Crystal Deodorants - Natural, but Safe?

I've been meaning to do a post on crystal deodorants for some time now. But here it is and it's probably good that I've taken as long as I have- because I've learned even more than when this post first came to me.

WARNING: The following contains SCIENCE!

(but I tried to keep it simple)

You've probably heard of the crystal deodorant by now. I'm not going to red-flag silly parts about it like whether or not it's natural. Usually it is, sometimes it's not. You can go hard core and get a lump of mineral that you rub on your stinky bits or you can get it specially molded onto a stick. Or if you're a wuss you can get an aqueous solution in a roll-on (i.e., mixed with water).

Like I just said, yes it's usually natural (although sometime purified). But all too often things that are natural are shrugged off as safe. Hemlock root is natural too. Few people argue about the not-so benign nature of that.

Now before you call hyperbole on me (guilty as charged), no the crystal deodorants are not in the same league as hemlock root when you question how your body will react to it. Even I, with all of the alarm I raise and accusations we make at pur alternatives, can safely say that it is incredibly unlikely you will die from the crystal deodorant.

Die, no. But what about get Alzheimer's Disease? That's certainly something to be concerned about. You've probably also heard about the concerns around aluminum in deodorants and antiperspirants. Well... that crystal deodorant? It's an ALUMINUM salt. Specifically, Aluminum-Potassium Sulphate, Hydrated. More specifically: KAl(SO4)2*  nH2O (note that "n" is a number of water molecules, in this case 9 to 12). More simply, it looks something like this (I like pictures, I hope you do too):

Potassium alum is a salt. It is a natural mineral that is often found in evaporite deposits (like salt, NaCl or potash). Salts though - as you've undoubtedly noticed with table salt - readily dissolve in water, and potassium alum is no exception. When you mix it with water the molecule breaks down into its ions - in this case potassium (K), aluminum (Al), and sulfate ions (SO4). Now hold that thought for a moment as we back up and talk a moment about the bigger brands of antiperspirants that have previously been linked to Alzheimer's Disease.

It is important to note that yes, there is a substantial difference between potassium alum aluminum zirconium compounds used in commercial antiperspirants. So let's talk about them for a moment. There are dozens upon dozens of commonly used aluminum or aluminum-zirconium compounds used in antiperspirants; they can be quite simple or they can be quite complex. For the moment, let's keep it simple and consider aluminum chlorohydrate - one of the oldest used compounds, and one that has been quite irritating to the skin of many. Even this one has a large number of variations but let's consider one: Al₁₂Cl₁₂(OH)₂₄.

Time for more science to understand how antiperspirants work: aluminum (Al) is soluble in an acidic solution. That aluminum chlorohydrate, if you were to mix it with water (or some other liquid base, for that matter) would break itself into a solution of hypochloric acid (or some chlorine-based acid in any event) and aluminum

 ions. But when that solution comes into contact with your salty sweat, it becomes less acidic and the aluminum precipitates out of the solution and clogs up your pores, blocking the sweat from escaping. I realize that may sound like more than many people are comfortable digesting, so I simplified it with this cartoon:

Can't read the captions? In the first pane (left) are aluminum ions are happy in an acidic solution. In the second pane (right), sodium ions from your sweat arrive and alter the pH of the solution, making it more basic (i.e., less acidic). Aluminum ions aren't as content in the less acidic solution so they precipitate out of solution and accumulate on the surface - in this case the surface of your armpits.

Keep in mind as well, the depiction in the above cartoon is happening INSIDE your body. The aluminum got there when you put the antiperspirant on your armpits. It got in through your pores. In the case of aluminum-zirconium compounds, both aluminum AND zirconium precipitate out of the solution. What has long been the subject of debate though is how effectively your body disposes of that aluminum once it's in there. And aluminum is one of only a few elements that the body has absolutely zero use for. Lots of metals have some purpose in the body and are needed in certain low doses: iron, magnesium, manganese, potassium, copper, zinc, chromium, ... (this could certainly go on a while)... but aluminum is simply not part of that list.

There is plenty of research supporting the claim that the body can excrete small amounts of aluminum quite easily. But this I think is where it starts to be the subject of contention. The key word there is SMALL. But how do you define small? There is also lots of evidence out there connecting an accumulation of aluminum in the brains of Alzheimer's sufferers. The other point that we emphasize with pur alternatives is that not everybody is exactly the same. Some people are more susceptible to a skin irritation than others. Some people have allergies. Some don't. Why should aluminum in the body be any different? Perhaps some people don't excrete aluminum as well as others. My suspicion: it could certainly be liver-related. Since the liver is what eliminates toxins from the body, if the liver is not performing as well as it should, toxins will accumulate.

Let's back up for a moment to come back to the bigger picture of comparing the aluminum in the crystal deodorant to the aluminum in antiperspirants. The names are one indication of the difference: the crystal deodorant is just that: a deodorant - not and antiperspirant. You'll still sweat. But alum is antibacterial. So bacteria will not grow in the sweat that is accumulating in your armpits.

Now in either of those compounds, the aluminum is ionic aluminum. That same stuff that likes acid. In simple terms, different compounds that do different things. But it's the same aluminum in either of them. Where it differs again? The AMOUNT of aluminum. In the aluminum tetrachlorohydrate we looked at earlier, 28% of that compound is aluminum ions. In your typical alum: less than 6%. So it can be said that if the body can tolerate and efficiently excrete a small amount of aluminum, it can be said that you are less likely to accumulate aluminum from using an alum deodorant than an aluminum tetrachlorohydrate antiperspirant.

Now, I am of the belief that sweating is a natural process that your body has to do. I know not everybody shares my opinion and I know that there are many people who sweat much more than I do. All that said, at pur alternatives we have never come across an antiperspirant that is 100% natural and definitively safe. Deodorants though... well since the only purpose of a deodorant is to add a pleasant smell and/or prevent bacterial growth in the sweat, then there are other options. All of the ones that we have sourced work just as effectively (some even better than) commercial brands of deodorant or the rock crystal. And they contain zero aluminum.

There are 2 fun facts that I would like to leave you with that I learned in my research on this post:

1. Women have more sweat glands that men. However, men's sweat glands are more active. (I got that off the Right Guard website - how's that for marketing!)
2. When you get the rock crystal wet, the solution of alum and water contains sulfuric acid. This is why many people experience a reaction from the rock crystal deodorants - sulfuric acid is settling in your armpits, and yes that can certainly be irritating.

This post was partly inspired by someone much smarter than I (an actual chemist - I'm just a geologist) and who kept their original blog post WAY shorter than mine. But also by you, our customers through the many conversations we've had on this topic.

Rosacea can be dealt with naturally

Recently I was asked by a customer about treatment for rosacea. For privacy sake I won't repost her question. But I get asked about rosacea a lot. So it's high time my answer found it's way into blog form:

Tamanu oil is anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and promotes new cell growth.

"In answer to your question, we certainly do have some great products to help with your rosacea. I have heard varying reviews on them ranging from somewhat improved to amazing improvements. Certainly, everyone's skin is different, but the majority of the responses we've received have been in the very positive range. Hands-down, my top recommendation would be the Tamanu Oil we carry (from Shea Terra Organics). Tamanu is naturally anti-bacterial & anti-fungal, is super-rich in a plethora of skin-healing vitamins, promotes new cell generation, and leaves a bit of a [non-greasy] barrier on the skin to protect it. Also highly effective at healing stretch marks, scar tissue, and a variety of other skin issues. It almost always does the job and it is a single-ingredient product. So you know that is the only thing you are putting on your skin. But of course, at pur alternatives, we like to provide variety! Pangea Organics makes a fantastic facial cream that is designed for a variety of skin conditions (including rosacea). The all-new Moroccan Argan with Willow & Rosemary cream would be the best suited for the job. Willow is naturally anti-inflammatory and Argan is highly effective at skin healing (also new cell generation).

Cleansing grains are gentle on the skin and 100% plant material.

Those are my absolute two top recommendations. There are however, some less pricey products that would be somewhat effective as well. Our local manufacturer, Earth Elementals has a product, A Mid-Summer's Night Cream which may be somewhat effective as well. But I wouldn't be quite as sure. That's an area where it sometimes comes down to individual response and how bad the condition really is (sometimes it looks worse than it really is). A gentle exfoliant is also quite helpful at brightening the skin, and promoting new cell growth. Again, we can cover either end of the price point: Bare Organics' Cleansing Grains are a dry products that is nothing more than oats & seeds, but Pangea's Facial Scrub is a pre-mixed scrub rich is nourishing oils that is even more mild on the skin, using adzuki beans as an abrasive. If your problem areas are more on the body than the face, we have a number of salt or sugar body scrubs, any of which would do the trick as well"

What's that smell? Freshness? Hardly!

Since we recently had to close our storefront in Halifax, I recently went back to work. Making real money again. I sort of forgot what it was. For those of you not aware (but I did reference it in my introduction, here), I am a geologist. The big downside to my line of work though is a great deal of travel, particularly when you have a family. Of course, as sad as it was to be away from the wife and baby, it’s also an opportunity to meet people. Recently, I was working in and near a small town called Grand Le Pierre in the vicinity of the Burin Peninsula of Newfoundland. I was boarding with some lovely people. You couldn’t ask for better hosts.

The town of Grand Le Pierre.

Well, there is something I could have asked of my hosts though. The matriarch of the house does a lot of laundry. And she liked to do my laundry too. My trouble: she uses some commercial brand of laundry detergent she gets from Costco. I never did identify specifically which one (too busy to go hunting for the washing machine, etc.), but it certainly stinks. It’s one of those ones loaded with so much fragrance that “clean laundry” makes you dizzy. I meant to bring a bag of soapnuts along with me but I had to leave for Newfoundland in such haste that I forgot them. I also originally planned on just putting my dirty laundry into a bag and cleaning it when I got home to Nova Scotia again anyway. But it also seemed rude to say “I don’t want that inferior laundry detergent you use contaminating my clothes.” So since I didn’t have any of our pūr alternatives products here to offer up the better solution, I did the polite thing and let her do my laundry. That in mind, I also find it awkward for a stranger to be handling my underwear but that really is a different point.

The smell of fresh laundry may turn this man on. That is because this "fresh laundry smell" messes with your hormones. I am not this man.

 

Well, over the last few days before I finally left to come home she offered to clean my laundry so I didn’t have to return with dirty clothes. I couldn’t do it. I finally spilled the beans that the laundry detergent was making me nauseous (some days I would go on extra long excursions wearing more layers than necessary so I would sweat out the fragrance – ironic, isn’t it?). She wasn’t insulted (so far as I could tell), but rather it opened up the conversation for what I do in my other life (I rarely mentioned what my “other business” was outside of being a geologist). But in that conversation I re-realized many of the things we take for granted once we start getting so immersed in these facts. Certainly I myself, take it for granted what most other people still don’t know. Many of you, my readers may as well. Certainly, many of our customers with pūr alternatives have already done a lot of that figuring out too – so I wouldn’t be surprised if they take that for granted a bit too. And the longer you’re immersed in it, the more you distance yourself from those who just don’t know. Sadly, in that process I believe many of us are distancing ourselves from reality too. Well, social reality, anyway.

Newfoundland is a great place to get back in touch with that. Or least the non-St. John’s parts of Newfoundland. The parts of Newfoundland that you have to drive 3 hours from the nearest airport to a small coastal community of less than 300, where many of the people are retired on in-bred (first cousins often marry and procreate in these communities), and when a big storm hits the island the highways get washed out and you are stranded (you may have heard of Hurricane Igor – yes I was there). These communities are as down-to-earth as they get. Revolution doesn’t happen quickly here. We turn the wheels of change over here in the urban centres (at least this change as it stems from an educated background) but over there, the change isn’t felt until the big boys change it. Boutiques such as pūr alternatives are generally ignored. And I don’t blame them. If people don’t know there’s anything wrong with something, who would search for an alternative? These kinds of communities make up an extremely large part of Canada in general. We’ve got a lot of land here and we like our space. But the facts remain that 95% of the crap you’ll find at Wal-Mart, Zellers, Costco, Superstore, Sobeys, Canadian Tire, ... - this list could go on but you get the picture – that stuff is not safe. It’s not safe for our bodies, it’s not safe for our ecosystems, it’s not even good for our clothes. Admittedly, SOME are getting better at producing formulations that break down more efficiently in the environment. But the fragrance is still poisoning us and the detergents are still breaking down the fibres of our clothes. And really, it’s not just about laundry detergents here. This rant is easily extendable to all products that contain useless fragrance and other weird chemicals (which are usually redundant anyway).

So what is the point of this post, really? Well, certainly, in a large part just a rant. I haven’t been saying much lately and the experience with the Costco laundry detergent in Newfoundland got me fired up again. But it could also be considered a call to action. If you’re reading this you probably feel the same way as I do already. So I don’t need to convince YOU. What we all need however is to be more open. Many of us simply “suffer silently”; that is to say we politely don’t say when something is bothering us. Perhaps in casual conversation, mention how YOU feel about synthetic fragrances and the chemicals used in personal care products / cleaners / etc. Sure you can do this to/with someone you’ve talked about it before but that’s not the point. Mention it to someone who you haven’t really discussed that topic before. The idea being, that by planting these thoughts in as many peoples’ heads (even if they don’t agree with you at first) it is raising awareness. Awareness is where it all has to start and although we’re moving there and growing, we’re not even at that point yet.

There are two afterthoughts that I’d like to add to this to end this post. First, while I was away in Newfoundland, Stephanie started babysitting a friend’s child. He’s about a year older than ours and they play fairly well together. His mother though, also uses a rather pungent “fresh smelling” laundry detergent. As disgusting as children can be though, it’s the smell of his clothes that make me nauseous. Further proof perhaps that more people simply need to understand what “clean” actually means.

Justin Bieber, the new face of Proactiv

I can't help it. I saw this today and it screamed at me to comment. Justin Bieber, the "teen sensation" if you will, is now a spokeperson for Proactiv, the well-known "industry standard" in the war against acne

No doubt though, this is a brilliant move on Proactiv's part. Both kids and adults alike all love Justin Bieber. Personally I don't get it. It must have something to do with the fact that he is adorable... or at least in some peoples' eyes. Puppies are adorable. Babies are adorable (especially mine). Justin Bieber looks like a human puppy, so I can see why some people think he's so adorable.

My point of course, is that Proactiv is undoubtedly going to sell boatloads of this stuff. And that's why I thought, this would be a good time to make light of some of Proactiv's ingredients they use. Kudos to Proactiv first though. I hand it to them they are one of they few who have made their full ingredient lists nice and accessible. Check them out, right on their Canadian website.

Of course they boast their clear skin in 3 simple steps. Before anything else, let's look at the products:

Renewing Cleanser: Active Ingredient: benzoyl peroxide (2.5%). Inactive Ingredients: water, magnesium aluminum silicate, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, disodium PEG-12 dimethicone sulfosuccinate, sorbitol, dimethyl isosorbide, tridecyl stearate, neopentyl glycol dicaprylate/dicaprate, polyethylene, cetyl esters, anthemis nobilis flower extract, sodium hyaluronate, , sodium PCA, xantham gum, tridecyl trimellitate, propylene glycol, imidazolidinyl urea, methylparaben, propylparaben, fragrance (parfum).

Revitalizing Toner: Ingredients: water, glycolic acid, hamamelis virginiana (witch hazel) extract, anthemis nobilis flower extract, rosa canina fruit extract, aloe barbensis leaf juice, sodium PCA, panthenol, glycerin, propylene glycol, allantoin, polysorbate 20, hydroxyethylcellulose, sodium hydroxide, benzophenone-4, tetrasodium EDTA, imidazolidinyl urea, methylparaben, propylparaben, fragrance (parfum), blue 1(CI 42090), yellow 5 (CI 19140).

Reparing Lotion: Active Ingredients: benzoyl peroxide (2.5%). Inactive Ingredients: water, ethoxydiglycol, cyclotetrasiloxane, propylene glycol, cetearyl alcohol, dimethicone, glyceryl stearate, PEG-100 stearate, cyclopentasiloxane, panthenol, allantoin, xanthan gum, ceteareth-20, carbomer, triethanolamine, diazolidinyl urea, methylparaben, propylparaben, fragrance (parfum).

By now you're probably noticing the trend. And in my usual fashion I've highlighted the not-so-nice ingredients in red. The cleanser and lotion both contain benzoyl peroxide as an active ingredient. Now I do understand the purpose of the ingredient and you should too. The idea is that it "cleanses" deep into the pores and in the case of the lotion I suppose you get the double whammy of cleansing those pores and then providing the added protection of the "moisture". Chemically burn it all out is more like though. Let's just back this tractor up a bit here and check out the benzoyl peroxide MSDS. Aside from big warning labels like "TOXIC", "HIGHLY FLAMMABLE", and "EXPLOSIVE", under its Toxicology section you'll also find statements like: "Possible tumor promoter. May act as a mutagen. Toxic by inhalation. May be harmful if swallowed and in contact with the skin. Eye, skin, and respiratory irritant." One other toxic stat I'd like to point out: "Typical TLV 5 mg per cubic metre." Using a simple calculation (and I admit I am skewing this to the extreme a bit) this value basically states that an average human may experience chronic toxic effects at 0.5 ppm of benzoyl peroxide under daily, repeated exposure. Admittedly, there are any number of variables on getting that chronic exposure but rest assured, at this small a proportion, a chronic toxic exposure can be reached. The 2.5% found in Proactiv's products is equivalent to 25,000 ppm. Without really getting into my own opinions (I am not a toxicologist), with this concentration of benzoyl peroxide, used once daily (or twice) in two products (one of which remains on the skin rather than being washed away) with no intention of stopping usage, would you still feel safe using this product? And one of the issues with Proactiv and other similar products is that they create a dependence on the product. The idea being that you get results, and then if you think you can stop - and you do - the breakouts come back and you need to go back to using them.

And that's just all stuff to say about the Active Ingredient! Among our inactive ingredients we've got the usual slew of garbage. Filler ingredients like propylene glycol, dimethicone (silicone), polyethylene (plastic), and hydroxyethylcellulose (another thickener). Toss in some emulsifiers and preservatives like tetrasodium EDTA, triethanolamine, some PEG compunds, polysorbate, cyclo-siloxanes, the two parabens, and the two urea compounds, and you've got your hormone disrupters & mimickers, skin & respiratory irritants, carcinogens, and potential organ mutagens. Again yes, I'm generalizing here but I think you still understand my point.

Back to "The Beeb" though. As if Justin Bieber already didn't look like a girl, all these estrogen-mimicking ingredients are just going to keep pushing him in that direction.

Now all that in mind, I also feel compelled to add that yes, there are natural alternatives to acne. Keeping in mind that everyone's skin is different and what good for the goose isn't always good for the gander, options exist. One of our good customers has had some experience with some of our products, and she was kind enough to review her experience. Check it out here. Aside from her experience with Black Soap, Pangea Organics (one of our premiere suppliers) offer some exceptional products that follow the same regime, some are formulated specifically for demanding & blemish-prone skin. Products like the Cleanser, Toner, and Facial Cream serve the same purpose without the toxic burden. Consider also acne-fighting oils like Argan Oil and Tamanu Oil and rest assured there are options. And you don't necessarily have to spend a lot on these products too. Gentle exfoliants like Organic Cleansing Grains have helped many as well. I could probably go on but again, I bet you get my point.

I've always been bad at conclusions. Instead I'll just leave you with this other adorable image:

The Dry Hair Saga: The Epic Struggle

Wow. I can't believe it took me this long to get another post up. But sometime it's okay to wait. Today topic is one that's been a pretty big deal for me for a long time.

I have dry hair. It’s been an “issue” for as long as I’ve cared about my hair. And although I’ve had my hair since birth (well, it’s probably safe to assume before birth, actually), I’ve cared about my hair in some form or another since a pretty young age. Granted, it hasn’t been until recently that I realized it was actually dry hair. I just thought of it as frizzy hair. Advisory: my dry hair does cause me to bias my opinion.

The “wet look” has always worked for me; perhaps because it’s been my comfort zone. Keeping my hair short has worked over the years too, but early in my twenties I realized that I had wonderfully wavy hair when I grew it out. The past ten years has since been an on again-off again battle to find balance between the frizz and the curls. It is noteworthy that I also RARELY visit hair stylists. As a vegetarian, they are my definition of butchers. And I have yet to meet one who has been up to the task of working with my longish hair (short hair stylists you’re excused from this allegation). Since 2004 I have shaved my head bald (or nearly bald) on at least 4 occasions and let the hair grow back naturally. I have been to two hair stylists in that time. One did an okay enough job, but by no means wowing me. The other I shaved off her handiwork within two weeks.

In my early twenties I tried to ‘tame the frizz’ with plasticky pomades, gels, mousses, and everything that the perfumey girl at Shopper’s Drug Mart told me to use. The objective being to “weigh it down” (as per perfume-girl’s suggestion). I went with it, but in my gut I always knew something was off about that motive. In my mid-twenties I starting noticing that my frizz started to be under control a lot more if I only shampooed once every 2 or 3 days (beyond that would be too greasy and my head usually itched from being dirty). That was progress but then there was that first day or so after I shampooed again... How to control that frizz? Sometimes I’d wear a hat, sure, but I’ve never really been much for hats either. Answer? They say that once it gets long enough the weight of my hair will be enough and control the frizz. But my hair was nearly down to my shoulders and still crazy frizzy as soon as it dried. How much longer am I supposed to wait? Oh screw it, shave it off again, I suppose.

And such was the sequence for years. In 2009 that was changing though. We were planning on (and apparently eventually did) opening pūr alternatives. And although I’m not sure I quite took in the level of my involvement until it was too late I saw it as an opportunity to showcase my beautiful curly locks, maintained with all natural hair products. But that was intimidating. I hadn’t been having a lot of luck with keeping my hair and natural products were different than synthetic ones. A bit sceptical.... but obviously gotta try. With the crap that’s in mainstream hair products, I’ve got nothing to lose (worst case scenario it’s back to shaving it off). So I started experimenting with some natural shampoos for a while, and trying my best with natural conditioners. Before we opened I wasn’t having much luck with styling products. But by October that had also changed. After we were open I learned I was not the only one sceptical of making the switch to natural hair products. Apparently a lot of you were as well. So the time has come to throw down some serious thoughts on the natural hair care products at pūr alternatives.

My hair was considerably shorter when we first opened due to a recent “buzz with futility”. The flip side of that though is that my hair now has never been touched with the chemical toxins you find at your nearest drugstore. But straight to the point: favourite kind of shampoo we carry? Big ups from me to the Dr. Bronner’s All In One with Shikakai Extract. It comes in 5 scents (4 essential oil mixes and one unscented) and 2 sizes of each. My personal favourite is a toss-up between the Spearmint-Peppermint or the Tea Tree, but to each their own. Why do I like that one best? Well, again, coming back to my dry hair, it’s the greasiest. Not too greasy, but it’s not short on moisturizing oils like olive, coconut, and of course the one that Dr. Bronner’s is most infamous for – hemp. Some have criticized Dr. Bronner’s though of the opposite: that it is drying. True too – it is a soap after all and even the best soaps have a tendency to dry (albeit not remotely comparable to the detergents you’ll find in other products) – however, the mixup there stems from the traditional Dr. Bronner’s blend, which at this time, we don’t stock at pur alternatives (only so much room for inventory). No, the kind we stock takes the traditional Dr. Bronner’s Castile Soap and adds the Shikakai Extract.

Take this caveat though: Dr. Bronner’s All-In-Ones are exactly that. This means that they can be used as shampoo, body wash, hand soap, or even a household soap if you so desire. However, because your scalp has a different pH than your body (the scalp is more acidic... I think) they are slightly more tailored for soaps. This is why when most people (myself included) use soap for a shampoo, your hair goes insanely frizzy. Solution: naturally, the Dr. Bronner’s Conditioning Hair Rinse. It rebalances the pH of your hair and adds plenty more moisture. Call it whatever you want – “shampoo & conditioner”, “soap & hair rinse”, or whatever other name you may want to give it – it is the cure to my dry hair.

Now sure, that’s my personal preferences. Does that mean that the other products we sell are crap? Hardly! In fact the shampoo bars we carry from Bare Organics, Earth Elementals, and Rocky Mountain Soap Company all deserve honourable mentions. Particularly the first two, but Rocky Mountain is actually launching their all-new shampoo bar soon so I may revisit that one. No, actually these shampoo bars have at least three awesome things going for them:

 1)      They are great for traveling because they are small and are not liquids (curse you air travel regulations!)

2)      They are cheap, ranging from $4.99 (Rocky Mountain) to $7 (Bare Organics). Local purveyors of awesome soap Earth Elementals comfortably occupy the middle ground at a mere $6.

3)      Because they are “cold manufactured” they retain all the great properties of the oils used in them (i.e., olive, coconut, castor, etc.). That also means there is no need for a conditioner!

Regarding the last point if you are a fellow dry hair sufferer a conditioner certainly doesn’t hurt. I usually do what with my hair being a bit longer again, but when it was shorter I didn’t. So absolutely try it without a conditioner first. And if you feel you would still benefit, we’ve got two wonderful options by Earthsafe, a Canadian company that bases all their formulations on tree resins. The only way it could get more Canadian would be if you added beer to it too. But beer is not great for hair; I’ve been there but that’s a totally different discussion altogether.

Summary: hair care products are notoriously hard to come by with an ingredient commitment as strict as ours – unless you opt for the baking soda & vinegar rinse method. Which works for some but what we’ve found is smoother and smells nicer. And with my hair, smoother makes the difference. And smelling nice is nice too ;)

Off Topic - Bread: What do you really "knead"?

I’ve been going through a bit of a bread crisis lately. Most people who pay lots of attention to ingredients already make the changes in their food. Not entirely with me though. I think it’s something that I’ve taken for granted though. Probably since I’m a vegetaran and cook most of my own food (and for my family) we buy organic produce where possible (and affordable) and we don’t buy much in the way of prepared foods. But I hadn’t been paying much attention to bread.

Until just these last couple of weeks. One ingredient in particular has been glaring at me and found in just about every bread product out there. Calcium propionate. Now, with a word like “propionate” in its name, that just doesn’t sound natural. It doesn’t sound right. Turns out I was right. It’s not natural. It is also a registered pesticide. And with someone who has come down hard on things like “coconut-derived surfactants” and “food-grade preservative” in personal care products, why would I be okay with a pesticide in my bread?

For everyone’s pleasure (maybe “reference” would be a better term?) I thought I’d put together a few stats on calcium propionate (aka, calcium propanoate):

• Chemical formula: C6H10CaO4

• In its pure form, commonly a fine white powder

• Used as a preservative in foods because it prevents microbes from producing the energy they need to flourish, thereby inhibiting the growth of mould.

• Like many toxins, any side effects [are likely to] stem from chronic dosages; i.e., the small doses found in a single serving of bread (like a sandwich) are highly unlikely to cause any reaction; however, long term exposure (i.e., ingesting) can yield results such as:
• physical responses, such as headaches, stomach aches, digestive difficulties, skin rashes, & compromised immune systems, and/or

• behavioural responses, such as irritability, depression, fatigue, impairment of memory & concentration, restlessness, insomnia, night terrors, and more.

• The U.S. EPA rates calcium propionate as slightly toxic (not especially alarming as even many good and essential substances like vitamin C are also rated as such); however, its parent chemical, propionic acid (propionic acid + ionic calcium = calcium propionate) is highly toxic.

Of course my favourite among that list (and I bet yours too!) is the potential behavioural side effects. Few studies have been done on the matter - in fact I’ve only found actual reference to one – and that one study had a small sampling, of only 27 participants. That said, of the 27 children tested, 14 - a relative high proportion experienced a number of those side effects. Unfortunately, the results had to be considered inconclusive due to 4 subjects who responded similarly with the placebo. Nevertheless, in my opinion those numbers should at least be compelling enough to warrant further, larger scale study. I understand though that larger scale study requires significantly more money and I’m guessing the people & institutions with that kind of dough (pun intended) have better things to spend it on. On top of that, I can’t deny that there is a lot more evidence supporting the safety of the ingredient than its toxicity.

So for those of us who would rather be safe than sorry, what do we do? Well, the easiest answer is to make your own bread and make sure you sanitize your countertops with vinegar. Supporting your local baker is one suggestion too. But take that one with some caution: not all bakeries list their ingredients (yes they SHOULD, but there are loopholes for small scale enterprises, so they might not HAVE TO) and they may very well still use calcium propionate (or sodium propionate which isn’t much different and serves the same purpose). The flip side of that is that they might not be using calcium propionate but their sanitary conditions be not be great and you’ll end up with bread that goes mouldy really fast. I think this is what happened to me. If you have a deep freezer I would suggest the first but make an event out of it! Invite some friends over, have some wine (there are some toxins that even I can’t bring myself to cut out) and make a couple dozen loaves of bread. It would be epic. And it should be fun.

I confess though. It’s easier to give advice than take it. Me, I make a loaf when I can, sometimes avoid bread since I can’t find a loaf I’m happy with, and sometime suck it up and one pesticide-laden bread. In my opinion though. Be more safe than sorry. Especially if you have children, avoid breads with calcium propionate. This ingredient is bioaccumulative and poses some very interesting (and common) risks of behavioural side effects. One brand I should mention that does not use it is the Ezekial 4:9 kind. Not surprisingly it’s always found frozen and it’s made from sprouted grains – so it’s even healthier than most other breads! It is a bit pricy though at usually more than $5 or $6 per loaf. Comparatively speaking, making your own bread usually costs less than $1 per loaf (I’ve never really worked it out precisely but I’ve heard ranges from $0.10 to $1, averaging in the $0.30 ballpark). I stand by my suggestion of making your own bread though. It gives you a wonderful feeling of self worth when you’ve made it, smells wonderful, and you know that you only put healthy ingredients in there. And if you didn’t at least you know nothing else was “snuck in”.

Dirty Laundry - Part 2: The Conundrum of Borax

I promise I’ll stop talking about laundry soon. But before I do there was a topic I wanted to share with you regarding one of the ingredients in one of our products. We almost didn’t allow it. I am referring to the borax in the Earth Elementals Laundry Soap. Borax is very effective at killing bacteria. So it does a great job at making your clothes not smell. Unfortunately, it’s also good at killing other things: like insects, plants, and if you eat enough of it then yes, people too.

But let’s back that up a moment and straighten out some facts. Borax, aka sodium borate (Na2BO3) is closely related to common table salt (NaCl). They are both naturally occurring minerals that are commonly found together (albeit the salt in much higher proportions), having formed as precipitate minerals from dried ancient seas. That said, I still would not advise sprinkling some borax on your potatoes. And just as salt is an integral factor in the stability of our ecosystems, so is boron in borates. We all need a little bit but too much could kill us. Don’t worry about getting enough though; just like salt we generally get enough through natural sources.

Of course we’re not talking about trying to maintain the balance in our ecosystems here. Make no mistake, borax is poisonous. But why is it poisonous? What happens? I’ve heard a variety of numbers and I honestly don’t know which to trust: some say as little as 15-20 g can kill an adult human (or as little as 5 g to kill a child or small pet) and yet the WHO lists borax as “Unlikely to be acutely toxic”, which based on their classification indicates that a rat can consume up to 2 g or more of borax per kg of its body weight (although rats can tolerate slightly higher levels than humans that index of toxicity is the norm). That number roughly translates to saying that a 70 kg (155 lb) adult can consume about 150 g of borax – given the proportions present that’s up to 1/3 of a bag of Earth Elementals Laundry Soap. I wouldn’t recommend testing that though. Even still, what I have taken away is that borax is more toxic with chronic exposure than it is acutely. That means it’s easier to kill someone using a small amount of borax repeatedly for a long time allowing it to build up in the body slowly than it would be to give them a big heaping serving of borax and just expect them to die from it. Also, males appear to be more sensitive to it than females – specifically the testicles. Apparently chronic borax exposure is also effective at making a man infertile. This however, is not my recommended method of birth control. All that in mind, chronic borax exposure is still not as easy as that. Under many “normal” conditions, borax can be filtered by the kidneys (and excreted in urine) and not accumulate in the body. The most damaging conditions generally require absorption through damaged / burnt / infected skin. I assume the same could be said for internal scar tissue and ulcers.

This however, is why we boycotted borax in skin care products. See, it is also an effective emulsifier (allowing oils and water to mix) as well as preservative. So you can understand our stance on not allowing creams and balms that contain borax. But coming back to those cleaners: Earth Elementals recommends that their laundry soap is also a great all-purpose cleaner when mixed with water (and it is – we’ve tried). My advice: don’t worry about it. The amount of borax present in a solution of cleaner based on that product is relatively small. And unless you have particularly damaged skin and are using the product 6 or 7 times a day every single day (NOTE: these numbers are somewhat arbitrary) you’ll be fine. And even if you are, or you just want to be extra careful, wear gloves.

Now if this has been filled with, or even speckled with interesting new facts on borax, please don’t go killing people. Or even rats for that matter.