Neutrogena Ultra-Sheer Dry Touch Sunblock SPF 45

Ah spring- out in the garden vigorously digging and planting, happily weeding and mulching. Despite wrestling with an eruption of mutant onion grass nothing short of epidemic I feel great. My muscles ache with a good kind of sore that signals hard work, but not too hard. And the garden is beautiful. Bursting with the buds of new life- the promise of beauty to come...

But I said this was going to be about Neutrogena sunscreen didn't I?

The back story- I try to follow the guidelines-  only work outside until 10:00 AM, stay out of the sun until after 4:00 PM. I cover up- wear the big ridiculous hat. But sometimes the overwhelming power of warm sun and cool breeze, the pleasure of hard uncomplicated physical labor and gardening's instant gratification mesmerize me and I stay out too long. In years past I'd just slather on layer after layer of sunscreen and feel confident I was being smart and proactive. A no-brainer, right?

Not exactly. I just read Skin Deep's expose' and learned how little anyone actually knows about the efficacy and the safety of sunscreen. The incongruities are shocking. From questions about its ability to adequately protect against UV rays to the inclusion of downright dangerous ingredients- it's all bad news. You want an example? Okay, how about the vitamin A used in sunscreen has been linked to skin tumors? (NIH Panel press release January 2011)

more after the jump...

...read more after the jump...

Flax Seed Gel Update...Make It Last

Just a quick post...

My always detail-oriented husband was watching me mix up a batch of flax seed gel last Sunday. I'd been becoming increasingly- and audibly frustrated with how quickly the gel was turning bad, even being refrigerated.


 "You're not using distilled water for that are you? That's why it goes bad so fast." was all he had to say.

...of course.

I scrapped that batch and started again with a modified recipe. See my Sunday March 20th post for the particulars and substitute 2 cups of distilled water for the filtered water.

So it's been a week. I used the gel this morning and it works just great.

UPDATE!! July 21, 2011 

I just used the gel this morning. It's still fresh after 3 weeks and two days in the fridge.The secret really is keeping it from becoming contaminated.

Using the distilled water was a big help. I've also been really careful to always have clean dry hands (initially anyway), not get any water or stray hair into the container and get it back into the refrigerator ASAP.

M Moroccanoil- Original

Moroccan Oil photo

About a year ago I visited a stylist who I was told used only non toxic, "healthy" products.

After wrestling with all my frizzy salt and pepper hair for a few minutes she brought out a product in a beautiful amber colored glass bottle with a bright teal label marked, M "Moroccanoil". It smelled divine and when she worked it through my hair it tamed the wild and smoothed the frizz beautifully. A magic elixir! So naturally I bought the big bottle. Mmmmmm....good and good for me...

I've been using this product sporadically ever since. A little goes a long way- even with all my frizzy hair, so I'm still on the same bottle I bought a year ago. It still works great, but I've noticed that when I apply it I can't get it too near my scalp or my hair will lay flat against my scalp- not a good look for me.

So- the reason I'm talking about it now... I've noticed I experience allergy-like symptoms: pounding head, pressure behind my eyes and tearing up a lot. My ears feel full, and they "pop" occasionally. Then there's the sinus headache, I feel a bit woozy and have trouble concentrating. Please understand- I'm NOT saying the product is causing these symptoms- only that when I use it, I also notice these symptoms. They could have nothing to do with this product, be a combination of this product and other irritants or be none of the above...

Skin Deep photo

I went to my most favorite source: Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep website: Skin Deep , but the product wasn't in their database. I checked the bottle's label for the ingredients so I could plug them into the Skin Deep database, but the only thing I could find was the "argan oil" from Morocco. The ingredients must have been on the box which I had pitched long ago.

So a few weeks ago I stumbled onto Essential Day Spa's Forums (EDS) : http://www.essentialdayspa.com/forum/ and found a resourceful reader had the same questions as me and had found the ingredients. You can follow the above link for yourself, or just read on.  Here's what s/he typed in as the ingredients:

...read more after the jump...