No Buying Unnecessary Toiletries in January 2012 Challenge!

evilsquid1603

MoneyQueen wrote: »

Hi, haven't gone through any of the posts for the last couple of days as we have been busy but I was looking at a homemade deep conditioner recipe when came across this site. It basically tells you how safe the Products you are using are. I don't know how correct the data is but may be it's of interest to someone.

http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/

MQ

PLEASE don't listen to skin deep!

i did my dissertation on ingredients in cosmetics and most of the ingredients websites like this that claim your face wash will give you cancer (not joking or over exaggerating, my elemis one will apparently http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/product/222619/Elemis_Tri-Enzyme_Resurfacing_Facial_Wash/) just repeat what someone else in some book said rather than actually look at the science behind it. as a scientist, if someone tells me they have "limited" or "fair" data on something i'd ignore it until they can say its "conclusive" or at least give me a reference that shows me where on earth their info came from. these sites always have a glaring lack of recent scientific references to anything they say.

EWG are still quoting the flawed 1997 Darbre report on parabens and have ignored the ones from the early 2000's AND all the ones rubbishing it. the 1997 Darbre contained no controls and when the scientific community told her to check other parts of the body, normal tissue had higher amounts of parabens in than the cancer tissue (the ignored early 2000's reports). Dr Darbre herself has since admitted the parabens were actually from the cleaning detergent used to clean her glassware with :wall: they are the safest and most effective preservatives on the market today and they are naturally found in fruit. your apple? chock full of parabens. how do they all know it definitely came from their lotions and not the apples they ate all day everyday?


i dragged up all the original scientific reports and evaluated the ones i could find for my dissertation. i refuse to use SLS/SLES because it is drying. i refuse to use petrolatum and mineral oil because all it does is form a barrier on your skin to stop moisture getting out, it does not replace lost moisture (if you have chapped lips, chuck vaseline and use a lip balm based on plant oils and beeswax) and i think one day we're probably going to need the oil for a useful purpose rather than slathering it all over ourselves.

fragrance is another dodgy one to look for. it can literally be a combination of anything and the company doesn't have to legally tell you their blend because it is commercially sensitive. it can range from organic essential oils and plant extracts to synthetics to animal derivatives. i prefer to use "greener" cosmetics purely because they are usually more upfront about their fragrance blends.

also, contrary to what these sites believe, 60% of everything you put on your skin does NOT get into your bloodstream. think about it, skin wouldn't be a very good barrier if it let through 60% of the lotions as well as 60% of all water it comes into contact with, 60% of all the pollution you encounter on a daily basis, 60% of all the bacteria living on your surface, 60% of the cold viruses you come into contact with etc. a few things will get through but they are specifically designed to i.e. nicotine on nicotine patches and creams you need to get on prescription.

if you want to know what the chemicals actually are i'd have a look round http://thebeautybrains.com/. it is written by cosmetic scientists who will tell it like it is. they look at formulas and tell you what everything does. they also point out the plant ingredients added that do absolutely nothing for you but look nice on the label and make us believe its a natural wonderful product when its basically l'oreal with added random plants and an extra fiver on the price.

sorry for the rant. these sites just make me really, really angry. i can't believe the stuff they all get away with.

VALM wrote: »

I wanted to post today to thank evilsquid for posting about the Elemis kits still on sale in Debenhams. We went on Thursday and bought this kit: https://www.timetospa.co.uk/gifts/elemis/Elemis-Superstars/ for £33.75. if you have a local Debenhams that sell Elemis it may be worth having a look there. Considering a pot of PCMC is usually £48.00 I thought this was a bargain. Could have done without having more Frangipani products though!

your welcome! thats the kit my mum bought 2 of at xmas! :rotfl:

PudseyDB

sunshineyday wrote: »

morning ladies,

Another UU to report - alberto balsam green apple shampoo, I quite liked this one actually and IIRC it was pretty cheap. I had a look around and I have 4 opened bottles of shampoo on the go, although granted one is almost finished, but seriously -4!! - I only have one head!!!!

happy pampering, xx

I often buy this for my eldest daughter - she has a shower every night and gets through a bottle of shampoo & conditioner roughly every two weeks. she says its good and it suits my purse!

PudseyDB

Forgot to mention - might have to <gasp> throw something out!! Younger daughter gave me a raspberry body shop butter that she said she didnt want any more because it makes her smell like a fruit salad :rotfl:

Decided to try it last night on my arms and legs and...urghhhh....it really doesnt smell very nice on me - although it smells lovely in the pot Pity cos it sank in really easily and definately does a good job.

sawan82

sawan82 wrote: »

I'm gone for less than a week and you give me 12 pages to catch up on!! I've only just read the first post, so firstly

Happy New Year!!

(Better late than never imo ) Off to read your lovely tempting stash lists, I'll be back tomorrow I think at this rate!! :rotfl:

Just got to my own post now :eek: :eek: Three pages to go!!

Becky_2

First UU of the year to declare: Decleor's hydra floral facial cream, this was a free sample tube. It was good but I wont buy again since I have now discovered Sanctuary's facial products they are both better for me and half the price compare to Decleor. Also, I didn't like the Neroli serum that you are meant to put on before the cream so. I used the cream as a night cream and the serum has become my night hand cream which does a brilliant job for my dry hands.

So far I have not bought any toiletries this year, I am aiming for not buying any this month

Good luck to you all with using up your products.

one_hit_wonder11

Hi all

I would love to join this group, im the worst at seeing something that looks pretty and buying it.

I will make a full invantory when i get home,

May even give some of the razor blades and toothpaste away if i have as much as i think i do.

sunshineyday

:T:Tevilsquid1603 - just wanted to say your last post on cosmetic ingredients and marketing etc was brilliant, sometimes common sense really does get blinded by misguided nonsense and advertising hype

asset2004

Have spend the morning trying to track down a fcuk bag, none is any of the 6 Boots I called :mad:

sawan82

asset2004 wrote: »

Have spend the morning trying to track down a fcuk bag, none is any of the 6 Boots I called :mad:

Oxford Street had a million (ok, slight exaggeration) last week. But that's obviously only helpful if you're in London

I can't reply to everybody's posts that I want to - serves me right for not reading regularly.

Bev97, Sunshineyday and PudseyDB it's great to see some familiar faces return!! I am still a total nail polish addict I'm attempting a blog to help me use all my polishes. It's not working well with UUs obviously, but I can go back and see which colours I really like

I also use more of items when I'm closer to a UU or I don't really like them. Why prolong the agony? It's not very MSE, but I have so much stuff. I probably use about 25-40% more when I'm finishing shower gels off. Everything else the amount is the same. I mean, how much moisturiser can I put on my face?? :rotfl:

I've been spending the past 12 hours resisting the Naked 2 palette. I'm doing well so far - so yay me!!

FannyAdams_2

excellent post evilsquid! I've been wondering about SLS and Silicones lately, it's on of those subjects where once you dip your toe in you feel like your sucked into a bog of confusion and contradiction. It's very difficult to know who to listen to.