can’t perform miracles - it’s a lifestyle choice!  Rest, exercise, good food, plenty of water and minimal exposure to the sun are the keys to healthy skin.  Your skin care practices are the nutritional supplement you provide your skin to complement the healthy bountiful life you choose to live. Skin care is a gift you give your skin on a daily basis.

Healthy Body - When we eat food, we have a complex system of organs and processes that eliminate toxins and waste.  The skin has no protective filtering processes and almost 80% of what is applied to it is absorbed directly into the blood stream. The blood stream travels through the body, visiting all the major organs on its journey, and along the way depositing the chemical compounds it has received via the skin.  What a great reason to know exactly what you are applying!

According to the UK Environmental Working Group, the average person will expose themselves to a cocktail of over 130 different chemicals through the use of personal care products in a single day!  And more than one third of the skin care products on the market today contain one or more ingredients listed by the World Health Organisation as potential carcinogens!  Did you know this?

By way of example, the most commonly used preservatives in the personal care industry are a family of chemicals called parabens.  The chemical compounds that form parabens are sometimes found by researchers in cancerous tumours and the only way they can have been introduced to the body is through the use of personal care products.  Makes you think, doesn’t it?

Healthy Planet - In this era of Global Warming and the increasing awareness and concern individuals and communities have for environmental issues, you can bet your bottom dollar that business is trying to make money out of it!  The personal care industry is currently being flooded with products described as, and called, "natural" and "organic".  What do these words really mean when they can be applied to any product?  Unless you learn to read the labels and decipher the code - nothing!  If you have the time and the inclination, this is easy enough to do.  Don’t know what the name of an ingredient is? Google it!

Choosing "certified organic" skin and body care products can save you hours of research time.  For a skin care product to be "certified" it must contain a minimum of 95% certified organic ingredients with the remaining 5% being approved GMO-free additives.

Natural skin care products can be just as good in terms of the ingredients used, but the methods of producing those ingredients creates distinctive qualitative differences.  Conventional (non certified organic) ingredients tend to be over-refined as this extends their shelf life whereas certified organic ingredients aren’t, which means they retain more of their health benefitting properties for the skin.  A great example of this is hazelnut oil, the conventional version of which is pale yellow and fairly odourless, whereas the organic version is amber coloured and smells deliciously of roasted hazelnuts.

There are many skin care products on the market today called "organic", which creates much confusion.  Products may list organic ingredients in the contents but how do you know this is true?  Organic ingredients are much more expensive then conventional ones and we all know that "organic" is the latest marketing buzzword.  The cosmetic and personal care industry is highly under-regulated and really - any company can list any ingredients - no-one oversees it!

"Certified Organic" means that the manufacturer is subjected to twice yearly audits, one unannounced, and every organic ingredient that enters the plant must match up with every organic product that leaves the plant.  Labels, manufacturing processes, cleaning processes and even cleaning products must be approved by the certifying agency.  Failure to comply means the suspension of the certification, heavy fines and the immediate withdrawal from the marketplace of all products bearing the certifying agency’s logo.  Certification is no small undertaking!

"Certified Organic" also means that the products are made from ingredients that are sustainably farmed without the use of chemical fertilisers or pesticides.  A certified organic personal care industry also creates essential value-adding opportunities for farmers who are working hard to harmoniously co-exist with the environment. 

Expect to pay more for certified organic personal care products but what you are choosing is healthy skin, a healthy body and a healthy planet!

Skin Care Body Care Earth Care

Elemental Certified Organic Skin Care

www.elemental.com.au

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