Army of Women

I want to get this out as early as I can, so it will be short (as the baby doesn't like it when I am not paying attention to him).

My grandmother is a breast cancer survivor. It isn't something that is ever really talked about in my family, but I think that it is pretty amazing. Breast cancer has also touched my husband's family as well, with another recent survivor.

It is because of them, and many other reasons that I supporting the Army of Women and their goal to get one million people to sign up.

“We are dedicating ONE day to reach ONE million women to sign up for the Army of Women. We are declaring October 1, 2010 the official Army of Women Day. We beseech all bloggers to blog about the Army of Women and empower women to take the next step by signing up and taking part in breast cancer research studies. Together, we can move breast cancer beyond a cure and eradicate it once and for all.”

There is no cost to join, and signing up allows you to hear about studies that you might be interested in participating in, it doesn't place you in the studies automatically. You have the ability to participate only in the studies that interest you. All people are needed, so please share this with your friends.

I've been putting WHAT in my hair?

My newest project? Dumping all my old beauty products, and going with clean versions. After finding the No More Dirty Looks blog and book, I started going through my bathroom. I checked my $20 vegan conditioner on the Skin Deep database, and it scored an 8. I was not liking that at all. For $20 a bottle, I want low risk, not high risk.

Almost all of my hair, skin and make-up products had chemicals that I was not happy about, even though most of them were advertised as "natural". Under the current law, the Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act of 1938, the FDA does not have a lot of regulatory power and cosmetic companies can get away with almost anything. A new bill, the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010, has just been introduced to congress which would change that. Until this bill is passed (if it is passed), I am going to be strictly reading ingredient labels.

So I'm going to be phasing everything out as we finish what we have. In the past, I've had a lot of issues with sensitive skin that I'm hoping that this helps to clear up (but with my luck, it won't). Either way, I'll feel better knowing that we are not absorbing all these chemicals that have been linked to cancer and are known hormone disruptors.

Here are some interesting articles on the subject:
What's the Story with Cosmetics? And How Will the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010 Help?
The Safety of Personal Care Products
How to go Green: Natural Skin Care
Five Ways the FDA is Failing to Protect You
The Six Craziest Things in Your Cosmetics
The Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010: What it Means for Cosmetics Companies

Here are some resources:
The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database
The Story of Cosmetics
No More Dirty Looks
BeautyTruth.com

Consider asking your representative to support the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010.


And finally, here is a petition that I believe is worth signing.