How Natural is Your Nail Polish?

Considering how nauseating the experience of just walking past a nail salon can be, it shouldn't be surprising that nail polishes and removers usual contain toxins. What is surprising is that many nail products marketed as "natural" also contain known toxins.

This Spring investigators with the California Department of Toxic Substances Control found dibutyl phthalate, toluene, and formaldehyde, commonly called “the toxic trio,” present in several of 25 randomly chosen nail polishes that claimed to be natural.

What's so bad about these three chemicals? Dibutyl phthalate, also known as DBP, causes a number of birth defects in lab animals, primarily in male offspring. These defects include testicular atrophy, reduced sperm count, and abnormalities in the structure of the penis. Even low levels of toluene can, if inhaled, cause nausea, memory and hearing loss and weakness. Formaldehyde is labeled a known human carcinogen by the World Health Organization and exposure to it damages lung tissue and can cause asthma. (Info excerpted from an Environmental Working Group report.)

Frugivore recently reported on "5 Toxic-Free Nail Polishes for Healthy Style." Have you tried any?

Nail polish isn't something I use or think about often. As I am always working with my hands, polish seems to stay chip-free for only a day or two at most. Also nail painting seems like a complete waste of time, money, and body burden points. LOL!

Still, sometimes I paint my toe nails because they are seriously gnarly. When I do I use Priti polish, which I discovered while working at Sustainable NYC. The brand has great colors. Plus, I am in love with their nail polish remover. It's absolutely non-drying. In fact, it leaves my nails feeling healthier! I only wish it didn't contain fragrance.

Priti polish in "Baby Toes Cactus." I love this color! Tip: It's on sale because it's discontinued!

I've heard good things from parents about Piggy Paint too. It's marketed to kids and claims to be free of formaldehyde, toluene, phthalates, Bisphenol A, ethyl acetate and acetone. I'm not sure why the website acts like only girls use it. I've seen several little boys flip out over nail polish! Why can't they have fun too?

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

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DIY Plastic Bag Holder

If you save plastic shopping bags to reuse as garbage can liners or doggie poo scoopers, it's not long before you have a chaos under your sink or in the cabinet, closet, or drawer where you're storing them.

Yeah, you could buy a plastic bag holder but making one from a paper towel tube is free, easy, and let's you check off a couple Rs from the Reduce-Reuse-Recycle mantra. Yippee!

My friend/ hostess sent me this photo with the text, "Did you do this?" Yes, I did. I am obsessed with this organizing technique!

Here's what you do:

1. Take a paper towel tube out of the recycling bin. If you don't have one, honestly you can use the tube while paper towels still surround it.
2. Stuff plastic bags into the tube. You could probably cram about a dozen bags in there.
3. Feel like a champion!

You can use toilet paper tubes to store produce and bread bags in the freezer. This way you'll have them handy to reuse for holding food scraps for community composting.

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

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Happy Halloween!

I hope you had, or are having, a super halloween. Our plans to go to Salem, MA fell through so we stayed here in Providence.

I'm giving myself a high five because I enjoyed pumpkin three ways today.
 

 

I carved my first Jack O' Lantern. Okay, Richard did most of the carving.

Even the cat is excited about the Jack O' Lantern.

I saved the seeds from inside the pumpkin and oven roasted them at 250 for about an hour with cinnamon, clove, ginger, maple syrup, sugar, salt, and canola oil. They are a little chewy. Maybe too much maple syrup or not enough heat? IDK. Either way, that's not stopping me from snacking on them!

I got almost a cup of seeds from one little pumpkin!

I also mixed pumpkin flesh with leftover tomato sauce and spaghetti for lunch. It's surprisingly delicious and filling! (So delicious, I ate it all before I thought to snap a pic!)

Richard's gorilla paws!

Tonight, we handed out candy to the kids. The best costume award goes to little Abraham Lincoln. The cutest trick-or-treater award goes the 4 foot tall boy in a brown furry teddy bear costume. A-dor-a-ble!

I feel like I should actually mention something that has to do with cleaning. Hmmm...Oh yes! I used rubbing alcohol to remove the black adhesive that held my craft fur mustache to my face. So easy!

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

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Pink Ribbons Tie Together Corporate Fluff

I just watched Pink Ribbons, Inc., a 2011 documentary that examines the corporate sponsored fight against breast cancer.

Surprise: Corporations like Revlon, Ford, Yoplait, the NFL, KFC, and many more are waving the pink ribbon to improve their image with female consumers and increase their bottom line. I already knew and was somewhat irritated by this (you probably are too). Once I saw the documentary I became extra miffed.

It seems corporations aren't really donating as much money to research for the cure as their ad campaigns would have us believe. Also, not much attention is given to making sure funds go towards research that isn't overlapping or would benefit ethnic or age groups beyond middle aged, White North American women.

Also interesting is that the pink ribbon culture shifts responsibility from corporations that produce and profit from products containing known carcinogens and the government which should be protecting us. The burden falls on victims and potential victims of cancer. There is a false implication that simply early detection will protect you from cancer or give you better chances of surviving. The message is that if you are upbeat and fight hard enough you will survive cancer. There is also the underlying suggestion that those who don't survive cancer have somehow failed at this.

You can see Pink Ribbons, Inc on Netflix Watch Instantly.

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

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1 in 8 women get breast cancer. If you'd like to help change this, get active with Breast Cancer Action, a group working to address and end the epidemic by putting patients before profit. You should totally check out their Think Before You Pink campaign.

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What did you do during Hurricane Sandy?

Thankfully, Hurricane Sandy has turned out to just be a terribly rainy and windy day here in Providence, at least on my block. We haven't lost energy or internet access. Instead, my boyfriend and I have gained a long weekend.

Today has been a day for doing everything really slowly and with pleasure and joy. I ate two breakfasts which I balanced out by doing two loads of laundry. (That's how it works, right?) I watched Amy Sedaris craft newspaper wigs with Clinton Kelly on The Chew. I took a superlong superhot afternoon shower just in case we ran out of hot water at some point. Of course, I also watched Mad Men and gorged on all things #Sandy on Instagram and Twitter.

My boyfriend Richard and I also made pumpkin-cranberry bread using produce from our CSA this late afternoon. It was my first time cooking with a real pumpkin! We veganized a recipe from the Joy of Baking. We used more baking powder and soda instead of eggs, 2 T canola oil in place of butter, and lots more pumpkin and maple syrup instead of sugar for general yumminess! It was delicious. I only wish we had nuts to balance out the moistness. Oh well, maybe next time we'll have the forethought to roast the pumpkin seeds.

The best thing about today was Richard played Connect Four with me. I haven't played it in a years. It's my favorite game since childhood, but I am pretty sure he hates it. He's such a good sport!

What did you do during Hurricane Sandy? I hope you were safe and warm! Sending lots of extra love to all my friends in NYC <3. Things look pretty bad there.

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

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Oil Cleansing Method: 5 Week Follow-Up

Five weeks ago, I started using oil to clean my acne-prone skin. No, I'm not crazy. It's a real thing that lots of people have credited with miraculously improving the condition of their skin when other things didn't. Here's what I experienced:

The Good: My skin doesn't flip-flop from oily to dry like it used to when I used soap-based cleansing products. Once I do the oil cleansing method then apply a few drops of the oil as a leave on moisturizer and I'm good all day. This is excellent, especially as the weather gets cooler. Also, what's not to like about treating myself to a daily facial spa treatment?

The Bad: You truly need to have either a lot of washcloths or spare time to clean the same one everyday when you're done. I tried cleaning the single washcloth I own everyday. It became sort of a pain especially days I wanted to sleep in.

The Ugly: My zits, acne scars, and blackheads haven't gone anywhere.

Before

After 5 weeks of Oil Cleansing Method; no better or worse.

Conclusion: I think I'll buy more washcloths so I can continue the oil cleansing method trial for a few more months without going insane. During this period, I plan to toy with different carrier oils and essential oils. My latest mix includes essential oil of lavender, which took the lux factor up a zillion knotches. I hope to acquire some tamanu oil, which is suppose to be amazing for treating acne and scars.

I honestly think my acne is due to my hormones. I had zero acne and scars when I was taking Ortho Tri-cyclen (regular and lo) and I barely washed my face every other day back then! In that case, it makes sense that external treatment wouldn't solve it. Perhaps this means taking herbs internally could correct my hormonal balance. My friend Goddess Mishel said Murad supplements really made a big difference for her skin. And my herbalist friend Liz suggested a bunch of herbs for me to take in an infusion every day. Guess I'll have another experiment to share soon!

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

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RISD 2nd Life Gives New Life to Old Art Supplies

I finally made it to RISD 2nd Life a couple of weeks ago.

2ndlife is a non-profit up-cycling materials center run by students of Rhode Island School of Design. They promote sustainability and creativity through the collection and redistribution of art supplies and materials back into the local community.

All are invited to shop from the cheap and well-organized stock of art supplies housed in the storefront shared with Expose, a gallery displaying student work. They sell paint, brushes, paper, fabric, plaster, beads, string, pens, charcoal, markers, wood... You name it, they have it! Well, maybe. They do rely on donations, after all. Still, I would definitely check this place before hitting up Utrecht or the RISD supply store.

While there I spied a table of paint tubes priced from $1 to $5. Most were almost half used, but some looked new.

Paint galore!

I picked up a pair of Tombow markers for $1 each from a cabinet teeming with Sharpies and other drawing instruments. I was a little skeptical, as I had no way of knowing how much ink remained inside them. I've done lots of juicy, colorful drawings with them, so even if they kick the bucket at this point I feel like I've gotten my money's worth. That and the good feeling that comes with keeping useful things out of landfills.

RISD 2nd Life is located at 204 Westminster Street between Dorrance and Eddy Streets in DownCity.

Olivia Lane is a Blogger, Green Living Educator, and Health Coach trained at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She's also author of Baking Soda & Bliss: The Healthy & Happy Guide to Green Cleaning.   

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