What is Fair Trade? Fair Trade in Skin Care Products

Batty's Bath only purchases ingredients from Fair Trade Compliant companies and I often get ask what exactly this means. The fair trade program has come out of the human rights & ethics movement. It's in place because many people (such as myself) are sickened that already impoverished countries are continuing to be exploited for their resources.

The basics of Fair Trade are...

...that the profits go back to the communities that produce the goods, that environmentally friendly production methods are used, and that forced labor is never used. I couldn't sleep at night if I wasn't doing what I could to ensure that each aspect of my business is only helping and not hindering anyone, anything, or any place. It's a high ethical calling but I can't imagine running a business any other way.

For more information about fair trade, check out what About.com says about it:

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What is Fair Trade? Do you ever wonder what the term "Fair Trade" means when you are shopping for skin care and beauty products? Here are the fair trade basics when it comes to skin care and beauty products.

When you're shopping for skin care and beauty products, you likely will notice when a product label reads "Fair Trade", but you might be wondering, "What is fair trade"?

When you look at the list of ingredients your product has, you may notice ingredients such as cocoa butter, shea butter, aloe and seaweed, just to name a few, that make the skin care products what they are. These natural ingredients come from farmers who provide to the skin care companies.

What typically happens is that the farmer sells to a middle man, who may sell to another middle man, who then sells to the company who makes the products. This leaves the farmers who produced the ingredients with only a small piece of the profits they worked so hard for. Many times the farmers and communities are taken advantage of, and are left to take what they can, instead of what they deserve.

When a company chooses to get these ingredients in a way that treats the producers fairly, they work directly with them and pay them a fair wage for their work, and their product.

Many times these working relationships coincide with marginalized communities who make their entire living producing and harvesting. Having a fair trade contract gives them the money they deserve, getting out of poverty, creating an opportunity for children to go to school, giving the community the funds to provide what is needed, such as water wells and hospitals for example.

While fair trade is growing in popularity, it is definitely not the norm. If you would like to support marginalized communities with your everyday purchases, read labels, ask employees and do your research. If you're going to make a purchase anyway, it's always nice to know that your purchase made a direct impact for the good.


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Online Shop at BattysBath.com is Now Open!

Some of you have already noticed and taken the opportunity to order from BattysBath.com which is very exciting for me!

To bring everyone else up to speed, you can now shop on Etsy or at BattysBath.com. There's advantages and differences in each shop which give my customers more choice and control over their online shopping experience! For example, if you want to shop in US funds, you can use Etsy. But if you want to shop in Canadian funds, you can shop at BattysBath.com.

With the new choice to shop on Etsy or BattysBath.com you may be wondering which option is best for you! No problem! Click here to find out which shopping option is best for you or read the copy & pasted version below!

------------------ The info below is from this page at Battysbath.com -----------

Shopping at BattysBath.com

This option is recommended for local London customers. Why? The shopping cart here BattysBath.com does NOT automatically add shipping costs on to your order. Since we deliver orders within London, ON for free, this means you don't need to worry about a revised invoice or be refunded for shipping costs. Simply add your items to your shopping cart and check out with paypal as usual (with no shipping charges!). There's also no login required and all prices are in Canadian dollars.



The online shop here at BattysBath.com is also a great option for non-local customers! Non-local customers simply need to add flat-rate shipping to their cart ($10 for Canada, $12 for the USA, and $25 for other countries) and don't need to ever worry about paying more than these shipping costs. Although flat rate shipping still applies in the Etsy shop, Etsy adds up shipping costs on each individual item so many times, refunds for overages in shipping need to be issued via Paypal. However, if you're only ordering a lip balm, Etsy is the way to go!



IN STOCK ITEMS: Etsy is also the way to go if you're looking to order items that are currently in stock - we try our best to keep every product we offer (except limited seasonal releases) in stock at all times but occasionally we do sell out and there's a delay in the availability of products while we order supplies and restock. This delay is usually no longer than 2 weeks although we have found that it can take much longer to get ingredients during holiday times. The shop here at BattysBath.com generally lists every product we offer rather than listing only what's in stock. From time to time when ordering from the online shop here at BattysBath.com you could experience a "back ordered item".

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Shopping on Etsy

All listings on Etsy are in US dollars and if already have an Etsy account, you maybe more comfortable shopping on Etsy. That's no problem! We love Etsy and the flat rate shipping caps apply there too! However, Etsy adds up shipping costs on each individual items so many times, refunds for overages are needed to be refunded. All overages in shipping charges are refunded via Paypal when we ship your order. One major bonus to the Etsy shop is we generally try to ensure that we only list items there that are currently in stock (see more about in stock items above).

Beware of Anti-Bacterial Soaps

Why are so many commercial products bought and produced by adding bacteriocide Triclosan? bacter-what you say? ... Think anti-bacterial soaps or personal care items that proclaim the equivalent of ‘Kills Bacteria On Contact,’ or, ‘Kills the Germs That Cause Bad Breath.’

The claims sound great but the triclosan in antibacterial soaps and cleaners are a gender bender that is disrupting the natural growth of frogs and was found in 55% of the rivers and streams in America is 2002.

As far as I'm concerned the age old quote that states "soap and water and common sense are the best disinfectants" says it all. We don't need to be washing with triclosan. But don't just take my word for it. Molecular biologist John Gustafson of New Mexico State University in Las Cruces says:

"What is this stuff doing in households when we have soaps? These substances really belong in hospitals and clinics, not in the homes of healthy people." - Scientific American

Moreover, Scientific American teaches us that triclosan does more harm than good. It appears that after, say, spraying a counter with an antibiotic cleaner, some chemicals linger and continue to kill bacteria but don't get all of them. The ones that survive develop a tolerance: "What doesn't kill you makes you stronger" Soon we have populations of antibiotic resistant bacteria.

Thankfully everyone can find a handmade soap maker (usually in their own community!) that still makes soap from scratch with the purest ingredients. If you haven't switched to handmade soap yet, now is a great time! Your skin (and the tadpoles) with thank you :)

H2O: Dangerous Chemical - How Gullible Are We?

H2O: Dangerous Chemical!

A student at Eagle Rock Junior High won first prize at the Greater Idaho Falls Science Fair, April 26. He was attempting to show how conditioned we have become to alarmists practicing junk science and spreading fear of everything in our environment. In his project he urged people to sign a petition demanding strict control or total elimination of the chemical "dihydrogen monoxide".



And for plenty of good reasons, since:



1. it can cause excessive sweating and vomiting

2. it is a major component in acid rain

3. it can cause severe burns in its gaseous state

4. accidental inhalation can kill you

5. it contributes to erosion

6. it decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes

7. it has been found in tumors of terminal cancer patients



He asked 50 people if they supported a ban of the chemical.



* Forty-three (43) said yes,

* six (6) were undecided,

* and only one (1) knew that the chemical was water.



The title of his prize winning project was, "How Gullible Are We?"



He feels the conclusion is obvious.

(This was found on the newsgroup: rec.humor.funny)

A note from Batty:

I thought this fit in extremely well into some of the junk science that is out there pertaining to beauty products! See the "be informed" section of this blog for more insight.

Your Skin's Natural First Aid Kit

Keep these natural solutions on hand to treat minor injuries.

Cuts and scrapes

Tea-tree oil, lavender essential oil

Natural antiseptics, tea-tree oil and lavender essential oil can be directly applied to minor wounds to help prevent infection

Splinters

Banana peel

The enzymes in a banana peel help draw the splinter to the skin's surface, making removal with tweezers easy. Apply a small piece of peel pulp-side down and affix with a bandage; wear overnight.

Bruises

Arnica cream or tincture

Arnica is believed to increase circulation, helping the body clear blood from bruised skin. Apply topically to the affected area.

Minor burns

Aloe vera gel, chamomile tea, lavender essential oil

Aloe will cool burns and speed healing. A clean dressing soaked in cool chamomile tea will also ease inflammation. Lavender essential oil has been known to help minor burns; blend a few drops with an ounce of a neutral oil (like almond or olive), and apply topically.

Insect bites and stings

Mashed papaya and oatmeal

Papaya contains the enzyme papain; applied topically, it breaks down the proteins that cause itching. Spreading cooked oatmeal on the affected area will also ease the itch.

6 Things You May Not Know About Shea

1. The shea fruit consists of a thin, tart, nutritious pulp that surrounds a relatively large, oil-rich seed from which is extracted shea butter.

2. it is believed that some of the early users of shea butter were such noted women as Cleopatra and the Queen of Sheba.

3. The Karite tree(shea tree) grows without assistance from man. In fact, most attempts by the Europeans to cultivate it have proven to be unsuccessful.

4. Shea butter is a particularly effective moisturizer because contains so many fatty acids, which are needed to retain skin moisture and elasticity.

5. Shea butter protects the skin from both environmental and free-radical damage. It contains vitamins A and E, and has demonstrated both antimicrobial and anti-inflammatory properties.

6. Shea butter has been used to help heal burns, sores, scars, dermatitis, psoriasis, dandruff, and stretch marks.

Click here for more blog posts about shea.

Skin Care Facts: Does Your Diet Cause Acne?

Myth: Acne is caused by eating the wrong foods.

Fact: This is both true and false. The traditional foods thought to cause acne, such as chocolate and greasy foods, have no effect on acne, and there is no research indicating otherwise. However, there is the potential that individual dietary allergic reactions can trigger acne, such as eating foods that contain iodine, like shellfish, although there is an ongoing controversy about that. A bit more conclusive is new research showing that milk, especially skim milk, can increase the risk of acne. The same may be true for a diet high in carbohydrates; a high glycemic load can increase breakouts, while a low glycemic load can reduce their occurrence. (Glycemic load is a ranking system for the amount of carbohydrates in a food portion; too many carbs in your diet could trigger breakouts.) Experimenting for a few months to see which of these food groups either hurt or help your skin is worth the effort

(Sources: Molecular Nutrition and Food Research, June 2008, pages 718-726; Dermatologic Therapy, March-April 2008, pages 86-95; Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, May 2008, pages 787-793; and Dermatology Online Journal, May 30, 2006).

Skin Care Facts: Does Your Skin Adapt to Skin Care Products?

Myth: Your skin adapts to the skin-care products you are using and you need to change to new products every now and then.

Fact: Skin doesn't adapt to skin-care products any more than your body adapts to a healthy diet. If spinach and grapes are healthy for you they are always healthy, and they continue to be healthy, even if you eat them every day. The same is true for your skin, as long as you are applying what is healthy for skin (and avoiding negative external sources such as unprotected sun exposure) it remains healthy.

Skin Care Facts: Can Toothpaste Take Care of Pimples?

Myth: Toothpaste works to prevent or quickly heal a pimple.

Fact: Absolutely not true!!! This would be funny if so many people didn't believe it. None of the ingredients in toothpaste can have a positive effect on acne or change a blemish once you have it, and actually it can make matters worse. The bacteria in your mouth are not related to the bacteria in your pores that cause acne (P. acne). And although the fluoride or sodium monofluorophosphate in your toothpaste can help fight bacteria in your mouth, on your skin it actually can cause pimples and redness in the areas with which it comes in contact. This is known as perioral dermatitis (Sources: Journal of the American Dental Association, September 2003, page 1165; Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology, June 1990, pages 1029 -1032; and Archives of Dermatology, June 1975, page 793). The other ingredients in toothpaste might offer minimal abrasive properties, but they provide nothing that a gentle rubbing with a washcloth doesn't provide far better.

Save Yourself from the Winter Woes Before They Start This Year!

Many of us dread winter because of the cool winds, all the snow to shovel, and the outrageous heating bills! If those weren't bad enough, many people experience cracked, dry, flaking, and itchy "winter skin" year after year! The usual remedy is to stock up on moisturizer and lip balm which is always a great idea... BUT did you know you can also help save your skin from the winter woes BEFORE they start with products other than just moisturizers? It's true! Healthy skin can happen all year long! I'm sure many of you have experience itchy dry legs after shaving even in the summer - but no more! It's time to take back your skin! I used to have itchy dry legs and cracked sore heels all year long but thankfully, now that I'm older and wiser (haha), I've figured out what the problem was! The problem was that I was using commercial body washes full of detergents! Detergents are used in almost every commercially available body wash, hand soap, and bar soaps that you can find at big retail stores. If there's one thing you pick up from this post, let it be this: switch to REAL SOAP, as in the handmade kind that is free of detergents, and you'll save your skin a world of hurt! It may sound drastic, but in my experience, before switching to handmade REAL soap, there was no doubt in my mind that I had dry skin! As it turns out, this simply wasn't true! Now that I'm using real soap, I have "normal" skin. It's not dry, it's not oily... it's simply the way skin is supposed to feel because I'm not using products that strip it of its natural oils! Sure, I use my body butter too, but I usually don't even need to use it as a moisturizer! I just like the smell of it! :)

Here's a little bit of a history lesson for you...

You may have already started to wonder why commercially made products aren't made with real soap and are instead made with detergents. The truth is, before the 2nd world war, real soap WAS made commercially and everyone used this real soap on their skin, hair, and even as household cleaners. However, during the war, the fats and oils that are used to make real soap became scare because they were being used to manufacture nitro-glycerin for explosives. This created a dilemma - how to create soap without the actually ingredients to make it! Petroleum became the next option and scientists where able to make all kinds of new products out of it including detergents. Without the supplies to make real soap, society quickly replaced real soap with detergents for their personal hygiene and household cleaners. After the war, manufactures continued to make and market detergents as being just as safe and as beneficial for your skin as real soap because detergents cost them so much less to make! They were actually making more of a profit by using cheap petroleum in their products rather than sourcing out high quality fats and oils for soap making (so of course they would continue to convince consumers that detergents are just as good! They didn't want the truth to cut into their profit!). The sad truth is that detergents will NEVER be good for your skin or hair no matter how many ways the marketers and advertisers spin the story... the truth is that REAL soaps made with fats and oils will ALWAYS be better for your skin and hair than detergents will.

So what does that have to do with saving your skin from the winter woes?

Everything! :) If you're still using commercially bought body wash, then the first way to stop your skin from drying up is to switch to a cleanser that wont strip your skin of its natural oils. This means using real soap or a carefully formulated handmade body wash. Real soaps don't damage your skin's protective layers like detergents do. Detergents are the reason why your skin can't retain its natural moisture levels. In fact, detergents actually dissolve skin protein and draw your skin's natural oils from far beneath the surface. After you get out of the shower and towel dry off, the itch you start to feel all over your skin is your skin telling you something is wrong! And what's even worse is that if you're using a commercially made cream, you're not doing your skin any favors because that "big brand name" cream is full of drying ingredients (yes, I said drying ingredients! If your big brand name moisturizer did its job the first time you wouldn't have to use so much cream throughout the day and that's not what big commercial companies want! They want you to have to feel that itching urge to slather ridiculous amounts of cream all over your body every few hours so you keep buying MORE cream and they keep selling MORE products... rather than producing a product that is good for you in the first place because that just wouldn't be profitable!). On the other hand, while a lot of peoples experience super dry skin due to this drying cycle, some people have the opposite reaction - they get oily skin! Why do they get oily skin you ask? Well, they end up with oily skin after using commercial body wash and commercial moisturizer because the deep stripping of natural oils causes their skin to produce copious amounts of oil to compensate for it. This in turn aggravates acne and makes skin problems worse!

What about my hair??

This same cycle happens with commercially made (big brand name) shampoo & conditioner. The shampoo damages the hair by stripping it of its natural oils and people become convinced that they just have "problem hair". Rather than using conditioner as a detangler, they end up relying on it to restore their hair from all the damage their shampoo as done, but unfortunately, those commercially made conditioners are just as bad for your hair as the shampoo! My advice? Steer clear of commercially made big brand name cleansers (no matter HOW expensive) for your hair and your skin!

So why are my commercial products getting me these drying results?

The simple answer is that it's their intended results! Commercial companies are not as big as they are because they produces high quality products. They are as big as they are because they MARKET their products as being the best while using the cheapest ingredients to produce a product to sell. Handmade sellers do NOT embrace this "code of ethics", in fact, it's the complete opposite. Handmade soap makers like myself, make high quality products with ingredients that WILL NOT damage, strip oils, or otherwise wreak havoc on your hair and skin. We don't have the big marketing firms to tell the public about us so we need our products to speak for themselves. They need to be products that do what they say will do. I make and sell bath & body products because I'm passionate about high quality hair and skin products. I wanted something better than was being offered to me in the stores, and I wanted to know the truth about all those ingredients. And I wanted to ensure that my family and friends were using products that were actually GOOD for their skin! With watching so many people I know struggle with skin problems, unruly hair, and my own battle with acne, I knew SOMETHING had to be done! Something had to change! I started with soap, and have expanded my knowledge and product line into skin care and hair care products. Each and every product has a story behind it and has been made with a purpose - made with a person in mind - made to offer a healthy alternative to what was available at the store.

What's the bottom line? How do I save my skin & hair from the winter woes?

The bottom line is that the best thing you can do for your skin & hair is to ditch any detergent filled cleansers you're using and replace them with REAL soap and cleansers!!!

Now the tricky part.... you will NOT find real soap at most corner stores, the grocery store, or the big box stores! You'll have to hunt it down from a handmade soap maker like myself. Handmade soap makers can be found all over the place! Most cities, towns, and villages have at least one soap maker who is selling their skin loving creations. For example, my soaps are available at a local shop called Weezi, available online, at home parties, and at local craft shows! If you're local to me, you'll definitely be able to find me out and about a lot in the community, or you can simply place an order online! And, if you order online and live in London (Ontario) and area, I'll deliver it for free! If you're not local, no worries! I ship worldwide :)

The Benefits of Shea Butter

I mentioned in a previous post that I would start to spotlight the ingredients I use and today is shea butter's turn to be in the lime light! I use shea butter in a lot of my products including many of my soaps, solid perfume and body butters because of all of it's amazing benefits! Keep reading to find out exactly why I'm so attached to this marvelous butter :)

What is Shea Butter?

Shea Butter is only found in the tropics of Africa. It is extracted from the nuts of the Shea-Karite tree which begins to bear fruit after about 15 years; and can take up to 30 years to bear a quality crop of nuts with a high content of irremovable fatty acid. It is this irremovable fatty acid that gives Shea Butter its unique healing properties and makes it far superior to cocoa butter and other vegetable butters. Traditionally, Shea Butter was extracted by people who picked the nuts, cracked them, grilled them and pounded them. They were boiled in water for hours until the Shea Butter rose to the surface. It was then scooped into gourds and left to cool and set. Shea Butter is solid at room temperature although it quickly liquefies right around body temperature. This Shea Butter is called unrefined Shea Butter or raw Shea Butter. Since Shea Butter is an all natural product, it can vary widely in quality, appearance and smell depending on where it is produced from and how it is refined or extracted. Most Shea Butter comes from West Africa. Although a more soft and smoother variety from East Africa is beginning to appear on the market.

What skin problems can Shea Butter help with?

Shea Butter can provide relief from everything from just dry skin to many minor dermatological diseases (if you have a serious skin condition, you should see a doctor). It has been clinically shown to provide benefits. Here are some of the benefits of Shea Butter for the skin:

• Skin moisturizer (face and body)
• Dry skin relief
• Dry scalp relief
• Skin rash- including diaper rash
• Skin peeling, after tanning
• Blemishes and wrinkles
• Itching skin due to dryness
• Sunburn
• Shaving cream to reduce razor irritation
• Small skin wounds
• Skin cracks
• Soften tough skin on feet (especially heels)
• Stretch mark prevention during pregnancy
• Minor burns
• Eczema
• Sun and wind protection
• Even skin tone
• Reduce blemishes and scarring
• Eliminating scalp irritation from dryness or chemical processing
• Preventing bumps after shaving
• Reducing acne (especially in combination with patchouli)
• Absorbs quickly without leaving a greasy residue (an important quality for my solid perfumes)
• Helps restore elasticity to skin

How does Shea Butter benefit the skin?

Shea Butter nourishes the skin with Vitamins A, E and F. Vitamins A and E help maintain the skin and keep it clear and healthy. They are particularly helpful for sun damaged skin. They help prevent premature wrinkles and facial lines. Vitamin F acts as a skin protector and rejuvenator. It soothes rough, dry or chapped skin and helps soften dry or damaged hair. Shea Butter is high in unsaponifiables (a type of fat). Shea Butter has between 7-12% unsaponifiables. For comparison, avocado oil, a well known skin conditioner, has between 2-6%. This high level of unsaponifiables is one of the properties that makes Shea Butter so invaluable in treating the conditions listed above. Also, Shea Butter easily penetrates the skin allowing the skin to breathe and not clogging pores. Shea Butter has a high level of cinnamic acid, a natural sun screen. So, it provides some degree of protection from the sun. Shea Butter is also anti-inflammatory making it useful in treating rheumatism.

What Batty's Bath Products Contain Shea Butter?

Solid Perfumes

Body Butters

Soaps

(in a variety of scents!)

Patchouli Facial Moisturizer

(for problem skin)

Facial Primer & Day Moisturizer

Cucumber Shea Butter Soaps

Do Chemicals in Cosmetics Accumulate in Your Body?

I recently came across a great post at one of my favorite sites. In this post, the author answered the question of whether or not chemicals in cosmetics accumulate in our bodies. It's a bit of a length post (compared to most quick FIY blog posts), and it's worth the read, but if you're not interested in reading the whole post (available here), below is an excret of the most interesting and informative part of the post. I added the bold font face for those of you who want to further cut down on your reading time ;)

"Well compared to what you eat, it is pretty obvious that cosmetics can only make a tiny contribution to what is in your body. The most dedicated of beauty junkies is not going to apply more than a few grammes of product a day. Even if was all absorbed it would not even equal a mouthful of food.

However most of what you apply is simply not absorbed. Rest assured the skin is an extremely good barrier. That is why diabetics have to inject insulin rather than letting it soak through the skin and why snakes have to bite you in order to poison you. This is actually a great shame for the pharmaceutical industry because transdermal patches would be a great way of delivering drugs if the skin didn’t do such a great job of keeping stuff out.

Even if they did get through the skin the bulk of chemicals used in cosmetics are not very different to those you eat in any case. A chemical like say glyceryl monostearate might sound scary if you don’t know what it is. But it is simply a fraction of a vegetable oil with a very slight chemical modification – and modification that your body carries out too. The next time you eat some fried food you will probably be eating more glyceryl monostearate than would get into your body from a lifetime of applying skin creams.

Most cosmetic ingredients are derived from natural sources. This has always been the case. If they do get into your body, you have enzymes that can deal with them. Your liver’s main reason for existing is to deal with toxins and it has plenty of tools to do the job. This is just as well because even a very organic diet has plenty of toxins in it (or maybe especially an organic diet). Fortunately we have evolved to deal with them.

I have said that the skin is a good barrier, but there are some chemicals that have the right properties to go through it. But there aren’t many. Nicotene is one, which is why you can buy nicotine patches. Caffeine is another. But very few drugs are available as patches because very can be made to penetrate the skin. Very very few of the materials used in cosmetics will get through the skin. But even then, just getting through the skin is not enough for a chemical to accumulate. If it is metabolised then the body will get rid of it quickly. We are all familiar with how quickly the body deals with caffeine. I am writing this late at night and I am well aware that my last dose is in need of replacement.

So it is far from obvious that any cosmetic raw material accumulates in the body. I can only think of a handful of materials that even have a chance to do so. Of those only the parabens are not metabolised extremely quickly. (I don’t want to talk about parabens again, after 8 recent blog posts my regular readers must be fed up of them by now.)

I have done some work trying to deliberately improve penetration through the skin. It is an extremely hard thing to accomplish. So in a nutshell, the answer to Lynne’s question about studies of the long term effects of accumulation of cosmetic raw materials in the body is that we don’t know because it doesn’t happen."

- Source: Do Chemicals in Cosmetics Accummulate in Your Body by Colin Saunders - PersonalCareTruth.com

Natural Skin Remedies

Do natural remedies, like putting sliced cucumbers over your eyes to get rid of puffiness, really work?

According to ScientificAmerican.com some natural concoctions really do work while others are not only unsuccessful, but actually potentially harmful. Exercise is one definite natural cure, as is sleep and eating veggies to get vitamins. But there are some less likely ones – lemons, for example, are filled with acids that help with wrinkles and acne. Also, eating foods rich in oil (omega-3) will help your skin. Those old wives’ tales you’ve heard about teabags and cucumbers? Those really are true. Also, anti-oxidants, meaning lots and fruits and vegetables, help with your breakouts.

On the other hand, those all-natural berry blends you read about? They won’t do a thing. In addition, smoking and eating lots of sugar are sure ways to ruin your skin. You may have heard that water will change your skin for the best, and that drinking eight glasses a day will keep the doctor away, but it doesn’t hydrate skin very well. That’s about the moisture level in your epidermis, and the ability it has to retain that moisture.

(source: Beauty Brains)

How Long Do You Have to Leave Conditioner on Your Hair?

Did you know that you don't need to leave conditioner on your hair as long as the commercials tell you? Honest! 90% of the benefit from conditioner comes from coating the surface of the hair. This coating is actually a good thing! In fact, the best thing you can do for your hair is to smooth and protect the cuticle (that shingle-like layer that covers your hair) BUT after you've thoroughly worked the conditioner though your hair you're done your good deed - coating complete! You don't need to leave it in for 10 minutes or even a few minutes.. however long it takes you to work the conditioner through your hair is all you need.

But what does Batty do?
My routine is to shampoo, then work conditioner through my hair and leave it in while I go about washing, exfoliating and shaving. When that's all done, I rise the conditioner out at the end of my shower. Yes, I just told you it is unnecessary to leave it in that long, but what can I say? I'm a creature of habit haha... at least I'm honest about it eh? ;) However, when I'm in a rush, I really take comfort in knowing that I can rise the conditioner out right away to speed up my shower if needed.

If Passed, The SCA of 2010 Will Increase Animal Testing More Than 10 Fold

(pictured above: Me and "rock star", one of the many rabbits I fell in love with while working for the OSPCA)

As someone who opposes the SCA (see my previous posts in the "Be Informed" section of the blog), I'd like to present another reason for my opposition which is very near and dear to my heart. I consider myself an advocate for animal welfare, and as someone who has seen the effects of animal abuse, torture, and harm up close and personal during my time at the OSPCA (as well as with the continued emotional support my own rescue animals need), I can't bare to think of the ramifications of SCA being passed. The truth is that if this bill is passed, the cosmetic industry will be forced into even more animal testing than the EU Initiative has caused (see *more info note below). Certified Vegan and Cruelty Free Cosmetics will become a thing of the past if this bill is passed. In fact, the amount of animal testing will sky rocket without leading us to safer cosmetics for human topical use! There's no excuse for needless suffering and testing just for the sake of a bill. Can you imagine poor Rock Star (the bunny above) being tested on for the sake of legislation with no gains to speak of? The thought of it is ludicrous! A long time ago I devoted a large part of my heart to protecting precious souls like Rock Star from people who can't fathom that these creatures might actually feel pain, have emotional needs, and deserve a high quality of life. This devotion to protecting those who can't protect themselves has lead me to reach out to my blog readers to stop this bill from passing - a bill that would actually make increasing animal suffering a legal and required business practice for products that have already proven to be safe for human use. Please, if you feel as strongly as I do about STOPPING animal suffering, please oppose the SCA and follow this link for action steps to take against the passing of this bill.

(pictured above: winter 2008, Me and Chica, another beloved bunny in the care of the shelter I worked at.)

*More Info Note: When the European Union passed REACH, the proponents of REACH legislation suggested that the testing would use 9 million laboratory animals and the ongoing costs for conducting the tests would amount to €1.3 billion. The study now published by Costanza Rovida and Thomas Hartung suggests that the testing required would involve 54 million vertebrate animals and that the costs would amount to €9.5 billion (20 times more animals and cost 6 times as much as previously stated). Animal testing is the most viable form of testing for many of the allergen, toxicity, reproductive health (etc.) issues that HR 5786 purports to protect against, yet the very bill that is requiring the testing is calling for a decrease in animal testing and in fact is requiring a testing method that is ‘superior in scientific quality’ to animal testing. Unless humans can be used, sadly bunnies and primates are still the ‘gold standard’ for safety substantiation of data. - source, The Bunny Factor, Anne-Marie Faloda

Why Batty Uses Preservatives

Preservatives....to use them or not is often a difficult choice that soap makers and makers of bath and body products face. On the one hand, most who venture into this craft, do so because of a desire to create something more natural and skin friendly than what is currently available commercially. This means doing away with chemicals as much as possible. On the other hand, doing away will all chemicals can lead to the growth of mold and germs. We all know that mold and germs applied directly to the skin is not exactly a skin friendly alternative. Water based bath and body products should NEVER be without a preservative. Many lotion and body butter recipes contain water based ingredients like aloe vera gel, milks, hydrosols and of course plain water. These recipes need to have some sort of blend of broad spectrum or a full spectrum preservative in order to stop the growth of bacteria, mold and fungus.... "natural preservatives" such as Honeysuckle Extract, Vitamin E, Rosemary Oleoresin (ROE), and Grapefruit Extract are actually antioxidants .. in fact, they are awesome antioxidants BUT they are not effective preservatives! There is no such thing as a broad spectrum natural preservative.



When it came my turn as a maker of bath & body products to decide to use preservatives or not, the choice was easy - YES! Of course I'll use them! As I like to say, "nobody needs a free pet with purchase!" - referring to all the bacteria, mold and fungus customers would be getting with an unpreserved product.



This is where the question of parabens comes into play. Parabens are the most widely used preservatives in personal care products and you may have read my previous post about why Batty's Bath is paraben-free. If you haven't read that post, in a nutshell, I don't use parabens in my products because some researchers have raised concerns about the fact that parabens have the ablility to mimic estrogen and estrogen exposure is linked to breast cancer development. More over, parabens have been found in breast cancer tumors. They are concerned that exposure to chemicals that mimic estrogen might be having an impact of the development of breast cancer. No studies have been conclusive yet, and many experts such as the FDA, American Cancer Society and the National Cancer Institute have agree that parabens are still safe to use in personal care products but in this case, I'd rather play on the safe side of personal care product ingredients when and where I can.

Although I respect the opinions of these experts, I also don't want to regret any decisions about my products years down the road especially if I have the information and accessibility to avoid any regrets before they happen. I may be overly cautious, but I think of it as being responsible. I wouldn't be able to sleep at night wondering if 10 years from now the researchers who are concerned about parabens turn out to be right and I didn't take their concerns seriously and instead just blindly followed "the experts". Like I said, perhaps overly cautious, but I sleep really well every time I lay down my head knowing that I'm making decisions to (potentially) protect my supporters rather than being complacent by using any excuse NOT to keep working hard towards making my products the best they can be - even if it means I need to totally change the ingredients in a product and basically re-formulate to avoid one potentially dangerous ingredient I'll do it!

Even though I've made the move to paraben free preservatives, I still strongly believe that preservatives are an important ingredient in any formula. If I were to make products free of ALL preservatives, they would be unsafe by the time they were delivered to the customer! Lately, I've spotted a few bath & body companies offering preservative free products but that is just plain scary, unsafe, and irresponsible if you ask me because Bath & body makers such as myself have a responsibility to keep our products safe and of the highest quality for our supporters (not to mention ourselves and our families!).



While you work your way through all the (often confusing) information about bath & body products, personal health, and ingredients in handmade products, I will continue to share my opinions and the information I've found in the latest research reports. My hope is by doing so, straightforward, reputable information will be easier to come by. :)

Paraben Free Batty's Bath Products

You may have noticed that “paraben free” labels have been popping up in the Batty's Bath Online Shop and wondering what that is all about. I've decided to go paraben free with many of my products and in this blog post, I'll share a little bit about why I've decided to make that change.

What are Parabens?
Parabens are the most widely used preservatives in personal care products; they stop fungus, bacteria and other microbes from growing in your favourite creams and makeup, especially in the moist, warm environment of a bathroom. You’ll find them listed on thousands of personal care products such as shampoos, mascara, foundations and body lotions.

What's the Problem?
"Over the past few years, a debate has been building among scientists, product safety regulators and cosmetic manufacturers about whether these ubiquitous chemicals, used for almost 70 years, may actually be harmful to our health.

Some of the questions being asked: Is the rising incidence of breast cancer linked in part to the fact that parabens, which have a weak ability to mimic estrogen, have been found in breast cancer tumours and can be isolated from other body tissues? Are declining sperm counts and increasing rates of male breast cancer and testicular cancer related to the fact that these chemicals can be absorbed into our skin, potentially disrupting our endocrine systems?

We don’t know yet. But some researchers feel there may be reason for concern. One of the most vocal is Philippa Darbre, a senior lecturer in oncology and researcher in biomolecular sciences at the University of Reading, in England. She specializes in the impact of estrogen on breast cancer. In 2004, Darbre’s team published a pivotal study that detected parabens in 18 of 20 samples of tissue from breast tumour biopsies. Her study didn’t prove parabens cause cancer, only that they were easily detected among cancerous cells. The study was criticized for not comparing paraben levels in normal tissue, but nevertheless, the results called out for more investigation.

• “We’ve known for more than 25 years that estrogen exposure is linked to breast cancer development and progression; it is the reason tamoxifen [commonly prescribed to women with breast cancer] is used to disrupt estrogen receptors,” says Darbre. “So it is not such a leap to be concerned that repeated, cumulative, long-term exposure to chemicals that weakly mimic estrogen might be having an impact.”

She notes that research has found that roughly 55 percent of all breast cancer tumours occur in the upper outside portion of the breast, the section closest to the underarm. The U.S. National Cancer Institute has partly dismissed the claim, maintaining that at present, there is no decisive evidence to conclude that the parabens in these products are linked to breast cancer, but that more research is needed." - A.Mullens, Best Health Magazine.

So What Does All That Mean for Batty's Bath Products?
It means for now, I'm playing it safe where I can. Many formulas are extremely difficult to create without parabens, particularly lotions and creams, but for other products like deodorants, shampoos, conditioners, body wash, and bubble bath, the switch comes without as many complications. This is why there has been a "make over" of several of my products to insure they are as safe as they can possibly be. I'll continue to stay educated on the most up-to-date research reports and findings to ensure that my family, friends, and supporters are using the highest quality products - both in safety, ingredients, and presentation.

Mystery of Most Common Contact Allergy Solved

Nickel allergy is the most common contact allergy in the western world, with people affected reacting to costume jewellery, coins and even medical implants. Now we know why: it seems nickel imitates the action of bacteria.

Matthias Goebeler at the University of Giessen in Germany and his colleagues looked at cells from the blood vessels of people with a nickel allergy. The team found that these cells react to nickel when a group of receptors known as Toll-like receptors (TLRs) are present.

When the team "knocked out" the genes behind each of the 11 types of TLR, they identified TLR4 as nickel's target – the same TLR that bacteria bind to, sparking the body's immune response.

"This receptor was thought to only be relevant for bacteria," says Goebeler, who suspects that other allergens may act in the same way.

Nickel and bacteria bind to different parts of the receptor,the team say, so blocking nickel's binding site could prevent allergic responses to the metal without stopping the body's inflammation response to infection.

Journal reference: Nature Immunology, DOI: 10.1038/ni.1919

article source: New Scientist

Big "Bad" Chemicals

"Chemical" has become a bad word when you're talking about bath & body lately. Activist groups, fear mongers, and marketing agencies have done a really good job to get everyone shaking in their boots over this word. Often, when you here about a "chemical" or "chemicals" being used in reference to a product the advice is to avoid it before it kills you and your family. You've probably seen or heard this strategy again and again. Now don't get me wrong, I'm all for natural, handmade ingredients but I'm fully aware that they have chemicals! (explained below).

There are clearly some chemicals out there that we should steer clear of, but picking products by "all natural" vs. "synthetic" ingredients isn't a hard and fast rule to shop by. Unfortunately, it will never be that simple no matter how much fear mongers would like you to believe this!

A recent campaign on the web has used the "beware of chemicals" scare tactic by stating that the average woman uses more than 515 chemicals on her face daily (and of course implying that this is extremely dangerous). This is a low blow tactic preying on the general publics lack of knowledge about what the real story behind chemicals are.

So what's the real story?

The real story is that when we're talking bath & body products, we're talking chemicals no matter how natural your product is. Did you know that most people put a "chemical" on their skin in the morning before even touching a bar of soap? That chemical is dihydrogen monoxide.... WATER. I guess that counts at the first of the 515 chemicals a women uses on her face daily.. only 514 to go! If you've got a bar of handmade natural soap in your shower, the next chemicals will probably come from that. For example, most oil olive soaps contain several oils that have reacted with lye such as palm oil, coconut oil, shea butter, and of course olive oil. These oils are made up of many triglycerides and their fatty acids, i.e. CHEMICALS. And let's say your soap is a lovely lavender bar, well it's time to add more chemicals to our count because there's 76 different chemicals in lavender.

A handmade natural lavender soap bar is considered all natural by most people but did you know that all natural products contain more chemicals than any other products because they are so complex? It's true! Synthetic ingredients usually only have a handful of compounds in them, because they can be created that way (in a sterile lab environment). Natural ingredients are derived from living organisms (like plants and flowers) and are inherently complex. In fact, parsley is made up of at least 204 different compounds, and many essential oils are composed of hundreds of compounds. I'm pointing this out because simply stating that a product has "chemicals" is actually just stating the obvious - of course they have chemicals!

Don't be one of the many consumers who have had the wool pulled over their eyes by assuming that "chemical" is a bad word. Of course TOXIC chemicals are bad, that's a whole other issue, and unfortunately I've found that many people associate ALL chemicals with TOXIC chemicals which is a huge mistake. Even worse is that activist groups have taken this association and ran with it in their campaign for the SCA.

What this has to do with SCA & My opposition to it....

The Story of Cosmetics video (clearly supporting the SCA and the fear mongering behind it) has proposed that we live our lives based on the precautionary principle.

As defined by Wikipedia, “The precautionary principle states that if an action or policy has a suspected risk of causing harm to the public or to the environment, in the absence of scientific consensus that the action or policy is harmful, the burden of proof that it is not harmful falls on those taking the action”.

I'm sure you've already realize the connection... get fear mongers to scare people enough and they will create a law to back up their bogus claims. Simply take the public's general idea about chemicals (that I reviewed above) and I'm sure you can see where I'm going with this. Can you imagine using the precautionary principle and testing all the 240 chemicals found in rosemary? It could not be done.... and really doesn't NEED to be done. Natural ingredients like lavender and rosemary have been used safely in bath & body products for centuries - why would anyone want to make it harder to create natural products? I can hazard a pretty good guess and I'm sure you know why too.

In fact, if we all lived by the precautionary principle, we'd never leave the house let alone drive cars, fly in airplanes, cross the street, or even take a bath!! In my opinion, fife is way too short to jump on the fear mongering band wagon!