Why the MADE IN ITALY or MADE IN SPAIN certifications gives you peace of mind

Did you know that the European Union has banned more than 1 000 ingredients from use in cosmetics?

The FDA (in the USA) does not require companies to test cosmetic products for safety and do not approve products or ingredients before they go on the market. So mostly cosmetic companies may use any ingredient or raw material in their products without government review or approval. The US cosmetic industry polices itself through its Cosmetics Ingredient Review panel – which in >30 years has only declared 11 ingredients or chemical groups to be unsafe. These restrictions are, however, not binding on cosmetic companies.

The FDA has only prohibited a limited number of ingredients such as:

* Bithionol

* Chlorofluorocarbon propellants

* Chloroform

* Halogenated salicylanilides

* Methylene chloride

* Vinyl chloride

* Zirconium-containing complexes

* Prohibited cattle materials

By buying from reputable companies that falls under the jurisdiction of the European Union, you can have peace of mind that the ingredients have been strictly tested and approved not to be harmful. Furthermore, the EU disallows and inspects any form of testing on animals.

So where are you buying your cosmetics from?

References: FDA2005,2010 FDA2005 FDA2000a CIR2012 FDA2012 (www.ewg.org)

You probably have been using your shampoo and conditioner all wrong

Shampooing should be as easy as wet, lather, rinse, repeat. But what nobody tells you is that shampoo goes on the scalp and conditioner goes on the lengths and ends.

The correct way to shampoo is to wash only the first 5 cm of the hair at the scalp where sebaceous oils, sweat and dirt gather.  It really is not necessary to shampoo the lengths and ends of your hair as the shampoo that washes over the lengths and ends during rising should be sufficient to remove any dust, dirt and smog.  As a matter of fact, washing your lengths and ends will only remove essential moisture and natural oils, leading to dried out ends.

Shampoo is formulated to open up the cuticles to ensure proper cleansing. Leaving those cuticles open will be disastrous as precious moisture and colour will seep from the hair. That is where conditioner comes in. Conditioner tightly closes the cuticle to prevent moisture loss, fight frizz and to help with detangling. When conditioning, you should use sufficient conditioner to cover the lengths and ends to ensure proper closure of the cuticle over the entire hair shaft.

That is also why it is important to ALWAYS use a conditioner after shampooing.

Also for this same reason, it is difficult to understand why people would want to use two-in-one shampoo’s and conditioners. Are you closing or opening the cuticle? Are you cleansing or moisturising? I am sure the hair shaft is just as confused as I am.

As a result, on long hair, you would be using more conditioner than shampoo and your conditioner would be depleted first.  On short hair however, it would be a different story.