safe alternitives to harmful beautie products

[demi]

do you think bicarbonate of soad is better for your teeth than the aluminium oxide?

[The Riff-Raff Element]

do you think bicarbonate of soad is better for your teeth than the aluminium oxide?

I think the combination - the aluminium oxide to scrape off the accumulated crud and the bicarb to nuetralise plaque acids - is pretty good. The science for adding a touch of flouride looks solid too. In fact, toothpaste all round appears to be a fairly good idea. Execpt, as I have previously vouchsafed, for the SLS.

[demi]

cant they just make toothpaste without the SLS in it? whats it there for, as a preservative? isnt there a safer alternitive?

i cant seem to find any 'safe' toothpastes. and im not going to give up regular toothpaste until i can find a decent alternitive, if there is such a thing?

but its making me worry about using it on the kids. i guess thats why i was always told not to swallow it, and iv been telling my daughter just to swallow it if iv brushed her teeth away from the sink somwhere. now i feel bad for that!

[gregorach]

It's amazing what you can find on the internet these days... http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=sls+free+toothpaste

[demi]

cheers Dunc!

[demi]

this:

http://breast-cancer-research.com/content/11/S3/S5/ref


from a peer reviewed scientific journal about parabens in deoderants possible link with breast cancer.

there needs to be futher research done on this issue as there does seem to be cause for concern.
and if a link is proven this is a huge public health issue which needs to be adressed.

[the.fee.fairy]

I like MMU cosmetics (makemesmooth.com) They're a bit pricey and they're from Canada, but their products are great. I really love their Just Veggin deodorant.

I also have a deep and unending love for Lush, even though lots of people don't like them. I used to use their aromacreme deodorant too, but then they changed the recipe and it made my pits itch. Now I use their solid deodorant with a dusting of the coconut deodorant powder. It's smells gorgeous!

Try looking into making your own beauty products. There are thousands of recipes on the net.

Some good books: Earthly Bodies, Heavenly Hair, Not Just A Pretty Face - they're good places to start.

[demi]

thank you fee i will have a look.

i ran out of deoderant the other day too and iv been using bicarbonate of soda mixed with a blob of moisturiser as deoderant which seems to be working . although the cream probably has bad ingridients in it, iv not checked. iv asked my mum to source me some shea butter ect so i can try making my own soaps, creams and deoderants.

[safronsue]

i have a few favourite kitchen skin/hair care items. top is olive oil. soap just dries my skin and makes it flaky. i use olive oil daily on my face and often on my scalp for flakiness. put olive oil on face and either steam with a hot flannel covering and then just wipe off with same flannel or use cotton wool bud. i keep meaning to do an infusion with herbs but i never get round to it.
oats, for body srubbing, instead of soap. honey for hair lightening and also for flakiness again and also for blemishes and....coldsores. great on coldsores.
there are so many remedies to be found online but really the olive oil treatment is the one i would not be without, its the only thing to get rid of flaky scalp for me.
i plan on trying bs for deoderant this summer. thanks for the tip

[demi]

its really hot here today but my bicarb is working fine :)

only thing is though that its gritty and making my under arms sensitive and today when i put it on it was like rubbing sand papper under my arms! maybe i could make up a big batch ( instead of just mixing it in may hands at the time ) and if i mixed it in properly maybe the bicarb will dissolve and get rid ot the grittyness. i will try this now and report back......

[demi]

iv just realised bicarb dosnt dissolve

i found a tub of baby cream which doesnt have any parabens or SLS or anything else thats been mentioned in it.
mixed it with bicarb in a bowl, and now iv got a good body scrub!

if i heat it up will it dissolve do you think?

[The Riff-Raff Element]

Bi-carb is pretty soluble stuff, but in water, not in oils, so it rather depends on whether the cream you're mixing it with is aqueous base or not. Are you sure that the bi-carb is pure? If it is not stored well (left to get hot in direct sunlight, for example) then it can start to break down to produce sodium carbonate (aka washing soda) and this is an irritant.

[demi]

I bought 1kg of bicarb about 2 months ago and i store it in a big glass jar with a screw lid ( oversized jam jar ) so its sealed, and its relatively new. its just out on the shelf in the kitchen as i use it for pancakes quite often and im now starting to use it for just about everything! but its not in direct sunlight.

the cream is quite greasy and oily, its baby cream so its really thick.

do you think if i just keep mixing it it will eventually disolve? or can i heat it up? maybe the oily cream will melt and become more liquidy and easier to mix and disolve the bicarb? or should i just give up with that and start again with a non oily cream ?

[Helsbells]

I know I mentioned it before but it may have got lost in my wordy post, Akamuti is very good for shea butter and all sorts of natural oil based moisturisers, I love it, their website is www.akamuti.co.uk.

[The Riff-Raff Element]

do you think if i just keep mixing it it will eventually disolve? or can i heat it up? maybe the oily cream will melt and become more liquidy and easier to mix and disolve the bicarb? or should i just give up with that and start again with a non oily cream ?

I think you'd get a better result with a non-oily cream: it will never dissolve in the oil and if you heat it it'll speed up the decomposition into carbonate. Sounds as though it should still be pretty pure, which is good.