Apr 14, 2016

HERMOSA study and Chemical Free Alternatives.


You may have heard of the HERMOSA study. It received quite a bit of press last month for measuring the amount of chemicals in teenage girls while using traditional products versus more natural products. HERMOSA stands for Health and Environmental Research on Makeup of Salinas Adolescents in Salinas, California.

They studied the urine of girls for metabolites of phthalates, parabens, triclosan and oxybenzone. Most dropped between 30% and 45% with just 3 days of avoidance.

Beauty Products by Spmath































Little of the press coverage about this study tells what they recommended the girls use. In general they were told to seek out agents that were labeled to be free of those four chemicals. However they also recommended some natural and homemade alternatives. 

If you have been following DIY beauty products at all you will likely be familiar. There are numerous blog posts and recipes for these products, but I wanted to show you examples of the types of ingredients.
  • Soft and silky hair: whole egg for normal hair, egg yolks alone for dry hair and egg whites alone for oily hair. 
  • Conditioning mask: banana, avocado and olive oil
  • Clarifier/conditioner: apple cider vinegar
  • Hair gel: gelatin
  • Hairspray: Lemons with water
  • Shampoo: olive oil, egg, lemon juice and apple cider vinegar
  • Conditioner: olive oil and egg
  • Lighten acne scars: lemon juice
  • Dewy glow: honey and aloe vera
  • Soothe redness and heal scars: oatmeal and honey
  • Pore strip: gelatin and milk
  • De-puff eyes: chamomile or green tea bags
  • Cellulite: coffee grounds, olive oil and sugar to help with cellulite
  • Strawberry body scrub: strawberries, brown sugar, olive oil, honey and lemon juice. 
  • Sugar waxing: sugar, lemon, honey
Lemon Thyme Cookies (1 of 8) by ImpromptuKitchen
It was interesting to see how large of a difference they were able to achieve after 3 days. It is encouraging to know that transitioning even for a short time will have a large impact. I may try some of the hair masks…what are you going to try?

8 comments:

  1. I hadn't heard of this study before, it's really interesting. I'm going to do some more reading about it thanks :) #WasteLessWednesday

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    1. Yes, I was surprised about their findings! It took some digging to find out what products they used though.

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  2. HI Katy,
    It is amazing the number of chemicals in cosmetics products. I know that gelatin works great for a hair gel and so does aloe vera gel from the plant. I have used quite a few of these alternative and I buy no chemical product at all. I do DIY on everything I can. Thanks for sharing your valuable information and congratulation on being features on HHG&N blog hop. Pinned & tweeted!

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    1. Thanks for stopping by! I think making your own and using natural products is best.

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  3. Wonderful info. I hadn't heard of this study either, but sure glad you're sharing it. I use jojoba oil as a leave on hair conditioner. It works great and has no scent or chemicals. Congrats on being featured at the HHGN Blog Hop #130, where my post How to Use Your Journal to Create Self-compassion is also featured. Nancy Andres @ obloggernewbie.blogspot.com

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    1. Thanks for stopping by. I bet jojoba oil works great as a conditioner.

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  4. Thank you for these wonderful suggestions for natural beauty products. I don't think we realize how much toxins we aborb on a regular basis and so many are unnecessary. Pinning this and thank you

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    1. Thanks for sharing! I was surprised how many toxins they had--and how quickly NOT using those products could have an impact.

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