You Shouldn't Be Having Dry, Tight Skin After Your Shower.

We've all experienced that dry, tight feeling on our skin after a shower and we've come to associate it with being clean. Your skin is NOT clean, its dry. Skin feeling dry after a shower probably means your shower gel contains parabens and sulphates. These have been known to dehydrate skin. Parabens are a variety of commonly used preservatives in personal care products and sulphates help make cleaning agents frothy. While the jury is still out on whether they are harmful to health, there is little doubt they can be harsh on skin.

Parabens and sulphates often strip skin of oils. While this may seem like a good idea, that oily layer (good oils) is necessary for skin hydration and health. Within that thin oily layer resides many good bacteria. They protect skin against external bacteria and forms part of its protective layer.

Due to this protective layer being removed (resulting in that dry, tight feeling after a shower) many of us apply moisturiser to rehydrate skin. That stops skin from temporarily feeling dry but that protective layer is missing and skin's pH becomes imbalanced. All this serves to weaken skin over time, making it more susceptible to wrinkles, age spots, scarring and ineffective healing.

The alternative is to shower in botanical formulas made without parabens, sulphates or fragrances. There are a few on the market and they are excellent choices for sustainable skin health. The shift towards these much better cleansing options have been slow for two reasons. Firstly, they seem more expensive at first glance. However, many organic formulas have low water content. This means you will need less shower gel to have a shower. This is also better for the environment as fewer plastic bottles are used. We've estimated that organic shower gels are only about 8% more expensive per shower and reduce carbon footprint by 30%.

d'Organica's™ research department recently (Jan, 2016) conducted an experiment with 82 participants (mainly women) who use moisturiser after a shower. They found that 68% of participants, after using a chemical-free shower gel (d'Organica™ Revitalising Shower Gel), said that they no longer felt they needed to moisturise after their shower. 18% said they would moisturise anyway out of habit and only 15% said their skin still needed moisturising.

We conclude from this experiment that many commonly used bath gels, overly dry skin and the subsequent use of moisturiser is often unnecessary. It's a cycle of over consumption that we don't need. This can be seen with hair care products too - the amount of conditioner used can be severely reduced if shampoos were less harsh on hair.

Let's review the purpose of using shower gel to begin with  - It is to clean. So, does organic, paraben, sulphate-free shower gels clean skin throughly. Yes! It does. Instead of using abrasion to strip skin of dirt, grime and odour, chemical-free shower gels use ionisation technology. The compounds in the gels attract dirt and odour. It sticks to the shower gel compounds  and it gets washed away when you rinse. It's micro smart chemistry.
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Read our previous blog on our "over consumption of personal care". Become aware that organic formulas are not just a luxury item or a passing phase. With growing numbers of people with skin sensitivities and diseases, knowing what you put on your skin and what you cleanse with is vital for sustainable skin health.

brought to you by www.dorganica.net

We need a personal care revolution : The shampoo example

d'Organica™

It's shocking how many ingredients in shampoo and shower gels are chemical compounds which, can be toxic to skin. Let's use the example of a shampoo found in a pharmacy or supermarket. They will cost between SGD$8 - $15 for 250ml - 500ml. The big players being Loreal, Dove, Pantene, Herbal Essences, just to name a few. I completely agree, they are affordable. They have been manufactured to be cost effective, but not necessarily good for long term beauty care.

Lets use Pantene to illustrate this example. Remember their famous ads which demonstrate that after using their shampoo, it will create immediately silky hair. There's a reason for this. One of it's top 5 ingredients is silicone. Silicone is a fantastic ingredient to use in conditioner - on the surface anyway.

When a conditioner with high levels of silicone is applied to hair, it coats hairs with thin layers of silicone, sealing down damaged hair. This reduces the appearance of fly-away hairs and makes hair appear shiny for about a day.

Here's the catch - because it has sealed down the hair with the sticky silicone substance, it also prevents the hair from repairing itself and rehydrating. Any leave-on conditioners and hair oils don't have a chance to penetrate the hair to repair it. This means that over time, your hair will get more and more dry. Brittle hair and split ends will most likely follow.

That's not all it does. Silicone coated hair also reduce the amount of hair colouring that gets absorbed into your hair. Colourist either have to increase peroxide percentage to force the hair colour to take, or you're left with colouring that's not quite as vibrant as it should be.  

Here's the best part - because your hair is now dry, you have started on the cycle of consumption. You need to buy product to hydrate hair, you need to buy product to make it appear shiny and in a further burst of irony, you need to buy product to detox your hair of chemical residue.

There is a solution, but it may not be the one you want to hear - there is no instant fix. The reality is that your hair is now dependent on silicone based conditioner and it's not been in a natural state for some time. When you do shift to a silicone-free hair care system, your hair will either appear oily or dry and for a weak or two. Yes! We're here to tell you the truth.

If you push on after those two weeks, your hair will start becoming naturally hydrated and shiny - believe it because it's true! The hair shaft will secrete the right amount of oil for your hair and your natural hair quality will start reemerging. It's absolutely inspiring how nature works. The reality is, you're designed to be beautiful. Give nature a chance to prove it! Use 100% natural. Use 100% organic.

by Dianne Little
thelittleessentials@gmail.com

Sick Air Syndrome - The air in your office is probably making you sick.

Isn’t it ironic that as air quality outside is stabilising, due to government agency regulation, the air quality inside our offices is probably getting worse? The irony continues. According to Environmental Protection Agency’s  (US) 2015 report, newer, more energy efficent buildings are more likely to have poorer air quality than older buildings. It is estimated that a quarter of buildings in the US that are new or have been newly renovated suffer from poor internal air quality, making them ‘Sick Buildings”. Employees falling ill from building-related illnesses cost companies billions annually from lost productivity, resulting in them looking for solutions to this very expensive problem.

The Problem. The Reality

Certainly, in very polluted cities like Beijing and Mumbai, internal air quality by comparison is better. By in large, employees are working in a mild chemical stew due to urbanisation. 

Ways pollution enters our buildings

• If fresh-air-intake vents from the a/c are in the basement or loading docks, it carries carbon monoxide from the vehicles exhaust.

• If smokers are smoking next to the intake vents, offices become polluted with second hand smoke.

• Printers and fax machines still omit ozone depleting compounds

• Pesticides and other chemical cleaning sprays will linger for days on office carpets.

• Revolving doors suck in car and cigarette fumes from the outside.

Find your indoor air scenting / deodorising solution here

And guess what? You can’t escape because in high-rise and newer buildings, you can’t open the windows. You’re in a sealed building. Trapped with the air you’re in.

Even if your indoor air isn’t polluted, you simply may not be getting enough fresh air. The American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers recommends that ventilation systems pump in 20 cubic feet of fresh air per minute for every person in office spaces. In many cases, however, building operators pump in only 5 cubic feet. That’s like being in the air of a plane.

A long-distance flight, however only lasts a few hours. While you may spend up to 10 hours a day breathing bad indoor air. The result: headaches, nausea, dizziness, irritability, itchy eyes, and respiratory illnesses.

Building-Related Diseases vs Sick Building Syndrome

Building Related Diseases

Building-related diseases have a traceable cause such as colds that spread through an office or allergies and asthma brought on by dust or mold.  

If you suspect that something in your work environment may be to blame, ask your human resources representative to talk to the building manager about having the building inspected. If others in your work area are ill as well, document your symptoms, including when and where they occur. Don’t be afraid to speak up. Finding the root of the problem is to your employer’s benefit, too. 

Building-related asthma, for example, can cause permanent damage to your health and lost productivity and increased health costs for your employer. Investigators should check for water damage and humidifiers contaminated with microbes, which may contribute to work-related asthma and hypersensitivity pneumonitis, according to work-health specialists Mark Cullen and Kathleen Kreiss, who discuss indoor air pollution in the textbook Occupational Health (Lippincott, 2000).

Cullen and Kreiss add that nausea and headaches suggest carbon monoxide may be sneaking into the building through the air-duct system. Mysterious itching may be caused by exposure to fibrous glass from an air-duct lining. And relentless coughing and throat irritation may be the end result of harsh or improperly used carpet cleaners.

Find the solution to your indoor scenting / deodorising problem here

Sick building syndrome

You’re sick ... simply unwell. You feel a constellation of symptoms, fatigue, headache, dry, itchy skin, and irritation of mucous membranes in the eyes, nose, and throat. These symptoms tend to disappear once you’re out of the suspect building.

People with sick building syndrome usually don’t have any disease that a doctor can detect, but their suffering is undeniable, says Richard Lockey, MD, director of the Division of Allergy and Immunology at the University of South Florida and an expert on indoor air quality. In some cases, the symptoms are so severe that a person can no longer work at the building in question.

Sick building syndrome has become more common than all building-related diseases combined. So far, Lockey says, familiarity hasn’t led to understanding. Nobody knows for sure why so many people are getting sick: Is it really the air or is it something else?

Could sick building syndrome be related to the energy crisis of the 1970s, which resulted in highly insulated “tight buildings” and a lowering of ventilation standards to 5 cubic feet of outdoor air per person per minute? Or perhaps small impurities in the air are adding up to something big. As explained in a 1997 article in The Lancet, a British medical journal, tiny amounts of chemicals escaping from paints, carpets, office supplies, photocopiers, and other sources may be combining to make the air hazardous.

Some reports of sick building syndrome have been linked to another great epidemic of our times - job stress. According to Cullen and Kreiss, repetitive tasks, poor work relationships, and feelings of helplessness can all sap workers’ health as well as their enthusiasm. Anybody who spends all day doing tedious work and sparring with bosses and coworkers is bound to feel terrible, fumes or no fumes. Whether the main problem is stress or bad air, employers have to realise their employees are suffering real symptoms. Sick employees are never good for business.

A natural way to detox the air with Singapore Scenting Systems™

Some Quick Fix Solutions

• Don’t obstruct air vents or grilles.
• Smokers must keep away from the fresh air intake ducts. 
• Take care of your office plants -- dusty, dying plants don’t do anything for the air quality in your office, and over-watered plants can develop mold.
• Get rid of garbage promptly to prevent odours and biological contamination.
• Store food properly. Keep perishable food in the refrigerator, and clean the refrigerator out frequently to prevent odours and mold.
• Keep eating areas clean to avoid attracting pests. (Cockroaches have been linked to respiratory problems -- according to the EPA, certain proteins in cockroach droppings and saliva can cause allergic reactions or trigger asthma symptoms.)
• If you or your coworkers are having health problems that you think may be related to your office environment, work with your HR representative and building personnel to find the cause of the problem.

A Long Term Solutions requiring no construction

Source for a natural solution that doesn’t mask the problem but neutralises it. Singapore Scenting Systems™ has developed a solution that’s better than opening the windows in your high-rise office - Let’s face it, there’s no fresh air out there either.

Singapore Scenting Systems™, detoxes, deodorises and ionises the air that’s already in your office. It literally kills everything that’s not suppose to be there making the air fresh and clean. And with the right choice of essential oils, it can also uplift the space with beneficial aromas. Want to find out more? Visit www.thelittleessentials.com or email dianne@thelittleessentials.com.

A natural way to detox the air by Singapore Scenting Systems™

References

Environmental Protection Agency. Air Trends. November 2008. http://www.epa.gov/airtrends

Environmental Protection Agency. Indoor Air Pollution: An Introduction for Health Professionals. August 2006. http://www.epa.gov/iaq/pubs/hpguide.html

Air Quality Continues to Improve: new report and data. Environmental Protection Agency. Sept. 15, 2003. http://www.epa.gov/newsroom/headline_091503.htm

Building Air Quality: A Guide for Building Owners and Facility Managers, Environmental Protection Agency, Department of Health and Human Services, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/pdfs/iaq.pdf

Routine Maintenance, Cleaning Key to Eliminating Deadly Bacteria, Occupational Hazards, May 1, 2001, Vol. 63, No. 5, Pg. 31

An Office Building Occupant’s Guide to Indoor Air Quality. Environmental Protection Agency.

Indoor Environmental Quality, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, June 1997, http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/ieqfs.html

Last Updated: Aug 11, 2015