Have any of you heard the rumor—or perhaps conspiracy theory is more accurate—that Jackie O’s lymphoma was a consequence of her frequent hair dyeing? We don’t subscribe to such fear mongering, but it is true that dark hair dyes are notoriously toxic.
Siobhan—brave soul—experimented with natural blonde highlights in the book. But as the resident brunette I never tested out any of the clean dyes, or DIYs (like the coffee rinse) for darker hair. I’ll admit that it was a an oversight. See, I just haven’t colored my hair since my tween experiments with henna—and there were so many other things to try! But no more excuses. I know it’s a major concern for some of you, and it appears it may be for me too soon: The grays are creeping on me! Yep, they’re sprouting from the top of my head like little electrocuted worms.
So I’m calling on you ladies for counsel. Have any of you tried the darker natural dyes? The coffee? Has anything been a success or a failure? I plan to do some heavy googling about this, but your stories would be appreciated.
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…)
K, so TIME does great environment reporting, and they’ve been tireless about the BP spill. They’ve also been rather generous with their No More Dirty Looks support. We were trilled to speak with the awesomely named Laura Blue this week. She writes for the health and wellness blog, and we thought she was great. The Q&A is now up on their site. We talk about legislation, regulation and, you know, deodorant. All in a day’s work.
Image of amazing quilt by Craft Christina (wanna be friends?)
As the headline suggests, No More Dirty Looks is now available on Kindle! And the reason we know that is because a nice commenter told us she got it last night. We’d heard there is sometimes a slight time difference between the release of the book and the Kindle version, so we were happy to get the news. Kindle away, pups!
Image via
Recently I’ve been revisiting a favorite past time: the nap. I used to sneak in a little slumber whenever I had the chance, but years in an office job kind of deprogrammed my inner napper.
Well, she’s back! Last week Siobhan and I did a radio tour by telephone (we have some of our up interviews here): This meant waking up at the crack of dawn for a few days. I don’t mind getting up early, but each day around 4 pm, my lids would start to pull over my eyes. So I took the 20 minute power naps… and they were great.
We’ve all heard about the benefits of sleep—which we also cover extensively in the book—and I’ve heard many a rumor about the of perks associated with short naps. But what does the research say? Turns out the buzz is warranted: According to a group of scientists at NIMH and Harvard, afternoon snoozes reverse information overload. And who doesn’t need that these days? They go so far as to say that napping prevents burnout.
Which makes you wonder: If naps increase productivity, and prevent burnout, shouldn’t they be an encouraged part of our daily routine? Most people tend to fade in the afternoon, hitting a mental wall sometime around 4pm—what if instead of going to the vending machine for a candy bar, employers created spaces for tired employees to lay their weary heads? Or at the very least, didn’t frown upon a desk nap (for those lucky enough to be able to sleep in such conditions).
What about you? Would you take a snooze at work if it was guilt-free?
We have a few things to say about being on the cover of the Montreal Mirror, the city’s preeminent English alt weekly:
1. We’re completely thrilled.
2. The Mirror is where we both began our careers as journalists (but first, as the article notes, receptionists). The editor, Alastair Sutherland, was an early mentor who taught us the ropes. Thanks, Al!
3. Our Chemical Romance was the very first title idea we had for No More Dirty Looks. Punning minds think alike!
You can read the article on the Mirror’s site, or flip through their virtual paper. For our Canadian readers, Sacha Jackson does a great job breaking down the situation on that side of the border. She also includes some shopping spots for clean cosmetics.
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.
Or something. Anyway, we’re so freaking excited. One of our favorite magazines, whose Approval Matrix we read every single week (we like pictures), has us in their sights. And we made it into the good box!
We’re pretty tickled by this review of the book up on Style.com. Not only because the Vogue sister site is a favorite go-to for us to see the latest in fashion—but we really feel like writer Kari Molvar got where we’re coming from. From her review:
Unlike some other green beauty guides, Looks is refreshingly free of preachiness or judgment. O’Connor and Spunt seem to understand that not everyone will be game for sprinkling baking powder under their arms as deodorant or giving up highlights altogether. Instead, the book lays out all the facts and leaves it up to the reader to decide what next steps to take.
Ear to ear smiles over here. Our biggest fear—aside from misunderstanding the science—was to sound preachy or extreme. Coming clean is a different process for everyone. For instance, when the occasion calls for it, we still wear waterproof mascara. We just want to help make the transition easier.
Last week we received an email from a reader—she hadn’t read the book yet but liked our message and wanted some advice:
I am 25, work in Manhattan and have student loans, so dropping $18 on deodorant is a bit extravagant for me. Any suggestions you have would be greatly appreciated.
Truthfully, a lot of the products we recommend in the book as well as the DIY methods are money savers. But it got me thinking of easy tips for saving on some things, so that you can afford others (if that’s what your little heart and your sweaty pits desire).
Enter this week’s prescriptive GOOD post, and given how enthused some of you seem to be about using less soap (hurray!), I have a feeling that these tips may resonate. (Please let us know if you have others too!) From GOOD:
We’ve heard it time and again, invoked both as a defense and a deterrent: Clean personal care products are just too expensive. And it’s true that many (though not all) of the items we most adore are on the pricier side. But before getting into some practical advice on how to save as you green your grooming, let’s consider why these goodies are so costly in the first place.
Well, just think about organic food—small-scale manufacturing along with higher-quality ingredients is always going to be more expensive. On the plus side, with natural and clean body-care products, you’re often getting more of the good-for-you ingredients, without all the cheap chemical fillers. So when you do the math, you’re actually getting more product per penny.
And yet, it’s still hard to get your head around an $18 dollar deodorant, we know. (Side note: It’s worth it.) Click “Next” above for sensible budgeting tips that will help you eliminate unnecessary expenses, so you can indulge when it counts.
