Thursday, July 18, 2013

Review of Dove Deodorant and Tom's of Maine Deodorant...The Good, The Bad, The Stinky



Hi Sweeties!


We are in the thick of summer down here and when you live in the South that means that you no longer glisten like a lady, you just flat out sweat. As part of my mission to systematically trash the trash and use the good, I scoured the shelves of my local Target and picked up a stick of Tom’s of Maine Naturally Dry Antiperspirant Deodorant. I’ve been using Dove Invisible Solid 24 hour protection in Powder for years and after reading the ingredients and recognizing some big no-no’s, I knew I had to try something different. Tom’s of Maine proclaims that all of their products are natural. After some in-depth internet research I found that their standards for “natural” mean that their ingredients are sourced in nature (okkaaay, that sounds good but it’s a bit vague), free of artificial preservatives, colors, sweeteners, fragrances, and other additives (yay!), free of animal ingredients (awesome!), subject to limited processing (again, vague), and promote organically grown ingredients whenever possible and practical (cop out, for sure). So I think they’re trying, but in my high-standards opinion, they could try harder. Why not use all organic ingredients instead of when it’s just practical (i.e., cheap)? But I digress and will now step down off of my super green soap box. 



On to the important stuff! I tried out Dove’s Invisible Solid and Tom’s of Maine deodorants. During the summer. In the 100 degree humid heat. I’ve ran in it, kick boxed in it, trekked all over the beach in it. And the odor winner is? Dove. Yeah, their deodorant kept the odor at bay for most of the day. I didn’t have to reapply once. With Tom’s of Maine you definitely need to carry a stick with you or keep one in your office for extra applications. It works, just not for 8 hours at a time in the intense heat. 

Now let's move on to the good stuff, or not so good stuff in Dove's case. After I did a thorough review of its ingredients on the Environmental Working Group’s Skin DeepDatabase, I threw my Dove stick in the garbage. I’ve posted the two product’s ingredients below as always. So let’s hit the high points- Dove lists significantly more ingredients than Tom’s of Maine (a whopping 19 compared to 10). [Side note: I always look at the length of ingredients when comparing products. Generally, the smaller the list, the better it is for you.] Starting with Dove, the ingredient BHT registered a level 6 with the EWG. My biggest concern with BHT is its links to cancer. And it’s in a deodorant. It kind of gives new meaning to the “cancer stick,” right? It also has allergy concerns with its fragrance, so that’s a concern for me as well. Seven of its 19 ingredients are rated at a 3. Normally, I am okay with maybe one or two ingredients being a 3 as long as it’s not linked with cancer. But seven? Absolutely not. Buh bye, Dove. Maybe instead of your Campaign for Real Beauty you can Campaign for Safe Products. Catty enough? Perhaps.


Now let’s move on to Tom’s of Maine. They did a lot better in the ingredient list, but I’m still not satisfied. Similar to Dove, they list fragrance as an ingredient, which rates at an 8 with EWG because of the allergen aspect. Additionally, Dove and Tom’s of Maine have two ingredients listed at a level 3 with one of them being talc, which has been flagged as having contamination concerns with asbestos fibers. Insert my WTF here! Asbestos fibers? Really?? So Tom’s isn’t as pure and clean as I had hoped. And both brands still list some form of aluminum as their main ingredient, which I’m really wary about given some of the recent linkage of aluminum to breast cancer and Alzheimer’s. So bottom line, Dove is out and Tom’s is sort of teetering on my scale right now. I’m just not 100% sold. I’m still going to keep searching because going without deodorant just isn’t in my nature! In the next few weeks I’m going to be looking into some homemade deodorant recipes and will let you know how they go! Anyone have any luck with other brands of deodorant?


Stay sweet!
 
Dove
EWG Rating
Tom’s of Maine
EWG Rating
Aluminum zirconium tetrachlorohydrex GLY(18.5%)
2
3 (when airborne/aerosol)
Cyclopentasiloxane
3
0
Stearyl Alcohol
1
8 (Allergies/Immun-otoxicity)
PPG-14 Butyl Ether
1
1
Dimethicone
3
0
C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate
1
0
Hydrogenated Castor Oil
0
Talc (Contamination concerns with asbestos fibers)
3 (when airborne)
Talc (Contamination concerns with asbestos fibers)
3
0
Fragrance(Parfum)
8
Olive Leaf Extract
0
Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil
0
Maltodextrin
0
Steareth-100
3

Vegetable Oil
0

Glyceryl Oleate
1

Glycerin
0

Propylene
3

Glycol
3

TBHQ
3

BHT
6

Citric Acid
2


Friday, July 12, 2013

Review of Burt's Bees Lip Shimmer



Hi sweeties! I hope your week has been wonderfully sweet! I’ve spent mine deciding which product I was going to feature in my first ever product review. I’ve been trying out lots of new products lately and so far have had some great finds and some great duds and I’m happy to say that my test of Burt’s Bees Lip Shimmer stick passed my test! What did I put this poor lip shimmer through you ask? Well, first of all, I did an ingredient review using the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Database. I checked each and every ingredient listed in their database to read about the possible health concerns that the ingredients may have had. (I’ve posted my review of each ingredient below). The EWG Skin Deep Database rates each ingredient on a scale of 0-10 with 0 being the lowest risk to 10 being the highest risk. It also provides how much data is available for each ingredient, which can really help you decide if you want to stick with a particular ingredient or product.



So let’s talk about my criteria. Now coming from someone who has had cancer and is in the process of ensuring that it doesn’t come back, I have REALLY high standards. I’m not about to use anything on my face or body that is going to put me at risk and I don’t recommend that you do either. Luckily for me (and for Burt’s Bees, frankly), their Lip Shimmer passed my test. Here’s why:

All of their ingredients scored a three or below (and I don’t use anything 4 or higher

It’s cruelty free (not tested on animals)

It’s recyclable

It’s made in the US


And let’s not forget that it’s actually a great lip shimmer! I tested the “rhubarb” shade and it gives your lips a nice rich color, with a tiny bit of sheen (hence the “shimmer”). Now, it’s not a lip stain, so you do have to reapply after a few hours, but I’m okay with that. There are also a lot of different shades that you can try out, so I was really pleased to finally have found a suitable replacement for all of my awesome, yet packed full of carcinogens, lip stains and lipsticks. Here’s a pic pre and post lip shimmer. What do you think?


Do you all have any recommendations for lipsticks/stains/gloss? I’d love to hear them! Stay sweet and stay tuned for my next review!!


Ingredient
Rating
Research Amount on Data
Ricinus Communis (Castor) Seed Oil
2
Fair
Helianthus Annuus (Sunflower) Seed Oil
0
Fair

Beeswax
0
Limited
Euphorbia Cerifera Wax
0
Limited
Mentha Piperita (Peppermint) Oil
1
Limited
Lanolin
1
Limited
Theobroma Cacao (Cocoa) Seed Butter
0
Limited
Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax
0
Limited
Butyrosperum Parkii (Shea Butter)
0
Limited
Fragaria Ananassa (Strawberry) Seed Oil
0
Limited
Prunus Armeniaca (Apricot) Kernel Oil
0
Limited
Ribes Nigrum (Blackcurrant) Seed Oil
0
Limited
Rosmarinus Officinalis (Rosemary) Leaf Extract
0
Limited
Sambucus Nigra (Elderberry) Seed Oil
0
The oil did not have any data. However, the extract had limited data with “0” rating.
Tocopherol
1
Fair
Canola Oil
1
Limited
Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil
0
Fair
+/-


Mica
2
Fair
Iron Oxides
2
Fair
Carmine
1
Fair
Alumina
2
Fair
Titanium Dioxide
1-3 (Depends on usage) Higher rate for aerosols
Fair