And thus, few vanities and handbags would be complete without that go-to, mascara. So we wanted to provide a few tips to get the most from your lashes – both today, and for years to come.

I always marvel at my toddlers’ eyes – they look like Bambi and can most definitely get their way with a quick bat of those long, beautiful lashes. But many women notice that over the years lashes can become damaged, shortened, and thinned. According to dermatologist Jeannette Graf, MD¹, everything from stress to diet to environmental impacts can put strain on your lashes. She goes on to stress that a woman can actually be her own lashes’ worst enemy. “Wear and tear can result from rubbing or tugging at our eyelids, sleeping in mascara (the stiffness can break lashes), and wearing water-proof mascara, which can be drying. Usually the process of removing mascara, especially waterproof formulas, is the problem,” Graf says.

Eyelashes, after all, are hair much like that on our heads. While many women pamper their locks with organic shampoos, conditioners, and styling products, they take for granted the TLC those batting-beauties deserve. And like hair, once lashes have been plucked out, and the follicles damaged, they’re less likely to grow back.

Fret not, however. With a few pure beauty tips you can maintain that daily-dazzle while nurturing your lashes for the long haul. Here are a few of the tips we like best to keep the lashes you’ve got looking lovely:

• Use a gentle remover like pure petroleum jelly and pat or dab at the lids rather than rubbing or pulling.
• Never tug at lashes.
• If you use a lash curler, make sure you’re not pulling on your lids at all.
• If you want to remove clumps from mascara, you must do it when the mascara is still wet and easy to comb through.
• Replace your mascara every three to six months to prevent germs that can lead to infections (replace eye cosmetics immediately if you get pink eye or any other eye infection).
• Condition lashes just like you would your hair. Petroleum jelly can help, but products like jane iredale PureLash Lengthener and Conditioner are a more effective, elegant solution.

So go on and repurify those lashes. They’ll thank you with years of loyal service.
¹Source: WebMD, May 19, 2010, Liesa Goins, reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

Check out http://www.repurify.com/ for a wide selection of products that are  certified pure from harmful ingredients.

Andrew Schneider, AOL Senior Public Health Correspondent

“WASHINGTON (May 24) — Almost half of the 500 most popular sunscreen products may actually increase the speed at which malignant cells develop and spread skin cancer because they contain vitamin A or its derivatives, according to an evaluation of those products released today.

AOL News also has learned through documents and interviews that the Food and Drug Administration has known of the potential danger for as long as a decade without alerting the public, which the FDA denies.

The study was released with Memorial Day weekend approaching. Store shelves throughout the country are already crammed with tubes, jars, bottles and spray cans of sunscreen.

The white goop, creams and ointments might prevent sunburn. But don’t count on them to keep the ultraviolet light from destroying your skin cells and causing tumors and lesions, according to researchers at Environmental Working Group.

In their annual report to consumers on sunscreen, they say that only 39 of the 500 products they examined were considered safe and effective to use.

The report cites these problems with bogus sun protection factor (SPF) numbers:

• The use of the hormone-disrupting chemical oxybenzone, which penetrates the skin and enters the bloodstream.
• Overstated claims about performance.
• The lack of needed regulations and oversight by the Food and Drug Administration.

But the most alarming disclosure in this year’s report is the finding that vitamin A and its derivatives, retinol and retinyl palmitate, may speed up the cancer that sunscreen is used to prevent.

Environmental Working Group

A dangerous additive

The industry includes vitamin A in its sunscreen formulations because it is an anti-oxidant that slows skin aging.

But the EWG researchers found the initial findings of an FDA study of vitamin A’s photocarcinogenic properties, meaning the possibility that it results in cancerous tumors when used on skin exposed to sunlight.

“In that yearlong study, tumors and lesions developed up to 21 percent faster in lab animals coated in a vitamin A-laced cream than animals treated with a vitamin-free cream,” the report said.

The conclusion came from EWG’s analysis of initial findings released last fall by the FDA and the National Toxicology Program, the federal government’s principle evaluator of substances that raise public health concerns.

EWG’s conclusions were subsequently scrutinized by outside toxicologists.

Based on the strength of the findings by FDA’s own scientists, many in the public health community say they can’t believe nor understand why the agency hasn’t already notified the public of the possible danger.

“There was enough evidence 10 years ago for FDA to caution consumers against the use of vitamin A in sunscreens,” Jane Houlihan, EWG’s senior vice president for research, told AOL News.

“FDA launched this one-year study, completed their research and now 10 years later, they say nothing about it, just silence.”

On Friday, the FDA said the allegations are not true.

“We have thoroughly checked and are not aware of any studies,” an FDA spokesperson told AOL News. She said she checked with bosses throughout the agency and found no one who knew of the vitamin A sunscreen research being done by or on behalf of the agency.

But documents from the FDA and the National Toxicology Program showed that the agency had done the research.

“Retinyl palmitate was selected by (FDA’s) Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition for photo-toxicity and photocarcinogenicity testing based on the increasingly widespread use of this compound in cosmetic retail products for use on sun-exposed skin,” said an October 2000 report by the National Toxicology Program.

FDA’s own website said the animal studies were done at its National Center for Toxicological Research in Jefferson, Ark. And it was scientists from the FDA center and National Toxicology Program who posted the study data last fall.

In a perfect world

The ideal sunscreen would completely block the UV rays that cause sunburn, immune suppression and damaging free radicals. It would remain effective on the skin for several hours and not form harmful ingredients when degraded by UV light, the report said.

National Cancer Institute

Graph of melanoma of the skin rates from 1975 to 2006. APC stands for annual percent change and AAPC stands for average annual percent change.

But in the U.S., there is currently no sunscreen that meets all of these criteria. European countries have more chemical combinations to offer, but in the U.S. the major choice is between the “chemical” sunscreens, which have inferior stability, penetrate the skin and may disrupt the body’s hormone systems, and “mineral” sunscreens zinc and titanium dioxide.

Increasingly, as AOL News reported in March, the industry is using titanium dioxide that is made nanosized, which a growing number of researchers believe have serious health implications.

The sunscreen industry cringes when EWG releases its yearly report — this is its fourth. The industry charges that the advocacy group wants to do away with all sunscreen products, a claim that is not accurate.

The report’s researchers clearly say that an effective sunscreen prevents more damage than it causes, but it wants consumers to have accurate information on the limitations of what they buy and on the potentially harmful chemicals in some of those products.

EWG does warn consumers not to depend on any sunscreen for primary protection from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. Hats, clothing and shade are still the most reliable sun protection available, they say.

Don’t count on the numbers

Some of us are old enough to remember when the idea of having a tan was good, a sign of health, when billboards and magazine ads featured the Coppertone girl showing off her tan when a puppy pulls down her bathing suit bottom.

Going for that tan, we coated our kids and ourselves with sun blockers with sun protection factors of 1 or 2. Some overly cautious parents might have smeared on a 4 during the hottest part of a day.

But we’ve learned of the dangers that come from exposure to the sun’s rays, especially ultraviolet A and B. So today, drugstore shelves are crammed with sunscreens boasting SPFs of 30, 45, 80 or even higher.

However, the new report says those numbers are often meaningless and dangerous because products with high SPF ratings sell a false sense of security, encouraging people using them to stay out in the sun longer.

“People don’t get the high SPF they pay for,” the report says. “People apply about a quarter of the recommended amount. So in everyday practice, a product labeled SPF 100 really performs like SPF 3.2, an SPF 30 rating equates to a 2.3 and an SPF 15 translates to 2.”

In 2007, the report says, the FDA published proposed regulations that would prohibit manufacturers from labeling sunscreens with an SPF higher than “SPF 50.” The agency wrote that higher values would be “inherently misleading,” given that “there is no assurance that the specific values themselves are in fact truthful.”

This is being widely ignored by the sunscreen makers who are heavily advertising their 80, 90 and 100 SPF products.

“Flouting FDA’s proposed regulation,” companies substantially increased their high-SPF offerings in 2010 with one in six brands now listing SPF values higher than 50. “Neutrogena and Banana Boat stand out among the offenders, with six and four products labeled as ‘SPF 100,’ respectively,” the new report says.

The full list of the best and worst sunscreens can be found on the EWG’s searchable database.”

Article originally published at: http://www.aolnews.com/health/article/study-many-sunscreens-may-be-accelerating-cancer/19488158

In a past blog post we provided a memorable saying to help keep track of the plastics that are okay (those with a 1, 2, 4, or 5 in the little triangle), and those that have been linked to potentially harmful chemicals (those with another number in the little triangle): “1 way 2 go 4 a high-5 is to avoid everything else.” So what a bummer to find that telltale “6” staring right back at me as I sipped my Grande Bold (with room) through the plastic lid.

As the blog “Eco Village Green” explains, plastic with a number 6 “is polystyrene, or Styrofoam, from which disposable containers and packaging are made. You’ll also find it in disposable plates and cups. Evidence is increasingly suggesting that this type of plastic leaches potentially toxic chemicals, especially when heated. I suggest avoiding the use of #6 plastic as much as possible.”

Wouldn’t scalding hot coffee flowing through, um, heat the plastic?

So am I going to stop drinking Starbucks? Not on your life. But I do take the lid off whenever possible as a result of this discovery. Sip on – and feel confident you’re helping to repurify each morning with a little information on your side.

According to Joseph F. Fowler Jr., MD, clinical professor of dermatology at the University of Louisville, Kentucky, this chemical is also used heavily in furniture and can actually seep out of fabric and through your clothing to irritate skin. It’s essentially a preservative to which some people are quite allergic.

I’ve seen these packets in many of the baby items we’ve purchased like crib bumpers, nursing pillows, and plush toys. It seems the best approach is to try to avoid furniture made in China and discontinue use of products packed with DMF packets if a rash occurs.

“Among women with higher levels of certain phthalates (those commonly found in fragrances, shampoos, cosmetics and nail polishes), their children years later were more likely to display disruptive behavior.”

“The precautionary principle suggests that we should be wary of personal products like fragrances unless they are marked phthalate-free. And it makes sense — particularly for children and pregnant women — to avoid most plastics marked at the bottom as 3, 6 and 7 because they are the ones associated with potentially harmful toxins.”

Full article at: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/opinion/25kristof.html

We all know by now that parabens (basically, crummy preservatives linked to a variety of health concerns) have no place in our personal care and baby care products. So, reading the ingredients in the so-called Gentle Naturals didn’t thrill me:

“…Isopropylparaben (and) Isobutylparaben (and) Butylparaben…”

Parabens aplenty…

Plain old petroleum jelly is a good substitute for really dry skin, or for daily moisturizing, check out Earth Mama Angel Baby and Avalon at http://www.repurify.com/shop/baby-mom.html

YES, It’s AIR! You astrophysicist you.

I have been interested in air and air quality ever since I learned that there are many particles and gases in the air that are harmful for our bodies. We are exposed to many of these everyday.

As we are now in the colder months (in the Northern Hemisphere) we tend to stay indoors a greater percentage of the time. Indoor air can be harmful if it is not properly circulated or treated. Indoor air can contain constituents such as VOCs from paints and coatings as well as formaldehyde concentrations from carpeting and insulation.  On top of that indoor air that is not circulated/recharged properly with the outdoors can be oxygen deplete.

There is a solution:

Indoor plants such as the Money Tree, Mother-in-laws Tongue can literally ”Grow Clean Air” as proven in a TED talk by Kamal Meattle and are easy to maintain in the home or in the office.

For a more compact solution check out: Andrea, a pure product that uses a single potted plant to rid up to 144 ft² of VOCs and formaldahyde, as it lists in its product specs.

When it’s too cold to open the windows, recharge and purify your air the natural way. Stay healthy in the Great Indoors.

…..And no, this wasn’t named after that John Mayer song.

The skin, our largest organ, breaths, dies, protects us and absorbs every day.  On top of that, our skin has the main function of retaining fluids within our bodies. The funny thing is that most of us, including me, only immediately care about how the first few layers look. From experience, most of my skin problem occur through absorption through pores in my skin. The skin simply gets irritated. Choosing pure skincare products that don’t contain harmful chemicals and cleanse your pores can help this. Natural oils can help your skin glow while cleaning/protecting your pores. I challenge those same people to put the flipside in perspective, your skin IS what it eats.

Feed your skin Right

Some nerdy research about how skin absorbs.