Check that label!: Methylisothiazolinone

Found in many conditioners and shampoos, methylisothiazolinone (MIT) is commonly used as a preservative to inhibit microbial growth.

Published in the Journal of Neuroscience in September of 2002 was one of the first studies into the safety of MIT. Although it has been used in personal care products for many years, there was inadequate information regarding its safety, leading a group of researchers at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine to conduct a study of it.

There is increasing evidence supporting that environmental exposure to neurotoxic substances may lead to the development of neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

In the study, the researchers isolated rat cortical neurons and applied 100 micromolar MIT for only 10 minutes. Within 24 hours, the neurons underwent widespread cell death. They found that the reaction cascade caused by exposure to MIT resulted in the depletion of glutathione, a powerful endogenous antioxidant, and production of reactive oxygen species, which are free-radicals contributing to DNA damage.

Smaller doses of MIT administered over a long period of time also showed neurotoxic properties. While the smaller doses did not outright kill neurons, it did inhibit the growth of neurites, which are used to form connections between neurons, essential for different parts of your brain to be able to communicate with each other. This has some pretty obvious health implications for adults, but even more so for developing fetuses who may become exposed through the mother's toxicity.

While we're at it, I should probably mention parabens too, which are also preservatives, are known to be toxic and are probably more ubiquitous than MIT. Parabens have the ability to mimic estrogen and because they are easily absorbed into the skin and are lipophilic, they may accumulate in the body. Studies have shown them to be particularly concentrated in breast tissue, and have found them to induce the growth of cancerous breast tissue.

I ventured over to the local drugstore to pick up a few things and couldn't help peruse the hair and skincare aisles to do some label checking. Although I didn't track specific numbers, I estimate that well over 50% of the labels I checked contained MIT, and probably closer to 90-95% of things I looked at contained at least one paraben.

So what does all this mean for you? Although you should bear in mind that all of this data is not yet conclusive, an increasing amount of evidence does support that these compounds may very well not be safe for use. In the end, I think that knowledge is power; as long as consumers are well-informed about the potential safety concerns of the things they use in their everyday lives, then each individual person is free to decide whether they feel the risk is worth taking.

Sources:
In Vitro Neurotoxicity of Methylisothiazolinone, a Commonly Used Industrial and Household Biocide, Proceeds via a Zinc and Extracellular Signal-Regulated Kinase Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase-Dependent Pathway

Toxic Effects of the Easily Avoidable Phthalates and Parabens

A lesson in proper bra fitting

Maheda is well known in Poland as an expert bra fitter. She has a series of videos on Youtube, showing the difference that can be made by wearing the correct bra size, and this is an example of one of her fittings. In this video, the model is originally wearing a 34C (75C) and Maheda fits her into a 30FF (65FF). The difference the right size can make is huge.

This video has English captions if you do not speak Polish; if the captions do not automatically show up when you start playing the video, just push the [cc] button down at the bottom of the video and it should display the captions.

Homemade mascara

I love mascara. It is my favorite cosmetic ever, and I would forsake all other cosmetics for it. The only problem I really have with it is that often it is quite thoroughly loaded with all kinds of weird chemicals. If you want to get one that is not chemical-saturated, it's definitely going to cost you. Well, being a broke student entangled in a complex love affair with mascara, I decided I needed to find a solution that doesn't involve drugstore mascara.

I am attempting to make my own mascara with the following ingredients:
- purified water
- avocado oil
- activated charcoal or cosmetic grade black iron oxide
- candelilla or beeswax
- vitamin E oil

This ingredient list is a composite I've created from a number of different recipes; no one recipe looked good to me, so I picked bits and pieces from multiple different recipes and essentially created my own. I don't know what proportions I should mix these in, but I figured I'd wing it until I get what looks to be a good consistency. I'm not sure if this is going to work, but it seems like it would: the oil providing the slip, the wax providing a bit of thickness, and the vitamin E oil serving as a mild preservative. We'll see though.

Disclaimer: I am not a professional cosmetic manufacturer, and to be quite honest I don't know much about making cosmetics at all, so if you choose to try this recipe, I am in no way, shape or form responsible for anything that might happen to you. Proceed at your own risk.

*photo by AndreaNicole

There's an app for that: a review of the Bra-Fitter app for iPhone and iTouch

It was only $1.99, so I figured what the heck, and I bought the Bra-Fitter app for my iPod; and being endorsed by Stanikomania, I figured it was probably a pretty good calculator.

That being said, it is both good and bad at the same time. Naturally, I first tried it out by entering in my own measurements, and voila, it returned my correct bra size. However, I decided to test it with a variety of different measurements, to get a feel for its consistency. I entered in 25 inches for the rib measurement and 35 for the bust measurement, for which it returned the size 30E, which will be too large for a person with a 25 inch ribcage. I also tried it on the other end of the spectrum and the results were only marginally more acceptable. Here is what I think this thing is doing: for rib measurements under 28 inches, it is adding 4 to 5 inches to the underbust measurement, and for larger rib measurements, it is adding 2 to 3 inches. One quite silly contradiction that occurs with this is that a 27 inch ribcage is recommended a larger band than a 28 inch ribcage.

It seemed pretty wonky to me to begin with and I wondered why it would be adding all kinds of inches? Then it occurred to me that I believe this app was developed by Polish bra fitters, and one of the most important things in Polish bra fitting is to have the firmest underbust measurement possible. The prevalent bra fitting advice in Poland is to exhale all the air from your lungs and take the absolute tightest underbust measurement possible. For me, this decreases my measurement by a whopping two inches, which may well make all the difference in the world when using this calculator. Out of curiosity, I then clicked the help button, which took me to a FAQ page. Here is an excerpt from the page:

"Most professional bra-fitters nowadays say that after getting the measures [sic] done it is usually wise to go down [in] the band size (and up a cup size), especially if you are larger-busted."

Although this measuring technique obviously must be considered in order to use this calculator, there are some other excellent stand-alone features. Probably one of the best features is a size troubleshooter, which can be particularly useful for sizing down one band, as quoted in the FAQ above. After the calculator generates a bra size based on your measurements, there is an additional screen that will help you troubleshoot problems with the recommended size. For example, if the band feels too big, or is riding up, it will suggest smaller band sizes, with the appropriate cup sizes for you to try. I think this alone is useful. Another useful feature is size conversion between all the major sizing systems: UK, US, Continental, French, Australian and Japanese, as well as sizing charts that are specific to individual brands. The sizing charts for individual brands could be wildly useful, just because there is so much variation in sizing systems between brands.

Altogether, it's your call whether you think this app could be useful for you and at only $1.99 USD, it's not expensive. I'd be interested in seeing if this works for people when they use the Polish method of taking the underbust measurement, although I do believe that this calculator will be too unreliable for those with sub-28 rib measurements, as well as those with ribcages above 32 inches. However, if you want to reliably find your bra size and don't need all the other bells and whistles of this app, THIS is the best calculator I've found so far.

*photos are from Stanikomania and the official bra-fitter website

Oils by skin type

I posted a while back on using oil to cleanse your face, also known as the oil cleansing method. The most important factor in using the oil cleansing method successfully is to figure out what oils to use. There are different oils that are appropriate for different types of skin and even the proportions in which you mix those oils can make a difference, although determining proportions is usually by trial and error.

Here is a brief list of oils by skin type:

Oily - jojoba, grape seed
Dry - olive, sweet almond
Normal - olive, sweet almond, avocado
Acne prone or sensitive - jojoba, grape seed, sweet almond

It should also be noted that castor oil, which is commonly used as a carrier oil, can be drying, so if you have dry skin, you may want to avoid castor, or at the very least, mix it in lower proportion to a heavier, more moisturizing oil.

Additionally, if you'd like to add essential oils to your oil mixture, tea tree tends to be good for oily, or acne-prone skin, while lavender does well with dry skin.

What's the deal with protein?

If you're thinking about switching to a CO-wash regimen, or are currently CO-washing and trying to find the best conditioner for your hair, you'll want to figure out if your hair likes or dislikes protein. Some conditioners contain proteins, sometimes under names like biotin, or other times under more direct names like soy protein. Some conditioners don't contain proteins at all. Figuring this out is necessary for you to get the most benefits from CO-washing.

There are a couple of things you can look for as symptoms of protein-sensitive hair. If, when using a conditioner that contains protein, your hair becomes drier, tangles easier, becomes more straw or hay-like, these are the first signs that your hair dislikes protein. These are not typically resolved by adding more moisturizing products to your hair. Increasing the frequency of conditioning with the protein conditioner, or continuing it over a long period of time will increase these negative effects on the hair. These effects can only be combated by ceasing to use the protein conditioner altogether and switching to a non-protein conditioner.

On the other hand, some hair absolutely loves protein, and a protein containing conditioner will leave the hair silky smooth and beautiful. The only way to figure out what your hair likes is to experiment with different conditioners. In my personal experience, my hair is not a fan of protein, and I experience drier hair and a gross buildup-y type of feeling. I don't experience any of these problems with non-protein conditioners.

Review: Tresemme Naturals conditioner

Tresemme keeps coming out with new variations of their Naturals line of silicone-free conditioners, so every time I see a new one, I have to try it. The newest one I found is called 'Vibrantly Smooth' and contains coconut and jojoba oils. The two previous variations I've tried, sweet orange and avocado/aloe, have worked equally well for CO-washing, and I can't speak more highly of them. All of the conditioners have very similar smells, and it's difficult to tell them apart, unless you sniff them one right after the other.

I figured it's probably about time to write a formal review on these conditioners, now that I've been using them for months. I think I grabbed my first bottle of Tresemme Naturals in about February. I was combing through the local drugstore for a different conditioner that was perhaps cheaper than what I was using at the time (Desert Essence Organics). I didn't want to use Suave, despite being a very popular conditioner for CO-washing, because it contains methylisothiazolinone.

Starting with the ingredient list, it is not perfectly clean, but it is much less offensive than the majority of other conditioners I've seen. The conditioners, as they advertise, are free of silicones, which is excellent for those on a no poo regimen. Instead of the silicones, they contain stearamidopropyl dimethylamine, which is a lipid-based emulsifier, and also a cationic surfactant. It serves as a conditioning agent, but it is obviously more lightweight than silicones, which prevents buildup that can sabotage your no poo hair. There is some alcohol, although I have not found the alcohol to be at all drying. It also contains lauroyl lysine, which is an amino acid, the building blocks of protein. Although you might suspect this would be bad news for hair that tends to hate protein, I have protein-hating hair and have had no problems with this conditioner. None of these ingredients have any known toxicity or danger of bioaccumulation (unlike methylisothiazolinone).

Using the conditioners, they all seem very similar, with the more moisturizing versions (aloe/avocado and coconut/jojoba) being only slightly heavier than the volumizing sweet orange version. You might want to consider this if you have issues with your hair being weighed down, but if that's not a problem for you, then there is very little difference between the three versions I've tried. These conditioners have good slip and coat the hair very well. They also rinse out quite easily compared to other conditioners I've tried. The fragrance is strong, but not overly sweet. I personally think these conditioners smell amazing, although if you are sensitive to strong smells, I think you'll want to give it a sniff before picking it up.

These conditioners do a bang up job of detangling my hair, and leave it soft and smooth with minimal flyaways. In short, these are the best conditioners I've used for CO-washing and I have no intention of switching any time soon.

*photos are promo pictures from the Tresemme website

Review: Freya Arabella and Monet, plus the Nordstrom Rack is amazing

I am convinced that the Nordstrom Rack is actually located in an alternate universe where awesome undies are hella cheap. Within the last few days I have scored two Freya sets for around about $25 USD (£15) each. The Rack has a full range of sizes, but when you get into larger cup sizes, the selection is a little hit-or-miss. But I got lucky; when I saw the $20 price tag on the Arabella, I swooped it away to the dressing room, where I was thrilled to find it fit perfectly. I also found the Freya Monet for another $20. The matching panties for both of these were around $5 each. That is quite a bit cheaper than anything I've seen on British eBay. From now on, I think the Rack will for sure be my first stop when buying bras and underwear.

Now I've never met a Freya bra I didn't like, and these two are no exception. The Arabella gives a beautiful round silhouette, while the Monet is perkier and slightly pointier, but still very nice. Both are comfortable, but the Arabella has a slightly stretchier band than the Monet. They are made of high quality materials that do not itch or chafe.

In terms of aesthetics, these bras are so beautiful. The bold color of the Arabella is sure to make a statement, while I love the soft watercolor print on the Monet, with it's pink ruffles at the bottom. Both are great for everyday wear and at $25 for the set, you can hardly go wrong.