Give Yourself a Green Spring Makeover

by Bianca Alexander

Ready to update your look? The new season is a perfect time to clean out your medicine cabinet and swap out that old, chemical-laden make-up bag for some of the hottest natural cosmetics on the market. Making the switch may require some effort (after all, it may be hard giving up formaldehyde in your nail polish) but it will keep your skin, hair, nails and the planet looking and feeling great! Here are a few tips to get started:

Healthy Hair How-Tos. There’s nothing like an updated color and style to make you feel brand new, but chemical processing and heat can wreak havoc on your hair and body. Take better care of your hair by booking an appointment with a professional coiffeur like Johnathan Gale at the John Frieda salon in L.A., who uses organic hair color and conditioning treatments on his celebrity clientele. Or, care for your hair at home with Dr. Hauschka’s organic and biodynamic shampoos and conditioners. Their world-famous Neem Hail Oil is perfect for protecting, conditioning and actually strengthening hair before and after coloring or relaxing. And to keep your color from fading between visits, avoid shampoos with hair stripping chemicals like sodium lauryl sulphate. Pureology and Lanza are SLS-free and have botanicals that help color last up to 107% longer. Worried about thinning hair? Chemicals in shampoos can worsen the condition, so try Your Crown and Glory For Thinning Hair shampoo and conditioner, which is SLS and paraben-free.

Sustainable Skin. Any make-up artist will tell you that flawless skin is the first step to creating beautiful make-up, so take care of the skin you’re in by eliminating toxic chemicals from your daily regimen. For all skin types, try Jurlique, whose biodynamically grown herb-based cleansers and tonics work with your body’s natural rhythms to heal and balance the skin. Bonus: All of their products come in eco-friendly packaging. For a more gentle alternative to damaging acid peels and dermabrasion, try Sophyto’s new line of organic skin treatments made with powerful deep-exfoliating fruit enzymes. And to clean up both your body and the planet, try Save Your Body’s new line of organic yerba maté and aloe vera infused bath and body products. Each tropical-smelling shower gel, shampoo and lotion sold saves one acre of rainforest for an entire year!

Natural Nails. Allow your nails to emerge from a blistery winter with Sparitual’s sophisticated line of vegan, eco-friendly nail polishes. Unlike most nail polishes, which contain formaldehyde, toluene and DBP (a.k.a. dibutyl phthalate, a plasticizing agent and reproductive toxin linked to birth defects that’s currently banned from cosmetics in Europe), Sparitual’s polishes and chakra-specific spa treatments are made from wildcrafted and organic plant essences, and free of toxins and synthetic dyes. And even though their products are so darn conscious, there’s no need to sacrifice color: with hundreds of perfect shades for every color palette, you’ll still be able to stop traffic this spring with your favorite flirty shade of red, apricot or pink. Bonus: Sales of their new spring color, Aware (a vibrant coral), will benefit the Go Green Initiative, an environmental stewardship program for schools. Other lines to try: OPI, whose nail lacquers are all formaldehyde, DBP, and toluene free.

Mineral-Based Make-Up. Let your natural beauty shine this season with Rituals new line of make-up made with pure silk leaves and precious stones that have absorbed the earth's energy over millions of years. Their products include eye shadows, lipsticks and foundations made from gemstones like amethyst, and are free of animal testing and added fragrances with little to no preservatives. My favorite: Their Super Shine Lip Gloss enriched with sparkling ruby, which provides will-power and stimulates blood circulation for a healthy glow and a perfect pout.

And with Dr. Hauschka, there’s no need to sacrifice healthy skin to look your best. They offer a complete line of all-natural cosmetics made from pure mineral pigments and nurturing botanicals that actually improve the quality of your skin. My favorite: The Mascara Intermezzo made with soothing Neem leaf extract, which conditions the lashes so they grow longer and stronger.

De-Tox for Beauty Inside and Out. Over time, your body stores environmental toxins that prevent it from functioning properly, which can lead to low energy, headaches, mental fogginess and disease. According to traditional medicine practices, proper diet alone is not enough to eliminate these stored toxins which accumulate in our digestive systems. Spring is a perfect time to give your inner body a boost with a whole-body cleanse, which will clean, nourish and support your digestive system for good health. Try Symmetry’s BotanaCleansePlus, a two-week cleansing system that detoxifies your entire body. When taken properly, it can even help your lose weight or clear up problem skin! Tip: Consult your naturopathic doctor before beginning any cleansing regimen, and don’t forget to drink plenty of water to aid the detoxing process.

And if you’re looking to detox your mind this season, try Emmet Fox’s 7-Day Mental Diet. Even one day on this positive thinking regime could do wonders for your outlook on life.

For more tips on eco-friendly living, watch www.ConsciousLivingTV.com.

Easy Ways to Stay Green This Winter

by Michael & Bianca Alexander

You don’t have to be Al Gore to understand that going green is vital to Mother Earth’s survival—and our own. Most of us want to do our part to prevent global warming, but don’t really know how. The good news is, if each of us did our part to reduce our carbon dioxide emissions by just 2% a year, we could actually prevent the worst effects of global warming by the year 2050!

Now that winter’s here, do your part to reduce your CO2 emissions, your eco-footprint, and your utility bill—just by making a few small lifestyle changes.

1. Say Goodbye to energy vampires. Reduce your utility bill and your carbon dioxide emissions by upgrading to energy-efficient appliances, like an adjustable thermostat, throughout your home. Also, unplug common appliances like your cell phone charger, computer and TV when not in use: if they’re plugged in, they’re draining energy even if they’re not turned on. And instead of cranking the heat—pile on the extra layers and get cozy with your loved ones.

Tip: Don’t have time to go around unplugging appliances at night? No worries, with a multi-plug power strip you can save tons of energy just by pressing the off button each night.

2. Make the switch to CFLs. Still waiting around to change out your regular incandescent light bulbs with CFLs or LEDs? By making the switch, you can save about $50 over the life of each bulb—and reduce your CO2 emissions.

Bonus: Nowadays, CFL’s and LEDs come in a variety of fashionable shapes and sizes, perfect for even the most fabulous light fixture.

3. De-tox your home. Since green is everywhere, nowadays you can opt for an eco-friendly redecoration by using low-voc paint, carpet, paints, and even wood cabinetry. Also, detoxify your home by avoiding standard household cleaning and personal care products, which contain toxic chemicals like sodium lauryl sulphate (SLS) and phosphates. These chemicals are not only carcinogenic, but also wreak havoc on the planet when rinsed down the drain and into our rivers and streams.

Fact: Every cup of dish or laundry detergent you use eventually kills one cubic foot of photoplankton, tiny ocean organisms that can actually help prevent global warming. Through photosynthesis, they replenish the planet with oxygen, and absorb ozone-destroying CO2 from the atmosphere. Try eco-friendly cleaning products for your home, like Seventh Generation’s laundry detergent (it even comes in a refreshing lavender scent), and Dr. Hauschka’s biodynamic personal care products for your face and skin.

4. Install a Water Filter. Using a water filter will not only keep you from digesting toxins in our water and give you better-tasting water, but it will also reduce your dependence on plastic water bottles. In fact, a typical filter used can eliminate up to two tractor trailers full of plastic bottles in our landfills, and the energy (and CO2) required to manufacture those bottles.

Try: A point-of-use filter (for a single faucet) or point-of entry filter (for water used throughout the home). But beware of reverse osmosis filters, which over strip water, depleting it of body-benefiting minerals, and waste water and also water softeners, which deposit harsh chemicals into the earth.

5. Eat organic or sustainably grown food. Organic farming is better for the planet than industrial farming because it’s free of harmful pesticides that run into our rivers and streams. Organic food is also a natural immune booster during cold-season, because it’s free of toxins like GMO’s (genetic modifiers), antibiotics and hormones, which are dangerous to your health when digested and have been linked to degenerative diseases and learning disabilities in children.

What to look for when you shop: Don’t be fooled by products labeled “natural”--this term is unregulated by the FDA and serves primarily as a marketing tool. Instead, look for the USDA Certified Organic seal to ensure you’re getting the highest quality organic (95% or higher).

6. Reduce your meat consumption. Most people don’t know that the meat industry is the largest industrial polluter of the planet, wasting millions of tons of precious water, land and natural resources each year. In fact, studies show that 18% of greenhouse gases have been linked to farming animals for food. Fact: A meat-eating diet requires more than 4000 gallons of water per day. By comparison, a vegetarian diet requires only 300 gallons of water per day, and is less costly to your wallet and the planet.

Not ready to give up all of your favorite meat treats? Try going vegetarian for just one or two meals a day, then move up to one or two days a week.

7. Wear Eco-Chic Clothing. Before going on your next shopping excursion, take into account that about 1/3 of a pound of pesticides are used just to make one cotton t-shirt! Do your part by purchasing clothing made from sustainable fabrics like bamboo, hemp, or organic cotton, which feels like silk on your skin.

Better yet: Do your part to Reduce, Reuse and Recycle by buying one-of-a-kind vintage clothing at a local retro boutique, or go treasure hunting with your girlfriend at a weekend estate sale.

8. Travel green whenever you can. To cut down on C02 emissions, consider driving a fuel or energy efficient vehicle. If you can't buy a new car or aren’t ready to trade yours in for a Prius, opt to walk, bike, or carpool (public transportation counts) instead of driving.

Love to travel? Make your winter vacation extra-special by staying at an upscale green hotel that supports green practices.

9. Offset your carbon footprint. When all else fails, do your part to neutralize your carbon footprint the "easy" way by purchasing carbon offset credits. Carbon offsetting is one of the most popular ways clean up CO2 emissions from daily activities in your home or business like driving your car, flying, or turning on the heat.

Tip: For usually less than $100, carbon offsetting will help you calculate your annual energy use and offset it with pro-environment activities like replanting trees and purchasing renewable energy like wind or solar.

10. Become a conscious consumer. Being a conscious consumer means voting with your spending dollars to create the change you want to see in the world. Buy only what you need. Purchase green products and services whenever you can. Support local businesses that offer products and services sourced from no more than 100 miles from your home (start with your local farmer’s market). And finally, think about expanding your portfolio by investing in socially responsible businesses.

These are but a few of the ways you can stay green this winter—and all year long. And, if overhauling your whole life to go green still feels a little overwhelming, take your time. Incorporating just one of these tips on an ongoing basis can still make a world of difference, so feel free to experiment and make the green lifestyle work for you!

For more tips, or to send us one of your own, watch Conscious Living TV online or feel free to post a blog comment here.

Conscious Consumerism: Power to the People

by Michael & Bianca Alexander

We live in a Supersize Me society where over-consumption and instant gratification are the norm. We have become accustomed to indulging ourselves by buying whatever makes us feel good from one moment to the next. For the most part, we are unconscious consumers. We consume unconsciously for a myriad of reasons: to fill our bellies, to fill the void in our lives, to pass the time, or just to keep up with the ‘Joneses’. We consume without giving thought to where our products are produced or where they go after we “throw them away.” As a result, obesity and disease rates are higher than ever, our landfills are overflowing, and the planet is slowly but surely warming up.

So what can we do about it? It’s as simple as supply and demand. We can become informed consumers and use our spending power as a force for positive change. The more we purchase eco-friendly products sold by conscious companies that value people and the planet as much they value profits, the more we support ourselves, our world, and our society at large. This is conscious consumption at work. Conversely, each time we go to the store and buy something without considering its long-term impact on our bodies, our communities, and on the environment, we send a message to big business—and out to the Universe--that we just don’t care.

Being a conscious consumer means letting go of the “me-first” mentality and using our individual and collective spending power to make choices that work for everyone. We know from personal experience that this is sometimes easier said that done. For example, we love our Starbuck’s green tea-no melon-soy-lattes. But we don’t love the fact that less than 4% of Starbuck’s coffee is fair trade imported. Each time we give in to our taste buds and buy a drink from Starbuck’s, we deny farmers in developing countries their fair wages.

So now when we need a green tea-no melon-soy-latte fix, we try to take the higher road. Instead of giving our $3.65 a day to Starbuck’s, we invest our spending dollars in local coffee houses that serve our community—and fair trade coffee. Over the course of a lifetime, our measly little $3.65 a day adds up to about $65,000.00 each. Imagine if 10, 100 or even 1,000 of our friends did the same. It could add up to millions of dollars—sufficient consumer demand to send a message to Starbuck’s that paying fair wages to all of their farmers is just the right thing to do.

If we all worked together to cultivate our collective buying power, and consume more consciously, the world would be a better place. Organic food would be affordable to the masses, so our bodies would be healthier. Our planet would be greener because we would only buy products from companies that cleaned up after themselves. And maybe, just maybe, Starbucks would start selling fair trade-green tea-no melon-soy lattes.

Power to the people.







© 2007 Conscious Planet Media. All rights reserved.