An exciting new range from Innocent Oils

GIVING GREEN... is a new and exclusive range of 100% natural skin care products from Innocent Oils.

Created exclusively to support the charitable organisations we believe are striving to make our beautiful Planet a healthier, happier place to live, for now and our future generations to come.

As supporters of THE BIG GREEN IDEA -a dynamic new charity dedicated to showing people how sustainable living can be easy, healthy, inexpensive and fun.

Where better to start off our new range, than with a new exclusive limited edition balm. Made with sustainable, certified organic oils, designed to be a multi functional product suitable for all skin types and the whole family.

30ml Little Green... BALM £6.99 is the first product in the range, we will be donating 15% of proceeds from the sale of this product directly to the Big Green Idea charity.

Click on the link to visit the Giving Green...page where you will also find a direct link to the charity for more info.

We've SCORED! in the EWG Skin Deep Database

Fantastic News...

I've just been checking the Environmental Working Group Safer Cosmetics Database and have just noticed that Innocent Oils has been updated on the database, with fantastic results.

Our overall product score is 0-1 out of 10!

10 being the highest hazard score and zero the lowest.

You can see the findings for yourself here.
http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/browse.php?comp_id=2649

The points we have incurred are unavoidable due to essential oil content and lack of data information in others. Certainly nothing to worry about, and about as good as it can get for truly amazing natural skin care that really works, and will not add to our toxic chemical burden whether it be in your body, or in the environment.

Its good to get some fab news when we are all worried about the global recession we are facing just now.

I adore working on producing the purest Hemp based natural skin care available and long may it continue, what ever the global economy has to throw at us.

Pop in and visit us www.innocentoils.com

Namaste
x

Still using toxic products to clean your nest?

Did you know that most cleaning products are made with poisonous chemicals--like phosphates and pesticides--that are polluting our planet and our bodies?
The average cleaner is made with hundreds of toxic chemicals just to give it a "fresh" scent!

Why not make your own all-natural cleaning products at home with lemon, vinegar and baking soda and all-natural essential oils such as lemon, tea tree, and lavender.

Feel free to use the following recipe ideas:

For All Surfaces. Tee tree and lavender have anti-bacterial properties that are great for cleaning worktops. Just mix a few drops of either essential oil with water and spray on kitchen counters. Vinegar can be added if you are cleaning ceramics or limscaled sinks.

For Cleaning Floors. To clean floors, combine 15 drops of orange essential oil and 8 drops of lemon essential oil, 4 litres hot water and 2 tablespoons of castille soap. This mixture will work on tough jobs and will leave the room smelling fresh.

To Freshen Carpets. Forget Febreeze, here's a simple recipe for a homemade carpet freshener: Mix 4 cups of bicarbonate of Soda in a bowl with 25 drops of rosemary essential oil, 35 drops of eucalyptus oil and 30 drops of lavender oil. Stir well until bicarbonate of Soda lumps are broken apart. Pour into a shaker bottle or flour sifter, and sprinkle on carpets about 15 minutes prior to vacuuming. Feel free to substitute this recipe with your favorite essential oils.

For Your Laundry. Make your own homemade dryer sheets by placing several drops of lavender, geranium or your favorite essential oil onto a towel. Add the towel into the dryer along with clothes and dry as you normally would to give your clothes a naturally fresh scent.

To Freshen the Air. To freshen up the air inside your home avoid using plugin type products which use electricity and pump toxins into your living space. Instead place several drops of your favorite essential oil into an essential oil burner, and enjoy the natural fragrance that fills the room.
To ensure there's always a fresh scent in the bathroom, squeeze a few drops of essential oil onto the cardboard toilet paper roll that holds the toilet paper. The fragrance will release each time you pull a sheet of paper. Compost or recycle the old cardboard roll, then repeat with each new one you use.
Alternatively make your own room freshner by applying your favorite essential oil to a piece of blotting paper, use a hole punch to make a hole for a pretty ribbon, and hang wherever the draft will catch it. This is also useful as a replacement for those awfully toxic car air freshener hangers.

Note: As with all household cleaning and freshening products, remember to keep all essential oils away from your eyes when mixing or cleaning. Also, properly label all products and store them in areas where children or pets won’t have access to them. Although essential oils and natural cleaners are non-toxic, ingestion of excessive quantities can be harmful to humans and animals.

Although purchasing the originial ingredients for the above suggestions may involves a few bottles of essential oil which may appear more expensive than a spray. Just think how much you can save when you realise just how many times and in how many ways you can use those essential oils you have purchased.

A 10ml bottle of essential oil should contain around 250-300 drops depending on viscosity. All the essential oils suggested for use above are low viscosity, so you should get the maximum benefit from each bottle.

Thats a lot of clean cleaning in one bottle alone. :D

WIN a Year Subscription to Ethical Living Magazine

We have a great opportunity for you to WIN a year subscription to our favorite ethical magazine, Ethical Living.

No purchase necessary, all you need to do is sign up to our Innocent Newsletter.

Simply enter a valid email address into the sign up box at the bottom of our Home page or on the Innocent Products page.

By SIGNING UP not only could you WIN a FREE fantastic magazine subscription for a whole year, you will also receive our useful skin care tips and advice, on how to live a more toxin free lifestyle without compromising your style or ethics.

Ethical Living Magazine is printed on Arctic paper Munken Pure which is FSC certified and manufactured completely without optical brightening agents. The pages within are printed on Munken Print Cream, which is FSC certified and virtually wood free. The Munkedal Mill is ISO 14001 certified and is one of the most environmentally friendly paper mills in the world.
Vegatable based ink is used to print the magazine at Warners (Midlands) PLC, who are FSC and ISO 14001:2004 accredited and local to Ethical Living Mag.

Source : Ethical Living Magazine
We will randomly select 3 lucky email addresses on 1 Dec. The lucky winners will be contacted in order to receive their Free year subscription.
Namaste
Helen x

Holiday in France Insights 1

OK I promised some holiday experiences, so here goes.
First and formost I cant recommend a holiday break from work of your usual life enough. The last time we had a non work related holiday with no PC or mobile phone was 2002!!! Its been a long time coming and well overdue to say the least!

I have to admit, having been so used to not having a break, the idea initially did fill me with dread at what I was leaving behind, and what I might come back to! So I had a plan to enjoy the rest, but to use the time to do a little research on the quiet too. That way I felt I could justify to myself my being away for a couple of weeks. ;-)

On arrival in a most beautiful area of S France, I was immediately impressed at the welcoming atmosphere and friendly nature of the local population. Initially I worried about how my eco attitude would go down in France. On that note, I really shouldn't have had any concerns whatsoever!
In each and every shop we visited they were way ahead of the UK as far as eco friendly products are concerned, and it was quite normal not to be given a bag to use for shopping. Even in the places we were offered a bag for goods, they were using paper or the Biodegradable corn plastic type, which are so rarely offered in UK at present.

'Bio' or 'Organic certified' products as we know them here, are easily found in Pharmacies in France. As well as homeopathic remedies and Essential Oils, not only for us mere mortals, but for our pets too! I was often found mistakenly checking out botanical oils in the pet health section in a Pharmacy. I did think it was odd that there was a piccie of a cute dog or cat, on the front of the product. *Oops* Must learn the lingo quicker next time!

My most favorite find was also the heaviest. Argiletz Green Clay which I adore, and was happy to be able to bring it back at a fraction of the cost I have had to pay to find it in UK. Especially as I use so much of it in my Innocent Oils Angel Face Scrub!

The other very happy find was also a heavy one but worth every penny. A very special Sea Salt which has been harvested by hand following traditional proceedures used for centuries. Dried in the sun, and guaranteed not to contain additives commonly found in so much of the sea salt available currently.
Keep an eye out for this wonderful ingredient, to be used in a new product available at Innocent Oils very soon.

THE BIG GREEN IDEA

Many of you will already know me as Moderator of the Skin Care and Health & Well Being sections of the It's Not Easy Being Green forum.

For those of you who haven't yet discovered this very useful green resource, do visit now...you will find a wealth of information, and opinions on all aspects of living a greener more environmentally gentle, way of life.

Following the success of the above BBC2 TV programme of the same name, Brigit who's family featured in the show in 2006, has since launched the charity Big Green Idea to enable people of all incomes to easily obtain information and guidance on how to live a more sustainable, eco friendly lifestyle.
This month Brigit launched a newsletter providing useful green tips and advice on many aspects of a greener lifestyle.

I was happy to be asked to share some of my knowledge for the Big Green Idea charity, and as a result have written an article providing cheap and simple alternatives to many household cleaning products.
All recipes are provided without the nasty chemical toxins too!!!

Apologies for the delay since my last post, September has been a hectic month to say the least.

Returned this evening from a well earned rest in the very beautiful South of France, and will be posting about my experiences while there, very soon.
Just got to tackle the unpacking first, and the huge inbox's of emails that need responses pronto. :-)
Keep it 100% natural and toxin free in the mean time and I'll be back on track very soon.
XX

Part 2 Surely chemical ingredients are safe, aren't they???

As far as cosmetics are concerned, the onus seems not to be on the manufacturer to prove the ingredients are safe, but instead it is the individual who has to prove that the ingredients are unsafe, and also to prove that it was a particular product or ingredient that caused the problem.

This is almost an impossible task considering that most women use at least 9 separate chemical filled skin care products every day.
If you have a reaction, how does the consumer prove which of the ingredients caused the reaction? To make matters worse, what if it was a combination of chemical ingredients in several of the products used, which interacted to cause the reaction???

On top of all that, the industry regulators do not accept that skin care products absorb into the skin. If this was accepted, the industry would near enough collapse over night, or at least be radically curtailed. Reason being is that if a product is accepted to absorb, it then should be classified as a Medicine, and subject to years of vastly expensive testing and licensing, before it could go on sale!!! So clearly it is in the interests of the giant cosmetics manufacturers to ensure that the regulations do not change any time soon!!!

The industry does not consider that cosmetics are harmful because there have been so few claims against them, by which they consider this an indication that they are OK! Mmm Yeah right!

However, as you will understand, it is clear why there have been so few successful claims, and that studies on the effects of multiple chemical combinations are few, and mostly inconclusive. Mainly because it is impossible to test every combination of the 10,000+ chemicals available to the industry, along with how these combinations can interact once inside the human body, which too is individual. Carrying out studies of this nature would be near impossible to fund because the results would not be in the interest of the cosmetics industry to find out. So which cosmetics giant is gonna want to pay millions for that info?

Conclusion...
The long term effects of the chemicals used are hard to prove, and take longer to become apparent than the time it takes to use up that moisturiser, lipstick, toothpaste, deodorant, cleansing wipe, household spray, or air freshener etc...

But, with the current trend in the western world, indicating year on year increases in asthma, eczema, hormonal imbalances in new born babies, and cancers. It makes sense to avoid chemical additives where possible.

If it can’t be eaten without harm, then don’t let you skin eat it via your pores and hair follicles!!!
Now that makes sense to me. :)

Whats all the fuss about ingredients?

Part 1 of Demystifying the Ingredients list on your products.

In today’s world we are overwhelmed by toxins from the food we eat and the products absorbed
through our skin.
The body, in particular the liver, must work extremely hard to rid itself of the toxins often found in deodorants, lotions, make up, and perfumes etc. Studies have shown that many toxins cannot be excreted from the body so they remain, building up over the years in organs and fat cells, with as yet unknown consequences in the long term.

The skin must be allowed to breathe, which it does by sweating via pores to eliminate toxins. Your pores and hair follicles also act as the entry point for around 60% of toxins in products applied to the skin’s surface.

Sometimes the struggle is just too much and the body reacts by becoming over sensitive to products it comes into contact with.

This shows itself with flare ups of Dermatitis, Eczema, sore and itchy patches of skin and or acne in worst cases severe allergic reactions can occur with Multiple chemical sensitivity.

By avoiding unnecessary toxins and a basic knowledge of what to look out for when purchasing products you will become more aware of what you are applying to your body and what the alternatives are, and why the alternatives are positive to your well being and good skin function and the environment.

The ingredients list , found on the back of the product, is the first place you should be looking before reading the enticing blurb on the front promising the “skin of a baby’s bottom in just two weeks!!!”.

It is a legal requirement that all skin care products must be labelled with the ingredients in descending order of the quantity used in the product.

Mentally divide the list into thirds, the top third usually contains 90-95% of the product, the middle third 5-8% and the bottom third 1-3%.
It also follows that if the product you wish to use contains a toxin, the further down the list it is placed the better. However, it is often said that the toxins used are added at low safe levels. But how can any amount be “safe” as our bodies accumulate these chemicals?

Over time prolonged use can lead to multiple chemical sensitivities and far worse.

Is it any wonder that Asthma, Eczema and allergies are on the increase year on year?

In addition the majority of these toxic ingredients would never be allowed to be added to food, due to the strict regulations from the Food Standards Agency. Although at present, it is not legally recognised that the skin absorbs skin care products. Therefore many questionable ingredients often make their way into formulas without regulation.

You would not even think about eating a food that contained toxic chemicals or cancer causing agents would you?
So don't let these toxins enter your system through your skin care products either!

Some of the most common toxins to be aware of:
Mineral oil (Paraffinum Liquidum) & Petrolatum

Petroleum based oils derived from the refining of Crude Oil and incredibly cheap for manufacturers to purchase. No wonder it is found in so many products including baby oil which is 100% Mineral Oil.
Initially it will leave your skin feeling silky smooth because it forms an oily film over skin to prevent moisture loss.
However, it also traps in toxins and wastes, and hinders normal respiration by keeping oxygen out. Effectively wrapping your skin like cling film. This can exacerbate skin disorders such as eczema, but what is even more surprising is that 99% of products designed to ease eczema in fact contain these petroleum derivatives as their main ingredient!!!

SLS Sodium Lauryl Sulfate & Sodium Laureth Sulfate SLS & SLES
Derived from Palm oil or Coconut Oil.SLS & SLES is a detergent, wetting agent, and emulsifier. Used in about 98% of all "personal care" products. It is considered safe to be used in rinse off products when levels do not exceed 1% due to the ease it absorbs into eye and skin tissues. Externally it strips the skin of oils and can cause irritation. Internally it remains in vital organs with potential harmful long term effects. Clearly one look at the ingredients will show that the 1% safe level is exceeded in many cases with SLS appearing in the top third of the ingredients lists where over 70% of the product content is.
Information has circulated on the Internet and elsewhere that shampoos and other products containing SLS or SLES cause cancer. However it is considered a “Unlikely Carcinogen” by the World Health Organization.

Propylene Glycol (PG) & Polyethylene Glycol (PEG)
Propylene Glycol is petroleum based wetting agent and along with a related chemical ethylene glycol is used in industry as the main component of brake fluid and antifreeze. It quickly and easily penetrates, and can weaken protein and cellular construction of the skin. Causing dermatitis and skin sensitivity.
Also used extensively in paint and varnishes. It is often found in your shampoo, toothpaste, hair conditioner, beauty, creams, lotions, and cleansers, and is very common in children's personal care items and many other products you use on a daily basis.
Ethylene glycol
Damages cell membranes causing rashes, dry skin, contact dermatitis and surface damage to the skin.
Polyethylene Glycol (PEG)
A related agent to PG with similar properties. Often used in moisturisers and face creams. It is also the main ingredient in oven cleaners! So why would we want to put this chemical on our skin?

Triethanolamine (TEA), Diethanolamine (DEA), Monoethanolamine (MEA)
A colourless liquid, or crystalline alcohol, that is used as a PH adjuster, emulsifier and detergent (wetting agent).
It works as an emollient (moisturiser) in skin softening lotions, or as a humectant (attracts water) in other personal care products. When absorbed by the body it can cause liver damage. In addition these are hormone disrupting chemicals that can form carcinogenic nitrates and nitrosamines when combined with nitrate ions commonly found in water and meat products.
Although there is no proven link to cancer in humans, evidence exists showing they are carcinogenic in animals. It should never be used in skin care products and has been removed from many European brands already, however it is still often used in the UK and regrettably is present in many baby products.

Phthalates DBP, DMP, DEP
Recent studies have shown that phthalates may be mutagenic, carcinogenic, and adversely affect male sperm, that they increase levels of testosterone and estrogen in humans, and are central to breast cancer risk. They are an ingredient in nail polish to make it chip resistant and hair spray to provide flexibility, and in PVC plastics (e.g., infant chew toys).
Always best avoided at all costs.

Dioxin
Dioxin is one of the most potent and powerful poisons known to man. Second only to Radiation! It is a carcinogenic hormone disrupting chemical, and a by-product of many manufacturing processes involving Chlorine. When these chemicals and plastics are manufactured or burned, dioxin is produced as an unwanted but inevitable by product to which the body has no defense.
It is passed from Mother to child through breast milk hence a huge proportion of the worlds newborn babies already have significantly harmful levels of Dioxin in their system.
See more information about Dioxins online at : http://ec.europa.eu/environment/dioxin/index.htm

Alpha Hydroxy Acids AHA
An organic acid produced by anaerobic respiration. Skin care products containing AHA exfoliate and not only destroy skin cells, but the skin's protective barrier as well. Long-term skin damage may result from regular use.

Lanolin
A fatty substance extracted from wool. Frequently found in cosmetics and lotions. Lanolin is a common trigger that can cause allergic reactions with some people. This is mainly due to the toxic effects of chemical residues contained in the lanolin from the sheep being sprayed with powerful organophosphate insecticides on the farm. Organophosphates are a very common contaminant in sheep wool because of the practice of sheep dipping for lice and blow fly.
Avoid any product containing lanolin if you have sensitive skin!

Talc
A soft grey green mineral used in some personal hygiene and cosmetic products. Inhaling talc dust is very dangerous, it belongs to the same family as asbestos and is a recognised carcinogen. Talc is widely accepted by medical experts as being one of the primary causes of ovarian cancer if used in the genital area. Best avoided particularly for use on babies and young children especially girls.

Innocent Oils is proud Not to use synthetic or toxic chemcials of anysort in our products.

We are happy to have signed The Compact for Safe Cosmetics. Part of the Environmental Working Group Skin Deep database, in which you can search for more detail on specific toxic ingredients in skin and personal care products.

Todays Tip for Keeping your holiday skin in tip top condition

If you are intent on catching some rays check out the following first:

Before you go out in the sun ensure that your skin has been gently exfoliated, and has a good slathering of your fave eco sunblock, applied at least 20mins before you go out in the sun.

Its best to gently exfoliate the night before to remove dead skin, that way you won't end up with a patchy tan.

Your suntan will survive longer if you dont over do it in the sun, and dont burn.
Burning will cause the skin to flake and peel very quickly, and your tan will be gone in no time at all on your return from your hols. Stay out of the mid day sun and ideally between 12-4 especially in hot countries. Why is it us Brits always seem to be the only tourists out and about at Siesta time, dont we know Siestas are taken for a good reason?

Every evening, keep your skin moisturised with a botanical oil such as Hemp Seed Oil, which will penetrate the skins surface and help to maintain the connective tissue and health of new skin ever emerging on the surface layer. Healthy skin equals healthy even tan. Dehydrated skin leads to dry patchy tan and wrinkled skin and that is something none of us wants.

Enjoy your holiday and stay safe in the sun.

What changed my view on commercial skin care products?

Welcome to my new blog about helping you to keep your skin naturally innocent and healthy.

Through this blog I intend to help you find your way through the marketing, hype and greenwash which surrounds the skin care industry natural or otherwise.

So a little about me...

For many years (well from around 14yrs old) I was every bit sucked into the hype about each and every skin care product proclaiming its miraculous anti aging, acne busting, skin reguvenating, properties. Yep, and I too believed that the more it cost the better it must be. Worse still I believed that skin care manufacturers would in no way add ingredients that may possibly cause problems in the long term.

It wasnt until much later that I started to question what it was that I was using, and once I did start to question oh my word did I open a can o worms that just wouldnt go back in the box!!!

So what started me questioning?

Around the age of 14 while on holiday, I suffered terrible sunburn on my face which left my skin unable to tan until the last few years (I am now 35). Not a great look when the rest of my body is light olive and tans at the mere thought of going in the sun.

The sunburn on my face was worsened by the Nivea After Sun which I liberally applied at the time as you would expect in an attempt to calm the burn. I remember screaming in pain, from the stinging as soon as it was applied, and my face blew up like a red baboon and blistered all over.
Even then I still didn't question the product, or take a look at the ingredients list, and even if I had I would have had no idea what may have caused the stinging and why.From then on my skin was extremely sensitive and delicate.

What I didn't know, was that during the time leading up to the holiday I had already been inadvertently sensitising my young skin, by applying highly concentrated creams, which I had received as free samples from some of the largest, most expensive cosmetics producers, which I so adored back then.
I was also told by a glamorous looking makeup counter chick that you can never be too young to start using anti aging products. As a teenager wanting to keep my skin as soft as a baby's bum for eternity, I took her advice quite literally and slapped on as many creams as I could get my paws on, in an attempt to halt time right there and then.

Instead, what I didn't know was that I had started a process that would take years to resolve, and end up with me changing my whole way of life.
Mind you if it hadn't been from those foolish experiences I would never have ended up the person I am today, and would still be spending out hand over fist on expensive creams. Believing that one day I would find one that would give me the elusive skin of eternal youth!

At 19 I travelled to Italy for work and it was there while away from the large dept stores and little cash to spend that I started to appreciate natural skin care. Obviously being Italy the first botanical oil I encountered was Olive Oil. Used by the locals for just about everything internally and externally, as I soon found out!
The local women took me under their wing and enjoyed sharing with me the delicious skin treats they used on a daily basis.
At that point I still had no idea about the ingredients in my commercial skin care creams, but quickly realised that the simple ingredients they used were equally good. In fact better than my numerous pots of chemical goo I had with me, and they all had beautiful healthy skin and I didn't.

Bang went my theory that cost and prestige equals better for your skin!!!