Thursday, December 24, 2015

ADULTERATION IN ESSENTIAL OILS ON INCREASE



In recent weeks, more and more customers are enquiring whether they can buy Essential Oils (EOs) from Herbally Radiant.  Many have read online the benefits of EOs while others get influenced by the promotional hype created by EO suppliers, or DIY promotional campaigns.
The point of concern, however, is that most of the EOs being marketed may not be pure extractions. Since EOs are expensive, there are growing cases of EOs being diluted to increase volume, or adulterated with vegetable oils.
The greater problem relates to the questionable purity of EOs being sold, especially by online companies. The problem is both with market operators and oil customers who frequently demand EOs below the market price while still wanting to be told that they are authentic. This sets the scene for unethical practices; especially as there are no quality standards for the authentication of EOs in spite of the revelations of gross adulteration of aromatherapy oils for retail sale.  
As mentioned by Dr. Kurt Schnaubelt, Ph.D. in his textbook “Aromatherapy”, big American players are aware of the rampant adulteration in imported EOs. They admit that blending-in cheaper oils to meet a customers’ target purchasing price, or to make additional profit for the producer, is commonplace in the oil trade.
In a specific case, a complaint was filed in Utah court against a brand supplier for passing synthetic oil as authentic for jasmine and birch oils – a very high percentage of DPG chemical was detected in the oil being sold as pure jasmine EO.
It is true that Essential Oils are of immense benefit to the skin and in the aromatherapy practices. However, EOs have to be used in exact ratio with other ingredients, and in right combination, if one formulation has more than one Essential Oil.  And, consumers must know that some EOs are carrier oils – just delivery method for ‘carrying’ EOs to the skin.
In natural organic beauty formulations, EOs are the crucial ingredients. These are the concentrated volatile aroma compounds found in plant materials including  flowers, leaves, seeds, berries, peels, needles, twigs, bark, wood, roots,  resin, etc. EOs are also the  building blocks of the practice of aromatherapy, and many are well documented to relieve stress and act as mood balancer.
Out of more than 90 EOs, Herbally Radiant uses most effective PURE EOs in its formulations. Pure EOs get readily absorbed by the body and help natural ability of skin to balance, regulate, heal and restore its natural glow. These penetrate skin via hair follicles and sweat glands, and get absorbed in body fluids. Minute molecules of EOs are immediately absorbed into the blood stream when inhaled as the drugs oxygenate the blood.
In Herbally Radiant products, special care has been taken to choose the right blend of EOs, with most compatible base or carrier oil.  The special combination of EOs used in its anti-aging formulations therefore produce long lasting amazing results. The mixing of EOs and base oil is done in incremental steps by trained R&D team at Herbally Radiant.

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

HARMFUL MICROBEADS TO BE REMOVED FROM SKINCARE PRODUCTS



In a welcome legislative measure, Congress just passed the much sought after legislation banning use of plastic microbeads in soaps, body washes and personal-care products  - to be phased out beginning 2017. Major companies like Johnson & Johnson, Unilever and P&G were facing public ire for continuing such harmful ingredients in their skin-care products. Many states had already passed legislation to ban their use; the federal law will take precedence over other laws.
Microbeads are tiny plastic particles used as an abrasive in many personal-care and beauty products, such as facial scrubs, soaps and toothpastes. They do not dissolve and remain in the environment for decades. These can act like tiny sponges, absorbing several other dangerous chemicals, including pesticides and flame retardants, and these poisonous substances also get ingested by marine animals. Marcus Eriksen, a science educator and research director of the environmental group 5 Gyres, raised concerns that the microbeads can soak up pesticides and chemicals after they are washed down the drain.
Environmentalists still debate that in this regard US continues to be more lenient. Citing the EU regulations, for example, they highlight that the EU, which touts a "Precautionary Principle" to restrict and ban substances that might be harmful to humans, is leading the way for other countries to be accountable when companies refuse to. In fact, to date, the EU has banned 1,100 chemicals in cosmetics while the Food and Drug Administration in America has banned only ten.
There is yet another strong reason for consumers to turn to natural ingredients in their skin-care products which are free both for the humans and for the environment. At Herbally Radiant, we use most skin-friendly natural ingredients in shampoo, conditioners and scrubs. These natural ingredients also provide excellent rich nutrients to the skin, maintaining smooth skin that is revitalized as a velvety skin.

Monday, December 21, 2015

TIME TO CHOOSE STYLE WHICH IS HEALTHY AND BEAUTIFUL



As the year comes to an end, we prepare to usher into the New Year with new resolutions, ambitions and goals. Frequent partying during the holiday season motivates many to care for their weight, overall health and, of course, maintaining beautiful looks and appearance. This takes us to a healthy and effective skin care regimen.
During the younger years, the body is naturally programmed to maintain clear, smooth, soft skin, and one usually tends to ignore extra care. However, as we age, our skin begins to work less efficiently, thinning out, losing elasticity, and sagging. Exposure to stress-environmental, physical, mental-only exacerbates this aging process. Such changes can begin at a much younger age if your skin does not receive proper care, or if it is exposed to harsh toxic chemical-based formulations.

Going in for expensive or glamorously marketed products is not the right answer for good skin care regimen.  With decades of our experience and expertise in formulating safe, effective and inexpensive organic formulations at Herbally Radiant, we have learnt the fine art of enhancing beautiful appearance.
As Mary Beth Janssen, reputed beauty and wellness educator at Chopra Center, has written,  the goal in organic skin care is to ensure regular sloughing off and turnover of skin cells and to maintain its natural acid mantle, which is a combination of sebum and perspiration that your body secretes to protect and moisturize your skin's surface. This helps rebuild damaged collagen and elastin (the chief protein in your skin's elastic fibers) in order to maintain skin strength, elasticity, and resiliency.
There are many methods for optimizing cellular turnover. Body brushing, cleansing with a facial mitt or buff, using deeply cleansing masks, and using alpha-hydroxy acids or AHA's (natural organic fruit acids), can all help exfoliate dead surface cells and maintain efficient skin cell turnover. Your skin can get AHA's through a wide variety of treatments, from peels to moisturizing lotions. To protect your skin's natural acid mantle, which covers your entire body, use only gentle acid-balanced cleansers to wash. Please avoid antibacterial or deodorant soaps, most of which contain sulfate and other harsh chemicals.
The combination of Essential Oils, used by Herbally Radiant for both imparting soothing fragrance and for creating aromatherapy effect, are very effective in maintaining skin’s vibrating energy, keeping it radiant, smooth, supple, elastic, and moist. This kind of skin shows that lymph fluid is removing toxins and boosting immunity. Stress is under control, antioxidants are preventing free radical damage, and hormones are balanced. The oil and sweat glands are bathing the skin with just the right amount of natural oil and moisture, which in turn maintains the skin's natural acid mantle.
Regular exfoliating helps skin to be in a constant state of renewal, turning over and shedding over a million skin cells an hour in a sort of healthful internal dance.
The perfectly natural, organic ways to create beautiful skin are to manage stress, eat healthfully, stay hydrated, get a good balance of physical activity and rest, practice sun protection, and avoid smoking. And naturally, follow a healthful skin-care regimen with pure products, where you always use only the gentlest manipulation of the skin. Rough tugging, rubbing, or abrasive handling with your fingers, hands, towels, tissues or machines can mechanically damage your skin.

Please follow the advice of experts in natural beauty products; the counter people at stores, focused on sales, are not necessarily the ‘experts’ on skin health.  There are easy steps to begin safe and effective skin transformation, to reduce wrinkles, lines and spots and to rejuvenate the skin. The physician available for free consultation on skin care at Herbally Radiant, can provide professional help and guidelines for the right kind of beauty treatment.




Wednesday, December 16, 2015

LAWSUIT AGAINST WEN HAIR BY MORE THAN 200 PEOPLE HIGHLIGHTS DANGERS OF CHEMICAL INGREDIENTS

The potential dangers of hazardous chemical ingredients in skin and hair care products have again been highlighted by the recent class-action lawsuit filed by more than 200 people in 40 different states against Wen Hair Care. Hundreds of women are coming forward claiming a popular celebrity-endorsed hair care product caused their hair to fall out and severely damaged their scalps. The consumers allege that Wen conditioner resulted in baldness, rashes, scalp irritation, hair breakage and hair discoloration.
The $ 83 billion hair care industry is quite lucrative. But most of the industry players have resorted to using harsh chemical ingredients for higher profit margin. The aggressive marketing campaigns are quite misleading and deceptive. For example, Chaz Dean, the owner and manufacturer, who is self-purported hair stylist to Hollywood’s “Who’s Who” and Guthy-Renker, direct marketers of Proactive acne treatment, got celebrity endorsements for their products. (Some of Herbally Radiant customers, who went in for Proactive acne products, ultimately began using Herbally Radiant’s exclusive Clean range (Cleanser,Toner and Serum) to get fast relief from their continuing acne problems.
The lawsuit, filed by the law firm of Christiansen Davis, alleges that the Wen products contain "active ingredients (that) act as a depilatory and caustic agent, either by causing a chemical reaction that damages the hair strand and/or follicle." The lawsuit further alleges that the manufacturer knew about these complaints but refused to do anything about them, including removing the products from stores. The manufacturer knew about these complaints but refused to do anything about them, including removing the products from stores.
HerballyRadiant has been cautioning consumers of the health risks caused by the use of skin care products, or cosmetics, that contain toxic chemical ingredients. The commonly used chemical ingredients widely used in beauty industry are: phthalates and parabens – which have proved to be carcinogenic, and particularly linked to breast cancer. Other dangerous ingredients are: derivatives of formaldehyde, mineral oil, proplyne glycol, triclosan.
Similar is the case with fragrances. As a matter of fact all the fragrances used in beauty products are synthetic and have chemical base. These can react dangerously with sensitive skin and, in many cases, have been found responsible for triggering breathing difficulties.
All the hair and skin care formulations developed by Herbally Radiant are based on USDA certified natural ingredients, and the fragrances have been created with choices combination of Essential Oils that act as aromatherapy and are effective mood balancer by creating calming effect.



Monday, December 14, 2015

MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE IN FIGHT AGAINST HARMFUL CHEMICALS



The New York Times article by Nicholas Kristof on 30 November, coinciding with Paris climate conference creates more awareness of the dangers of domestic pollution.
Citing independent warnings of two major medical organizations it deals with dangers of toxic chemicals in products  surrounding us. Unregulated substances, they say, are sometimes linked to breast and prostate cancer, genital deformities, obesity, diabetes and infertility.  “Widespread exposure to toxic environmental chemicals threatens healthy human reproduction,” the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (IFGO) warned last month.
The IFGO’s focus is on endocrine disrupters, chemicals that imitate sex hormones and often confuse the body. These are found in pesticides, plastics, shampoos and cosmetics, cash register receipts, food can linings, flame retardants and countless other products.
“Emerging evidence ties endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure to two of the biggest public health threats — diabetes and obesity,” the Endocrine Society said in a 150-page “scientific statement.” It added that “mounting evidence” also ties endocrine disrupters to infertility, prostate cancer, undescended testicles, testicular cancer, breast cancer, uterine cancer, ovarian cancer and neurological issues. Among adults these problems are apparently due to exposures decades earlier in fetal stages.
Tracey J. Woodruff of the University of California, San Francisco notes, “One myth about chemicals is that the U.S. government makes sure they’re safe before they go on the marketplace.” In fact, most are assumed to be safe unless proved otherwise.
Of the 80,000 or more chemicals in global commerce today, only a tiny share have been rigorously screened for safety. Even when a substance is retired because of health concerns, the replacement chemical may be just as bad.
Every day our body contaminates itself with breakdown chemicals from its own metabolism. Europe is moving toward testing chemicals before they go on the market, but the United States is a laggard because of the power of the chemical lobby.
For now, experts say the best approach is for people to try to protect themselves. Especially for women who are pregnant or may become pregnant, and for young children, try to eat organic, reduce the use of plastics, touch cash register receipts as little as possible, try to avoid flame-retardant couches and consult the consumer guides at ewg.org.
Among customers at Herbally Radiant, the harmful effects of chemical ingredients in skin care products used by them are increasingly evident; at times their skin allergies are directly attributable to exposure to harsh chemicals in their cosmetics. Even the so-called vitamins claimed to be in the beauty products are synthetic and may not support the claims of the companies. The ‘wonderful’ formulations touted by major manufacturers have more to do with their marketing strategy. Customers need to read the labels and satisfy themselves with the ingredients for taking care of their body or facial skin.

Tuesday, December 8, 2015

RIGHT LABELING OF PRODUCT HELPS CONSUMER

In the context of ever growing promotional campaigns, which at times, tend to project inaccurate or unverifiable claims about the efficacy and safety of a product, it is mainly for the information of the consumers if one product is labeled as "free from" any potentially harmful ingredient. However, some speakers, notably Special Advisor, IMCP, at the recently held in-cosmetic summit meeting in London, objected to this kind of marketing (i.e., "free from") as, in their opinion, it implies safety concerns over the other ingredient and certain chemicals.

It is true, and established beyond doubt, that certain chemicals, including parabens and some petroleum by-products, used in cosmetic products are potentially harmful. At Herbally Radiant we have been promoting herbal natural formulations in all skin care products which are marketed as "free from" campaigns. This is to help consumers to make informed choice when it comes to their skin care requirements. It is, therefore, only logical that the brands which use only healthy ingredients, or natural organic ingredients, market their products with "free from" claims.

This should be seen more from the point of public health in the first instance which should reflect total transparency and protect the interests of the consumer.