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 ;)