How Toxic Are You?

I remember...

...Channel 4 undertaking a bold move into highlighting the long-term health damage from excessive use of parabens, soidum laureth sulfate and triclosan in skin care and beauty products...tis includes shampoos, skin creams and lotions.

I thought it would be interesting to expose a few facts about the unending array of better-sounding, better-looking personal products that irresponsible, greedy manufacturers stuff inside and on bodies of gullible consumers like you and me...

Let's look at the popular shampoos sold and used in India, and endorsed through our favorite celebrities:

Get the facts right:

Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Ethyl Sulfate (SLES) are skin and eye irritants.

Found in household cleaning products, shampoos, shower gels, bubble-baths.

Articles over the internet that tell you otherwise, are secondary research information that are outdated and conducted 5-10 years ago. Read them with a pinch of salt

The following favorite shampoos most of us use day in and day out, contain SLS or SLES:

Jennifer Aniston endorses Garnier Fructis internationally

... and Jennifer Penty does it for India

John Abraham endorses Clinic All Clear

...Maria Menounos endorses Pantene ProV

In India, shampoo brands bank on a sizeable share of their profits to celebrities like Kareena Kapoor, Sushmita Sen and Priyanka Chopra...this is what the Hindu Business Line managed to dig out: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2008/11/08/stories/2008110850761800.htm

Given the mass influence that popular actors have upon the youth...it is dicey for them to jump on the advertisement bandwagon without a little background research on their endorsements...I am certain, as consumers who are used to such intoxicating fragrant shampoos, we either overlook most facts (maybe even now, your mind is saying, "yes, yes", or a "no, no"), or we act helpless with statements like, "Oh! but the market is flooded with such products, what options do we have?"

If that question arose from a space of sincerity for a healthier lifestyle upgradation, then I have a small tip for you...

When did you last walk into the Baidyanath ayurvedic store next door? You will be amazed and so was I, at the richness of the products Ayurveda has to offer!! Fragrant shampoos which do not contain toxins, hair wash gels that are extracted by natural means from organic fruits and herbs, and formulations that were made from ancient ayurvedic compositions (that are still a rage after around 20 millenniums!)...it's easy to fall in love with the organic soaps and ayurvedic hair washes that are pure, natural, holistic, and make us proud and educated eco-conscious consumers.

If you are a step ahead in ~>*narcissism*<~ ...you may use the Trichup brand products, Bhringaraj hair powder available at Bodhi Tree and Herbal Remedies. Alternately, Shikakai Powder has been an enduring trusted hair wash since the days of our grand mothers and grand fathers...

personally, i LOVE the body and hair care products offered at Sri Sri Ayurveda personal care products shops online and offline...you'll find lots of first-hand testimonials of people who use and love its products...

Love yourself, Go ayurvedic...be natural...let our planet breathe easy!

...Oh btw, this is how split-ends of a human hair look like....UNDER THE MICROSCOPE... ouchhh!