Blogs

 Happy Belated New Year!!!

 And what better way to usher in the New Year than by reuniting with our dear, dear friend Dr. Formalde Hyde, who, as you now know, was indeed very present in the past year.

 So to quickly recap, last time I briefly introduced formaldehyde’s historic and current situation. From its dark precedents as a mutagen to the recent scandal surrounding Johnson& Johnson shampoos.

 In this post I shall touch upon formaldehyde’s fate in the environment and the ensuing implications for human health.

Now as many of my close friends know, and as you too shall discover, I have a weird penchant for anything having to do with chemistry…. It has always been a weird obsession of mine. Indeed, some of my favourite moments in Cegep involved my organic chemistry manual (which I named) and which currently resides on my bedside table….. Anyway I digress..

Maureen Lafrenière
BOOK REVIEW

No More Dirty Looks: The Truth About Your Beauty Products and the Ultimate Guide to Safe and Clean Cosmetics. Siobhan O'Connor and Alexandra Spunt.

Pour lire la traduction en français, cliquez ici

Firstly, I hope you are all enjoying your holidays!  

Before I get back to the fascinating world of formaldehyde, I would first like to address something that has been plaguing me all through the Holiday season. I, like any other self-respecting university student, vowed not to engage in any intellectually demanding activity (besides shopping of course) during Christmas break.  It was a vow that I held very dear to my heart and I undertook it with all the seriousness and solemnity that it deserved.  (Preach!) However, as you shall see as I delve into the manner of my betrayal... it was a vow that I could not fulfill.

I’m proud to present our newest FemmeToxic.com segment; the FemmeToxic Fact Sheets!  

My name is Nnedimma Nnebe and I am the resident Science Gal (so to speak :P) at the FemmeToxic Headquaters.

In weekly posts, through the FemmeToxic Fact Sheets, you ( the readers) and I will explore high risk compounds currently found in cosmetics.  I will present both the scientific and societal backgrounds of these compounds. For the most part, I will be discussing compounds currently on the Health Canada Hot List (be sure to check out the Hot List; a useful ally for informed consumers!).

So first on the list this week is formaldehyde, a compound long associated with high school dissections and CSI.

How many of us have looked at ourselves in the mirror and easily picked out at least one feature that we deem unattractive? How many times have you heard the following;

“God I hate my eyes, they’re too close together”. “Oh my gosh your eyes are so pretty, I hate mine. They’re just so dark and boring. I wish I had blue eyes like yours”.

Why are babies in the U.S., Canada, Australia, China and Indonesia being exposed to carcinogens in Johnson's Baby Shampoo when safer alternatives are available in other countries?

After finding chemicals linked to cancer in popular kids' bath products – including Johnson's Baby Shampoo – in 2009, we asked Johnson & Johnson to reformulate its iconic baby shampoo and specifically to remove the formaldehyde-releasing chemical quaternium-15.

FemmeToxic is a campaign focusing on the toxins in the environment, particularly those found in cosmetic and personal care products, which are detrimental to human health and can increase the risk of cancer and other health-related disorders.  

Maybe you have read my numerous posts and beefs about pink, pinkification, pink ribboning, and pink marketing. My distaste is quite apparent.

Today I read a piece in the Globe and Mail that wasn't really about pink ribbon marketing specifically, but about the "pinkification of womanly consumption" more generally. That is the phrase I have been looking for: "the pinkification of womanly consumption".

 Sexy Children?

The biggest news and controversy this week in the beauty world is surely that to do with 10 year old French Vogue model, Thylane Lena-Rose Blondeau. You might recognize her from the highly offensive Vogue Christmas gift issue: