What’s the first Earth Day you remember? I’ll tell you mine.
It was 1990; I was in Grade 9. There was a big event at a park in downtown Albany, NY, and I was very excited to go. And I had also just gotten my period for the first time. Obviously, I was mortified and I didn’t want to leave the house. But I had read 50 Simple Things You Can Do to Save the Earth. When I was fourteen, see, the Earth was barreling toward Hell in a hand basket. It was. And I was going to fight it.*
So I mustered my courage and left the house and went to the Earth Day event downtown. It was a gloriously sunny, warm day. And I wore a big red sweatshirt because OMG I had my period and people might notice. I shvitzed and shvitzed as I walked around looking at all the tables and buying hemp necklaces and collecting pamphlets and trying very hard to barely move my legs at all.
Yes, Earth Day has always been special to me.
In honour of today’s Earth Day, I’m going to pick up a copy of There’s Lead in Your Lipstick, by Gillian Deacon. It’s about how to avoid toxins in body-care products, which is something I’m even more interested in learning about now that there’s a four-month-old who, in addition to puking on me daily, seems intent on sucking on my hands constantly and occasionally on my neck. So rather than using no moisturizer on my cracking cuticles, at least overnight, I’d like to learn more about what might not kill us both. Also, I’d like both for my lips not to be chapped and to be able to kiss that baby all over pretty much all the time.
As it happens, Penguin Canada, publisher of the book, invited me to participate in the blog tour for it, and I’m very happy to offer up a wee DIY excerpt, along with a chance to win a copy of the book with a rad lip-gloss prize.
Make It Yourself: Moisturizing Mask
Excerpted from There’s Lead in Your Lipstick by Gillian Deacon (Penguin Canada). Copyright © Backbone Inc. FSO Gillian Deacon, 2011
(Greek yogourt is also very moisturizing and can be used as a base for this mask.)
1/2 medium to large avocado
1 to 2 tbsp honey (5 to 15 mL)
Puree ingredients together in a blender or whip by hand.
For dry, sensitive skin, add one tablespoon of oatmeal and one tablespoon of water.
Mix together into a smooth paste and apply to the face and neck area, leaving on for about ten minutes.
Hm. Seems almost too easy.
Now for the giveaway! Note that it’s open only to residents of Canada. One lucky Canadian resident will win a prize pack of There’s Lead In Your Lipstick and an Eco Kiss kit from Saffron Rouge (total retail value about CDN $48.95).
You have three chances to enter! (Note: you must leave a separate comment for each chance.)
- Leave a comment here about anything related to DIY skincare or toxins in body-care products or your first Earth Day memory.
- Tweet the link to this contest and leave a (separate!) comment saying you did so.
- Share the link to this contest on Facebook and leave a (separate!) comment saying you did so.
The contest ends at noon (Pacific time) on Friday, 29th April, after which I’ll use a random-number generator to pick the winner.
Good luck!
Here’s the whole blog-tour itinerary:
April 11 Rayment’s Readings, Rants and Ramblings
April 12 My Ever Expanding Library
April 13 Jacob’s Beloved
April 14 Bella’s Bookshelves
April 15 Cindy’s Love of Books
April 18 Rowangarth Farm
April 19 Lost for Words
April 20 Curled Up With a Good Book and a Cup of Tea
April 21 A Bookworm’s World
April 22 You’re right here!
April 25 A Mom After God’ Own Heart
April 26 The Literary Word
April 27 Just a Lil Lost
April 28 In the Next Room
* Twenty-one years later I can see no evidence the Earth has escaped the hand basket; it’s just a much longer trip than I’d thought it would be when I was a teenager.
I so remember the red sweatshirt.
Also, having done extensive “research” (i.e. believing much of what I read online) with regard to toxins in kids’ products (and my own), I will share this bit of insight: Pure petroleum jelly is awesome. M’s pediatrician is very conscious of toxins in kids’ products and he recommended petroleum jelly in lieu of moisturizer when M’s thumb was cracked and raw from all the sucking. I wanted something that would heal/moisturize his thumb, yet that I didn’t have to worry about going in his mouth. It’s a neutral, so if the baby ingests a little, no harm. If you buy a pure PJ with no additives, then you know exactly what you’re getting.
As a result, I use it on his hands/body when dry, on my own and on my lips instead of lip balm. I find it works just as well (if not better) than expensive and fragrance- and additive-filled products. Yes, there’s the “ick” factor, but you can get past that.
On another note, big fan of the California Baby products for shampoos, etc.