Doing Our Best
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Someone on a review site called me a "wolf in sheep's clothing" because I use the preservative Phenoxyethanol and I have to admit it really stung. Here's how I responded:
Hi folks - I totally appreciate your concerns, but I wish you would take a closer look at the studies and information before you imply that I'm a bad person :( I'd love to make all of my products completely preservative free, and that's the ultimate goal. but at the size I'm at (one person company with no R&D department) I have to use tiny amounts of something that will allow me to be confidant that the products people are using doesn't contain harmful bacteria and fungus - some of which can be extremely harmful: http://www.cosmeticsdesign .com/Formulation-Science/B acteria-in-cosmetics-can-b e-fatal-for-critically-ill -patients
"An outbreak of severe bacterial infections caused by Burkholderia cepacia (B. cepacia) in the intensive care unit of a Spanish hospital in 2006, led to the discovery of a contaminated body milk as the reservoir." What the Cosmetics Database indicates (and by the way, some of the more fanatically natural companies out there think this database is so flawed they refuse to participate and have even involved their lawyers) is that this is an ingredient that should be used in very very small amounts. It hasn't been banned anywhere - it simply has restrictions on percentages, which we follow very closely. Misinformation on Skin Deep http://www.sukiscoop.com/p ost/46 The Problem with EWG's Skin Deep (Safe Cosmetics Database) http://www.scienceforsale. com/2008/08/problem-with-e wgs-skin-deep-safe.html Right now many companies are frustrated that incorrect info is on there about Cocamidopropyl Betaine, which we use in our organic bath gels: The Real Truth About Cocamidopropyl Betaine http://essentialu.typepad. com/my_weblog/chemically-s peaking/ If you knew me you'd know that I want nothing more than to be perfect. If its not preservatives, its packaging, shipping, or water consumption, or fair trade, and the list goes on. No matter how good I try to be, there will always be someone who thinks I'm not trying hard enough. But I'll keep trying ;)
http://www.sustainlane.com /comments/juliets-room-org anic-skin-body-care/9589
COMMENTS FROM FACEBOOK
Eileen Roberts
You are doing fabulously Stacelynn. You can't please everyone all the time.
Juliets Room
Thanks Eileen. I'm going to launch the pheno-free line by spring, can't wait to offer the option! Its a little more expensive and has a shorter shelf-life, but it's a start...
Alison Watts
Oh my. Please ignore those nasty people! There is so misinformation out there about different products, it's not even funny. Paula Begoun has been writing about this kind of thing for years. I think you are doing the right thing by looking at the bona fide research and science. Nobody wants a fungus-bacteria cocktail cream!
Patricia Statham
Dont let that person bother you, I have had the same thing happen to me . I do hemp products and i had one person wanting to phone the police cause they didnt understand what it was and they thhought I was usinng marajuana. Just let it roll off your back and keep up the great work
Eileen Roberts
People also need to use the products and not keep them for forever... I mean really... what ARE they saving it for???
Juliets Room
LOL - I remember when they wanted to arrest Anita Roddick from the Body Shop for the same thing - you're in good company :)
Patricia Statham
and one more thing every natural product isnt a hundred percent natural, you have to have a preseritive in it for it to last more then one day. If they actually knew what they were putting on their body with conventional products. they would die. and come running to us people who want to take care of the skin as natural as possible
Natashia Ann
Still the best product my face has had the pleasure of feeling!
Steffner Snobinson
You are doing your best, and I find it perfect! I love Juliet's Room's products and with your personal touch, I know that you would not put anything in your products that would be knowingly damaging. And just to let you know that i love the name Juliet's Room, keep it!
Lynn Gosselin
I agree with everyone else. If you had products that were 100% organic or certified organic then that's another story, but you actually list the percentage of organics in each product so I say, forget them and keep doing what you do...
Juliets Room
I just learned that the same database says that Olive Oil is linked to cancer and is considered a skin irritant. Oy! http://www.cosmeticsdataba se.com/ingredient/704252/O LEA_EUROPAEA_%28OLIVE%29_O IL/
Erin Farr-Enns
My oh so mature resposne to them is "Bite me" lol I wish there could be products that had a 100% guarentee that there was nothing that could hurt me or the environment in it. In the meantime I read labels and pick the best option. I love the things I have purchased from Juliet's Room :) Don't let them bring you down.
Louise Peters
Phenoxyethanol has a rating of 8 as do most parabens. words ending in or have in them: methyl, propyl, ethyl, butyl are parabens!!! please us the EWG Skin Deep database as intended by referring to the hazard ratings. Olive Oil gets a rating of 0-1 the highest being a 9.
Juliets Room
also my point wasn't that olive oil is dangerous, just that when someone opens the screen to the word Cancer with a check mark beside it they are likely to be alarmed. Organic lecithin and Organic rice bran oil get a 4 and a 3 respectively. My point is that most people don't know how to use it properly and the group that put it together doesn't necessarily know how to interpret studies. I'm not a fan of fear-mongering, that's all.
Juliets Room
Actually Phenoxyethanol get a 4: http://www.cosmeticsdataba se.com/ingredient/704811/P HENOXYETHANOL/
Adele Evans
okay, hmmmm, i'm interested, I have had cancer and I search for as natural a product as I can find, are there any products out there without this substance??
Juliets Room
Hi Adele, sorry to hear you've been through that! In the grand scheme of things you are more likely to be exposed to cancer-causing agents while walking through a department store (off-gassing from plastics, carpets, paint) or standing on a street corner (car exhaust, guy smoking next to you, paving, etc). But I understand that it gives people a ... See Morebetter sense of control over their health by choosing something (like skin care) to be really diligent about. After 15 years in the natural health field, I can honestly say that I am not worried about the ingredients I use, and that anything injected into a rat in large quantities is likely to cause cell mutations. That said I know that Suki (US), Lavera (Europe) and Dr Hauschka (Europe) are companies that have figured out alternative preservatives. They are pretty pricey but come highly recommended...
Juliets Room
I hope that no one thinks that I'm not concerned about cancer - I lost my mom to it when I was 25. Perhaps I'm of the mind that the stress we cause ourselves by being scared of the world around us causes much harm too. That fear isn't good for us. Diligence and education is however, which is why I try to be as honest as I can about what I offer. I ... See Morehope everyone knows that while my goals are to offer products as pure as possible its not always because I believe there is anything inherently dangerous about them now, but I know that the closer I get to 100% pure, the more I can alleviate the fears of people who have had cancer (whether I believe these ingredients contribute or not).
Juliets Room
I've gotten a couple of emails about the comment that it gets an 8 out of 9. I just want to reiterate that it has a rating of 4. Mostly because there are restrictions on how much cosmetics companies can put in their products - put too much = skin irritation. Not cancer. They put some of it in a petri dish with non-mammlian cells and saw changes. That doesn't mean there is any effect at all on humans, used topically.
Juliets Room
Update: Health Canada considers it 'food safe' which means safe for ingestion.
Adele Evans
I must admit all of this is overwhelming and trying to sift thru the mountains of information is near impossible, all we can do is trust the people who are making"natural" products care as much as we do about using skin care that is hopefully less toxic and I believe Stacelynn is on the same quest as all of us, and will continue to make her products better and better as time goes on. Remember "when we know better, we do better"
Juliets Room
Adele - that meant a lot to me. Please know that I will continue to do my best and watch the studies carefully. It can be overwhelming sifting through it all.
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