Topic: Rants and Raves
You know what is burning my backside these days? The whole "organic" movement in cosmetics. The ads claim that things made with certified organic botanical sourced ingredients are far better for skin than the harmful toxic chemicals used in other products. They say chemicals are toxic, harmful and you should not use anything with chemicals on your skin or hair.These ads are ignoring one very important fact: EVERYTHING IS MADE OF CHEMICALS. HUMANS ARE COMPRISED ENTIRELY OF CHEMICALS> Organic chemicals are some of the most toxic on earth. Technically, crude oil is organic!
Everything is made with chemicals, whether it is certified organic or not. Plants are amazing chemical factories, from the chemical process called photosynthesis to the chemical processes that make viable seeds, sap, colour pigments in the flowers...everything on earth is made of chemicals. You are filled with chemicals and many are quite toxic. Fortunately our bodies have ways of handling toxic chemicals through the liver and kidneys. You 100% certified organic botanicals are the same chemicals as non certified and non botanical. When you break things down to the molecules, there's no difference between organic botanical or anything...it's all the same. certified organic botanical is more about marketing and playing on the fears of gullible consumers.
In cosmetics I prefer products whose ingredients are carefully tested for effacity and safety. I have sensitive skin and many plant compounds are highly irritating to my skin. look at poison ivy, nettles, and belladonna. they may be certified organic all they want, but that doesn't make any of them harmless or safe. There's a mushroom called Gyromitra esculenta, the false morel -that produces monmethylhydrazine (a chemical also found in rocket fuel). Is certified organic botanical rocket fuel any safer than synthesized rocket fuel?
It's all hype, there's nothing wrong with chemicals, if anything some are more harmless than untested unstandardized unknowns from plants sources. Some plants are highly toxic and cause severe dermatitis reactions. Some chemicals have been purified and tested as harmless and very effective. Chemical doesn't always equal bad and botanic organic does not always equal good.
So would the chemical in stinging nettle be less painful if it were certified organic? Would the poison in Hemlock be soothing and healing because it came from a plant and plants are soothing and healing? Would poison Ivy cause less of a rash if it were grown according to certified organic standards?
It's all hype and nonsense. One product that drove me crazy was a lotion for sensitive skin that contained "The calming essence of feverfew" FEVERFEW??? That's related to ragweed and it is highly irritating. It's used to treat migraines and one caution is that chewing the leaves can lead to mouth cankers, open sores and bleeding gums. There are strict warning not to swallow the leaves because they can perforate the stomach and the small intestine. Yeah, that's really calming on my sensitive skin.
Another contains St John's Wort. The plant has several proven medical benefits , but none are for the skin. In fact, it will sensitize the skin to the sun, making it burn far easier. Yet one company put it in all their skin care products, emphasizing how it's anti-depressant qualities will brighten the mood of skin. My skin doesn't have a mood. Really. But a sun burn will damage it. I think I'll pass on the St John's Wort.
And that's my rant for today. It's all the same elements found on the old periodic table, they all come from the same source.
