Beauty Tips For Body Care
Over the past few years, I have become increasingly interested in and concerned by the environmental impacts driven by frank consumption (from clothing / textile industry, furniture, home, cosmetics) and I've been trying to do my part to decrease my environmental footprint.I also realize that life is a balance: I work full time, live in a city, drive a car, and rely on purchasing goods and services, so while dropping off the grid is not a realistic option, I think there is the potential to do much better on a daily basis (both as individuals, but also in learning to hold corporations more accountable, which is obviously a much biggest beast).Sadly, I think there is so much green-washing in the industry that it is essential that the consumer to take anything labeled "green" "natural" "clean" "eco-friendly" with a very large grain of salt. There's no avoiding that these companies are businesses first, and money will always be top priority and the bottom line. No matter how they package it, the environment will fall much lower on the list.To start, we know that natural doesn't always mean better, safer, or less environmental impact. One common thing I have found is that many "natural" companies often tout a signature miracle-ingredient with similar marketing to superfoods (ex: Josie Maran's Argan Oil, DE's marula oil, Biossance's squalane in addition to cica/madecassoside, tamanu oil...etc). While there might be decent evidence behind some of these ingredients, this type of marketing always makes me wary as it is not dissimilar to "superfood" marketing which has led to increased global demand for not so global foods / products and consequentially, has had detrimental environmental and social impact (ex: acai, tuna, quinoa, chocolate, coffee, etc.). Am I the only one who sees red flags when a company describes some ingredient "sourced deep in this remote rainforest location from this rare plant..."? I find that I'm less concerned about efficacy claims (that's on us to be discerning), but because of the potential ecological impact.Wondering what everyone's thoughts are on this, or if anyone has come across good data or other examples regarding the environmental impact & hype.I'm honestly uncertain of the true environmental impact of mineral oil and petroleum-derived ingredients in cosmetics, but I tend to avoid it, I guess to be on the safe-side. I have heard of the impacts of mica mining as well.I only recently learned that squalane is not 100% reliably plant-derived (I thought this was a biossance marketing gimmick, but looks like there is some substance there). While it looks like many US companies are using sugar-cane derived squalane, globally, I'm concerned there still might be heavy reliance on shark-sourced squalane due to decreased cost. While I don't draw a hard line on animal-testing, I do draw a hard line on throwing marine ecosystems out of balance for my skin cream...Any thoughts on caprylic / capric triglyceride? Looks like it can be derived from coconut or palm. I quick google search didn't reveal much regarding any potential environmental impact, but I can't help but wonder if this may be a tentacle from the palm oil industry. (This, along with SLS and everything else labeled palmitoyl-, palm-anything).I'd like to know more about the greater (often hidden) environmental impact of skincare and hear what changes you've made (if any) with sustainability and responsible consumption in mind. Our collective knowledge and always changing, and I do not believe it is possible to be perfect. I'm hoping to learn more and use this knowledge to inform future purchases and practices...always trying to stay more on the evidence-based rather than fear mongering side of things.This post became extremely long, so I apologize! There are so many other topics and thoughts I had, but I'm going to stop here. Thank you for reading if you made it this far! I really appreciate any thoughts or advice. Also apologies if this isn't the right forum, or if I didn't use the right tag or post on the right day...I don't post often, but have learned so much from this sub over the past 6 years or so, and been hoping to have larger and informed discussion that extends beyond my immediate group of friends.Here are a few links as well (I realize all studies and references have their own flaws including age):Environmental impact of superfoods: https://besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/pan3.10085)Analysis of squalane origins (old report, but seems to be the only of its kind): http://www.bloomassociation.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/squalane-bloom-english-1.pdfMica Mining Impact (not a scientific journal): https://india.mongabay.com/2019/10/mica-scavenging-in-jharkhand-destroys-lives-and-environment/Palm Oil (not a journal, but good write-up that explains some of the controversy re: palm oil derivatives in cosmetics): https://thenakedchemist.com/why-palm-oil-is-controversial/
Girls Blog 2015
Submitted by girafffe
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