Deconstructing Wrinkles

They’re heeeeeeere!  They may be faint, almost indiscernible to others, but they do exist. You know, the diminutive creases that don’t disappear after a smile…. those faint furrows that remain after a look of surprise.  I must divulge as a former feminist philosophy major, I should love those Lilliputian crinkles in my epidermis, but as they become a reality and not just a hypothetical proposition, I am starting to have second thoughts.  I realize that I should look at those wee laugh lines as badges of honor and wear them with Naomi Wolf-style pride, but now that they are here, I don’t think I want them…. not just yet.

At the same time, I have two young girls (and a fabulous boy!) and I want to be a good role model… it’s what is on the inside that counts, right?  I’d like them to see their mom embrace her age and not be a victim of our culture’s pressure to look 18 forever.  But then again, I’ve never been 40 before.  Especially in a world where twenty-somethings are getting injections that leave their faces literally “frozen” in time.  Throw in my obsession with all things natural and you can see my dilemma.  So what is a quasi-vain all-natural feminist eco-mamma to do about these pesky wrinkles?

I’ve always floated in and out of the all-natural, crunchy-granola world when it came to beauty products.  I’ll go from, “That’s it, I’m not putting anything on my face that has more than four syllables!” to “oooh… ‘visible difference in just 2 weeks’ … maybe I’ll give it a try!”  I admit that I’ve often been lured by the beautiful packaging and the models’ flawless skin (even though I know it is airbrushed!).  But as more information is revealed about the chemicals in these products, I realize that I need to take a closer look at what is exactly inside these tiny jars of hope.

According to The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics  (www.safecosmetics.org) and Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Data Base, (www.cosmeticsdatabase.org) using one single product with potentially hazardous ingredients is probably not going to cause much harm.  It is when we use many different products over and over again, exposing ourselves repeatedly to these chemicals, that is in question. Skin Deep informs us that these chemicals penetrate the skin and as a result, scientists are finding industrial plasticizers (phthalates) in urine, estrogenic industrial chemicals (parabens) in breast tissue and fragrance (musk xylene) in human fatty tissue.  Think about what you put on your body each day: shampoo, conditioner, cleansers, moisturizer, cosmetics, sunscreen, etc… it all adds up.  I can’t help but remember the plight of Lily Tomlin in the 1981 movie, The Incredible Shrinking Woman!

The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics points out that the FDA does not regulate the cosmetics industry as it does the drug industry.  These products and their ingredients are not approved by the FDA before they are sold to consumers.  While the FDA requires manufacturers to label all ingredients that go into a product, it does not require them to test these ingredients for safety, monitor health effects or substantiate performance claims (www.cfsan.fda.gov)  The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics’ goal is to protect consumer and worker’s health by encouraging the health and beauty industry to phase out the potentially harmful chemicals that are linked to cancer and birth defects and replace them with safer alternatives.

This disturbing information made my next move a simple one.  I was off to my local health food store to find safer alternatives.  I was overwhelmed by all the different brands, some with ingredients that were as ominous sounding as the ones on the jars that were now languishing in my recycle bin.  After many minutes spent trolling the aisles with bored babes in tow, I decided to take the plunge and purchase a few products to try at home. There I would be able to mull over those unpronounceable ingredients and decide what would be the safest tonic to battle those little lines.

So with the help of Skin Deep’s vast data base of common cosmetics ingredients ranked from 0-2 (low hazard) to 7-10 (high hazard),  I was able to finally see why synthetic flourphlogopite and menthoxypropanediol (both ranked 0) should not worry me, but a product with fragrance or silica should (8 and 7 respectively.)  Skin Deep is chock-full of in-depth information on over 32,000 products and their ingredients. You can look up information by product, ingredient or company within categories such as make-up, skin care, hair care, fragrance, oral and baby products.  It was a challenging undertaking, but in the end, I was able to find several products that I felt good about using even if they contained a few ingredients that ranked above the 0-2 range. .

The great news is that the category is expanding as more and more companies are coming out with safer products, giving us an alternative to brands that continue to use questionable ingredients.   Mod.skin’s (www.modskinlabs.com) line of skin care products uses “whole food nutrition” to strengthen, balance and purify the skin.  The company is also committed to ecosystem conservation and donates a portion of its profits to various efforts across the country.  Peter Lamas of Lamas Beauty (www.lamasbeauty.com) was inspired to create natural, organic and safer skin, hair and bath products after a personal loss.  Dr. Hauschka’s products and treatments encourage the skin to maintain its natural balance rather than alleviate its symptoms.  Dr. Hauschka (www.drhauschka.com) uses no synthetic preservatives, artificial fragrances or colors in its skin care lines.  Even the more well known Origins (www.origins.com) brand has introduced Origins Organics and teamed with Dr. Andrew Weil to create a special line that utilizes the power of mushrooms to care for the skin.

While these types of brands are considered “safer” than their mainstream cousins, remember that “safer” is the operative word here.  According to the FDA, since there is no official definition of the word “natural” with regard to product labeling, manufacturers can use this term to mean whatever they want. It is therefore extremely important to decide if you are comfortable with every ingredient listed on the packaging before you try it.  In a nutshell: Buyer beware!

In my attempt to discover my very own organic fountain of youth in a tube, I’ve found that I’ve become more at ease in my own skin… even if it is not as perky and smooth as it used to be.  I know it sounds cliché, but I really don’t mind those little lines around my eyes.  I know that it means that I’ve smiled a lot in my life.  I’ve also realized that as women, we tend to judge ourselves and possibly others too harshly. What we decide to do to our faces and bodies, whether it is to cut, inject, slather or peel, must ultimately and honestly be for ourselves and only ourselves.  Some women may want a little more aggressive “help” while others may find they are fine “as is.”  The fact is that the power is now in our hands, which hasn’t always been the case.  Thanks to organizations like The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database, we finally have the resources and information to educate ourselves and ask the right questions. So I say, bring on those wrinkles… I am ready for you!   Ms.Wolf would be proud.

Resources:

www.safecosmetics.org/index.cfm
www.cosmeticsdatabase.org
www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-toc.html
www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/cos-206.html
www.modskinlabs.com
www.lamasbeauty.com
www.drhauschka.com
www.origins.com
www.wholefoodsmarket.com