Starting the Skincare Series

I haven’t been blogging much here or at my other blog. Sometimes keeping up with two blogs is just too much, especially when there’s so much to do outside of the cyber world! I still have some other clothing-related posts I want to do here, which I will get to, but I have been wanting to talk about skin care for months now. When it comes right down to it, people are mostly interested in two things: how to go more natural with one’s hair, and how to go natural with one’s skin without breaking out.

I have found solutions in both areas that work for me (you can do a search on this blog to find my tips for natural hair care), but after six months, I STILL haven’t gotten started with the skincare series. I find myself avoiding it, and I think it’s because it’s such a sensitive issue for me. I’ve always had issues with my skin. I’ve struggled with breakouts throughout my twenties, and into my early thirties. And frankly, I don’t like talking about it or remembering it and I sure as heck don’t particularly want to share it with the public!

However, I feel really good about my skin these days. I have found a good balance, and a system that works for me, and I think it might help others to hear and try to find their own solutions using some things that helped me.

But here’s the thing I have to start with: Natural remedies take time. Sometimes – a LOT of time. It took me three months to really find a solution for my hair that worked, and probably a full year before I felt that I had perfected the system. The same story goes for my face. However, that doesn’t mean that I was walking around with greasy hair and a pimply face for a year – it just means that I didn’t always achieve the results that I wanted. My appearance did steadily improve (in my opinion), but it just was a SLOW process.

So know up front that going natural isn’t the easy road. But I believe it is the most rewarding road. It’s also cheap, green and fast, once you get the hang of it all.

If you have any specific issues you’d like me to address regarding skin care, please email me at five5seed@gmail.com or leave me a message or comment on Facebook. I’ll be back soon to get the skincare ball rolling!

The Story of Cosmetics

I was so excited to wake up this morning and find a link to The Story of Cosmetics in my inbox. You may know Annie Leonard from her famous (and some say controversial) videos The Story of Stuff, Cap & Trade and The Story of Bottled Water. She is now tackling the cosmetics industry, and I’m thrilled to see it!

Unfortunately, the website doesn’t let you embed the video, and would only let me post the video as a separate blog post. So click here to watch it. The video is about 8 minutes long and filled with information. I want to tackle some of the points she brings up here.

::Toxins, including carcinogens in baby products? Yes. Click here for more information. Or here. Or here.

::Our beauty routines affect more people than we realize. Maybe you saw the link I posted on Facebook yesterday about cancer in cosmetologists? A great post at Cheeseslave if you have a moment to read it. The video is about 10 minutes long and is eye-opening.

::Want to help our society become independent from the oil industry? Especially now, after the horrific oil spill in the Gulf, you may be as eager as I am to wean yourself off oil as much as possible. Sadly, many beauty products contain chemicals that are made from petrochemicals! Is that as disturbing to you as it is to me? Here’s a snippet from this article by the Environmental Working Group:

According to Hankins, over 90 percent of all beauty and cosmetic ingredients are derived from petrochemicals and other synthetics.

“The manufacturing and processing of these compounds is not only bad for people, but it creates an unsustainable business considering we have hit peak oil production,” he said.

What else can you do? Eschew plastic containers whenever possible. Why? You guessed it – plastics are made from petrochemicals. Just say no to the oil industry by filtering out petrochemicals from your life wherever possible.

::The FDA doesn’t take care of us when it comes to cosmetics. Safecosmetics.org says:

The agency charged with oversight of cosmetics, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has no authority to require pre-market safety assessment as it does with drugs, so cosmetics are among the least-regulated products on the market. The FDA does not review – nor does it have the authority to regulate – what goes into cosmetics before they are marketed for salon use and consumer use. In fact, 89 percent of all ingredients in cosmetics have not been evaluated for safety by any publicly accountable institution.

Talk about disturbing!

::There are no regulations for using the words “organic,” “natural,” “herbal,” etc. True, true, true. I’m always reluctant to say this, as I don’t want people assuming that I buy my products from pesticide-ridden farms and slap a happy, eco-friendly label on it! However, it is important for all consumers to know that labels don’t necessarily mean a thing.

When you see these labels in traditional stores, for instance, beware! Most items that are in large chain stores are made to sit on the shelves for a long time. That means that they need to be filled up with preservatives to keep them fresh for as long as possible. Manufacturers can legally use preservatives and other synthetic petrochemicals and still call their products “natural,” and “organic.” They don’t even have to use ANY certified organic ingredients in their products and can still call their product “organic.”

One of the simplest ways to avoid misleading labels is to simply read the ingredient list. This doesn’t completely put you out of harm’s way, as I’ll describe in the next bullet point, but it can help. If the ingredient list is full of chemicals, then pass. You don’t need that stuff on your skin! Look for the official organic logo, though many companies who use certified organic ingredients (like Five Seed) don’t use the organic logo for any number of reasons.

Also, don’t be afraid to call or email a company to talk to them about their products, their manufacturing process and their suppliers. Here at Five Seed, my door is always open to you. I’m happy to provide you with any information you need to feel secure about my products.

::Beauty manufacturers do not have to disclose all the ingredients on their labels. You may have heard this on The Story of Cosmetics video and scoffed. Not true, right? WRONG! This is actually true. The FDA allows beauty manufacturers to petition for the right to keep their “trade secret ingredients” to themselves. (I could say something cynical here, but I’ll refrain.) So if you’re a big beauty company and you don’t want reveal your secret chemical cocktail to your consumers…you don’t have to! You can simply petition the FDA and print “and other ingredients” on your label. (Think about cleaning products like Comet or window and surface cleaners. Have you ever noticed that the non-eco-friendly brands don’t provide a list of ingredients on the label? They only list the percentage of the most toxic chemical in the mixture and nothing else.)

So yes, reading the ingredient list on products isn’t a 100% guaranteed way to keep yourself safe from toxic products. However, I’ve found that the burgeoning eco-friendly beauty product market is all about full disclosure. They know their customers are sick of toxic chemicals and that they want to know exactly what they are putting on their bodies. You can be comforted to know that many green businesses will, indeed, give you their full ingredient list.

This includes small businesses, as well, like Five Seed and other Etsy businesses. But just like in a store, read Etsy listings very carefully. Some “natural” beauty businesses still use fragrance oils (which are usually made from synthetic chemicals) and other chemicals in their products. Some even fail to list ALL the ingredients in their products. Be savvy no matter where you shop!

The good news? Reps. Jan Schakowsky from Illinois and Edward Markey from Massachusetts are introducing the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 to Congress. If it passes, it will tackle many issues, including phasing toxins out of personal care products!

Want to keep up with Annie Leonard? Become a fan of her Story of Stuff Facebook page.

Five Seed Updates

There are lots of changes happening at Five Seed – the only problem is that I’m really slow when it comes to developing new products, and getting them uploaded! There are so many steps that go into developing and creating products, and then you add to that someone who is super anal and has to spend time pondering every single detail…well, things go slowly around here!

Anyway, here’s what’s going on around Five Seed these days…

::I’m thrilled to have unveiled my Vanilla Bean Balm this morning. I’ve gotten so many requests for vanilla lip balm, but vanilla absolute oil is so expensive that it is cutting into profits and just wouldn’t be sustainable in the long run. I decided to try an oil infusion using organic almond oil and organic & fair trade vanilla beans (also expensive, but not quite as much as the vanilla oil). SUCCESS! This turned out even better than I had hoped.

This lip balm has nudged Chocolate Mint Balm right out of first place for me (which is saying a lot). Vanilla Bean Balm smells so rich it is like smearing your lips with an old-fashioned vanilla milkshake. Or cookies n’ cream ice cream. I keep curling my lips into unattractive shapes in order to get them closer to my nose so I can smell this vanilla fantasy. I also have been rubbing it on my inner wrists and the backs of my hands for extra moisture…and easier access for my nose. (Though now people may think I’m odd for constantly smelling my hands…)

This particular batch turned out a little harder than I expected, but that’s probably a good thing in this weather! It may not have any issues with melting in the mail, though just to be safe, always remember to let these products sit out at room temperature overnight (or in the fridge for one hour) before you take the tape off and open them. These are also a bit more expensive than other Five Seed lip balms, as quality, ethical vanilla beans are pricey. But it’s worth every penny. It’s also still cheaper than what you would pay for the same amount in most typical lip balm tubes (.15 ounces) which run from $3-$5 and hold less than half of Five Seed’s half-ounce tins.

::Christmas in July is coming up on Etsy, on July 15th. That means Etsy sellers are putting items on sale, or offering free shipping or other promotions. I am already offering most items in the store on sale (10% off), until I move out the items with the old label design. This means you can get a jump on getting a jump on holiday presents, lol!

::Have you taken Five Seed‘s survey yet? You do not have to be a customer to do so. There are only five questions, and you can skip those that don’t apply to you. One of my biggest requests in the past has been for a vanilla-scented lip balm. You ask, I listen! So please take five minutes for these five questions, and let me know what you think. I appreciate it so much!

::I’m still working on the new design. There are some minor things that will be changing in the future, as I go along. And the labels themselves are being stubborn. For some reason, I’m having far more of a problem with clean lines and readability with this new design than I had with the last one. That’s something I’ll continue to work on until I get it right!

::We have leveled out on Facebook around 450 fans. If you are new to Five Seed, please “suggest to friends” (preferably those who would be especially interested in green living and natural body care). I still hope to reach 1,000 by the end of the year, and if we get to 500 soon, I’ll be giving away another Sankalpa Scent.

::Don’t forget, I’m always looking for participants in our many features here at Five Seed. Join in the fun by doing a True Beauty interview, a Good Seed feature for your green-minded business, sharing your sense of Ecouture, “Livable Style,” or your naked face! I’m always open for contributions (and guest posts)! Drop me a line at five5seed@gmail.com.

::And don’t forget to check out my Moon Balm discount and partnership with Randumosity!

Thanks, fans and readers! Your support and feedback is so appreciated!

Announcing an Exciting Partnership!

I’m so excited to announce a special deal. I recently contacted Jami Supiran, owner of Randumosity, and proposed a fun deal. To my delight, she liked the idea! So what are we doing? Here’s the deal:

::If you buy my Moon Balm, you will receive a coupon for 10% off one of Randumosity’s 4-packs of cloth menstrual pads.

::If you buy one of Randumosity’s 4-packs of cloth menstrual pads, you will receive a coupon for 10% off my Moon Balm.

I am especially excited about this partnership because I love cloth menstrual pads. They are so good to Mother Earth, and good for your body! Check out these facts if you don’t know the benefits of cloth pads.

::They are much cheaper, over time, than disposable pads and tampons. You can use them for years.

::They are so much more comfortable than disposable pads.

::They will save 300 pounds of pads (what the average woman uses in her lifetime) from going into the landfill.

::They won’t expose your body to the processed wood pulp, chemicals, and plastics (made from petroleum, don’t forget!) in disposable pads.

Now let’s get back to Randumosity! Owner Jami Supiran kindly answered the following questions to share with Five Seed’s readers and fans.

Tell me a little bit about yourself.

 

 

Hello! My name is Jami. I live in “sunny” Florida with my husband of 10 years and his (now ours) teenage daughter. She keeps life interesting!

What made you decide to open Randumosity? What is Randumosity’s mission? And what does the name mean?

I began Randumosity about 5 years ago after my Husband had an accident that left him disabled. We needed to supplement our income. So, I started making and selling bags on Ebay and Etsy. During his recovery we decided to find ways to simplify and “green” our lives more. I came across cloth pads online and thought “I can make those” and I wouldn’t have to buy any from the store!! With two women in the house we were always buying them. So, I started making them for me, my daughter and other family and friends. Everyone fell in love with them, so I decided to put them in my Etsy shop.

My goal for Randumosity is to grow as a brand enough to be able to stay home full time. Working from home has made life so much easier and I would love to keep it that way. I love being able to take care of the hubby and maybe have another little one around here.

The name “Randumosity” came from my daughter. She was looking around at all the “random” stuff I was making and said I should open up a shop and call it “Randomosity”. So, I did. But, I had to change the spelling because the other was taken.

What makes you feel truly beautiful (beyond makeup and hair care) and what does “true beauty” mean to you?

“True Beauty” to me comes from the inside. Being kind, considerate and unselfish makes me feel beautiful.

Thank you, Jami!

I hope you will take advantage of this deal and pamper yourself during your period!

Survey Update

Some of you may have noticed that I posted a survey to find out what my customers think. Five Seed has been open for six months now, and I want to know how I can serve you best, and hear your ideas for products you would like to see in the store.

If you are curious about the results that I’ve gotten so far, here they are:

80% of you want more moisturizers

40% of you want more choices for solid perfumes

20% of you want to see “other” (non-specified) items

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Do you think our Sankalpa Scents are strong enough, or do they need a little more pizazz? Fifty percent of you said yes, and fifty percent said, “Jazz it up!”

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What do people want to see? Vanilla lip balm, vanilla hand lotion, and more products using patchouli, sandalwood and other earthy scents.

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What is most important to you in a business?

75% of you said green business practices

25% of you said cheap shipping

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I’ll update you on store news, and my response to your opinions very soon.

What do you think? Have you taken the survey yet? I promise, it’ll take less than five minutes. There are five questions (you can skip those that don’t apply to you), and it is totally anonymous. No names, no signing in, nothing. Just a few quick clicks.

If you have 5 minutes, please click here and take my survey to help me improve Five Seed.

Thank you so so much to those who have already taken it and those who are about to! I appreciate it very much!