Gorgeous Green Finale
If there is one lesson you learn from this book, make it this: scientists have yet to discover exactly
what kind of damage paraben preservatives, phthalates, triethanolamine, and DMAE do to us, and we
probably won’t find out in the next twenty or thirty years. Well, many of us have already celebrated
our thirtieth birthday (or as I prefer to call it, twenty-tenth), and we are still alive after fifteen to
twenty years of rubbing esters of para-hydroxybenzoic acid and formaldehyde into our faces. Luckily,
today we have everything we need to adopt a healthier attitude toward our looks. We exercise and
make efforts to eat less junk food, so why would we put up with “junk beauty”? Remember, skincare
is the food for our skin. Just like junk food is loaded with refined wheat and sugar, hydrogenated fat,
and artificial additives, so is junk beauty loaded with synthetic chemicals, petroleum-derived fats,
and artificial flavors. Do your health a favor, and don’t eat junk food. Do your skin a favor, and ditch
junk beauty. It’s bad for you; it’s bad for our planet.
You are your only hope. Science does not have all the answers to everything. Neither do
government regulators. If you want proof, ask your dermatologist when you go for a yearly checkup of
your moles and freckles what she thinks of mercury whitening cream. Watch her face go pale and
ashen, and her voice turn reproachful. Only fifteen years ago, mercury bleaching creams were widely
recommended. Today, mercury in cosmetics is banned. What will be the next mercury? Phthalates?
Lead? Formaldehyde? Parabens? Do you really want to wait to find out?
Set yourself apart from the rest by going green. Learn to spot the dangerous chemicals that
undermine your health and put your family and children, now and tomorrow, at a higher risk for
allergies, autism, or cancer. Pass on buying anything proven to be carcinogenic, even in animal
studies. That’s right, humans are not rodents—but then again, DNA is DNA. If a substance is
damaging a living creature’s DNA and causing it to mutate, there’s a very high chance it will mess up
human cells, too.
Your common sense is your best guide to sorting through the organic hype. Remember that the
cosmetics industry spends billions of dollars each year to sell you one myth or another. Many of the
so-called organic products give you a false sense of safety. Spend a second or two scanning
ingredients lists and refuse to buy anything that doesn’t comply with your understanding of truly pure
and natural cosmetics.
You can influence the industry by making smart buying choices. You may think that one bottle of
conventional shampoo won’t really change the world, but stop right there and think for a moment. If a
drugstore sells ten fewer bottles of shampoo in one week, the store manager will become curious. If a
drugstore chain sells a thousand fewer bottles of shampoo, the supplier will take notice. If ten
thousand bottles of chemical goo are left unsold, then the manufacturer gets the message. Every bottle
counts.
You can make your point every time you open your wallet to buy a toxic cosmetic product. You can
buy the chemical, fruity-smelling goop and support the current twisted state of the cosmetic industry.
Manufacturers will get more proof that the public buys their products, as is, without batting an
irritated, swollen eye. And they will keep churning out shampoos that make our hair fall out, toners
that burn and sting our faces, and baby powders with ingredients that cause lung cancer. So the next
time you reach for that pretty bottle, stop for a second, read the list of ingredients, and ask yourself:
would I eat any of it? Think about it for a moment. Then close your wallet, head on to that humble
health food store, and grab an unpretentious bottle of herbal body and hair wash. Your hair will be