Wordless Wednesday

Top Ten Tuesday

I was reading the other day about organic/natural foods (I'm always wanting to try to head more in that direction, but I have to do it slowly!). In the process, I stumbled upon all these websites touting the toxicity of cosmetics and personal care products. So, I'm thinking, "this is crazy...what's the point of trying to put healthy things IN your body only to go and put unhealthy things ON your body?"

Okay, so that's really just algae growing in a flask, but it was the most chemical-ish picture I had on my computer. Anywho, back to the topic at hand. My latest attempt at healthy is that I'm going to try to make a concerted effort to check for the following "Top Ten Toxic Cosmetic Ingredients to Avoid" in our daily personal care products:

1. Parabens - Methyl, Propyl, Butyl and Ethyl Parabens: Used as a preservative and can cause allergic reactions and skin rashes. Studies show they possess mild estrogen-like qualities, and preliminary research found parabens in human breast cancer tumors.

2. Diethanolamine (DEA), Triethanolamine (TEA): Can cause allergic reactions, eye irritation, and dryness of the hair and skin. Also can be toxic if absorbed into the body over a long period of time, and are associated with cancer in lab animals.

3. Diazolidinyl Urea, Imidazolidinyl Urea (Germall): Often used as preservatives, the American Academy of Dermatology has found these chemicals to be a primary cause of contact dermatitis; both release formaldehyde, which can be toxic.

4. Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate: Cheap, harsh detergent often derived from petroleum. Can cause eye irritation, dry scalp, skin rashes and other allergic reactions. Frequently disguised in pseudo-natural cosmetics with the parenthetic explanation "comes from coconut."

5. Petrolatum: Mineral oil derivative that can clog pores, which can disrupt your body's natural ability to moisturize its own skin, leading to dryness and chapping. Can also produce photosensitivity.

6. Propylene Glycol (PEG and PPG): Usually made from synthetic chemicals, it has been known to cause hives and eczema.

7. PVP/VA Copolymer: A petroleum-derived chemical that's used in hair styling products and some cosmetics. If inhaled, it can damage the lungs.

8. Stearalkonium Chloride: Toxic chemical used in hair conditioners and creams known to cause allergic reactions and irritation to the skin, eyes, and mucous membranes.

9. Synthetic Colors (FD&C or D&C followed by a color and number): Can be carcinogenic, or cancer-causing. Most are derived from coal tar. Not only are many people are allergic to coal tar, but coal tar has been shown to cause cancer when subcutaneously injected in lab mice.

10. Synthetic Fragrances: Labeled simply as "fragrance," there's no way to tell what chemicals are actually in the product. May cause headaches, dizziness, rashes, respiratory problems, and hyper-pigmentation (brown spots).

Just a disclaimer...I did not personally research the scientific merits of any of these claims, but used common (and educated, I guess) sense as well as some of the following resources:

Cosmetics Database

HealthGoods

Natural Skincare Secrets

fitsugar

Wordless Wednesday

Top Ten Tuesday

For those of you that don't yet know, I got a new computer last month and am now the proud owner of...A MAC! :) There's been a bit of a learning curve, but so far I'm really enjoying my new 13" MacBook Pro. I've been so busy playing with my new toy that I've not done a good job of blogging lately. So, I'm trying to get back on the blogging train!

In honor of my crossing over to the "Mac side," I'm going to list my top ten favorite things about my new Mac:

1. It's so pretty! I love the aluminum casing and of course the cool glowing apple and backlit keyboard :)

2. It's very light and compact...really just feels like I'm carrying a book rather than a computer.

3. It comes out of sleep SO quickly and restarts in just a minute or two, which is nothing short of a miracle when you compare it to my old computer that took about 20 minutes to fully restart.

4. It seems that, for the most part, "things just work." I was easily able to connect to our home printer, it automatically and quickly connects to available wireless networks, and I can just drag and drop things that I want to email, open, save, etc. to the proper place and BAM!

5. The screen produces a gorgeous, crisp picture.

6. The multi-touch trackpad works quite well and is really intuitive.

7. The battery lasts for 5 hours, easy. It's supposed to last up to 7 hours, but I've not really done any "testing."

8. I can transfer pictures from my camera quickly since my Macbook Pro has a built-in SD card slot.

9. A lot of the software included is a cinch to use and lots of fun (iPhoto, Photobooth, and iMovie, for example), and I was able to synch iCal to the google calendars I currently use with no real problems.

10. The interface is really great looking and pretty darn easy to use. The fact that Macs now have a right click no doubt made my transition easier!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday