Wash away the toxins. My picks for the best natural haircare July 28, 2009

Our well-meaning attempts to tame our locks with expensive shampoos and conditioners are, unfortunately often thwarted by the products’ own synthetic ingredients. Sadly, the culprit of dryness, itchiness and aggravated oil production are often common ingredients found in the beauty products we’ve purchased to alleviate exactly those irritations. What’s worse, many of those ingredients are also known carcinogens, toxins and neurotoxins.

We are what we eat and, essentially, so is our hair. Projecting from the epidermis, our hair sprouts from follicles deeply planted in our largest organ, our skin. What we feed it, therefore, greatly affects how it grows.

Take an eye-opening tour of your bathroom cabinet with Skin Deep,  the online cosmetics safety database created by Campaign for Safe Cosmetics partner the Environmental Working Group to help fill safety gaps left by the unregulated cosmetics industry. This searchable database matches the ingredients in more than 25,000 shampoos, makeup, deodorants, sunscreens and other personal care products with 50 toxicity and regulatory databases allowing consumers to find products free of carcinogens, synthetic fragrance or contaminants. For a quick list of worst offenders, see Chemicals to avoid in beauty products.

Shiny, beautiful, healthy hair is within reach. Click here for a comprehensive list of top selling natural and organic hair products, formulated without parabens, suates, synthetic fragrances or dyes, petro-chemicals, phthalates,GMO and triclosan.

This helpful list also includes suggestions for cleansing hair after swimming, tinting/coloring, maintaining tint/color, healing a chronically dry or itchy scalp, and giving yourself (or your beloved!) the ultimate treat: a scalp massage.

Read the article here.

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Green Living 101: Chemicals to avoid in beauty products

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ADHD meds may cause cardiac death in healthy kids July 27, 2009

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a safety warning recently about a possible association between the use of stimulant medications for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, known as ADHD, and sudden cardiac death in healthy children. 

Kids taking psychotropic drugs must get heart test

The American Heart Association and other leading groups have expressed concern regarding reports of sudden deaths of children and adolescents treated with psychotropic medications such as Ritalin, Adderall, Prozac, Paxil and others. Children taking these medications are at risk of developing serious or life threatening cardiac conditions and should have ECG screenings prior to starting on these medications.

Parents of children or teenagers who are about to take or who already take psychotropic drugs are encouraged to take their children to a pediatrician or family doctor for a screening EKG heart test, as part of CompuMed’s CardioGramKids Pediatric Screening Program. 

Read the rest of this story here.

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Should I give up shampoo? July 26, 2009

Beauty draws us with a single hair.  –Alexander Pope

It’s our crowning glory. Yet, in our pursuit of conquering the unruly, straightening the tightly curled, curling the poker straight and tinting the color, our hair is repeatedly abused with countless chemicals, and stripped of its natural oils—and both are washed down the drain by gallon after gallon of water. As women begin to update beauty routines with natural and organic products, hair salons are reporting a backward shift to an approach popular during the Eisenhower administration: weekly wash and set appointments.

 

Jeffrey Lyle at Boston’s Emerge Spa and Salon suggests outsourcing your shampoo to a professional adds both convenience and allure; “When it’s a little dirty, it actually looks smoother and shinier.”

 

When Sydney-based radio host Richard Glover  interviewed Times of London columnist Matthew Parris, who hasn’t shampooed for more than a decade, “so many people called saying that they wanted to try it, too,” recalled Glover. He challenged his audience to go without shampoo for six weeks. Eighty-six percent of the over 500 participants who reported results said their hair was either better or the same. One participant, Emma Rowles, 22, blamed her former “itchy scalp” on shampoo and announced: “There’s no way I will ever let a drop of shampoo anywhere near my head again.” Rowles’s results were not uncommon. Once Glover’s listeners stopped shampooing so often, participants reported dry hair became normal, straight hair took on a flattering wave, scaly scalps were soothed, and oiliness subsided.

Click for Key reasons to wash your hair less frequently (or, for the brave few, not at all):

Green Living 101: Chemicals to avoid in beauty products

Is your bottled water safer than tap?

Walmart to revolutionize global sustainability standards

Walmart goes seriously green. July 24, 2009

The following is an excerpt from my Green Living column on Examiner.com:

When most of us think of environmentally-friendly stores offering sustainable products made efficiently and fairly, Walmart is often not the first company coming to mind.

Never judge a seemingly endless discount warehouse by its preternatural fluorescense.

The retail giant has already committed to greening its stores, including a plan to tap into solar power, and driven an effort to create more sustainable electronics devices to reduce landfill impact. Now, Walmart is demanding all suppliers provide environmental information on every product carried in its stores. Walmart will use the data to label each item with an eco rating, designed to measure its environmental friendliness and help inform consumers. 

“We have to change how we make and sell products,” Mike Duke, President and CEO of Walmart, told about 1,500 suppliers and employees on Thursday, July 16, 2009 at the company’s Sustainability Milestone Meeting; “Sustainability has become a part of everything we do.”

Duke believes the economic crisis is leading consumers to become smarter about saving money, and expressed concern that every economic class be provided with access to quality food and environmentally responsible products. ”We’re living in a world of increasing population and decreasing natural resources,” he observes. “Our use of natural resources for everything we grow, eat, drink, make, package, buy, transport and throw away–all of that is out-pacing the earth’s capacity to sustain us. Fresh food and quality products shouldn’t be available to only a privileged few, they should be available to all.”

In an effort to create a new global retail standard, Walmart is unrolling its Sustainability Index plan in three phases over the next five years:

Read the rest of this article and learn more about Duke’s 3-part sustainability program here.

Fun, Educational Road Trip Games for Kids July 23, 2009

Mother and homeschooler Jessica Parnell knows how to turn any place into a learning environment–even the back seat of the car on a road trip with her children. 

“We found ways to take the basic [subjects] and turn them into a game,” says Parnell. “This not only helped to pass the time, but brought out the creativity in all of us.”

For a selection of some of Jessica Parnell’s fun and educational on-the-road games on the subjects of English and Grammar, Math, and History/Science/Nature/Creativity,  read the rest of this article here.

Ready to road-trip? Check out Budgeting for the Best Family-Friendly Hotels.

Say Thanks for Choosing Organic – and WIN! July 21, 2009

The following is an excerpt from my Green Living column on Examiner.com:

One of the most important lessons we can teach our children is gratitude. Earthbound Farm offers organic salads to feed healthy, growing bodies and protect the planet; It’s up to us to foster a sense of thankfulness for the good we receive. 

Earthbound Farm believes when people choose their organic salads, they’re helping make a difference for future generations. The company just launched a web-based contest encouraging kids (ages 17 and under) to submit messages of thanks to those who purchase organic for helping protect the future. Winning quotes will appear the inside of its 100% post-consumer recycled clamshell salad containers. If their quote is chosen, your child will win:

A $500 US Savings Bond for your child’s future education

A $500 donation in your child’s name to their choice of one of these dedicated nonprofit environmental organizations:
American Forests
Beyond Pesticides
Environmental Working Group
Healthy Child Healthy World
Natural Resources Defense Council
Organic Farming Research Foundation
Pesticide Action Network North America
Union of Concerned Scientists

Winning quotes will appear on the back of the new salad labels and on the Earthbound Farm website!
4 winners will be selected in July and then add a new winner every month through the end of 2009!

Read the rest of this article…

 

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Proof of purity called for pricey bottled waters July 20, 2009

The following is an excerpt from my Green Living column on Examiner.com:

There are a few things we consumers, er, humans need to take seriously: the first is air, the second is water. Let’s put aside a debate about the ozone for a moment, as Jennifer Aniston’s face passes by on the side of a bus. She is shushing us about Glaceau’s smartwater. Is it because consumers are given less information about bottled water than what they can drink from the tap because the two are regulated differently? Companies that produce bottled water–a $11.2 billion industry including PepsiCo Inc.’s Aquafina and Coca-Cola Co.’s Dasani–currently aren’t required to report tests that turned up contamination.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) doesn’t require companies that produce bottled water to report positive tests for contaminants. However, municipal water authorities, overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), must report dangerous contaminants within 24 hours. Consumer advocates testified Wednesday, July 8, before the Energy and Commerce Committee’s oversight and investigations panel that bottlers should be required to disclose more information to consumers.

As Wall Street Journal’s Jane Zhang, succinctly says, “Federal regulation hasn’t caught up with Americans’ taste for bottled water.” Ironically, taste does not seem to be a high priority for Glaceau’s smartwater; a spokesperson for the company had this to say: “To us, Jennifer truly embodies what smartwater is all about as she combines substance and style like nobody else.”

Stricter labeling urged for bottled water

Both the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the Environmental Working Group (EWG), a nonprofit research and advocacy organization, recommend that bottled water be labeled with the same level of information municipal water providers must disclose. The EWG recommends purifying tap water with a commercial filter;

According to Emily Fredrix, “The researchers urged Americans to make bottled water ‘a distant second choice’ to filtered tap water because there isn’t enough information about bottled water.”

The GAO said the FDA should start by requiring that bottled water labels tell consumers where to find out more. Community water systems must distribute annual reports about their water’s source, contaminants and possible health concerns. Wiles agreed:

“If the municipal tap water systems can tell their customers this information, you would think that bottled water companies that charge 1,000 times more for this water could also let consumers know the same thing.”

Read the rest of this article…

Day One: Green Living column goes national! July 17, 2009

You already know about my Parenting column in the L.A. Edition of Examiner.com. Well, I’m so proud to announce today that I am officially writing a Green Living column for Examiner.com’s National edition! It’s easy to subscribe: I’ll be offering tips on living greener, more affordably—and sensibly chic!

You can read it here! Excerpts from my inaugural column are posted below. Be sure to check out my Top Picks for Natural Beauties. In the coming week, I’ll be writing about revolutionizing your approach to beauty, with your health, your radiance, and the environment in mind!

6 Biodegradable Cleansers Go for a Test-run

A simple change in cleaning product is a painless way to help the environment while safe-guarding your family’s health; Across the board, prices compare to leading brands. Best of all, your home will be clean and smell wonderful.

Here is a short-list of popular natural cleaning brands, including company info and consumer reviews. If your favorite is missing, please comment with your suggestions (including specific product type—window cleaner, all-purpose spray, detergent, etc.)

Method
This company boasts a wide range of hard-working products, each with a spa-inspired scent, including cucumber, lavender, grapefruit, green tea, magnolia and almond. Co-founded by Adam Lowry, a chemical engineer from Stanford and environmental scientist, Method products are biodegradable, made from recyclable packaging and are not tested on animals. The cleaners are made with naturally derived surfactants (the active cleaning agents in a product) and work by absorbing dirt rather than chemically degrading it.

Ecos Earth Friendly Products
Founded in 1993, Ecos’ Earth Friendly Products offers 60 household products, an industrial/bulk Pro-Line, and a Natural Pet Care line. Earth Friendly Products promises a “power-packed clean” without toxins, petrochemicals, bleach, ammonia, phosphates or other harmful ingredients. The products are plant-based, have pH in the neutral range, are biodegradable and septic safe. If you demand a clean home, Ecos products may be just the ticket. While not all alternative cleansers are created equal, Earth Friendly Products truly deliver.

Dr. Bronner’s Sal Suds 
An Escondido, Calif. company in business over 50 years, Dr. Emanuel Bronner created his liquid and bar soaps organically with essential oils. A third-generation master soap-maker from Heilbron, Germany, Bronner was heir to the family’s soap factory and business, but rebelled and came to the U.S. in the late 1920s.

The company’s only household cleanser—Sal Suds—is one extremely multi-purpose product. Sal Suds is a balanced formulation, certified organic, never tested on animals, biodegrades rapidly and is packaged with 100% post-consumer recycled material. It is probably the most cost-effective choice available, as it is highly concentrated and works on virtually every surface in every room of the house, including dishes, floors, laundry and even heavy-duty grease-cutting jobs. One product, many uses; the convenience and cost-effectiveness alone make it worth a try.

Made from plant-based surfactants with natural spruce and fir-needle oils, Sal Suds is a powerful cleaning solution, yet is mild and gentle on the skin and is equally effective in hard or soft water, rinsing freely, hot or cold. Sal Suds is not soap-based and is formulated especially for all-purpose hard-surface cleaning.

Seventh Generation
Seventh Generation offers a large and diverse range of household products, including Free and Clear allergen-free products and baby, pet and paper products. Against animal testing, Seventh Generation designed its line of cleansers based on a commitment to both the environment and the necessity to protect ourselves from cancer-causing toxins. Seventh Generation’s vegetable-based cleaners are made from a renewable resources and therefore save petroleum, do not contain fluorescent chemicals or phosphates which don’t readily biodegrade and are often toxic to aquatic life. They are also are chlorine-free. Chlorine bleach creates dangerous toxins such as dioxin, furans and other organochlorines. Countless studies show a direct link between dioxin exposure and cancer, birth defects and developmental and reproductive disorders.

Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day
Mrs. Meyer’s Clean Day aroma-therapeutic household cleansers offer a breath of fresh air. Or rather, a breath of your choice of lavender, lemon verbena or geranium. The scents are so appealing, I actually feel pretty while I’m cleaning, an unexpected reaction to a cleanser. The geranium scent is very rose-y to my nose, and it evokes images of vacationing in some lovely cottage in the south of France while I’m wiping down the bathroom sink—not too shabby “aroma-therapy.”

Attractive packaging and luscious scents highlight these hard-working, biodegradable cleaning supplies free of solvents, phosphates, ammonia, chlorine and artificial colors. In addition, most Clean Day products have a near neutral pH, making them safe for skin contact. Made with essential oils, Mrs. Meyer never tests on animals.

Ecover
Ecover offers household and laundry products including dish and dishwasher detergent, multi-surface and toilet cleaners, and a full range of laundry products. Over and over, I hear that is impossible to find a dishwasher detergent that is comparable to, say, Cascade. Well, Ecover is the answer to that conundrum. Both the powder and tablets are unsurpassed. The box holding the product is made of 95% recycled cardboard and the little plastic wrappers are made from polypropylene and are 100% recyclable.

Read the article in its entirety here.

Keep up with my Green Living column, or follow me on Twitter! @RebeccaLacko

20 things every woman should do before she gets married July 16, 2009

Take it from someone who leapt before she looked. There are a handful (OK, two handfuls) of things a young woman should check off her to-do list before she takes that walk down the white carpet. It took me until age 34 (and finding the wonderful man to whom I am now married) to figure these out. Lucky for you, Wendy Atterberry, an editor at The Frisky.com, is about to be a bride and she has made her list and checked it twice. (See Wendy’s entire story here.)

Here are Wendy’s 20 things every woman should do before she gets married: 

1. Live by herself for at least a year.
2. Live with someone else for at least a year.
3. Recover from a broken heart.
4. Have a vacation fling.
5. Take a road-trip with a group of girlfriends.
6. Relish sleeping in a queen-sized bed by herself.
7. Get her finances in order.
8. Learn to love her body.
9. Have sex with at least one person she’d never want to marry (or introduce to mom).
10. Find reliable birth control.
11. Pay off as much credit card debt and student loans as possible.
12. Spend way too much on a something frivolous.
13. Exorcise all past relationship demons.
14. Travel somewhere exotic.
15. Establish a strong circle of friends.
16. Forgive her parents for not being perfect.
17. Have at least one night she can’t quite remember.
18. Experience some really bad first dates.
19. Find hobbies that fulfill her.
20. Celebrate her 25th birthday.

This isn’t the most wholesome list, I’ll admit. What’s on your must-do list before you tie the knot?

6 ways to contact the American Camp Association July 15, 2009

6 ways to contact the American Camp Association

The following is a FREE reprint from my Parenting column on Examiner.

For nearly 150 years, camp has been an American tradition. And for almost 100 years, parents have turned to the American Camp Association® (ACA) to answer camp questions – how to choose a camp, what to pack, how to prepare for camp, how to keep in touch with campers, and many more.

As one of the nation’s leading child and youth development resources, ACA works with families to answer questions, provide information, and offer expert advice about the camp experience.  And now, it is easier than ever.

• Visit ACA’s parent resource site
• Follow ACA on Twitter – Families can now follow @ACACampParents on Twitter.com to receive daily updates, helpful links, and tips about the camp experience. In addition, parents can contact ACA directly through Twitter to ask specific questions.
• Find ACA on Facebook – ACA’s Facebook page offers families the same helpful information and links. In addition, families visit www.facebook.com/becauseofcamp and become a fan of ACA’s Because of Camp…™ PSA video and share how their lives have changed “Because of Camp…™“.
• Visit CampParents.org – By visiting www.CampParents.org, ACA’s parent resource site, families can find expert advice, resources and links, information on planning for camp, videos, and ACA’s Find A Camp search, which allows families to search ACA’s 2,400 accredited camps for one that best suits their needs.
• Sign up for Camp e-News – Through CampParents.org, parents can sign-up to receive Camp e-News, ACA’s bi-monthly parent e-newsletter on child and youth development, the camp experience, and timely issues concerning today’s families. Archived issues of Camp e-News are also available on the site.
• Don’t forget to call – Perhaps one of the most tried-and-true technologies available, families can always reach ACA by telephone. Families with specific questions can call 1-800-428-CAMP to reach the national office, or contact one of twenty-four local offices nationwide. You can also find your local office.

For more info: 

 

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Life lessons learned at camp

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Follow me on Twitter @RebeccaLacko