Old English Lufu means Love

Tag: Chemicals

  • The Largest Organ, Skin and What We Absorb

    The Largest Organ, Skin and What We Absorb

    This post is not just going to address the skin on your face.  Most of the post on the blog teach how to balance your skin, pop your pimples, choose the right cleanser.  In this post were not just addressing the skin on your face were going to address the skin on your body too.  Do you realize that you can use the best products on your face and do a daily skin care routine but that the skin on your body needs attention as well?  Do you realize the skin on your body also ages you?  Unless you plan on wearing long sleeve tops and long pants, if you don’t take care of the skin on your body the aging will catch up with you.  I am going to cover some issues about the largest organ on your body which is your skin.  Were going to aim to keep that skin on our body young looking.  But how?  Know that being the largest organ on your body your skin ABSORBS EVERYTHING.  Think about that.  Everything you put on your skin is absorbed into the body through your skin cells.  Within 20 minutes whatever you put on your skin is hitting your liver and going into your bloodstream, which then triggers your lymphatic system to work to get out all the excess chemicals your body does not need and cannot process. Always here for the visuals.

    Acid Mantle Stripping

    First I want to address something that has been driving me crazy for years.  The water we use on our skin.  Back to explain the acid mantle in easy terms.  Every morning when you wake up and wash your skin, whether it be your face or a shower/bath it sets your skin on a tone for the day.  Between 12 and 3pm you will see your skin start to produce a shine.  That shine is your acid mantle.  This is a natural defense created by your body to protect you.  Different climates cause the shine to be stronger, or you can produce more “oil” or sheen we can call it.

    The skin on your body also produces that sheen.  That sheen is going to protect your body.  If you are in a hot sunny climate your acid mantle helps protect you from the sun.  If your in a cold climate the acid mantle will help keep your skin from drying out.  So what happens when you strip your acid mantle?   You essentially loose your protection and put your skin into a mode of over working to protect you, which can sometimes cause super dry skin issues or sunburn for example?

    What causes the stripping? To harsh of chemicals on your skin.  Translation your soap is to strong.  If a cleanser you are using on your face is to strong for your skin type right after you wash your face it will feel tight.  That is not the feeling you want.  However, there can be an issue with the water where you are cleansing and there can be a lot of chlorine in the water.  This will naturally strip and dry your skin.  The same for your body.

    There’s Something In The Water

    Lets talk about the elephant in the room, or should I say bathroom.  Do you realize that most unfiltered water in the bath or shower is loaded with chlorine?  Do you realize that as you shower you are breathing in chlorine?  This is a toxic gas definitely having a negative effect on your lungs. The off gas of chlorine is chlorin which was banned in 2017 from using medically.  If you bathe in the bathtub with no filter are you aware that you are soaking in chlorine?  What about the children?  If your child is bathing in a bath water that is not filtered it is full of chlorine.  Effects of chlorine exposure include……

    • Eyes, nose and throat irritation
    • Shortness of breath
    • Pulmonary edema
    • Skin irritation
    • Redness
    • Blisters
    • Dry Skin
    • Hair Damage
    • Exacerbate asthma symptoms

    Studies show that if you swim in a chlorinated pool or you relax in a jacuzzi for just 15 minutes your body absorbs an equivalent of drinking 8 glasses of water with chlorine in it. Very dehydrating and now your full of this chemical.  So yes you probably feel dehydrated after being in a pool or jacuzzi all day.  Why? Because your body is absorbing the chlorine through your skin.  Its the same as if you were drinking the chlorine in your glass.  I imagine if you were to drink regular water from the tap you may just get the same effect.

    The reason I’m addressing these two issues for the body is because how do you keep your skin young looking?  How do you keep the skin on your body young, if you are bathing in massive chemicals, not just chlorine?  What kind of effect is that having on your skin?  City water systems are known to have bacteria, hormones such as estrogen from birth control, and pesticides to name a few flowing through them.  You can be bathing in all those chemicals?  Most of us shower or bath everyday so imagine the viscous cycle you are putting your skin through? Your getting unwanted chemicals in on the daily, putting the body in defense mode and essentially with all that chlorine stripping your skin.

    Creams, Oils, Lotions & Filters

    Now yes you can invest in creams and lotions and body oils to counterbalance the effects of the chlorine exposure you have received from the shower.  But you also want to consider your in a viscous cycle. Just investing your time and money to slather on another cream to have it stripped off the next bathe session and more chemical exposure?   By all means please DO put on the body cream as the skin on your body needs that to stay supple and young looking.  Two of my faves are here: https://www.100percentpure.com/products/coconut-nourishing-body-cream?variant=39707518271566

    https://bubbleandbee.idevaffiliate.com/idevaffiliate.php?id=368&feed=123 (Affiliate Link)

    What if we could take this anti-aging vibe a little deeper?  What if we could keep the skin on your body in check and at its utmost prime?  If your goal is not to get pruney and wrinkly skin on your arms and legs you will need to invest in a quality shower filter.

    I recently invested in the most AMAZING shower filter.  Its hands down untouchable.  I was going through A LOT of chlorine exposure in the shower.  I had been traveling and everywhere I was staying did not offer a shower filter.  My hair was getting so dry and my skin was actually getting ashen.  I couldn’t handle how bad the skin on my body was looking and I finally said, that is it I am going to invest in this filter.

    None of that chlorine exposure can be good for my body or anybody.  My hair was in the worst shape I had ever seen or felt it.  Dry like straw.  Imagine the chemicals my hair was absorbing and that was not even including any chemical hair treatment exposure it had gotten?  Every hair wash my hair was getting worse and worse.  So I will link the shower  and bath filter here.

    https://missellen.kangendemo.com/

    If you have any questions you can contact me on the contact form.

     

    Vitamin D (Sunlight)

    Now, this part isn’t going to be your usual esthetician make sure you use your sunscreen advice.  I do not believe in sunscreen (spf) and I can explain why.  First of all your skin has its own internal protective measures (aka your acid mantle)  They say the best sunscreen is a base tan.  I am taking this from Andreas Moritz owner of the Ener-Chi Wellness Center.  I will link the interview on Youtube here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1V7qcsuV3k

    To paraphrase the interview what Mr. Moritz is explaining about SPF is that the chemicals they put in sunscreen would be illegal if they put those chemicals in food.  Yet they put the chemicals on the largest organ in your body that immediately absorbs those chemicals and they end up in you liver.  He has stated that skin cancer didn’t exist before sunscreen. When you are loading on “sunblock” you are essentially blocking your chance to absorb Vitamin D. Whether you realize it or not vitamin D is a very “healing” vitamin.  It comes from the sun and the body needs it.

    When you go out into the sun and sunbathe you are absorbing the suns rays and absorbing Vitamin D.  The body does not immediately process the vitamin D into your cells.  It needs up to 48 hours to absorb the suns rays and send it throughout your system.  If you go and take a shower and use soap you are going to wash off your vitamin D  and again strip your skin.  Mr. Moritz of Ener-Chi Wellness Center states it is best to wash your underarms and private parts that aren’t exposed to the sun and then let the body do its thing and process the vitamin D.

    Internal Sunscreen

    Another thing that I would like to state, there are foods you can eat that internally block the sun.  If you consume these different foods before you go out in the sun these foods will help to block the UV rays on the internal side of your skin. The list of internal sunscreen foods are………

    • Blueberries
    • Broccoli
    • Carrots
    • Cacao
    • Celery
    • Dark Leafy Greens and Cruciferous Vegetables
    • Fish
    • Green Tea
    • Hemp Seeds, Chia Seeds, & Flax Seeds
    • Pomegranates
    • Sweet Potatoes
    • Tomatoes
    • Watermelon

    Each one of these foods has various properties in it that are designed to work with the sun and your skin to protect you.  So imagine if you will you go out into the sun and absorb the suns rays.  Of course you do it naturally and in a healthy way of say,  your exposed for 1 hour.  If you come back inside and shower with a chlorinated chemical shower again you will strip that acid mantle that now has vitamin D exposure.  What happens?  Your body needs 24 to 48 hours to absorb and utilize that vitamin D.  However, if you strip it in the shower you will loose that vitamin D.  It explains a lot as to people who live in the “sunshine” state and when tested, they are vitamin D deficient.

    Also note, the sun is very healing.  Back in the early 1900’s hospitals used to offer sun decks to heal with.  If a patient could get sunlight exposure daily they had a time they would put the patients bed out on the deck and help to heal with sun exposure.  Vitamin D is very nurturing to your bone health and overall well being. Also note, back in the 1900’s sunscreen did not exist.

    Conclusion

    Just bringing awareness here to the viscous cycle your skin goes through on the daily and how important the water that touches your skin is.  For me I could see how out of balance my skin and hair had been getting when exposed to all those chemicals and I felt I needed something extreme to put my skin back in balance.  The Anespa DX doesn’t just filter the water it adds minerals back into your skin.  I know that I needed something to really help my hair and scalp to rebalance itself.  The Anespa filter definitely gives you the feeling that you are showering in a waterfall with clean filtered water and getting nature put back into your skin, hair and body.

    I added the section on vitamin D because I feel it is important we realize how much our skin absorbs.  Both from the sun and the chemicals we put on our skin.  Most people don’t know that the sun exposure you do get is either blocked by sunscreen or stripped, thus causing a negative balance of vitamin D exposure.   If I want to protect my skin when going in the sun, if I know I’m going to be out for an extended period of time I will 1) wear a hat, 2) wear some kind of long sleeve loose clothing like flowy linen pants or top, 3) use a mineral makeup base on my face and again cover my body.

     

     

     

     

  • Best Tips for a Long Lasting Natural Manicure

    Best Tips for a Long Lasting Natural Manicure

    Okay here we have it!!! Nail technician secrets for a natural manicure!  I’m going to give you tips to have a long lasting manicure for natural nails. The products recommended in this post are mainly 15 free of chemicals and we are striving for no chipping.  This is a manicure that after one week will look like a gel manicure and shine.  Disclaimer none of these products recommended in this post are sponsored.  This is my own trial and error with products throughout the years and what I have found works for me.  My main goal with this manicure is low chemicals.

    About Me

    Just starting here with the manicure information. (You can skip through this section if not interested.)  When I went to manicure school I was in Hawaii on the island of Maui.  I had a really good teacher and the school added reflexology to the nail tech program to add to our education. As with all nail tech programs we had to learn acrylic nails.  Let me just say that gluing on the tips and trying to make a thin line of acrylic was not my forte. I had decided during school that doing acrylic nails wasn’t going to be for me.  I didn’t love the technic for acrylic nails. I didn’t feel I was good at it and I wasn’t into the chemical aspect of acrylic nails.  It was at that time during my nail technician training that I decided to only work on natural nails.  From that point on,  when I finished the program  I only worked on natural nails.

    Why No Gel

    After I finished my nail program I was hired at a spa in Kaanapali.  One thing in Hawaii you have to be good at is doing French manicures.  On the islands, there can be a wedding everyday of the week and most brides choose a French manicure for the photo of the rings.  At this time and still to this day the spa brands of nail polish that were offered were Essie and OPI.  These would probably be the two main brands used around the world.  Then they came out with gel polish and the gel lights to cure the polish.  Each brand of nail polish has created their own gel line to keep up with the times.

    I’m going to be brutally honest here and explain why I do not like gel nail polish on nails and offer a manicure alternative that looks like gel. My personal opinion on gel polish and the procedure.  Note, I do love how long a gel manicure can last (usually two weeks) and how shiny it looks but here is a list of the negative effects.  Just sharing in case anyone has gone through this with their own nails and to know that you are not crazy if your nails had this symptoms.

    1. First of all the process of using a UV light to cure the product is not the healthiest for your nails or skin.  Some people are sensitive and when you do the base coat and cure the first layer of gel polish it can hurt your fingers.  You can feel almost a burning sensation because you need to put that first layer on and then it acts as a barrier.  That burning pain you can feel cannot be good for you? Also you can feel that sensitivity if you have been receiving gel manicures for awhile because the nail bed gets thin and will be sensitive to a UV light.
    2. The gel polish is great because it last two weeks but your nails get no break to breath in between.  NAIL TIP: I always suggest to people who constantly have their nails with polish on them.  You always want to give your nails a break and let actual oxygen and water touch your nail bed.  My suggestion would be if you had a manicure for example last 10 days and maybe you are going to get a new manicure.  The night before if you can remove your polish and then when you shower or wash dishes your nails are coming into contact with water.  This is good for your nails to help with staining.  Meaning, not getting a yellow stain and gives them a break with product on them so the nail can receive exposure to oxygen and sunlight.  When you get a gel manicure and you have it removed and then do a new gel color the nails never get a break from chemicals on them.
    3. I do not like the removal process one bit.  I will say there is a new removal product that you can brush on the gel and it eats the polish off and breaks it up faster but that is still chemical.  To me when you have to break the seal on the gel then put a huge amount of acetone on a cotton pad, then your wrapping foil on the finger.  Just imagine your getting all that acetone on your skin, which is a highly toxic chemical.  Your wrapping it on your finger and having it go right into the skin barrier.  Massive chemical exposure and drying to the cuticle skin and nail bed all while the acetone is getting into your system.  Then, when the foil is removed and a lot of times not all the gel comes off, your getting your nail scraped with an orange wood stick or maybe even a metal tool.  Depends who does the removal.  Basically every time you remove a gel manicure your are getting a layer of your nail scraped off.  It is making your nails thin.

    Chemicals

    I’m going to explain a little here about chemicals in polish.  As stated above you can visualize how acetone seeps into your system through your skin and thin cuticles and nail bed.  Nail polish can have just as strong of an effect on your system but mainly is not entering your system through the skin just the nail bed. So one strong ingredient that can be found in nail polish is formaldehyde. When dissolved in water it is called formalin, which is commonly used as an industrial disinfectant and as a preservative in funeral homes and labs. Formaldehyde can also be used as a preservative in some products, such as antiseptics, medicines, and cosmetics. Sometimes, even when formaldehyde is not an ingredient in a product, substances that release formaldehyde are. These have been found in cosmetics, soaps, shampoos, lotions and sunscreens, and cleaning products. In a nutshell formaldehyde is a gas at room temperature and used as a preservative.  This can be cancer causing to the body in high concentrations as the odorless gas is not good to breath.

    That is one main ingredient in nail polish that people have been starting to avoid.  Some other ingredients that are not good for the body are toluene, formaldehyde resin, camphor,  acetone, xylene, phthalates (including DBP), triphenyl phosphate (TPP), parabens, bisphenol A (BPA), sulfates, e-series glycol ethers, benzophenone 1, 2, nonylphenol ethoxylate. I am putting this quick list of ingredients here so that you understand the newer nail polish brands that say 10 free or 15 free are starting to omit these ingredients from their nail polish.  It is a much more health conscious awareness of chemicals in the products.  So I have found a 4 step process for a lasting natural manicure.  I will share here.

    Steps for a Natural Manicure

    1. Clip and shape the nails.  You also want to buff the nail surface a little to dehydrate the nail.
    2. Make sure all nail polish and products are removed from nail.  You can use a nail brush and either pass alcohol or acetone remover over the nail. The less oil on the nails the better the polish will stay.
    3. First step is to use base coat.  You always want to use base coat on your nails to protect them so that the nail polish does not stain your nail bed.
    4. Once you have your color picked out you will want to do two coats of nail polish.  The first coat you will paint on thin and the second a little thicker.
    5. Top coat.  You always want to add a top coat you protect the polish that you just painted on.

    These are the basic tips for a lasting manicure next step I will give you the EXACT polish top and base coat that I use for a lasting natural manicure.

     

    If you follow the steps to the manicure prep and then use these 3 products your manicure should last chip free for 10 days.  Here is a secret tip to last longer.  After you do your manicure and wait two days.  Make sure you haven’t bumped any nails and there are no chips.  You want to take a paper towel and wipe your nails very good so there is no oils or cream on the polish.  Then use the  Wet and Wild top coat and add another coat of top coat.  Your nails will look a little thicker and shine and will be protected from chipping.  It should take about ten minutes for the top coat to fully dry.  You can also put your hands in the freezer by the fan for polish to harden or run your nails under cold water to harden the polish. I have had my manicures last more than two weeks with this tip. One other tip when you are painting your nails, if you have time I wait 5 minutes in between coats before I paint the next coat.  By the time you finish waiting 5 minutes between each coat your nails are almost dry and ready to go.  Again you can finish running under cold water to harden the polish.

    These are some tips for a natural polish manicure to last two weeks.  If you have any other tips or questions feel free let me know in the comments or the contact form.

     

  • Three Ingredients I Will Not Use in Skincare

    Three Ingredients I Will Not Use in Skincare

     

    Clean Beauty (What’s in a product)

    Are we someone who reads ingredient labels?  Do we pay attention to ingredients?  Do we have time to pay attention to ingredients?  I have been reading labels since way back both on food and skin products.  I think it is very important to know what you are consuming both topically and internally.  Everything you use on your body and everything you consume affects your internal dialogue.  Some people do not realize that your skin is the largest organ of your body.  What does that mean?  Whatever you put on your skin penetrates directly into your body and can absorb into your bloodstream within minutes. The product on your skin will absorb in some form into your systems faster than food.

    Why? For example, food has to first work with the saliva in your mouth, then passes through the acids in your stomach, then small intestine where it works with the bile from your liver to start sending out and absorbing the nutrients you need to nourish the body.  Your skin however,  absorbs ingredients with determining factors, such as how your skin pH is upon application, how large the molecules of product are, fatty lipids in product verses water substance, product formulation and the condition of you skin upon application.  Just note that the skin does get penetrated by what ingredients you put on it and absorbs (ingredient makes it into your bloodstream) a percentage of everything you put on your skin.

    One thing I like to do is have an toxic score app or website that I can use to check the brand of the products and the name of the exact product I am considering purchasing to check for toxicity.  This gives me some piece of mind if something has a low toxicity score.  Here are some websites/apps that you can use to test and score products before you consider purchasing them.  Some also test food and household cleansers.

     

    Clean Beauty Websites/Apps

     

    One of my main go to sites I have been using for years is the Environmental Working Group with Skindeep https://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ for my skincare and beauty products.  I love that they give products a score from 0 to 10.  You can go on the site or app and look up almost any brand and any product your considering to buy and find a score to see how toxic a product is.  You  can also see an ingredient breakdown and what the potential harmful effects of a particular ingredient has on the body.

    Product Ingredients and Fillers

    Now that you have a resource to check the chemical make up of your products that you are using or are considering to purchase I am going to share with you a few basic ingredients out there that have been my No No’s for years, once I realized what they were.  The biggest NO for me is PARABENS, SODIUM LAURYL SULFATE, AND MINERAL OIL.

    1. To me the easiest to explain a paraben is that it is a filler.  It is not necessary in a product.  Parabens can be considered a filler or a preservative.  If you look at a container for a product, say for example a shampoo bottle and you see the thick creamy white product.  Over half of that bottle could be filled with a paraben which is basically a substance to fill the bottle.  The main parabens you can see on a label are methylparaben, propylparaben and isopropyl paraben.  Whenever I read an ingredient label and the product has a paraben in it I put the product back.  Why would I spend my money on a filler to “fill” the bottle per se and what could possibly make the product that effective for use on my hair or skin?
    2. Another huge No No for me has been sodium lauryl sulfate or sodium laureth sulfate.  Basically this is a surfactant or aka an emulsifier.  What that translates to is that it is a degreaser. (Product has been known for use to degrease automobile engines)  It is one of the first ingredients in shampoo as it will lather up your hair and give you that nice lather soapy deep clean feeling.  However, there are other more natural ingredients that when blended properly can have the same emulsifying effect but not be so harsh and damaging to the pores of your skin.
    3. A third ingredient that is a No No is mineral oil.  I cannot tell you how many products they put this ingredient into.  You can find a lot of baby oils and sunscreens (the worst) that have this ingredient.  Number one easy way to explain why mineral oil is not good for the skin is that the molecule is to big for the skin to absorb and its a petroleum or petroleum derivative.  Usually this means that the product is cheaply manufactured.  More importantly than the manufacturing process is that mineral oil is a petroleum distillate or derivative.  I always like to use this visual for anything petroleum based. Imagine an oil spill in the ocean, now imagine your body is the ocean and imagine that petroleum or oil on your skin.  Can you see it?  Your full of oil and nothing is penetrating through especially sun or oxygen.  How can you survive without sun or oxygen and yet this petroleum based product is sitting on your skin. The question or answer as to why manufacturers are putting that ingredient in baby oil is mind blowing. Consumers aren’t always educated on what certain ingredients are and what/how they affect the skin of the body.

    Quick Process for Label Reading

    So to make label reading for skin products easy I will usually read a product label and quickly scan for any form of these three ingredients  If I see any of these ingredients in a product its an instant NO.  If I don’t see any of my 3 major No No’s I’ll usually take out my phone and look a product up after that to see if its in a product testing database and what score it has received.  Sometimes I’ll research at home before I go out to see if I like a companies ingredients.  You can always start with a companies website and find the actual ingredient list to know if you are interested in the products.  This process makes it easier to decide on a purchase and how “clean” it is for the body.

    I’ve also learned in my training throughout the years with different product lines that it is good to know where ingredients are derived from.  Meaning are they derived from a scientific lab or are they derived from “nature” by either extracting the ingredients directly from a plant, tree, or root in nature.  Reason being the body will almost always absorb and thrive on any ingredients that are derived from nature which in my opinion makes the product more effective to achieve results over a lab produced ingredient.

    I will get into the breakdown of the derivatives of ingredients used in products in another post.  As for now I just wanted to give you a little idea of how a product formulation can have an effect on both your body and your wallet.  If your buying something with fillers and harmful ingredients that wont even penetrate into your skin but sit on the surface of your skin are you really getting any value from that product? If your purchasing a product that is clean and will work with the natural cells of your body doesn’t that seem more effective?  Hopefully you can feel motivated to check your ingredient labels if you are someone who hasn’t been a label reader. If you are a label reader but want more information about what is in a product and how it affects the skin/body I hope using one of the apps or websites mentioned will  help you to start checking the status of a products ingredients and feel confident in making a “clean” purchase for yourself or your loved ones.  If you have any other instant “NO” ingredients you see in a skincare product let me know in the comments.

    Here is the Youtube video to view on this post. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HGeOip3Qc1E&t=173s

     

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