Importance of Literacy / Miks on mõistlik toodete silte lugeda

About how to read product labels - and why should anyone read cosmetics labels at all? Especially if one does not have allergies or environmental issues? Well to put it short: ingredients listed in the beginning of the ingredients list matter the most, rest - especially after the "perfume" - are quite insignificant. Therefore one should take note, that if some "good" ingredient is listed at the bottom of the ingredient list, it's probably represented by marginal amount only. I'd also like to recommend this article here. 
Btw the product I have used as an example is not bad (smells great!) - moisturizes well but by no means is this a natural product. :) Although it's claimed to be ruby orange & mango butter shower sorbet it does not contain neither red orange or mango. Funny that :)

Kirjutaks veidi sellest, et miks on oluline toodete silte lugeda. Sain kingituseks selle ülimõnusalt lõhnava ning naha siidpehmeks jätva dušivõi, mida annab kenasti näidismaterjalina kasutada. Mõnus kasutada ja pole paha toode - nahk ei kuiva ega kihele AGA silma torkab see, et toode rõhub oma puuviljastele koostisosadele (vt pakendil toodud müügijuttu). Lõhnab nii hästi, et tuubil on isegi hoiatus toote mittesöödavuse kohta :).

Tegemist siis n-spa fruit ruby orange & mango butter shower sorbet, double moisture shower cream & body wash´iga. Vaatame lähemalt koostisaineid, silmas pidades, et parfüüm on tavaliselt üks vähemas kontsentratsioonis esinev koostisosa.

Aqua, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate, Cocamide DEA, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Parfum, PEG-18 Glyceryl Oleate/Cocoate, Glycerin, Urea, Vaccinium Macrocarpon Fruit Extract (jõhvikas), Punica Granatum Fruit Extract (granaatõun), Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract (green tea), Styrene/Acrylates Copolymer, Hexylene Glycol, Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Sodium Chloride, Benzophenobe-1, Sodium Lauryl Sulfate, Citric Acid, Phenoxyethanol, Dehydroacetic Acid, Benzoic Acid, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Magnesium Chloride, Magnesium Nitrate, Potassium Sorbate, Sodium Benzoate, Disodium EDTA, Limonene, CI 17200, CI 19140 

Esimesed kuus on esile tõstetud - toode sisaldab kõige rohkem vett, seejärel pesuained (osad neist funkavad ka emulgaatorina), siis parfüümi. Traditsiooniliselt oleks parfüüm üks viimastest koostisainetest, säilitusainete kõrval aga siin on see suht nimekirja alguses. Säilitusainetest pole mitte ühtki parabeeni. Võime suhteliselt kindlalt oletada, et väljareklaamitud granaatõuna, rohelist teed ja jõhvikat on siin tegelikult vägagi vähe sees. Apelsinil ja mangol muide on täielik alibi :D.

Seega kui reklaamitakse mingit toodet ja rõhutakse mingile kindlale eriti imepäraste omadustega koostisosale, veenduge, kas toode seda üldse sisaldab ning millises kontsentratsioonis. EL nõuab, et koostisosad oleksid loetletud sisaldumise järjekorras, st et nimekirjas esimesel toorainel on võrreldes teistega tootes suurim osakaal. Kui see "siidiproteiin" vms ikka esineb nimekirjas viimaste hulgas, siis ei tasu selle koostisaine suurde mõjusse ka väga uskuda.

Soovitan pilgu ka korraks siia peale visata. Siin on paar päris head nõuannet:

1. Kui leiad toote, mis maksab palju ja mõjub suurepäraselt - loe koostisosi ja siis vaata samade koostisosadega odavamaid tooteid ka;
2. Kui mingi toode reklaamib end miski super-hüper-imekalli koostisosaga kuid see on kusagil nimekirja lõpus ning isegi parfüümist tagapool - jäta riiulisse, tõenäoline on, et see koostisaine on seal vaid reklaamitrikina ning toimeaine mõju tegelikkuses marginaalsest marginaalsem.

Pretty soap

This is made in Saaremaa and sold in a shop in Old Town. 

I found it very drying on my skin.

There was no information regarding ingredients, and it was a gift. 

Looks pretty though :)

Seebid/Soaps from Rossmann

 

Less is more - i'm pretty sure it applies to soaps as well. Soaps in eco-shops are bloody expensive (for me at least, starting from 3 EUR a piece)  so I've decided to try something less expensive and cheap. Produced by Germans and one can read more about them here.
Ingredients are: Sodium Palmate, Sodium Cocoate, water, Glycerin, Parfum (why?), Sodium Chloride and Tetrasodium Etidronate. Some ingredients are represented only in a specific soap so I left those out. What matters are the first 4 ingredients that make up most of the soap and these seem to be ok. I guess anything coming after "Parfum" must have quite a marginal share in the overall amount of ingredients.

I've tried the Buttermilch one (made with milk powder - tegelikult küll lõssipulber) and it's very nice on the skin, no rashes so far. Foam is silky and there's plenty of it. It dries out my skin like all soaps do but at least I do not soak my skin in a cocktail of different chemicals while bathing. Yellow one is honey soap and the green one is aloe vera. I did not see the algae soap, which also has some good reviews - would have wanted to try out that one too.

Seebid on ostetud Watsonist, mille kohta käivad kuulujutud, et hakkab pankrotti minema. Hetkel saab seebi 12 krooniga kätte, tavahind vist mingi 14-15 kr. Väljamaal on nende seepide hind samuti alla ühe euro. Pakend näeb veidi nõrk välja - odav pappkarp - aga vähemalt ei reosta kuigivõrd loodust.

EOTD Next to Nothing and a bath-story

I spent some time by myself this morning, had a tiny aromatherapy spa. Put castor oil on eye lashes and roots of my hair, grape seed oil on the face and hair ends, added some ordinary seasalt and a tiny touch of fresh coriander (I love this scent) to the bathwater and had a long relaxing bath. Later scrubbed the face with baking soda and warned the cellulite off my thighs with the help a big scratchy glove. Bliss! I love baths, so much more pleasureable then showers. It was so worth it although I had to shampoo twice to get all the oil out of my hair but it evens out since after oil treatments my hair has no need for a conditioner. Really, almost any oil will do for one's hair but I use the cheaper ones like grape seed or olive oil. It's so easy to have a spa in ones own home, most of the stuff is just sitting there in the fridge or kitchen cabinets. The only things missing are a manicurist and a foot massage. :D

Water one uses makes a huge difference. In the country my hair dos not get as greasy as fast as it does in the city. Tallinn is built on limestone and so is also our water reservoir, lake Ülemiste. This means very harsh water which is hard on hair (oilyness, dandruff), skin (dries it up, becomes flaky, especially in the winter) and household appliances. My hair feels so very different when I have bathed in a bog lake, silky smooth and shiny, makes me want to bring some of that soft water home in huge canisters. Rainwater is also splendid for ones hair. Sometimes it's recommended to put some vinegar in the rinsing water just to achieve the same soft result. I don't know about you but I think vinegar does not smell very nice.

After bath covered myself with jojoba oil from face to foot and pondered about todays look. Came up with this:

Colors used are:

E.L.F.'s mineral eyeshadow primer (yeah, it's the stinky one)

EDM's Olive Fair in o-glo all over the eyelid and on the browbone as base, also used as foundation all over the face;

E.L.F.'s cream eyeliner in brown on upper lashline topped with The Conservatorie's Brown Cocoa;

MoonStone in the crease and lower lashline;

Satin White applied very lightly on the browbone and inner corners;

EDM's Fairly Light Neutral o-glo for contouring the cheekbones;

whatever was on the blush brush as blush (I suspect Scorpio the Eight mixed with a touch of Garnet);

E.L.F.'s eyelash curler (for one dollar - an amazing find);

Lumene Natural Code "eye dramatizer" mascara in black (a very good find, although not waterproof, will not budge from it's place during a day's wear; looks nice and sleek too);

Slight touch-up of the eyebrows with E.L.F.'s "feather proof" brown eyeliner pencil;

E.L.F.'s mineral lipstick in Rosy Raisin as the finishing touch (gone in an hour as usual, lipsticks do not stay on me :S).

And here's a pic of all the stuff itself (quite a pile, is it not?).