Burden of proof

I've always loved that phrase. Sounds very mature, very legal. Harkening back to my days of watching any and all episodes of Law & Order and, before that, taking an undergrad course in communication law. Good stuff.

Last week the only post I was good for was about Living Proof, which puts out a line of haircare products by the same name and is co-owned by none other than the forever perfectly-coifed Jennifer Aniston. Mostly it was a rant about messaging and marketing, so today we're actually looking a little deeper at the products themselves. And why you shouldn't touch these things with a ten-foot pole.

The brand gets similar marks from EWG and GoodGuide -- not so great. The two databases can't agree on which Living Proof product is the least or most hazardous, but then again, both databases are reporting on limited data. We know this usually means ingredient disclosure is less than ideal. Keep inferring and the hole that we're digging here just gets bigger and bigger.

The Skin Deep ratings for the Living Proof line is here, and on GoodGuide here.

I'm lambasting Living Proof not just because their products are pretty toxic, but also to illustrate that packaging and marketing are Totally. Meaningless. For sure it is a huge sales coup for Living Proof to snag the endorsement (and financial backing) of an A-Lister like Aniston, but there is nothing -- NOTHING -- behind the claims that science makes their products better. If anything, the science makes their products more toxic and less consumer-friendly. All that anti-frizz business doesn't happen naturally, you know. 

So please, don't be fooled by seductive marketing. Save your money for safer, gentler products. Value your health and well-being over the need to attain a nearly impossible ideal. Rise above the noisy, destructive messages that women need to look a certain way and instead embrace what makes you beautiful, inside and out.

Yours,
Jazzy

Calling bullish*t

Sorry for that. I don't normally use profanities in my article titles, especially during weeks when my posting schedule is totally jacked and I'll be lucky if this is all I get up on the blog. But, sometimes, that's just how life rolls.

It was just the 10-year anniversary (!!!) of the series finale of Friends, and not so coincidentally I'm seeing Jennifer Aniston's face splashed all around promoting her "Living Proof" line of hair care products.

The Rachel. Aniston famously lamented how much she hated that haircut, once it defined both the character and the actress. So is it ironic that she once again (or still?) is using her hair to help along her career?

According to the full-page spread in my latest Ulta flyer, Aniston is the co-owner of Living Proof, which, according to its own website, was started in 2004 when some biotech guys met up with some venture capital guys and came up with a new concept to fill what they perceived to be a void in the haircare market. She's also the face of what they call the "Perfect Hair Day Campaign."

Some verbiage from their "Philosophy" (fancy name for 'mission statement'):

"We are not a traditional beauty company.We are more than that.We believe in rethinking conventional wisdom.We believe when you can’t find something that works, you invent it.We believe the answers are found in science.We believe that beauty and brains are the best formula.We believe a product should keep its promises.We believe every day can be a good hair day.We believe beauty is more than skin deep.We believe in day-making, bliss-creating, confidence-boosting results.We believe you are the living proof."

Did you also throw up in your mouth a little? Here's my version:

"We believe in making money.
We are business people first.
We will market the sh*t out of our products until you believe you can't live without them.
We will sell you the promise of having all the self-confidence you crave -- for only $25 a bottle (and your hair will probably still never look as good as Jen's)."

I'm a crusty beeyotch, I know. But this whole thing really gets me. First, this sh*t's going to a pretty specific demographic. I feel like Living Proof is trying to tap the very same fan base that gave Friends such high ratings back in the day. If you wanted to be just like Rachel back in the 90s, maybe you still want to be just like Aniston now? Because you're older, smarter and have more cash lying around...to spend on shampoo? Oh right, I forgot, you deserve to have your products live up to their promises. Because you're so middle-aged and life is too short to have to use inferior shampoo.

Do you see where I'm headed here? Jennifer Aniston is probably the single WORST person to promote a hair care line. Because none of US -- regular, real-life people -- will ever, ever have the same resources that she employs to maintain her beauty. It's an unattainable standard.

And you know what? That's OK. It's ok to NOT have celebrity-level hair/makeup/fashion/whatever. It's ok to NOT need to be camera-ready at all times of day. It's ok to look like you. It's actually more than ok. It's freakin' awesome.

(BTW, I haven't gotten to the part where this Living Proof stuff is chock full of chemicals. I think I'll save that for a follow-up post.)

Yours,
Jazzy

Because toxins don't discriminate

I came across a new (to me) blog last week, and wanted to share it. Organic Beauty Vixen is run by Sherrell Dorsey, who hails from Seattle to represent women of color in the fight to clean up cosmetics and personal products. I really love Sherrell's 'Blaq List' -- a really good rundown of chemicals to avoid in your daily beauty routine. 

Now I don't really know what the demographic breakdown of SMACK!'s readership is, nor do I need to, in order to recommend this blog. The point here is that we ALL need as much information as we can get to be smarter consumers (wasn't that one of our New Year's resolutions?). Do you think endocrine disruptors, formaldehyde releasers, hormone mimickers and the such care what we look like?

I for one have a lot of learn from women like Sherrell, and have added OBV to my reading list. Check it out for yourself and see what you think!

Yours,
Jazzy

Thank you, universe

Sometimes the universe brings you gifts that are just too good, you know?

Gisele Bundchen showed up in my FB news feed twice yesterday. This photo was one of them:

Post by Gisele Bündchen.

Where to begin...there's a lot to hate on here, since the whole thing reeks of privilege and narcissism. I'm not going to help matters, but what I'm concerned with has nothing to do with Gisele's perfect hair, flawless beauty or impossible figure.

It has to do with the baby.

If memory serves, that's baby Vivian. How old is she now? It looks like she might be nursing, but we don't know for sure. Doesn't matter. What does matter is that this baby has been caught in the middle of a very, very toxic publicity stunt, literally at the hands of her mother.

Maybe the aesthetician isn't really painting Gisele's nails. Maybe the hair stylists had already done Gisele's hair, and the whole thing is just a staged look at how the mega rich multitask (the lighting is what's tipping me off, plus the fact that there just happened to be a photographer hanging around with the beauty squad). But the message behind the imagery doesn't change, does it? 

Mrs. Brady got a lot of praise and support in the comments attached to the photo. I didn't read all 3,000+ comments, but for the sake of the argument let's guess that the point of this photo is to show how hands-on she is as a parent, how she doesn't let her globe trotting life/career interfere with parenting. Ok. But you want me to believe that someone with the resources to have a 'beauty squad' doesn't also have the resources to know what the chemicals in nail polish and hair products are doing to her infant?

Did we not just yesterday visit a pretty thorough piece about the effects of common household chemicals on the neurodevelopment of children? Click here to see it again.

Whether you agree or not, a photo like this has far-reaching implications. Just skim through the comments to see for yourself. Many, many women thanking Gisele for being not just a model, but a role model. Folks would be singing a very different tune (and bearing torches and pitchforks) if there was a cigarette somewhere in that scene. But no one seems to mind that little Viv has no choice but to breath in all the nasty fumes from the nail and hair products that the beauty squad is yielding. Last time I checked, that wasn't good parenting.

-- Jazzy 

Tomato, tomahto

See if you can spot the difference between these two products from Organix:

one of these things is not like the other...
photo credit: Center for Environmental Health

Besides the obvious: color, shampoo/conditioner, etc. Down at the very bottom. The product label. The shampoo on the left says 'organic' while the conditioner on the right says 'ogx.'

This slight but significant change has come about after months of the company Organix coming under fire for its product labeling, specifically the misuse of the term 'organic'. Huh. You mean that a product sold under the brand name 'Organix' isn't full of organic ingredients? How can that be?

It's a little like how champagne is champagne only if it's from the Champagne region of France. 

Turns out, under California law, a company can claim its product is organic only if 70 percent of the ingredients are organic. The Center for Environmental Health sued the company for its misleading product labeling. Because guess what -- its products have hardly any organic ingredients.

A court found in favor of CEH, and ordered Organix to pay a settlement of $6.5 million. Furthermore, the company has been made to change its packaging for items sold in California, as of June 2013. But not in other states. So the false claims that are illegal in one state are A-OK in the other 49. 

I like that Organix/Ogx/whatever is being held accountable. I like that folks are drawing the connection (or, in most cases, the disconnection) between labeling and formulations. But I don't like how states' laws on retail marketing benefit companies more than they benefit consumers. It's time to turn up the heat, folks.

Check out how EWG rates Organix products here, and GoodGuide's ratings here. You can see original coverage of the lawsuit at WSJ.com, Upstart Business Journal, and CosmeticsDesign.com. And then think about what you can tell your elected officials about making the retail marketplace more consumer-friendly.

Yours in cleaner living,
Jazzy

SMACK! Reviews: Giovanni Natural Mousse Hair Styling Foam

Late start today, sorry...

So most of us don't have a team of stylists working us over for our morning commutes or a trip to the grocery store, meaning some days we have to make a choice: face or hair. For me, it's always been hair. It's not like I'm blessed with flawless skin or never get dark circles, no. It's just that my hair has always been my thing. Literally, from the day I was born when I popped out with a bright orange carrot top.

Losing my hair during chemo really was devastating. Like, lots of ugly crying. But now it's back, thicker and wavier than ever. You might remember reading earlier this week that I recently ran out of mousse and wanted to find something a little gentler on my body. Through EWG's Skin Deep database, I wound up with Giovanni's Natural Mousse Hair Styling Foam. I've had fair to good luck with Giovanni hair products in the past, so I thought I'd give it a try.

The price was right: $7.99 for a 7 oz pump bottle at my local Whole Foods. It's about the same price on the Giovanni website. A little pricier than I'm used to, but I'd rather spend more for fewer chemicals than the other way around, right?

The pump tells me right off the bat that I'm getting something that's a little easier on the environment and me, what with it not having all those accelerants in a pressurized can. That's good! So let's bust out the hair dryer and have a little fun.

The bottle says 'medium to firm hold' but this is a really light mousse. Two quick pumps give me what I think is the right amount for my hair length. The scent, well, leaves a little to be desired. The mousse contains a lot of botanical extracts and even 'natural fragrance' but all that doesn't add up to a very pleasant-smelling product. Reminiscent of the Giovanni Hair Gel I reviewed a few months back. I guess the good thing about the wonky smell is that it's a little more gender neutral? Equally unappealing to both women and men?

Moving ahead. The bottle makes these claims:

• builds hair to amazing heights with amazing stay-power
• distributes easily for smooth-moves in style
• adds texture and shine

Ok. Let's put that to the test. The mousse does distribute easily, especially in wet hair. Like. It doesn't build my hair to amazing heights, but then again, that's not the look I'm going for. And as for adding texture and shine, my hair doesn't feel or look all that different when I'm done, other than being blown into submission to stay where I want it to. 

That doesn't mean you wouldn't get the results you want from this product. Everyone's hair is different: texture, weight, etc. 

I think I've mentioned that this is a pretty light mousse. So no residue or flakes or other weirdness that makes my hair feel like it has a lot of product in it. That might mean I'm not using enough. Or it might mean the mousse doesn't actually do anything. Or it might just mean that it's a nice light formula that gives you a boost of control without completely masking your hair with yuk.

Again, Giovanni puts in the teeny tiniest print that this product is USDA Certified Organic, has 100% vegetarian ingredients, does no animal testing, and does not add parabens, laryl or laureth sulfate or dyes to this product. Seriously, the type size of this post is larger than on the bottle. Why isn't this bigger, and like, in the middle of the front? On a huge tag that is all in my face?

All in all, this is a good product, not great, but still worth recommending. When it runs out I will probably try something else, but I can always come back to it and know what I'm getting.

SMACK! Grade: B

Seventeen dollars

How was your weekend? I have to admit, my inner snarky smartass was wondering how the whole federal holiday thing works when the federal government isn't...no matter, we're back from the long weekend and looking forward to a good (but short) week!

Over the weekend I couldn't help but think back to this time last year, when I had my first round of chemo under my belt and was just beginning to see the signs of hair loss. It'll take 10-14 days, they said, after the infusion and sure enough, on day 13, the first strands began shedding a little too easily.

I'll spare you the rest. It wasn't pleasant, or pretty.

It's also no longer an issue. My hair has grown back quite fully, surprising me every new half inch with a changing texture or uncontrollable wave. My mother had legendary bed head, but I think with my hair the way it is now I could take her.

As such, I use a battery of products to keep it looking presentable. Giovanni's Magnetic Force Hair Wax, which I reviewed back in July, is still in my daily lineup. But I ran out of mousse the other day. Acting on a hunch that it probably wasn't the healthiest choice, I decided to consult the Skin Deep database before buying anything else.

My instincts were right. Hair mousse is inherently really, really chemical-y. That kinda stinks because it's something I've always used, that's always worked with my hair for volume and body and good control. So, er, now what?

Big Sexy Hair makes a mousse that EWG rates a '0', the Big Altitude Bodifying Mousse. I don't have big sexy anything so I was intrigued, but I couldn't find it on store shelves. The closest thing I saw was a spray mousse that EWG rates an '8'. No thank you.

I settled on a mousse from Giovanni, and will have a review for it this week. Interesting to note: my local Whole Foods sells just 2 products that can be called mousse. Huh.

What are some of your favorite hair products? Me, I think wash-and-wear is a myth, but maybe you have easy breezy beautiful hair in which case you suck. Just kidding. Not really.

-- Jazzy

Egg on my face

Soooo...I'm an a$$hole. Sorry for that.

I messed up. Spent a lot of time, and words, praising a product that turns out to be not, quite, what I had thought it was.

A few months back I brought you along on the adventure of coloring my hair for the first time since its regrowth after finishing chemo. It was a celebration of sorts, marking the occasion that I once again had hair and finally had enough hair to require coloring.

I thought I'd done my research. Heavily proselytized my choice, Logona's Herbal Hair Color in the Tizian shade. Went through the process with readers, and then did it again a few weeks later after the initial application faded out. And again a few weeks ago.

Henna's some kind of time consuming. My most recent coloring took more than two and a half hours. I really liked the result, but I really didn't like being stuck in my house for such a chunk of the day (you know, in addition to being really cheap I'm also really impatient.). 

I decided to look into some alternatives, like Herbatint, or the Aveda salon near my house. But I never got that far. Skimming through the hair color products in the Skin Deep database, I was shocked to find my once beloved Logona product...with a 5 rating.

To be fair, there are 10 other Logona Herbal Hair Color shades that have a rating of 3 or under. And they are probably really great products. I know I loved using the Tizian shade. I loved how it smelled, I loved how it felt, and I loved how it looked.

It must have been love

But it's over now
It must have been good
But I lost it somehow

Sorry, my sleep has been crap the last few days and I'm a bit punchy from it. Back to the Logona, I just can't anymore. Now knowing that the fragrance and a few other ingredients more or less wipe out any benefit to using something plant-based and natural, I just can't. It just goes to show you how different formulations of the same product (with slight variations for color or scent) can make a dramatic different 

I'm about halfway between colorings, which gives me a couple weeks to come up with a new action plan for covering all the gray and white that's sprouted out of my scalp. I could choose another, less toxic shade. Or I may look into a whole different product that doesn't suck up so much of a day. Of course I will let you know what I choose next, with what I promise will be better research and more due diligence.

Disappointed,
Jazzy

SMACK! Reviews: Logona Herbal Hair Color Creme

The Product
A couple weeks ago I picked out a henna-based hair color by Logona Naturkosmetic at my local Whole Foods. I've never used henna before and had no idea what to expect, so I was super nervous to do it. Especially when I realized the 'Tizian' shade that I bought was on the darker end of the spectrum.

The Internets to the rescue! I browsed tips and tricks from Detoxinista, Henna for Hair and a couple others. I read a lot about additives and recipes and was quickly overwhelmed. Add sugar. Mix in hot coffee. (??) Watch out for metallic salts. Oil (or egg or yogurt) for conditioning.

Sounded more like a cooking lesson, one that I would most assuredly fail.

Ginger

True story: last summer I was very nearly mistaken for a teenager. Literally, half my real age. 

Gray hair -- wha?!?!

What a difference a few months make! Cancer treatment did plenty to make me feel a LOT older than a spry and sassy 36. Hot flashes, joint aches. And then my hair, gone and growing back about 30% gray. Yikes.



Not anymore!!! I actually did it yesterday -- busted open the henna and covered all those grays :)

It smells like licorice!

Definitely an improvement!

Look for my review of this great hair color product later this week!!!







Yours in living color,
Jazzy

SMACK! Reviews: Giovanni Hair Gel & Hair Wax

Another first here at SMACK! -- product reviews! Here we’ll try new products and have fun doing it! 

First up, two products from Giovanni which I came upon to meet the urgent need to control my newly-growing hair (read the original post for a refresher). I found both the Eco Chic Volumizing Styling Gel and Magnetic Force Styling Wax at the local Whole Foods, under $10 each. 

The Eco Chic Volumizing Styling Gel doesn’t have the consistency of a true gel. It came running out of the tube pretty easily on its own. The scent is light, citrus-y with a fairly strong undertone of rubbing alcohol, and no wonder -- the third ingredient is alcohol, and the sixth is citric acid. 

The texture of the gel is pretty nice -- smooth, not sticky or tacky. I always wash my hands after doing my hair or makeup, but if I needed to I could skip after using this hair gel.

I’m dating myself here -- remember Ross’ heavy-handed use of gel on Friends? Hahaha, his crunchy hair was legendary. Not happening here with this Eco Chic Gel . I mean, I suppose if that’s what you’re trying to achieve, and you used half the tube, well sure. But if you use an average amount for your hair length, you’ll get control without major crunchies.

Buuuuutttttt...this hair gel flakes. Big time. Weird, white flakey-flakes. I touch my hair a lot through the course of the day, which only disturbs the dried-out gel and sets the flakes loose. Not. Attractive.

I give Giovanni props for creating a product with 100% vegetarian ingredients and no animal testing, but I can’t get over those flakes.

SMACK! Grade: C

The Giovanni Magnetic Force Styling Wax, however, is a DREAM of a product. The red and silver pot and ‘magnetically charged’ promises are obviously being marketed to men, but whatevs! Also, have you seen the website? Super ridiculous. Like Ben Stiller's character in Dodgeball. If you need a good laugh, by all means, go and see for yourself. I'll wait here.

See what I mean? Thankfully, opening a jar of this stuff is no such joke. First, I love the scent. Fresh but not overpowering. Soft but not super floral. Well-balanced gender-neutral fragrance that probably smells great on everyone.

The texture is also great. Smooth, not gummy. Since I’m a newbie to cropped hair, my stylist showed me how to use my fingertips to lift the roots and tousle away. SO EASY. Perfect for those days when I want to sleep an extra 10 and rock some bed head!

Seriously, this stuff may make me want to keep my hair short. Nah, just kidding. I do really love it, though, and totally recommend to anyone with short hair. But I'm going to be a stingy b*tch and take points away for the awful marketing.

SMACK! Grade: B+

Win some, lose some

Turns out the Stanley Cup Playoffs are a terrible distraction to blogging. Oops. Also Game of Thrones. The finale aired Sunday night, so no new episodes for another 40 weeks or so. And now I sound like a huge couch potato.

I actually did some research and reconnaissance last week for some new products! My latest quest in chemically cleaner living was threefold: face moisturizer, eye makeup remover and (gulp) hair color. 

Last year I picked up a moisturizer by Simple (Hydrating Light Moisturizer) and liked it a lot. Light but effective. I was totally sold on the marketing, so I decided to stick with it when I was looking for something to use during chemo. I lucked out big time and didn't suffer from any wacky skin ailments as a side effect of the chemo drugs. Great. But -- as it turns out -- Simple's marketing is just that: marketing. Spin. Smoke and mirrors.

When the bottle ran low, I checked EWG's Skin Deep database, and was plenty surprised to see it rated with an overall score of 4. I was further discouraged when I saw why: scary sounding ingredients with even scarier toxicity concerns. Definitely NOT the 'Simple Goodness' being promised by the 'Sensitive Skin Experts'. Shame on you, Simple!

So I put a trip to my local Whole Foods on my to-do list. I also wanted to see what they stocked for natural hair color and eye makeup remover. After visiting my oncologist for a routine checkup, I got the green light to color my hair again. I've been coloring my hair for nearly 10 years to cover whites and grays, so I wasn't at all surprised to see it nearly completely gray when it first sprouted. But now I'm losing patience waiting for the pigment to fill in. I'm trying to rock a cute pixie look, but between the gray and the super waviness, I either look like a TV newscaster or my 70-something mother. Eesh.

I found a great henna-based color, but naturally am really chickensh*t about actually doing it. I've had too many Big Dyejob Mishaps to not be nervous, and I'm already thinking worst case scenario, like Grecian Formula Gone Wrong, that necessitates a trip to the salon for color correction and totally undermines the point to trying something chemical-free.

I'm rambling. I camped out in the Whole Foods H&BA aisle, checking brands Skin Deep with my phone, reading labels, looking at ingredients. I left WF with a lighter wallet and these three products:

I'll review the moisturizer and wipes soon, with pretty strong opinions of each, and a surprise happy ending. The henna, well, that might be a bit longer while I drum up the courage to go through with it. Thorough consultation with Google, Wiki and YouTube may be in order.

Happy Tuesday!
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