What toxins are you washing your hair with?

Let's face it, people are into their hair! A 'bad hair day' usually means plopping on a hat, crying, complaining, or a rushed trip to the hair stylist or barber. A good hair day makes us feel beautiful - or handsome - and invincible. In the US alone, about 80,000 hair care salons generate combined annual sales of $16 billion dollars.

If you're thinking of getting into the hair care business, this could be good news. But for purists, that means billions and billions of toxic chemicals wafting into the air, pouring down the drain into our ground water, and infiltrating their way into human bodies through pores that suck them up like plants absorb sunshine and water.

It has been a slow erosion that has allowed people to replace lab-generated, synthetic chemicals for natural botanicals in their hair, skin and personal care products. Chemicals might make life easier and produce more drastic effects, but they also exact a huge negative toll on our health and planet. And just as destructive, they offer a false standard of beauty and aging that many people spend their entire lives striving for but never reach.

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Nature, on the other hand - flowers, herbs, fruits, nuts, and seeds - is simplistic, peaceful, beautiful, and accepting. There is a natural cycle in nature that synthetic chemicals try to eradicate - the seasons. Spring, Summer, Autumn, and Winter exemplify our lives - whether we want to accept it or not. In Spring we burst forth in life so fresh, smooth and delicate, and with such possibility, the whole world wants to embrace us. In Summer we bloom bright and beautiful and with such strong potential and possibility, it takes the breath away. In Autumn we start to change, but with such grace and loveliness, people want to bask in the sheer joy of our experience and calm. And in Winter, we get to rest, reflect, rejoice in the life we've built, taking it all in with the wisdom and sagacity of one who has been there and knows, and can now sit back and simply enjoy.

This is nature at its best. This is what nature offers human beings. This is what we at Miessence embrace when we choose, handcraft, and manufacture the purest products on the planet for your whole body health and wellbeing!

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Let's compare ingredients & side effects:

Theirs:

1. Cocoamide DEA (diethanolamine) can cause nitrosamine contamination, which is a potent carcinogen. Cocoamide DEA is a detergent that causes allergic reactions, including eye problems, dryness of hair and skin, and can be toxic if absorbed into the body over a long period of time.

2. Propylene Glycol is a petroleum derivative and industrial antifreeze. It's so toxic that the EPA requires workers to wear protective gloves, clothing and goggles. Because PG penetrates the skin so quickly, the EPA warns against skin contact to prevent consequences such as brain, liver, and kidney abnormalities.

3. Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate is used in car washes and engine degreasers - and in 90% of products that foam. Animals exposed to SLS and ALS experience eye damage, central nervous system depression, laboured breathing, diarrhea, severe skin irritation, and even death. Frequently disguised in semi-natural cosmetics with the explanation "comes from coconut".

4. Suttocide (sodium hydroxymethylglycinate) is a formaldehyde releasing preservative used in many 'natural' shampoos. Formaldehyde is a suspected carcinogen and is extremely toxic when inhaled or swallowed.

5. Fragrances can contain allergens and sensitisers, which can trigger asthma attacks. Fragrances also contain chemicals called phthalates, which are hormone disruptors that can affect foetal development and fertility and damage sperm in men.

6. Ext. D&C synthetic colours are made from coal tar and are certified safe for drugs and cosmetics, but not for food. Toxic coal tar has been shown to be carcinogenic in animal tests, and many people are allergic to it.

Ours:

1. Coco Glucoside an extremely gentle, yet effective, cleansing agent made from glucose and coconut fatty acids. Non-toxic, fully biodegradable and mild on the skin.

2. Certified Organic Aloe Vera has healing, soothing, antibacterial, and moisturising properties.

3. Yucca Juice contains natural saponins that gently cleanse and repair damage to cell membranes of the scalp and skin, helping to prevent nutrient loss.

4. Certified Organic Avocado Oil restores lustre to the hair and hydrates dry and damaged ends.

5. Certified Organic Horsetail Extract is an effective remedy for psoriasis, dandruff, eczema, and similar skin conditions.

6. Panthenol is the provitamin of pantothenic acid (vitamin B5). It improves the moisture-retention capacity of the skin and stimulates skin regeneration. It has anti-inflammatory and anti-itching effects. It makes hair easier to comb, reduces hair splitting, improves the condition of damaged hair, thickens the hair, and provides sheen.

7. Bitter Orange Extract is a natural antibacterial agent that acts as a mild preservative in our hair care products.

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As you can see, the difference between caring for your 'Crowning Glory' naturally or synthetically is huge. The side effects of hair treated with synthetic chemicals can be devastating, especially as the toxins build up in your body over time.

The side effects of hair treated with the best of nature's offerings benefit your skin and body as the healthful ingredients are absorbed through your pores.

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Testimonial:

I recently had my hair cut for a shorter look and hadn't really used the Protect Hair Repair in the past, as my hair has been relatively healthy. I had some extra product [Hair Repair] that was going to expire, so I used it. What an absolutely great volumizer it is!! I just shampoo with the Desert Flower, a little Shine Herbal Hair Conditioner, spray some Protect Hair Repair on and a dab of Shape Styling Gel, rub them in well and blow dry. When I use a curling iron, it holds the curls all day long.

I really love your hair products. My hair is really soft with a nice shine and I get compliments on it all the time. Thank you!!

Kathleen Balaban, United States

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It's time to be kind to your hair and put your toxic hair care products where they belong: in the garbage. To help you change over to the purest, certified organic hair care products on the market - Miessence, of course! - in June we're offering you the opportunity to purchase our new Healthy Hair Care Pack at 20% off the retail price.


To order your beautiful Miessence products, go to Carol's website at www.AWellLivedLife.Net, go to Products & click on Miessence.

MiTime is published by Organic & Natural Enterprise Group 27 Expansion Street, Ashmore, Qld, Australia, 4214

Toxic Car Seats

Can you believe it?

A recent study conducted by the watchdog group, Friends of the Earth, found that 56% of infant carriers, 44% of car seats, and 40% of the strollers they tested had dangerous levels of toxic fire retardant chemicals.[1] This is downright scary--and is yet another toxic exposure on a long list of children's products with toxic chemicals to come out lately. We have to turn this tide.

The good news: Graco, the giant manufacturer of children's products, responded to the Friends of the Earth report the day it was published. Graco says they want to do the right thing, but they haven't yet committed to removing these chemicals. If Graco gets rid of these chemicals, other baby product manufacturers will be under enormous pressure to follow suit.

*Ask Graco, and other manufacturers of children's products, to not use any more halogenated fire retardants period!
http://salsa.democracyinaction.org/o/1768/petition.jsp?petition_KEY=1230

Haloge-what? Halogenated flame retardants have been shown to cause serious health disorders including endocrine disruption, cancer, birth defects and a host of reproductive and neurological disorders in developing fetuses and offspring in animals.

Forward this note to your family, friends, and community so we can all let Graco, and other manufacturers, know that nobody wants toxics near their kids. When consumers speak, companies listen.

Moms' voices are turning the tide on toxics: After our petition with your signatures was delivered several weeks ago on getting the toxic bisphenol A (BPA) out of baby bottles, Toys"R"Us, Babies"R"Us, and CVS announced they'll stop selling baby bottles which contain BPA, and Playtex committed to stop using BPA in all of their baby bottles by the year's end.

So please forward this email far and wide to get as many signatures as possible--we know your signatures will have an impact. We want Graco, and other manufacturers of children's products, to know that making safe products includes keeping toxic chemicals out of them. Together, we can make help keep dangerous chemicals away from our children.

Thank you to Friends of the Earth and Make Our Milk Safe for their tremendous work on this issue.
[1] Friends of the Earth report, entitled Killer Cribs, http://action.foe.org/t/3882/content.jsp?content_KEY=4205
To see the CBS story on flame retardants that ran on Monday, 5/19/2008 go to: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/05/19/eveningnews/main4109418.shtml

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