This is the title of a workshop I’m running at the York Green Festival in Rowntree Park on Sunday 6 September. I’ve chosen the subject because those chapters of my book (Confessions of an Eco-Shopper: the true story of one woman’s mission to go green) are the ones that seem to have struck the deepest chord with readers, many of whom have emailed me on the subject.
The talk and workshop is aimed at women because we use so many beauty products and personal care products on a daily basis. The average is 20 (though two sisters featured in a Channel 4 documentary series about beauty addicts managed 70 between them). And I am – or was – no different.
Until I started to really look at what I was putting on to and into my body, that is.
When I began researching my book, I came across some startling facts. British women spend an average of £3000 a year on beauty products and treatments. And that’s not the startling bit (unless you’re a bloke).
No, the startling bit is that, despite all the time, money and effort we lavish on ourselves, the very products we use to look youngier, sexier, healthier and more attractive may ultimately be doing the opposite.
Endocrine disruptors like parabens (chemical preservatives) and phthalates (man-made chemical that’s used to make cosmetic products feel super-smooth) are still in widespread use. The amounts in individual products may be very small but, because women and girls use so many different products on a daily basis, there are real concerns about their cumulative effect.
Then there’s aluminium in anti-perspirants (possibly cancer-causing) and nanoparticles in sunscreens (no-one’s really sure what they’ll do yet) and dioxin-producing chlorine bleach used in the production of sanitary towels and tampons.
What’s an eco-smart, image-conscious yet conscientious girl to do?
That’s why I set out to find out in my book, which is constructed around a series of ‘eco-challenges’ – my attempts to conduct tests, experiments and trials (admittedly not necessarily scientific, and in some cases downright wacky) – to discover how practical it is to source and to use ethical, eco-friendly and healthy alternatives.
To that end, I compared the effectiveness of Boots bestselling moisturiser against the rather more low-key benefits of udder cream; made my own cleansers, toners, skin preparations and moisturisers, dance-tested crystal rock deodorants, slathered myself in a multitude of ‘green’ suncreams and became personally acquainted with the Mooncup. Oh, and Moonrabbits, too. (Clue: they aren’t actually bunnies.)
If you live locally, I hope you can come to the festival and join me in the workshop. There will be some interesting things to look at and I may brew up some moisturisers, too. I’m on in the workshop tent from 12-12.45, and will hang around til 1.00pm or so to sign copies of my book (after which I have to change into my gold-braided uniform, strap on my trombone and pedal off to play in a brass band in York’s  Parliament Street).
My book – the new, revised and updated paperback edition, published in 2009 – will also be available to buy, plus you get the chance to win a free Mooncup. Wow! I might even produce a Moonrabbit. No, no, it’s not that!
Oh, and should you see the band performing, please give generously. We’re collecting for the Moon Bears in China.
Um, there seems to be a theme going on here . . .