Skin / Hair / Nail Care

Soap, Skin Lotion, and Cosmetics
Great looking, healthy skin starts with one’s diet. Ensure you read the Omega 3-6-9’s section in the Food Tips 2 web-page. Without ingesting regular doses of high-quality omega 3-6-9’s, skin care will be an unwinnable battle. Conversely, healthy eating can be seriously undermined by the use of some skin lotions. When lotions or moisturizing creams are rubbed onto the skin, the skin absorbs a percentage of the product directly into the bloodstream (paraphrased from Clark, 1993). The blood can become polluted with these undesirable substances. Before using any skin care or cosmetic product, check out www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/index.php?nothanks=1 and www.safecosmetics.org/.

Most products found on a typical store shelf are loaded with “non-necessary ingredients” such as oils (mineral and vegetable which clog pores), soaps (which are usually high in alkaline pH and very drying), propylene gylcol, sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate, dyes, DEA (a lathering or foaming agent which is currently being questioned by the National Toxicology Program), just to name a few. Avoid those products and those tested on animals.

Julyne Derrick of about.com offers some easy to follow advice on skin care and recommends first testing the facial skin to determine which of the 5 skin-types (oily, combination, sensitive, dry and sun-damaged) one has.

For daily (or bi-weekly) maintenance of the skin, I recommend skin brushing and using an excellent and pure product called, Egyptian Magic (202)736-1703 or www.egyptianmagic.com. I traveled to Washington DC in the late 1990’s and met personally with the proprietor of Egyptian Magic. I was impressed with his strong belief in the product and calls from Hollywood, California he received while I was in his office. This is the product I used on my skin just before being photographed (see 1996 photo in About Us). It greatly enhanced the texture and appearance of my skin for those photographs. If budget is less of an issue, check out the skin care products at www.miorganicproducts.com.

Laser Treatment for the Facial Skin
If you’re like me, you won’t waste time or $ on processes that simply poke-at a solution. When I looked at the expected outcomes of chemical peels and other similar procedures for the facial skin, I was not satisfied. My condition could not be addressed without a more pervasive process. Over the years I spent too much time in the sun (fake and real) and didn’t look after my skin well. My face was getting to look like a catcher’s mitt. One of the many professionals I spoke to recommended some recent (2005) technology known as Active FX which utilizes a (partially) ablative CO2 laser to “resurface” the facial skin. Needless to say, I invested the $2K+ and had it done. Yes, it hurt, but was worth every penny. See what others had to say about Active FX. Many other places offered the service, but allowed a “technician” to perform procedure which (to me) introduces very high risk. I had an experienced, highly-respected surgeon do mine. Three days after the procedure, my face looked and felt like an NFL football. After a week or two, I was back to normal and after the 6 months or so it takes for the collagen to re-establish, my facial skin appearance improved dramatically!

Shampoo
For the hair, I use each of the 5 Anthony Morrocco shampoos and the Chi Conditioner and the Dragon Hair Gel. These products are amazing. See www.morroccomethod.com.

Deodorant and Antiperspirant
At your next convenience, read the ingredients on the deodorant you are currently using. If you’ve found aluminum zirconium trichlorohydrex, cyclomethicone, dimethicone, polyethylene, and other compounds, know these substances are being absorbed into your lymph system (perhaps as you read this). Lymph is heavily concentrated around the armpit area. Therefore, the use of the leading antiperspirant deodorants may be an extremely unhealthy and ill-advised practice. I have since discontinued using Sure deodorant (which incidentally worked extremely well) and now use Arm & Hammer Essentials. Here again, I wonder if there is a correlation between the increased use of deodorants containing aluminum zirconium (and other compounds) and the rising rates of breast cancer in women.

Try a deodorant stone. According to Deodorant Stones of America, Scotsdale Arizona (800)279-9318 or www.deodorantstones.com. “The deodorant stone is not a cover-up nor does it clog pores. The stone (available in a spray as well) actually inhibits bacterial growth on your body. This bacterial growth is what causes body odor.”

Finger and Toenail Maintenance
Most ‘guys’ can say a periodic cutting of their finger and toenails comprises 100% of their nail maintenance and will readily report it can be done for under $5 a year (the cost of fingernail clippers). The rest of the world pays hundreds of dollars per year for such maintenance. Is a portion of the millions of dollars in revenue used to make salons and the products safer? What criteria is regulating that industry? Much like other industries, I’m submitting that we as consumers need to do our own homework to better understand the impact of those nasty chemicals being used in most every nail salon in the U.S. I’m being slightly unfair with that statement, but the larger point is we should at least become better informed about what those chemicals are and what impact they are having on us. I’m not about to say women should not wear make up or have their nails done. Personally, the first ten things I tend to notice when I look at a woman are hips, breasts, eyebrows, nails, shoes, lips, jewelry, make-up, hair, and clothing. We must be as interested in knowing those things that enhance a woman’s appearance are not hurting her. So, here’s the approach: When selecting a salon, know that a grassroots organization known as Ecovian (www.ecovian.com) has rated hundreds of salons and other business types across the U.S. in terms of their “Green” rating. See how salons in your area measure up according to Ecovian.