Oil in Hair Product

Nowadays, there are a lot of oil in several product that consumers are unaware of. For one, hair shampoo contain a good amount of mineral oil. Mineral oil is an industrial manufactured derivative of natural oil. This oil is also being used as petroleum in cars. Mineral oil, while can be organic if derived from crude oil, can be considered unnatural in commercial form. The oil is not necessarily good for the human hair and are not necessarily good for the skin either. Individuals should be aware and should pay closer attention to what chemicals are going on their hair and body. There could be poor manufactured oil in those toxins that could cause dry scalp or even hair loss. The oil also prevent hair growth and creating dirty scalp. Therefore, excessive amount of mineral oil in hair product could have a massive affect on the human hair and skin. 

For more information:

http://www.viviscal.com/blog/mineral-oil-bad-or-good-for-hair/

http://www.blackhairkitchen.com/2014/08/everything-about-mineral-oil-vaseline-hair-care/

Beware The Preservatives

To all the food lovers around the world! Petroleum is in our food! But wait, how? Petroleum is used to preserve our food. Well, technically tertiary butyl hydroquinone (TBHQ) is used to preserve our food, which is a byproduct of petroleum. TBHQ has many possible dangers including, liver enlargement, neurotoxic effects, and cancer. According to the FDA, TBHQ can contain no more than 0.02% in our food. But with continuous consumption, it may be a major health problem.

Most of this chemical is usually found in processed food to expend their long shelf life. But it is not only the processed and frozen foods that contain TBHQ but in children snacks as well! One example are fruits snacks. Now, I know every kid loves fruit snacks because of how sweet and colorful the fruit snacks are. Food products that have such vibrant colors like these snacks have color additives. In fruits snacks, Red 3 or erythrosine is used and it is a petroleum product. It is banned for use in cosmetics but not in our food. So something like that is not safe for the skin but it is safe to be eaten? That is very questionable. The best way to avoid petroleum in food is to eat natural fruits and vegetables, avoid processed foods and avoid such color snacks and candies. Also, by avoiding petroleum related food products we also will be living a much healthier lifestyle. 

You can read more about this preservative here: https://www.davidwolfe.com/cancer-causing-childrens-snacks/

Going Green in Fashion and Beauty: Everyday Products Made from Oil

Oil is lurking behind many everyday products in our lives. To go green, means to be conscious of what you’re purchasing and adapting your beauty and fashion regimen to consist of products that do not contain oil or petroleum byproducts. What people don’t take into consideration is the actual number of products that do contain these things are abundant and a few of these items might be surprising to some. This post will help break down certain products that contain these things and list some alternatives that might be a bit better. This also brings up the question of necessity and whether or not these products are needed in order to live our daily lives.

1. Stretchy Jeans
• Green Alternative: https://kuyichi.com/ - Kuyuchi Jeans
• “Kuyichi uses organic and recycled materials. Our collection is made of recycled denim, recycled PET, organic cotton, organic linen and Tencel.”

I would say this would be a better alternative even though there are recycled materials that may contain oil (only 2% elastane, 98% organic cotton), the company promotes a more sustainable practice in the creation of jeans.  

2. Yoga Pants
• Green Alternative: https://www.greenappleactive.com/ - Green Apple Active
• “Here at Green Apple Active, we believe in being eco-friendly, sustainable, vegan, and biodegradable by utilizing natural plant-based materials in our apparel.” Their clothes are made from bamboo and are biodegradable. I would say this company is a great alternative to normal yoga wear as their clothes are not made from petroleum by-products or any synthetic fibers.

3. Foundation
• Green Alternative: http://w3llpeople.com/ - W3ll People Makeup
• “Our mission is to create super premium quality cosmetics without using the potentially harmful artificial chemicals found in most conventional makeup. No fillers, propylene glycol, petrochemicals or petroleum by-products.”
  There are actually quite a few makeup brands that do not contain oil but I chose this brand because they have both powder and cream makeup. This is good alternative to foundations that do contain mineral oil.

3. Nail Polish
• Green Alternative: https://shoplvx.com/ - LVX Nail Polish
• “We are the innovators of beauty and the revolutionizers of color trends. LVX is the only luxury, high-fashion, 7 toxin-free premium nail lacquer.”
  This polish formula is free of formaldehyde, toluene, DBP, formaldehyde resin, camphor, xylene, and parabens. There are other nail polish brands following suit and making their formulas more sustainable and better for the nail bed.

Hopefully this post was informative and being that there are so many products where oil is an ingredient, it’s important to do research and make better choices in what we put on our bodies.

Photo credit: Stack of Jeans (iStock.com)