"Gorgeously Green" update

I have just received a book, from very thoughtful family friends, for my birthday, and this gift is about to make a drastic change in the way I live my life. "Gorgeously Green" written by Sophie Uliano is my new guide to living an earth-friendly life. After only reading the first twenty pages, I am addicted to this book and well on my way to making a huge modification in my "beauty" routine.
This book has an 8 simple step program to living a more sustainable life. I have just completed the first step and am currently taking on the second....changing my beauty routine (and oh my..does it need modifications).
I figured that since...Am and I are keeping this blog for finding ways to live a more sustainable, affordable (which isn't always the case in Uliano's book ), green, and creative life...it only makes sense for me to share with you my transformation into living such a life, and believe me I have a long ways to go (but I am far from discouraged).
_________________________________________________________________________

In the first step, Sophie introduces us to the concept of what it means to be green....blah blah blah This part was a wee bit long, but the most interesting part of this step is the survey at the end of the chapter. The gorgeously green lifestyle checklist, this was quite the eye opener for I must have checked only 10 of the 70 statements...meaning I have much much to learn and change when it comes to living a more sustainable lifestyle.
and I to think that I was doing pretty good when it comes to recycling or just being environmentally conscious...
until this checklist...
The purpose of this checklist worked...an eye opener. At the end of the book once I have gone through all of the steps hopefully I will be closer to checking off 60 or more of those statements.
take a similar quiz here. Gorgeously Green Quiz
______________________________________________________________________

And now I am currently confronting the next step. My beauty routine.
According to this book, women spend an average of four hundred, I repeat, 400, hours a year on their beauty routine (this is ridik!). in other words...we spend 400 hours a year...rubbing chemicals on our hair, skin, lips, nails, and bodies... just imagine after 20 years of doing that...or more!?
but it gets even more scary. we find these toxic chemicals including coal tar, fragrance, hydroquinone, aluminum, triclosan, P-Phenylenediamine, Lead & Mercury, Cocamide DEH, Lauramide DEA, Cocamide MFA, Triethanolamine (TEA), diethanolamine (Dea)...and many more. in MOST of our beauty products.

some of those chemicals listed above are carcinogens, neurotoxins, allergenic, toxic, mutagenic, disruptions to our endocrine system, causing reproductive & developmental harm, weakening our immune system, decreasing fertility, causing birth defects, lung irritation........etc * sigh

and really until reading the first few pages of this chapter, I really just never took the time to think about the potential of these chemicals on our bodies. I guess in my mind...I just thought...surely these products have been tested and high regulations have to be met for beauty products that we use EVERYDAY. I mean i'd heard of the aluminum in deodorants..and other chemicals...but I just...really I just chose to neglect this problem in hopes...that surely this is under control and a priority of government regulations on beauty products.

lu=naive

...tomorrow I am going to set all of my beauty products, and mitch's (he doesn't know this yet), and my mom & dad's on a table. I am going to use a magnifying glass and set aside those products with these chemicals to be thrown away and never used again (and I will list them on this blog). others to be questioned...will be researched. and others at least some (hopefully) will be usable & safe!

this will be an interesting day and I will give an alarming update of my progress on this quest to safer & *real* natural beauty products.

For more on the chemicals of beauty products, food, and other aspects of our environment The Enviromental Working Group is full of useful information. (also a source in her book).

Give it some thought...what chemicals do you rub on your skin that are directly absorbed into your bloodstream...on a daily basis?
-Lu-