Beauty and Color

Most ladies use cosmetics to enhance or maintain their appearance.  We visit a shop, look at the different ranges of eye shadows, lipsticks, mascaras and foundations, picking the one that we think would suit us best.  Not often do we consider how these products ended up on the shop floor.

Most of us are vehemently disgusted by the thought of animal testing and non-eco friendly practices, but strangely enough it does not come to thought when we are purchasing! We would debate the horrors of animal testing in a phillisophical discussion, but turn around and put on a lipstick that does not reflect our so-called belief system.

I want to encourage you to support your belief system on a purchasing level.  After reading this article you cannot cry ignorance, it is all black on white.  The following companies unfortunately do not support the anti-cruelty principles we would like them to do:

Even though the above companies do engage in animal testing, I should be fair and mention what some of them are doing on a ecological front:

• The Yves Rocher Foundation offers educational programs on being environmentally friendly
• The Body Shop uses "green electricity" in all their premises
• Aveda uses wind as an alternative energy source
• Vichy employs green technology
• Dr. Hauschka uses biodynamics in his farming in order to create chemical free small eco-systems.
• Stila encourages consumers to make use of their refillable packaging
• M.A.C. provides one free lipstick for every six empty containers brought back
• Cargo uses bio-degradable packaging.

Please feel free to leave comments to this article.  I would love to discuss these matters and correct any incorrect information.

Please do take care when purchasing your products.

You can help to make a difference!

Your skin is the most visible and largest organ in the human body.  No matter if it is winter or summer, autumn or spring – some of your skin will be exposed.  A blemished skin does not add to natural beauty and therefore we should take extra care of our skin and not just the skin that covers your beautiful facial features.

Skin care should start from a young age for both girls and boys.  It is not true that only girls should have soft skins! A soft skin is a moisturized skin and every skin deserves that basic nourishment!  Make moisturizing and cleansing part of every child’s daily routine. Taking care of your skin is just as important as brushing teeth. There are three principles that should be adhered to:

1. Prevention: We all want to prevent our skins from disease, age spots and wrinkles.  In order to do that, certain things should be avoided.  Over exposure to the sun without protection and smoking ages the skin more than anything else.  Perfumes, preservatives and mineral oils should not be used on your skin.  The only preservative that is healthy is vitamin E in its natural form.
2. Protection: How can we protect our skin on a daily basis?  For me protection entails twice daily mild cleansing and moisturizing, as well as using products that will protect the skin from the sun and other harsh elements.  Moisturizing refers to giving your skin the essential nutrients it needs to thrive.
3. Individual care: Everyone needs specific ingredients to target specific individual problem areas.  This can differ from having wrinkles, acne, stretch marks, dryness or even dermatitis.  Each of these problems need certain treatments that a dermatologist can advice you on.

Take care of your skin – you only have one!

We all grow up believing what our mothers tell us to do with our hair and how we should do it.  We take this information and believe it at face value.  Doing a little bit of research I found that many things I believed were actually myths, that without knowledge, I would have passed the same myths on to my daughters.

1. Shampooing daily will dry out your hair :  Not one hundred percent true! If you use the correct shampoo for your hairtype you should be able to wash your hair on a daily basis without any negative consequences.  Many hairstyles need daily washing to look the way it was intended to look anyway.
2. Trimming your hair will make it grow faster :  The only purpose of trimming your hair is to get rid of spit ends in order to make it look thicker and healthier.   Only good genes and a healthy diet high in protein promotes hair growth.
3. Your hair will get immune to the benefits of certain products with regular use :  Any product, no matter the quality or amount of use will eventually lead to product build-up on your hair.  The only solution is to use a clarifying shampoo every so often to get rid of the build-up.  This is usually done when you visit your hair salon.
4. Brushing your hair will lead to hair loss :  Brushing your hair stimulates the hair follicles to produce more oil.  The oil is there to protect the hair from drying out and is not a bad thing at all.  The possible negative aspect to brushing is that if you are yanking your hair it will lead to split ends which can create the impression of thin hair.

A woman’s hair is the often the point we start our beauty regime off with in the mornings.  Your hairstyle can be your crowning glory or somedays be your fall down!

Every woman deserves the best hairstylist money can afford.  But how do we know who a good hairdresser is?  In my experience it is not the most expensive hairstylist in the most expensive salon that offers the best service.  Yes, they might serve wine and lunch and have those wonderful full body massage chairs, but if they do not take your type of hair, face shape, skin tone and personality into consideration – you paid for nothing.

Firstly we can distinguish between dry hair, oily hair and balanced/normal hair. Each type of hair needs special treatment. Dry hair is usually due to inactive glands, over exposure to the sun, harsh shampoos or other chemical treatments and therefore needs special nourishment.  Oily hair is associated with people with oily skins and can be spot at a distance.  This type of hair needs shampoos rich in neem and henna.  If you are lucky enough to have normal hair, you have shiny hair that does not easily dry out.

Hair can be further be categorized as either fine or thick and curly or straight.  A good hair stylist will take the hair texture, density, porosity, elasticity and wave patterns into consideration.

Your face shape determines which hairstyle, especially length will flatter you the most.  We can distinguish between the following shapes:

• Oval: An oval face shape is often mentioned as the ideal face shape. A person with an oval face can wear most hairstyles, but should avoid styles that add too much volume to the top, making the face look long.  Layers near the chin or cheeckbones are flattering.
• Long: People with long faces need to create an illusion of width.  Long side swept bangs, chin-length bobs, curls and waves that frame the face are preferred. Extremely long or short hair can make the face look even longer.
• Round: A round face necessitates that you need to add length to it.  Hair cut just below the chin or in layers would suit a round face the best.
• Square: Ladies with a square face have a angular jawline.  You need to draw the attention away from the jawline by texturing the hair.  Short curls or long layers just below the jawline would do the trick.
• Heart: A heart-shaped faces have prominent pointy chins that draw attention away from the eyes. Side swept bangs, a fringe on the brow or long layers on the top brings focus to the central part of the face. If you want long hair – layers that touch the cheekbones looks best.

When coloring your hair, your hairstylist should make sure that the color you add does not actually make you look dull.  If the tint clashes with your skin tone the results can be less than you anticipated.  A good hairstylist will check with a golden and silver cloth to see which brings out the best in you.

It might sound silly that a hair stylist should think in terms of your personality when cutting your hair, but if you are extremely sporty and gym every morning before going to work – a hairstyle that requires a lot of hair drying and styling might not be the right style for you. A funky hairstyle might bring out a spark in you if your personality can pull it off, but a very withdrawn person might feel silly with the same style.  Make your hair speak for you and not be like a loud embarrassing cousin!

The phrase inner beauty is often accepted as a condolence offer – you may not be that pretty, but it is inner beauty that is important.  The concept of inner beauty echoes that beauty is only skin-deep. Yeah right!

Unfortunately we do all age and conventional beauty, despite all the products we paste on our faces and bodies, starts fading eventually. When the realization dawns, it might be too late to start believing that inner beauty does need just as much attention as our outer layer. As women it becomes our duty to warn our children to change their focus from the superficial to the eternal.  Expect that your daughter might think the lesson was born out of an older woman’s jealousy!

How do we develop and culture this inner beauty thing?  Inner beauty is acquired through finding your passions in life that will lead to self-satisfaction. You have to discover your own unique gifts and spend time in honing your abilities.  We all find a sense of accomplishment in doing something really well and through using your talents you will be able to build your self-esteem and confidence.  Confidence is one of those things that radiate outwards and actually add to your beauty.

Beauty Without Cruelty is an international educational charitable organization founded by Lady Muriel Dowding in 1959.  The aim of BWC is to inform people of the immense suffering animals undergo in the fur, ivory, exotic leather and cosmetic industries. BWC also have campaigns running to prevent seal culling and factory farming.

I was extremely shocked and horrified when I visited BWC’s official website to read about the abuse animals suffer to make our lives easier.  Vivisection refers to any invasive procedure done on live animals. 150 million animals die every year in South African laboratories.

BWC publishes lists of companies complying to the beauty without cruelty credo.  There are a variety of products in all areas of cosmetics to choose from. I think it is only our duty to support these companies and immediately stop using products that sanction animal torture.

For more information on supporting Beauty without Cruelty, please visit www.bwcsa.co.za.