Oh boy! It's February already! Let's see, what've I been up to..
Answer: not much! Last week was our Chinese New Year vacation, and due to my lateness in trying to get train tickets, we couldn't figure out all our transporation to take a trip to Hualien like a few of us had planned, so we scrapped that idea and hung out around here instead. For me, it was pretty much the same as I always do, since I don't work very much, but I did get to see my roommates and my Aaron a little more than usual since they didn't have to work.
We went to Taipei for the day last Tuesday, on the bus, in the rain, and spend the afternoon at the National Palace Museum. I'd been there last year, but it was nice to go again and see all the Old Special Things From China. One of the very most popular Old Special Things From China on a Very Special Display at the museum that day, was a Very Large and Special Cabbage made from pure Jade. Yes, that's right folks. Many many many Taiwanese people stood in a long line to see (not even take a photo of because you can't take photos inside the museum), of a Large Jade Cabbage. *snicker*
Anyway, the rest of the week flew by, and this week it's back to "work" (for me) and work (for everybody else) as usual. My roomate Amy's mom has been here visiting for a coupla weeks, so that's been nice.
Um... what else. OH! I am pursuing a new interest! And hoping it turns out to not just be a phase. I bought this book on my Kindle called "No More Dirty Looks", something about the truth about cosmetics and beauty products. These two authors wrote all about their research into the cosmetic and beauty industry, lack of FDA approval or laws for these thousands of common products we use every day, awful chemicals that throw our bodies into self-destructive cycles and potentially cause large amounts of damage to our bodies later down the road, and what we can do to make changes about it in our own lives.
It was very interesting, full of lots of facts, history, and data, and I followed up the book with some further internet research. And I was thoroughly frustrated about all the products I was using every day with questionable chemical ingredients, and some that were very proven to cause unhappy problems. So, I made some changes and continue to research and look for natural products to replace all the stuff I use.
For example, I replaced all my moisturizers (body lotions, creams, face moisturizer, shaving gel, etc.) with extra virgin olive oil.
That sounds like it would be rather... oily. But actually, evoo absorbs amazingly well and I've been slathering it (moderately..)all over my self for a coupla weeks now and my skin feels better than it ever has with no adverse effects. Hah! and from all I read, it's full of great skin stuff. Since skin absorbs stuff that's put on it so it ends up inside me, I feel a ton better about slathering on something that I know is healthy and edible than something that is completely unedible and full of synthetic chemicals.
I've also used it a few times as a deep hair conditioner before I shampoo, and after I do that my hair feels.. great! Really soft and not greasy. I also use a (very small amount) to control my frizzy hair when it's dry and it also does a great job of that. So I've basically replaced my body lotion, shaving gel (oh ya, you can shave with olive oil and it's actually amazing, but be prepared to rinse your razer frequently!), face moisturizer, hair gel/cream/defrizzing silicon smoothing stuff, and deep conditioner with basic extra virgin olive oil.
If you're up for it, I highly recommend you give it a try.
I've also been hunting around to see just what kind of natural or organic products are available here, and so far, I've come up with (very few) places that sell (very few) all natural products. I found this stuff called Dr. Wood's Pure Tea Tree Castile Soap (also there were Lavender scent too), that had a very short ingredient list with only stuff I knew what it was, could pronounce, and was all natural. Stuff like olive and coconut oils (Castile soap is vegetable oil based, usually olive, coconut, almond, etc. or a mixture of oils as a base, as opposed to most other soaps that are animal fat or tallow based and full of awful chemicals that strip skin of it's natural moisture), and I've been using that as a face and body wash. The bottle says you can use it for anything, shampoo, house cleaner (floors etc), shaving lotion, etc. I don't like it as shampoo because of the smell, but I love the way it makes my skin feel. So I replaced my Clean & Clear and my regular soap with that stuff and I feel so much better.
Etc. Etc. I switched to a local brand of organic shampoo and conditioner that I found as well, with a lovely short list of clean ingredients and a strong Rose smell from essential oils. So while I'm definitely not 100% crunchy and green yet, I've cut down perhaps 80% of the synthetic chemically questionableness that I've been pouring into my body through my skin every day.
If you get a chance and your interest is at all piqued, I recommend you get your hands on that book, No More Dirty Looks, or do some internet research on the safety of the ingredients in your products. This website: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ is a database of thousands of common products and their ingredients, and gives a very thorough breakdown of every ingredient and it's potential risk by category. I find it very useful and informative.
I know it's impossible, or nearly so, or rather a major undertaking, to completely rid one's life of all the chemically questionablness that bombards our daily life. I would have to completely overhaul the foods and the way I eat, the cleaning products I use for my house and clothes, the dishes I use, etc, so on, so forth, and I'm not into all that quite yet. But small changes are better than no changes, right? :)
So that's my latest and greates pursuit. I'll keep you updated on my progress. Perhaps one day in the far future, I'll be one of those crunchy green fanatics who grows all my own food and dyes my own clothes. Hehehe. :D HEHEHE.
