Welcome, my fellow green conscious peoples to my newest blog!. Since I have been posting so rabidly on my Facebook and Twitter about the dangers of toxic products we use in our everyday routines, I have decided to design a place for my friends to go for reference, and hopefully, helpful information.
My journey of awareness started in 2008 when I decided that I was tired of suffering from extreme dandruff as I have struggled with Psoriasis since I was 13-years-old. Thankfully, as I got older the condition improved; unfortunately, some still lingers in my ears and around my hairline. Stress and climate are two of the skin's worst enemies and during the winter months, ask anyone who suffers from a skin condition, the symptoms worsen when the temperature drops. I began my journey with purchasing products which simply had "Green" in the title and therefore I thought that they were as advertised and therefore better because they were labeled, "Green". I went from using "Live Clean" to some brand from the super expensive hair care styling outlet, "Trade Secrets", to finally stumbling upon "Green Beaver". Needless to say, it's been a 5 years long journey and I have just chipped the tip off the iceberg. With every mistake I purchase, I learn more, which is the hard part of trial and error as it is both expensive and time consuming.
I would like to start this blog by both complementing a company and printing a formal retraction about it as well. A couple of weeks ago I voiced my praise of the Californian based company "Coastal Classic Creations" or "Coastal Creations" on Facebook. While I am still very impressed by some of these products, I am also equally unimpressed with the company adding what they call, "Phthalate-Free Fragrance Oils" to their products. In spite of the fact that they say that all of their "Fragrant Oils" comply with the IFRA (International Fragrance Organization) Guidelines (http://www.ifraorg.org/en-us/standards#.Ut_g7SQo5yo), I found that indeed their Fragrance oils were both irritating and the smell was overpowering.
More on Phthalate's in another post....
I purchased many products from, "Coastal Creations", which included eye shadow, eye makeup remover, hand moisturizer, body butters, chapsticks, foot nurisher, and eye liner.
Here's the breakdown:
While everything I purchased from "Coastal Creations" had a low rating on the Skin Deep website; I was unaware of the origins of their "fragrant oils" that they used to scent their products. After all, the company promotes their "toxic free cosmetics", why should their scents be any different?. While most of their products are available in "unscented", which on their own carry a scent which is pleasant because of the essential oils used to make them; I was extremely upset when the company did not reply to an e-mail I sent them regarding their "fragrant oils". My questions was simply, "Do your 'fragrant oils' come from natural sources or are they artificially made?". Normally, I would chalk this up to, "they are busy"; however, upon my previous three correspondences with them, I received a detailed, helpful, and prompt response. Their silence on this issue leads me to believe that their "fragrant oils", while complying with the International Fragrance Organizations Standards, are indeed artificial in origin and are not derived from natural sources.
I would like to convey my sincerest apologies to my friends who are looking into the products that I post. Regardless of their "Fragrant Oils", the rest of their products which are unscented are, in fact, excellent. The "Foot Nurisher" and their " Sandcastle Unscented Body Butter" are both fantastic as are their chapsticks. Steer clear of any of their, "Scented" products and consult: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ to cross-reference any of your product needs.
Until next time....
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