Green is Good for My Body, Good for the Planet

This past year, J and I have seriously overhauled the way we consume groceries, produce, meat, household items, gifts, personal care items and more.

Previously, I blogged about my switch from mass market antiperspirant to Crystal Body Deodorant. I have been using it for months and not only do I still use it, I want everyone else to use it. I even started a dialog with local humorist Tim Mollen who wrote about his pits and his concerns regarding toxic antiperspirant in his weekly newspaper column. I told him about my love of the rock and love of not being poisoned; we became "sweat buddies" with an unusual commonality.

I also blogged about my switch from traditional lady part products that add waste to the landfills to the Diva Cup. I made that switch in July and, after a couple awkward months of adjustment, I now am happily using and reusing my Diva Cup and feeling good about eliminating some trash.

Recently, I have discovered LUSH Cosmetics, a company that makes handmade, 100% vegetarian cosmetics with fresh, organic fruits and vegetables. 75% of their products are vegan, they are all nearly preservative-free. PLUS Lush buys ingredients only from companies that do not commission tests on animals.

I am currently using Coalface Cleanser with ingredients including licorice, charcoal and sandalwood oil. Since it is a bar soap, the only waste is the small plastic bag in which it shipped (70% of their products are available "naked"). The scent was a bit strange to adjust to. Its very licorice-y and woodsy but now that I have grown accustomed to the smell, I find myself craving black licorice which I have previously disliked. The soap really does great exfoliating work because of the powdered charcoal, also a great detoxifier.

I have already noticed a great improvement over my previous chemical-laden, contained in several ounces of non-recyclable plastic facial cleanser. I have no more mini-breakouts along my hair line and the mini-breakouts along my jaw line are almost all gone, too!

Lush says the following about Coalface:

Removes impurities and tones combination skin

Who would have thought charcoal and liquorice could get along? One is tough and gritty, the other sweet and syrupy. But charcoal and liquorice could just be the odd couple of skin care, teaming up to fight oily, troubled skin in our Coalface cleanser. Powdered charcoal removes impurities and mildly exfoliates while liquorice heals naturally. Sandalwood oil tones the skin (and mediates should charcoal and liquorice disagree about anything).

I bet you're wondering what I use to follow such a great first act! I'm glad you're curious. I'm using Tea Tree Water toner, which I also love. I do a few quick spritzes after my licorice wash and I am ready to go. My skin feels so smooth and I love the tingly feeling I have from the tea tree oil.

LUSH describes Tea Tree Water as such:

Tea tree and grapefruit detoxifying facial spritzer A spritz of Tea Tree Water here, a spritz there and all your worries soon vanish along with inflamed pores and pesky blemishes. We combine tea tree with grapefruit water and juniper berry to make this calming elixir. Use it daily or as a pick-me-up in any dry environment. Our special mixture tightens pores and lifts away dirt and oil so your skin can breathe. What more could you ask for?

Oh, and remember I mentioned that all LUSH Cosmetics are handmade? Well, check out who made my Tea Tree Water toner. Its NIC! I've got his picture and everything.

I dig it!

Future greening of this bod: solid shampoo. NO BOTTLES!

To be continued....

All the Green Girls are Doing It

CAUTION: This post contains talk of lady parts and menses.

I'm not too fond of putting bleach or rayon on my body so I don't know why its taken so long for me to decide not to put them in my body. Today I ordered my first Diva Cup, a reusable, non-absorbent menstrual cup that is made of silicone. It is latex-free, plastic-free, dye and color-free and hypoallergenic. From what I've read, the ladies love this shit.

Like I said, I've been thinking about trying a Diva Cup for a while. I'm not fond of the ongoing expense of tampons and, depending on what you use, the waste involved adds up quickly which is also an issue for me. If you're using most commercially manufactured tampons, the waste is up to and including paper, cardboard and plastic and the actual tampon itself. Organic, unbleached tampons address the issue of bleaching but still create waste that must be disposed. Pads are certainly the less environmentally-sound option. The Royal Institute of Technology of Stockholm did a life-cycle assessment of pad and found that

...the crucial process in the whole life cycle is the LDPE processing. Even though cellulose constitutes more weight percent of a pad, it doesn’t have so profound environmental impacts. It is due to high energy consumption of LDPE production and using oil as a raw material which is very valuable as an energy source. That is why the main impact from pads life cycle is fossil fuel use. Foresting and cellulose processing is much more environmentally friendly than plastic production. Most of the impacts come from raw materials processing and pads production; transportation also makes its inputs but not so large.

We are rapidly switching from plastic to canvas bags because of the significantly positive impact on the environment. I know my change from disposable tampons to the reusable Diva Cup is overdue.

Additionally, since I've been on birth control, my cycle is exceedingly lighter. I am constantly struggling with the following dilemma: should I be putting this foreign object in my body to absorb when my flow is so negligible? I've switched to low-flow options but the primary issue is not addressed by that adjustment.

I'm really happy I've made this decision. The Diva Cup will quickly pay for itself and the benefits inherent in its use make the minimal disadvantages seem even less important. I'll let you know how it goes.