Last weekend I got married, and for the sake of transparency here, no, it was not an all-natural affair. Siobhan and I have long conceded that industrial strength antiperspirant, waterproof mascara (we all had a good cry), and long-lasting foundation have their place at special occasions. And while the smell of the super-hold hairspray gave me pause, I was very happy not to worry about my do’ collapsing mid-evening.
The other thing I did for the event, which I have not done in nearly two years now, is polish my nails. If you read the book you know that nail polish and remover are among the worst offenders when it comes to nasty chemicals. While many brands have taken out the big three—formaldehyde, toluene and DBP—it’s pretty impossible to make functional nail polish from clean ingredients.
At a certain point during our research for the book I began to buff instead, and I’ve just never turned back. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I have a weird obsession with long nails, and when I stopped polishing mine something incredible happened: They stopped breaking.
Recently though I’ve wondered if that phenomenon was a figment of my imagination. Maybe it wasn’t the nail polish, but a change in my diet that had strengthened my claws? Not so.
While I loved the ritual of having my nails done last Thursday with my mom and sister, and the manicurist used OPI (which is big-three free), almost every single nail on my hands has since chipped, peeled or broken.
So, of course, now we want to know: Do you polish your nails? Did you stop because of chemicals? Have your nails changed? Telltell.
We’re happy to see lots of healthy discussion (and only one or two personal attacks!) in the comments after our Lavanila deodorant post. Stacy Malkan has very helpfully chimed in with her research, as did two chemists, a few vendors, and many readers as well.
I imagine a lot of us will probably be satisfied with what we’ve found so far, and my wild guess is that many will continue to use Lavanila. Which, you know…fair enough! That said, it seems like a good time to introduce my favorite new deodorant, which contains no controversial or confusing ingredients, is handmade in Brooklyn, and costs just ten bucks.
I’d heard amazing things about Soapwalla’s deodorant—which you can buy from her directly on Etsy or from Spirit Beauty Lounge—so when she sent me a sample size of it a little while ago, I was delighted. I was also, however, a little turned off by the fact that, as the name suggests, it really is a deodorant cream. Like, you apply it with your fingers, to your pits. I’m not sure why exactly this bothered me at first (fresh skin post-shower is as clean as you can get) but I got over it after a couple of weeks and readily bought a new one when my sample ran out.
Now, I am happy to report that I have converted to the stuff. I’m not sure why it works so well, but the combination of ingredients keeps me even fresher-smelling and—gasp—dryer than anything else I’ve used.
We’re the first to admit that it’s hard to bid farewell to some products. That’s not to say we don’t stand by our promise: Truly clean cosmetics offer better results than the chemical crap. Hands down. But there are certain items you’re just not going to find in the naturals category…
Like the waterproof mascara that leaves nary a smudge after a night on the town. Or the antiperspirant that actually stops you from sweating—which is generally a terrible idea, but incredibly appealing on a hot summer’s day or, you know, a date. Natural hair dye? It works for some women, but we can’t recommend it in good conscience—just read in the book about Siobhan’s unfortunate turn with natural highlights. How about a bewitching scent that lasts all day? Not likely, since you can thank hormone disrupting phthalates for that lasting power, and those are verboten in a real clean product. Nail polish does offer some better options, but nothing we’d put on our kids (if we had any).
So what’s a girl to do? Well, we subscribe to the 80-20 rule. That means some nights we whip out the waterproof mascara, or that old Degree stick we never brought ourselves to throw out. Not every day, or even every week, but certainly when the occasion calls for it.
Now you: What decidedly unnatural product or treatment could you never let go of? (And get ready, because next week’s challenge may involve one…)
We went on the Leonard Lopate Show today to talk with Julie Burstein about our book No More Dirty Looks. Julie had great questions for us, as did those who called in. We’re thrilled to see the number of comments on WNYC’s web site, and would have loved to answer each and every question or comment (especially the one from “Jeb in Brooklyn”).
Questions from listeners included: What’s the deal with mineral makeup? What’s so bad about deodorant? What’s DMDM-hydantoin and why is it in my shampoo? And then something about oils from animal carcasses.
You can listen to the whole shebang here. May we suggest you put on some tea or make yourself a snack? It’s 40 minutes long.
When we first set about cleaning up our cosmetics bags we kept running into two big obstacles. The first: finding a mascara that didn’t run down our faces at each blink. The second? Antiperspirant. Of course, our bodies are designed to sweat for a reason—but that doesn’t make pit stains any more fun. And even if you can live with a bit of wetness, nobody wants to stink—I don’t care what the Discovery Channel has told you about B.O.’s powers of attraction.
Many of the naturals we tried would work for a few days, even a few weeks, but then suddenly…not to much. In the end we did find a few deodorants, some of them DIY, that we loved. We’re also not above reaching for the bad, pore-blocking stuff on very special occasions—you know, when a dress (or a dancing partner) needs added protection.
In our Good series this week, Siobhan takes us through some of antiperspirant’s worse offenders and shares one of our absolute favorites. Have you discovered a natch one that works for you?
From Siobhan’s post:
Antiperspirant has long been the punching bag of the personal-care world: It’s been slammed with claims about how it causes Alzheimer’s and breast cancer, it’s been blacklisted by crusading hippies, and it’s been the subject of many “please forward to everyone you know” emails. It’s true that long before people were wondering what was in their shampoo, they were a little nervous about their deodorant or antiperspirant. And yet we all use it, every day, and for good reason: Smelling sucks.
But even as the viral scares have died down, many experts still think we’re better off not using the stuff. In order to better understand why, it’s helpful to look at some of the main ingredients used in them and figure out what, if anything, there is to be scared about. Then the better part: what to use instead.
Illustration by Brianna Harden
