Back in the Saddle

Two funerals and a holiday weekend...I feel like I ought to have a phone surgically attached to my head, for all the time I've spent on the phone. Hence the lack of posts last week.

How was your Memorial Day? Such a great way to usher in summer, unless it's freezing and sleeting like it was where we spent the weekend. I saw snow, real snow!

Does anyone still follow that 'rule' about not wearing white pants before Memorial Day? I definitely broke it this year when I picked up a pair of Lucky cropped white jeans last month. I Love Them!! and have already worn them a ton. They had to stay home for the weekend, though, so that I had space to pack my boots and winter jacket (no joke).

I definitely didn't need any sunscreen over the holiday, but plenty of you did. Have you checked out EWG's 2013 Sunscreen Guide? It came out just in time for the holiday. This year's big recommendations: avoid spray sunscreens as well as products containing oxybenzone.

Nearly 200 sunscreens meet EWG's stringent criteria for safe and effective products. I invested in Coppertone Sensitive Skin sunscreen and a Bullfrog sunscreen. I say investment because at nearly $10 a bottle, these sunscreens ain't cheap. But, the $40-50 I will spend over the course of the season seems like a reasonable price to pay for keeping my skin safe.

My next investment: moisturizer with SPF. I'll let you know what I choose, and of course will do a review!

Happy Thursday,

Jazzy

Having Fun Yet?

It's Friday, whew. The end of our first week in the blogosphere. Today's actually a non-post day, as I'm working on some posts for next week, including (drum roll)...SMACK's first product review! EWG's 2013 Sunscreen Guide comes out next week, too, so we'll be sure to take another look at the best products for protecting your skin.

Happy weekend,
Jazzy

Sizzle, sizzle

Spring is probably my favorite season, this year probably more so than in the past. Considering I am not even 3 months out from my mastectomy, the irony of the whole ‘rebirth’ metaphor is not lost on me.

We have had really fantastic weather, which is lucky, because I am on a sports field 4-5 days a week, and twice on Sundays (literally). I can’t do as much yardwork as I normally do -- not complaining -- but I am itching to be outdoors as much as possible. Actually itching around the clock, thanks to the high pollen counts.

While I am LOVING all the outside time, the sun this year feels really, really strong to me. Cue anxiety re: sun exposure, skin damage, etc. Then cue anxiety re: sunscreen chemicals. Weeeeeeee as we go down the slippery slope!

See how a little information is dangerous? I decided to read up on sunscreens so that I could choose now a good brand as my go-to sunscreen. Before summer is in full swing and all that’s left on the shelves are the bottles of tanning oil. Really? People still want to fry themselves?

Again, I went to EWG (you will get sick of me pointing you there, seriously) to check out their annual sunscreen guide. The 2013 guide isn’t out yet, which made me feel like I’m ahead the curve, so I perused the 2012 guide and then checked out some of the low-rated brands. Some salient points:

• The best way to protect your skin from the sun is to cover it -- wide-brim hats and long sleeves
• The ingredient oxybenzone should NOT be used on children. Experts have been cautioning against this since the 1990s!

Check it out for yourself to see how your sunscreens rank. And be sure to read up on active ingredients, like oxybenzone. The current recommendation is that mineral-based sunscreens -- such as those containing zinc oxide -- are safer and more effective. 

Imagine my delight to find a few Coppertone products among the lowest-ranked sunscreens. I grew up on Coppertone, and it’s still a mainstay on supermarket and drugstore shelves. Hooray! I went with the Sensitive Skin Gentle Formula w/ Zinc Oxide. The Pure & Simple line is also rated very well.

I had a good laugh looking up Zinka, that flourescent-colored noseblock for surfers. Since everything 80s is trendy again, don’t be surprised if you see it this year on a beach near you.

Happy sunning!

Jazzy

Bad Hair Days

Who remembers these guys? 

Monchhichi, Monchhichi

Oh so soft and cuddly

OMG, I had like, a whole family of these things and I LOVED them. Really. 

So fast forward a few decades to when my hair is finally growing back after chemo and what do I see when I look in the mirror? Mmm, that’s right, a Monchhichi. Not so cute anymore. And definitely not the look I’m going for.

Get this girl some hair gel, stat!

Except, like, I’ve never used hair gel. And I’m now scared to put weird sh*t on my skin. What do I buy?! Environmental Working Group and my smart phone saved the day. I hit the local Whole Foods and found a great selection of hair products that rate really, really low (meaning fewer toxic ingredients) on EWG’s Skin Deep database. There were even testers of each product -- bonus!

I bought two Giovanni products (see below), and I’ll review them in their own post once we get product reviews up and running. 

My hair has still seen better days, but at least it’s under control while it grows out. More Charlize Theron, less Chia Pet.

The point here -- there ARE choices. Some are more expensive, some are cheaper than what you usually buy, but they’re out there. And if you don’t see what you want at your favorite stores, ASK. Request that the retailer order what you’re looking for because what’s on the shelf is unsafe. If a retailer wants your money, they will honor your request in a courteous, professional manner. If they won’t, send a complaint letter through the corporate Website and find a store that will.

Yours in furry cuteness,

Jazzy

Welcome to SMACK!

My very first blog post. Woo-hoo!! The concept behind SMACK! has been brewing for a while; I’m so excited to see it take shape and get off the ground!! That being said, I also appreciate your patience and guidance as we work out the kinks. A blog is nothing without its readership, after all. We will learn and grow together!

What is SMACK!? Simply put, it’s a slap in the face. That’s what I got when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Some cancers are hereditary; mine wasn’t. So what environmental factors played a role in my cancer’s development? Don’t know. But I do know that during my treatment and recovery I slowly took stock of the chemicals, toxins, and junk that I was putting into and onto my body. Then I made a conscious decision to, whenever it made sense, make smarter, better choices about not just the food I eat, but the products I use for home, health and beauty.

SMACK! aims to share information with readers so that you, too, can be smarter consumers. Because the idea of laying down hard-earned cash for products that do nothing but poison you...um, NO. 

It won’t be all rainbows and unicorns; as the information sinks in and we change our buying habits, we may have to break up with some of our favorite products and brands. <Sigh> We’ll also look at news and research, share stories and ideas and even do some product reviews. For now, thanks so much for joining us. It’s going to be a trip!

Yours in clean(er) living,

Jazzy