The Green Beauty Guide: Your Essential Resource to Organic and Natural Skin Care, Hair Care, Makeup, and Fragrances

(Greg DeLong) #1

Remember how good it feels to wrap your hands in warm, pliable wax and let nutrients penetrate
the skin as it gets softer? You can treat your hands to this decadent procedure at home using
completely natural ingredients instead of petrochemicals.



  1. Melt wax in a microwave oven according to the instructions on the package. Add the jojoba
    or sweet almond oil and rose essential oil. Remove from heat and pour mixture into a shallow
    glass container with a lid. Let cool about five minutes.

  2. When the wax mixture is still hot but not burning, apply a thick coating of jojoba oil or heavy
    all-natural hand balm to your hands, and dip them into the wax bath. Leave your hands in the
    wax for at least five minutes, then remove hands from the container and peel off the hardened
    wax. Save the remaining wax for the next time.


What to Eat for Healthy Nails


A common cause of brittle nails is thought to be iron deficiency. Too little vitaminA, zinc, and
calcium also cause nail discolorations, dryness, and brittleness, while an inadequate intake of vitamin
B2 may cause the slow growth of nails.


So what should we eat to keep our nails strong? Vitamin A is contained in raw and dried apricots,
carrots, papaya, mango, watermelons, egg yolk, tuna, and salmon. Zinc is contained in Brazil nuts,
walnuts, hazelnuts, and coconuts, as well as in currants, figs, and salmon. Calcium in its natural form
is contained in dairy products, broccoli, raisins, oranges, kiwis, and mandarins, while dried plums,
dried figs, tamarind, and egg yolk are especially rich in biotin, a natural form of vitamin B2.


The Nail Polish Dilemma


To color or not to color? This is a burning question. If you want to be truly green, not just
greenwashed, you must ditch your toxic nail polishes completely. Wes, even that pretty shimmery
pink. I know it cost you a fortune, but it seems like nail polishes are real toxic bombs loaded with
more carcinogens than any other beauty product I have reviewed so far.


A truly nontoxic nail polish doesn’t exist in nature. While many brands remove some of the harmful
ingredients, the nail polishes become less toxic but not completely harmless. Let’s discuss nail
polishes in more detail.


The most abundant toxin in conventional nail polish is solvent formaldehyde and formaldehyde
resin. Formaldehyde is a proven carcinogen, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
In 2006, the International Agency for Research on Cancer categorized formaldehyde as a substance
carcinogenic to humans. Formaldehyde was linked to nasopharyngeal cancer and leukemia (Bosetti et
al. 2008), as well as severe allergic reactions (Sainio et al. 1997) in European studies, but the link is
strongly disputed in the U.S. Today, the use of formaldehyde in cosmetics is strictly limited in the
European Union and Japan, but last time I checked, this chemical was found in the majority of nail
polishes and other nail products sold in the U.S.


Small amounts of formaldehyde can be absorbed through skin and the nail bed, but the worst thing
is that you also inhale formaldehyde when someone else does your manicure or pedicure. Many
manicurists today wear protective masks that give them some sort of air filtration. But too many times

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