Why?

I do not understand the logic behind the "regulated levels" of carcinogenic and harmful chemicals.

For instance, parabens are known to mimic estrogen - a hormone by which if you have too much, you can develop breast lumps or even cancer. If men have it - it can make them effeminate. Parabens happen to be the most common preservative in chemical personal care products. (Go check: soaps, lotions, makeup, shampoo, deodorant, etc.)

In defense of the manufacturing companies, they would say that this ingredient is used in regulated levels. But how can you objectify "regulated levels"? Do these manufacturing companies compute for how much you put on your skin? Do they research on the consumer behavior - if you just use shampoo? Or if you use conditioner all the time? Or if you use lotion after taking a bath? Or if you use deodorant? Or if you use layers of make-up? Or if you use toothpaste?

Besides, what are regulated levels, if we are talking about bio-accumulative ingredients?

And if these things are harmful, why do we use them?

Isn't it just convenient to manufacture products that can be preserved upto 5 years on the shelf?

I really wonder, we know Parabens are bad, though degree of how bad it is would be debatable. But isn't it logical that if little bad things add up, you have a bigger problem?

Let it be represented as this:
-0.1 = regulated levels

-0.1 = parabens in shampoo
-0.1 = parabens in conditioner
-0.1 = parabens in feminine wash
-0.1 = parabens in soap
-0.1 = parabens in toothpaste
-0.1 = parabens in deodorant
-0.1 = parabens in perfume
-0.1 = parabens in lotion
-0.1 = parabens in hand sanitizer
-0.1 = parabens in make-up
____________
-1.0 = regulated levels in one day?

-1.0 = prabens in Monday routine
-1.0 = parabens in Tuesday routine
-1.0 = parabens in Wednesday routine
-1.0 = parabens in Thursday routine
-1.0 = parabens in Friday Routine
-1.0 = parabens in Saturday Routine
-1.0 = parabens in Sunday Routine
 ____________
-7.0 = regulated levels in a week?

-30.0 = regulated levels in a month?

-365.0 = regulated levels in a year?

-1600.0 = In four years, is that a tumor already?

Of course, them big companies with stock holders have profitability as their best interest.

Maybe a great packaging? Maybe a classy branding?

Maybe a celebrity endorser will do the trick?

Maybe putting the ingredients in font size 5.

People aren't really discerning nowadays. "Besides, my brother is a doctor. He needs to have patients to cure once in a while."

Invisible Sisters

Today was my first time to visit Mercato Centrale in Fort, Taguig.

It is faaar from QC, but I would say, getting there was worth the travel.

Man, were there a lot of food! D: (I didn't take photos, too bad!) But just to mention a few:
-Bagnet, Liempo, Lechon, Chicharon Bulaklak
-Pork and Chicken gizzards, barbecue, kebab
-Cakes, many kinds
-Ice Cream!
-Pasta - rigatoni, penne, lasagna

Gawad Kalinga social enterprises were there too!
-Jacinto & Lirio (the most glam eco-friendly bags) http://jacintoandlirio.com/
-Gourmet Keso! (I finally got to take one home, and my sister liked it. I love it.)
-Golden Eggs (salted eggs with a twist - they're Gold because red dye in the ordinary salted egg is not food grade. Brought home some to my mom, she liked it too.)
-Enchantea (lemongrass tea beverage. Which was quite relaxing I must say.)
-Invisible Sisters (and this one, I just had to take home too!)

I was looking at it for a few times, and if you look at it, it doesn't look perfect - and that is why I liked this clutch bag in the first place! It is manually done and I can only imagine the hours of labor put into this bag.

Aside from its bright turquoise color, this bag has a story it can brag about. The bag is made of plastic bags - those bags which groceries/department stores normally give you when you shop. They end up as bane of the environment, clogging up drainage systems and flooding streets, going into bodies of water, killing marine life, and simply being a nonbiodegradable waste that accumulates throughout our earthly existence.

But instead of the plastic bags going into waste - invisible sisters brilliantly transformed them into a SERIOUSLY PRETTY and intricate bag and it instead served as a sustainable livelihood for the urban poor.

So how did they do it? They told me that they washed up the plastic bags first - for it to be sanitary enough. Then cut to strips, then crocheted to take form. How ingenious!

I did not mind if the bag were made of plastic bags, because the whole process of transforming it into the bag that it is, just made it invaluable.

Wanna see it up close?

Ahh! Texture! It reminds me of huaraches!

So it's summer for me, all over again!




Oh, and if in case you're wondering what the white patches are in the bag, I wondered about that too. I figured out, that would be the brand stamped on the plastic bag. (Sales person told me this bag is specifically a Landmark shopping bag.)


So last thing. How invisible are Invisible Sisters? I only had to look inside the bag to find out.

See, this isn't just a bag. It educates people. It helps end poverty. It is eco-friendly. It helps reduce household wastes. And in other words, just another happy purchase for me! =)

Read more here: http://www.invisiblesisters.org/

Good Vibes With Miracles

I'll make this short and sweet, cause I am sleepy. =P


My friend recently gave birth, and yea yea...It's quite overwhelming how things go too soon. Just a few years back we were still in college, and now she's a mom already. But a happy one I am sure!

But of course, just like any mom, my friend wants the best for her new kid. Also, cause pregnancy inevitably leaves a few stretch marks here and there, she wants to get back into shape.

So my friend asked me to buy a lot of natural products from the office including the deodorant (which is just perfect if you're breastfeeding) and the Sunflower Beauty Oil. I recommended those products to her because both were simply getting a lot of good reviews. Seemingly, you cant get wrong with it.

After a month she sends me a text message asking me to buy two more. =D She said the product worked for her and that it lightened her stretch marks. Yeheyyy!!! The miracle product works.

And why two bottles? - One for her aunt, and another for her. Hahaha!

So here you go. It's flying off our shelves. No kidding, no stir. Try if you can buy one now. Otherwise go book your orders in advance.

http://humanheartnature.com/buy/index.php/sunflower-seed-beauty-oil.html


= )

One of the first things to give up - Chemical Deodorant.

I swear I am never gonna buy a chemical/ordinary deodorant again. I have more than couple stashed here, a spray deo still not half finished, and two deo sticks still not consumed, and will never be consumed.

As I said, I am a trainer for the brand, Human Heart Nature, and I wont hide that fact. I am not however, paid to do this blog. I just want to spend extra time hoping to educate random people.

I have been in the process of revising the product knowledge modules. I was thinking of ways on how to educate the average consumer on how to really understand the value of using natural products. I wont be a hypocrite. I still have a lot of chemical products which are the average ones you can buy in the grocery. But little by little, I am dispensing them off. So it seems that I myself, needs to know the significance of going for natural.

I thought, why not go through the ingredients list of an ordinary product, and google the ingredients one by one, and read if in fact, they are harmful. So first, I googled a photo of an ingredients list:

By the way, did you know that the ingredients are listed in order of decreasing proportions? Meaning, the first ingredient mentioned is the most abundant in the mixture, and last mentioned is the least.

Alright, so I googled the ingredients. First stop is cyclomethicone.

Cyclomethicone is a silicone-derived emollient. It makes the skin feel smooth by coating the skin, there by not letting the skin breathe. Hmmm...maybe that's how it also becomes an anti-perspirant. Cyclomethicone is also nonbiodegradable, so it really is just like plastic.

Next, Aluminum Zirconium Tetrachlorohydrex GLY.

Umm, okay. Here is where it gets more serious. So it says, to quote:

Aluminum was first recognized as a human neurotoxin in 1886, before being used as an antiperspirant. A neurotoxin is a substance that causes damage to nerves or nerve tissue.

Upon analysis of cadaver brains of people suffering from Alzheimers, they found increased levels of aluminum, compared to non-Alzheimers cadavers. Also, rat lab studies show that aluminum is more easily absorbed through the skin, than through the digestive track.

Then it dawned upon me that I use these chemical deodorants every day since pubes... only to find out that they could possibly give me Alzheimers??? How ignorant was I? Of course I don't bother to google everything that I put on my skin, with the assumption that BFAD, and FDAs had taken care of it... And of course these manufacturers would say that they are using those ingredients on SAFE levels - but seriously, how do you define safe levels, on something that you use everyday, and can potentially accumulate in the body?

And of course not all bodies are the same. Another person might have strong tolerance for these ingredients, but another might be more vulnerable, and immediately absorb these ingredients. What safe levels are for one person may not be safe levels for another person.

I can google the rest of the ingredients, but I think the first two alone, are enough for me to stop using the chemical ingredients.

And I know what these mass-producing chemical brands do. They maximize profits by putting in the cheapest ingredients. Hell they care if consumers will get cancer or Alzheimers.

So that day, common sense prevailed. I bought my first ever natural deodorant from the office. =)

The product says it's not an anti-perspirant but it is a deodorant. You will still sweat even when you use it - which is a good thing because sweating is a natural way of the body to emit toxins. I love the smell of this product. I've been using the product for more than a week now and I am perfectly contented. Even though it is not an anti-perspirant, I haven't found myself all sweaty.

Plus, it is so affordable. It's just 84.75. (Other Alzheimers deos are even more expensive!)

Why risk cancer and Alzheimers? Huh?

Sources:
The ingredients list picture.
http://www.hallgold.com/toxic-chemical-ingredients-directory.htm#silicone
http://www.controlyourimpact.com/articles/antiperspirant-aluminum-and-alzheimers-disease/

And buy here if you want:

http://humanheartnature.com/buy/
(You can choose to be a dealer too)

First two words: Natural, Organic.

Admit it, people as consumers are easily swayed by advertising and marketing ploys.

Bar soaps would just put a picture of a lush ripe Papaya in its packaging and put the word "natural" and we already think that it's made of natural ingredients.

Can you grab a jar of moisturizer, deodorant, or a bottle of body lotion please? Can you please read the ingredients? You might have a hard time - it's font size 4, I guess.

Here are a few things you might come across with: cyclopentasiloxane, acrylate crosspolymer, methylparaben, triclosan, and all the words you cant play on scrabble.

If you see these things, then you have in your hands, a chemical product.

Chemical vs. Natural and Organic

Chemical products are products which use of artificially prepared or synthesized ingredients.

Natural products are products which uses of naturally existing ingredients - meaning those which can be extracted from nature. Therefore, the likelihood of irritations, reactions, is significantly minimized, save from isolated cases. Natural ingredients, like mangoes, lemongrass, are scarce and sometimes seasonal. Therefore, natural skin care products run the risk of being expensive, because supplies are not always hefty.

It does not mean that if a product brags about natural active ingredients, it is already natural. Sometimes it is just a marketing ploy, so be smart enough to detect that. For instance...a bar of soap may have papaya, but if it has triclosan, EDTA, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, paraffinium... then it is no longer natural. By U.S. standards, for a product to be considered natural, at least 95% of its ingredients should be also natural.

But here is the catch, the product should not only be natural, it should also be organic.

Organic products uses of ingredients that are grown without the use of insecticides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and the like. Because come to think of it, how safe is a fruit that is laden with insecticide?

So just how bad are the chemical ingredients?

Well, the amounts that are put in the products are on safe levels. They are regulated by FDAs globally where they are sold. But here is the problem: even if the usage of chemical ingredients are on safe levels with these products, if you use them on a regular basis, 60% of which will be absorbed by the body and will eventually accumulate in the body - that's the time they can develop into diseases like cancer.

Hmmmmm...but organic and natural products are usually expensive. Check this website out: http://www.saffronrouge.com/face/moisturizers

That's how social inequity comes in. Poor people's health are jeopardized because they can only afford cheap chemical products.

That's how Human Nature is different. It produces healthy and safe alternatives to chemical products while still making it accessible to everyone, especially the financially disadvantaged members of the society. Am I kidding? No. =D

Compare the prices here:
US: http://shop.humanheartnature.com/
Philippines: http://humanheartnature.com/buy/

Post note: It's 12:28 am. Am I paid to write this blog? Not exactly. :))

Because, just cause.

When You Teach, You Learn.

Hi, I am Cat.

I am a BS Psychology graduate from the University of Santo Tomas. When you're a psychology graduate, there are a LOT of things you can do. You can pursue further education and become a doctor, you can take up Law, you can be a preschool teacher, you can be a guidance counselor, clinical psychologist, an HR practicioner, or, you can be a trainer. That's what I am right now.

So let me introduce myself again.

Hi, I am Cat, and I am a trainer.

I used to work for an FMCG company selling beauty products until I recently joined Human Heart Nature, a Philippine brand affiliated with Gawad Kalinga. I am in charge with human asset development and education. Alright, enough about myself.

Here on, I'll blog about the education I get from educating. I'll also blog about the products I recommend.

Please do not be surprised if I write too much about organic and natural products, and about the brand - I do it willingly, 'cause... just cause.

Pun intended. ;)

Please do read on about the company and the brand. You can also go shopping for very affordable natural and organic products.

Here: http://www.humanheartnature.com/