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A truly organic experience
by Sarah Warden19/ 5/2005
WHEN it comes to my appearance, I'm big on chemicals, and the
stronger the better. If a person wants to keep young and beautiful,
surely the way forward is to use the most expensive, up-to-date,
scientifically-named products.
But one too many scare stories about chemical cosmetics led to the
challenge - could I do it naturally? And would it make a
difference?
Help came in the form of Anna Rogers, who works for
Lush in
Manchester, selling
handmade and cruelty-free products that come with a list of
ingredients colour-coded into three categories - natural, organic
or synthetic - and are minimally packaged.
I was a bit dubious about the synthetic bit, but Anna assured me it
would include things like cold-pressed oils, which had been through
some sort of processing.
The ingredients for my au naturel routine were chosen from shelves
bulging with brightly-coloured, nice-smelling goodies, many of
which were in slabs or slices or pots in fridges rather than
bottles or tubs.
I was assured that the "naked" or unpackaged products all contained
no preservatives at all, while some of the bottled products contain
a minimal amount to make them last a year.
And for those like me who are trying to take the ethical thing to
its chemical-free conclusion, natural deodorant products were also
up for grabs, which are apparently very popular given the scare
stories about what aluminium in the armpits can do to a
person.
So armed with a morally better replacement for all the things I
would usually have bought from some cruel animal-testing chemical
plant, I wandered off into the world feeling smug. Luckily for me,
I was armed with an instruction booklet to tell me what to do with
each of my products, because I needed it.
I have never before kept a face mask in the fridge, or used a
cleanser that involved ripping off and sculpting a pea-sized bit of
something remarkably like clay. Nor had I ever understood that a
bath bomb was not a military concept.
The deodorant thing was a bit scary. It came in the form of a
soap-like bar to be rubbed in the armpits.
I gave family and close friends fair warning of my project, to give
them the opportunity to comment if necessary (or move out
temporarily). But no-one, not even I, noticed the difference,
though the fact that I am a prolific taker of showers could have
had something to do with that.
It took a while to get the hang of using the various things, but I
did eventually find a childlike enjoyment in taking nice smelling
baths and washing my hair in something made with stout.
But the thought of using pink and green sludgy stuff on my face was
fairly frightening, particularly as it's the first time in several
years I've put anything on that area that didn't engage me with a
pages-long spiel about how young or smooth or silky or sexy or
beautiful it would make me first.
But I'm not sure it actually made any difference. A straw poll of
friends suggested I looked the same as ever and my other half told
me I always looked nice, though that was probably the contribution
he thought wise, particularly when I pointed out that I could also
get hold of ethical and chemical-free shaving cream, deodorant and
so on for men.
So I'm pleased to be able to declare that I have done beauty in a
more natural and ethical way and survived.
I wouldn't say it was revolutionary, mainly because I didn't notice
a huge improvement in my appearance, and I won't stick to it
forever because some parts were a bit fiddly.
But it did provide a wake-up call that some of the outrageous
claims made by my former corporate beauty gods were just that -
outrageous.
And I'll be trying to be more natural and less of a sucker from now
on.
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