Evening Out Magazine – Food for the Skin

Your skin eats —when it comes to food, we often think exclusively about that which we ingest orally and digest, not paying any attention to the food our skin ingests. That’s right…60% of the substances we put on our skin is readily absorbed by our bodies. From the shampoos, hairsprays, lotions, creams, toothpastes, and cosmetics to even the quality of fibres in the textiles we wear.

There are many natural preservatives such as essential oils and grapefruit seed extract so don’t become a victim to the idea that synthetic chemicals are necessary to create a product with a decent shelf life. Nature can give us up to 18 months of using highly pure, bio-active, effective and cold-formulated treasures for our skin, hair, and body.

Many of the commercially available personal care products such as toiletries and cosmetics are highly toxic as they contain synthetic chemicals such as: sodium laureth/lauryl sulfate; phthalates; the family of parabens including methyl-, butyl, and propylparaben; the ethanolamines— MEA, DEA, TEA; as well as PPG, PEG and the FD&C dyes.

To protect your health:
1) Start reading the labels on your personal care products and eliminate certain classes of chemicals that are known to be harmful to you and your environment;
2) Focus on the "edible" nature of the ingredients;
3) Slowly incorporate non-toxic and non-irritating fibres (such as organic cotton, hemp, bamboo and soy) into your wardrobe, especially your intimate wear;
4) Use natural soaps to launder your clothing. This can minimize dryness, rashes, eczema and other difficulties of the skin as chlorine and other known cancer-causing chemicals are also avoided.
5) Remember that "natural" only means that the ingredient is derived from nature, but does not address the purity of the end product or the potentially harmful processing it might have undergone.
For the full article, http://www.imforreal.com/IFR_pdfs/htrlabels.pdf

Michael Solomon is the owner of I’m for REAL, an eco-lifestyle store in Mississauga that sells organic, sustainable and repurposed items from personal care products to clothing, baby, bed and bath as well as green home renovation materials.

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They’re for Real

Shelley-Ann Solomon calls her business “conscious commerce.”
“It’s about people making a conscious choice to live according to the values they talk about,” she says standing in her I’m For REAL (Revolutionizing Environmental Awareness and Lifestyles) store in the heart of Streetsville. “It’s about understanding that we can do this in small steps; that it’s very important for us to create a better environmental legacy for our children than the path we’re currently on.”
Shelley-Ann and her husband Michael (who is in the St. Mary’s University Hall of Fame for his prowess as a basketball small forward) have shoehorned an amazing array of organic and recycled products, from the linoleum and cork flooring you walk upon to the art that hangs on the wall, into about 700 square feet of floor space down a little lane on the west side of Queen St., immediately south of Pearl St.
It’s not easy to find. You either have to walk down Gagliano Lane from Queen or head to the municipal parking lot in the back before it becomes visible. It’s worth the effort, however, for those who want to put their money where their environmental conscience is.
From portable solar panels to fair trade organic chocolate, from jewellery made from Tagua (vegetable ivory) to belts made from recycled tires (guaranteed to give you 100,000 miles of wear), everything in the store showcases sustainability.
There’s more hemp in this store that in half the head shops in Vancouver.
Opened on Earth Day in April, the Solomons are hoping that their business is as sustainable as their attitudes.
Shelley-Ann, who holds a master’s degree in behavioural medicine, loves to explode the “myth of the purity of cotton” for prospective young mothers. “They use 84 million pounds of insecticides to grow this crop,” she says. Rather than putting insecticides next to baby’s body, where they can be absorbed through the skin, Solomon sells organic cotton, which is processed mechanically rather than chemically. You’ll pay a premium for it, of course, but you’ll feel a lot better when you put baby to bed.
“My rule of thumb is if you can’t eat it, don’t put it next to your skin,” says Solomon.
From candles to hand cream, the philosophy is the same. And Shelley-Ann loves to talk about it.
“I’m the talker. He’s the quiet one,” she says pointing to her husband, who smiles and nods on cue.
Be forewarned. You may go into I’m For Real looking for a shopping experience, but after you’ve heard Shelley-Ann impart her philosophy of environmental responsibility, you may feel as if you’ve had a spiritual one

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