It is definitely time to get the sunscreen out, but with so many chemical and not-so-natural versions on the market it can be very difficult to choose one that is safe.  In the past natural sunscreen product manufacturers used zinc oxide to provide UV protection.  And though it is safe and effective, it leaves behind that ghostly white skin we all wish to avoid.  So the next scientific breakthrough was the use of nanotechnology, the creation of incredibly small particles — measured in nanometers (nm), or one-billionth of a meter. This took care of the white film, but recent evidence shows that these nanoparticles may pose risks to the environment.  Not a great trade-off.

Not to despair, there are some terrific sunscreen products on the market that are safe, effective, free from nanos and leave your skin, well – skin colored.  Vivesana is a new product line that presents major breakthroughs in organic sun care.  The products are free from harmful synthetic ingredients, nanoparticles and even water, providing a stronger sun product.

Vivesana (which means “live healthy” in Italian) products are at least 40 SPF, hypoallergenic, packaged in BPA-free containers and boast the highest organic content of any sun care products on the market.  Those at Vivesana take your health and sun protection very seriously.

The line includes three sun care products:

• Solar to Polar Ultra – Chock full of hydrating botanicals (jojoba and apricot) and powerful antioxidants (green tea and raspberry seed) this sunscreen provides 40 SPF and really stays put.  $29
• Solar to Polar Baby – SPF 42 to protect the most delicate skin Solar to Polar Baby is gentle and safe enough for little ones, but provides the strongest protection.  $32
• Dopo Elements – Dopo (meaning “after”) is for, you guessed it, after your day in the sun, water and dry air.  Jojoba, olive and avocado oils help to re-hydrate and nourish parched skin, while green tea extract gives it a healthy boost of antioxidants.  Coming soon.

Want to try Vivesana sun care products?  Use code orgbeauty&vive25 at www.vivesana.com and receive a 25% discount.

Image credit:  Vivesana

Aromatherapy is one truly beneficial indulgence most of us don’t make time for.  Afterall, you do have to know what you are doing, like which essential oils work  for what ailment, how to mix and use them and which to stay away from.  Essentials oils are very potent and it is not wise to throw caution to the wind when using them, as some are skin irritants and over doing it can be toxic.  That said, the right ones can go a long way toward good physical and mental health.

Nuworld Botanicals has come to our aromatherapy rescue with Aromatherapy Personals, little rollerball vials that combine aromatherapy and acupressure, along with health benefits of antioxidants, vitamins and 100% certified organic essential oils.  Nuworld Botanicals uses a base of 100% certified organic Jojoba oil to dilute the essential oils for safe use.

The perfectly stash-able roll-ons can be tossed in your purse, gym bag or desk drawer and with 11 scent combinations to choose from, can come to your aid for everything from anxiety relief and craving control to a sweet dreamy night’s sleep.  Simply massage the rollerball onto pulse points, like wrists, temples, insides of elbows and back of neck.

Energy Boost with its minty, eucalyptus scent is refreshing and perfect for your morning wakeup call or mid-afternoon slump.  Immune Boost smells fresh and clean and is packed with Tea Tree oil which is a powerful immune stimulant.  Perfect for the late spring cold season.

With all of the social happenings and end-of-school events that May brings, it can be stressful and hard to focus.  Mental Clarity is an earthy blast of basil, lemon and grapefruit to help with mental concentration.  Stress Relief helps to ease tension and boost your mood with citrus, bergamot and just a hint of patchouli.

Jet Lag Relief, with nutmeg, ginger, peppermint and clove, smells good enough to use even when you are feeling fine and nothing beats the pure scent of lavender in Anxiety Relief.

Choose the appropriate Aromatherapy Personals roll-on for what ails you, or simply pick you favorite scent combination.  The aroma is long lasting and nontoxic.

All eleven scents are mild and wearable, even for those with scent-issues, and the convenient size and borderline addictive nature of the little bottles make Aromatherapy Personals an easy and rewarding way to incorporate aromatherapy into your daily living. 

Image credit:  Nuworld Botanicals

Fresh air and sunshine (and the vitamin D it provides) are good for you.  But too much sun exposure can have adverse effects on the health of your skin.  Premature aging, dryness, sun spots and even skin cancer can result.  But this time of year we are all itching for a bit of summer glow.

The chic and safe way to sun these days isn’t the natural way.  In this case, fake is better.  So, rather than laying in the sun or going to the tanning bed to get your bronze on, check out the safe, nontoxic tanning creams on the market.

These are not the toxin-laden tanning lotions of our youth that left our bodies (and palms) orange and streaky.  The new crop of nontoxic tanning creams leave you with a natural glow, none of the streakiness, and can be used in place of your regular moisturizer.

Top Nontoxic Tanning Lotions for Your Summer Glow

• Lavera Sunless Tan – Self Tanning Lotion – A moisturizing lotion with a fresh, pleasant scent that provides a natural looking tan in just a couple of hours.  Super easy to use and the results never disappoint.  $26.00
• Sante Self-Tanning Lotion – Use this organic tanner to build a gradual tan, once for a lighter tan or several days in a row for a darker bronze.  $18.99
• Lavera FACES Summer Glow – Face Self-Tanner – For light hydration you can use in place of your warm weather moisturizer.  Gives a very natural glow to face, absolutely no streakiness and the tan lasts a few days.  Use every other day for consistent color.   $17.85
• Dr. Hauschka Translucent Bronze Concentrate – To even out skin tone and give skin a subtle glow mix with your usual moisturizer.  Suitable for all skin types and complexions.  $40.00

These nontoxic self-tanners use Dihydroxyaceton, or DHA (found in sugar beets or sugarcane) or minerals to provide natural looking color and are packed with vitamins and flower extracts to soothe and protect the skin.  A much healthier way to get your summer glow.

Organic cosmetics have their tried and true followers and their naysayers. Critics claim that because some organic cosmetics manufacturers are dishonest about the greenness of their products buying organic cosmetics may not be worth it.  But let’s put things into proper perspective.  One bad apple does not necessarily spoil the whole bunch. 

One such critic recently called organic cosmetics a hoax and went on to say, “Although usually more expensive, organic foods can be better for you, so the same should be true for organic makeup right? Turns out, not so much.”

Not all organic cosmetics are created equally.  This is a fact, as it is with many other consumables, like dairy products, meats and household cleaners.  But does this mean we should lump all of these items in one basket and sum them up as worthless?  Not by a long shot.

With organic cosmetics, like most things, you will have the quality, safe and truthful brands and the greenwashed versions that contain toxins along with their organic ingredients.  The reason for the phony advertising is simple…cheaper production and longer shelf life.  Bigger profits.

So, yes, it is sad that many cosmetics manufacturers are dishonest about the safety of their products.  But choosing not to buy organic cosmetics because some companies are making false claims is the equivalent of not buying organic milk because a couple of “organic” milk producers are not adhering to organic certification standards.  And cosmetics products that carry the USDA organic label are certified using the same criteria as for organic food.  As Terri Bly of The Nature of Beauty put it “cosmetics are not fruit – you have more choices than organic and commercial. With cosmetics, there are synthetic ingredients, natural ingredients, and organic ingredients. You might think of it as having a choice between organically grown grapes, conventionally grown grapes, and plastic grapes”.

The term “organic cosmetics” has come to imply safe and pure.  Organic ingredients are grown and produced without the use of toxins and are safer and purer than their conventionally grown counter parts.  But this does not hold any real value if the product they are in also contains harmful synthetic ingredients.  Much like fresh organically grown lettuce is no longer a healthy salad when doused in chemically preserved salad dressing.

As of yet, the US government has very flimsy standards regarding the regulation of safety in cosmetics, so it is up to us as consumers to protect ourselves.  The bottom line is really that you need to know which ingredients are harmful and read your labels.

With everyone going green these days it is often hard for consumers to distinguish a product that is truly safe from one that is just making that claim.  It is perfectly legal, and often practiced, to use terms like safe, natural and organic on a cosmetics product label.  So how can you tell if you are buying a safe product?

First, “natural” simply means that one or more of a product’s ingredients have been derived from a natural source.  This is really no big deal if it is also full of harmful chemical ingredients.  And as for using “organic” on a cosmetics label; Organic = 95% of the ingredients must be organically grown, the remaining 5% may be non-organically produced ingredients, and Made with Organic Ingredients = must be made with at least 70% organic ingredients, the remaining 30% may be non-organically produced ingredients.  That remaining 5%-30% is the dangerous gray area where cosmetics manufacturers can use nearly any ingredient of there choosing.  The U.S. government does restrict the use of certain ingredients, but they are not many.

The following are harmful cosmetics ingredients that should be avoided*:

1. DEA, TEA, Diethanolamine, Triethanolamine: Emulsifier and/or foaming agent.  Skin sensitizer, can form carcinogenic nitrosamine compounds in the skin or body after absorption if mixed with nitrosating agents.  A respiratory toxin, neurotoxicity hazard and immunotoxicity hazard.
2. Dibutyl Phthalate, DBP:  Possible reproductive or developmental toxin, potential endocrine disruptor, skin sensitizer, immune system toxin, gastrointestinal or liver toxicant, kidney toxicant, and neurotoxin. The European Union has found it to be dangerous for the environment, very toxic to aquatic organisms and has banned it from use in cosmetics. The EPA Water Quality Standards Database states it is a priority water pollutant under the Clean Water Act and a hazardous air pollutant under the Clean Air Act.
3. Formaldehyde, Formalin:  EWG lists it as a known human carcinogen, skin and lung sensitizer, gastrointestinal or liver toxicant and neurotoxin.
4. Parabens, alkyl parahydroxybenzoate, butylparaben, methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, isobutylparabens:  Widely used as a preservative.  Have been assessed as hormonally active, possible endocrine disruptor, skin sensitizer and skin or sense organ toxicant.
5. Petrolatum, petroleum jelly:  Emollient or lubricant.  Potentially contaminated with impurities linked to cancer or other significant health problems. The European Union has banned petrolatum from use in cosmetics.
6. Propylene Glycol, Proptylene Glycol, 1,2-Propanediol. Related synthetics: PEG (polyethylene glycol) and PPG (polypropylene glycol):  Used as humectants (to retain moisture).  Penetration enhancer, which alters skin structure, allowing other chemicals to penetrate deeper into the skin, increasing the amounts of other chemicals that reach the bloodstream.  Suspected respiratory toxin, immunotoxicity and neurotoxicity hazard.
7. Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Sodium Lauryl Ether Sulfate, Anhydrous Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Irium:  Used as a surfactant (makes it foamy).  Penetration enhancer.
8. Talc, Talcum:  potentially contaminated with harmful impurities linked to cancer or other significant health problems and a respiratory toxicant.

So, if a product label states that the product is 100% Organic you can trust that there are no toxic ingredients.  Otherwise, you should be sure to check the label or consult a reliable source.

*Information on ingredients gathered from The Environmental Working Group, Scorecard.org, and Cosmetics Ingredient Review.