By Klaus Ferlow, HMH

Everyone hopes to have a perfect body but unfortunately no matter what we do, it just never seems perfect. You feel too fat, your nose or breast is too large or small, your skin is too dry, you are either too tall or short: the problems are never ending. That’s why plastic surgeons can’t keep up with the demand. Perhaps it is not your body but your attitude that is not perfect. Realize that human beings are never satisfied – unconsciously, you keep wanting more and aiming higher. It is not completely unhealthy as long as you do not let it overpower you!

In the past decade natural body care products including certified organic, organic, wildcrafted, toxin-free items, have changed the way consumers look for and use cosmetics and personal care products. And here are some facts: The average woman in the U.S. uses about twelve cosmetics and personal care products daily and I believe it is very similar in Canada. Each product may contain a dozen or more harmful chemicals. Less than 20% of the chemicals used in these products have been assessed for safety by the industry safety panel, so we just don't know what they do to us when we use them. The FDA and Health Canada do not even require that all ingredients be listed on the label!

Customers are now more savvy and know what to look for and what to avoid. This shift has meant huge growth in the industry with new products hitting the market almost on a daily basis, sometimes with extraordinary claims. I remember fifteen years ago you were unable to find any of these products without a long list of man made chemicals such as artificial colours, scents, paraben preservatives and a host of other hazardous, dangerous chemicals. For years the manufacturers of cosmetic and personal care products used industrial waste by-products and it seemed that nobody was asking questions about what these ingredients did to your skin, body and health.

That’s why I did my research and after that wrote my first article in 1999 with the title “What is really in your beauty products?” and it was also published later with the titles “Cosmetics To Die For” and “Hidden dangers lurking in your cosmetics and personal care products.” Since there are already many chemicals in the air, water, food, household goods etc., why would you put additional chemicals on your body whether you are using a cream, lotion, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, mouthwash, make-up etc? These chemicals are readily and instantly absorbed into your bloodstream and will damage your liver and kidneys and as a result of it will create a lot of other health problems.

It is therefore very important that you always read labels carefully and if you can’t pronounce the name of the ingredients, don’t buy it, it’s a chemical! A large segment of the population have mature and damaged skin. At age 25 your oil glands produces double the amount of oil as when you were 50 and continues to decrease as you age. As skin ages it loses elasticity and becomes thinner and dryer and therefore wrinkles. The layer of fat that gives the skin its soft appearance begins to shrink and does not regenerate easily.

There are three ways of aging:

Chronological Aging:

It’s impossible to stop and most anti-aging wrinkle creams do not work but we can buy into the illusion.

Environmental Aging:

This happens at any age and you need to protect yourself, especially your skin from sun

and wind.

Lifestyle Aging:

Poor nutrition, you are what you eat. Smoking, alcohol, and not enough exercise will reflect how you look and feel. Please remember too that drinking enough water and liquid is also very important as it flushes out toxins. HEALTH is WEALTH!

Words of Wisdom

“The Inner Spirit working outward in your life is the only place where stability can be found in these changing times.”

References:

Health Risks in Today’s Cosmetics, Nikolaus J. Smeh, ISBN 13-9780963775505 or 096-377-5502

Beauty To Die For, Judy Vance, ISBN 1-57901-035-0

Drop Dead Gorgeous, Kim Erickson, ISBN 0-658-01793-4

Dying To Look Good, Christine Farlow, DC, ISBN 0-9635635-3-X

Not just a pretty face, Stacy Malkan, ISBN 978-0-86571-574-5

Klaus Ferlow, HMH, innovator, lecturer, researcher, writer, President, founder (1975) and co-owner FERLOW BOTANICALS, Div. of Ferlow Brothers Ltd,

Vancouver, B.C. manufacturing/distributing organic toxin-free herbal medicinal and personal care products to professional health & wellness practitioners in Canada and parts of USA since 1993. President of the Hearts to Health Foundation, Richmond, B.C., Board member of the Health Action Network Society, Burnaby, B.C., www.hans.org, Advisory Board member of the Life Transformation Institute, Richmond Hill, Ontario, www.life-transformation-institute.org, member of the National Health Federation, Monrovia, Ca, www.thenhf.com, Associated member of the Canadian Herbalist’s Association of British Columbia, Surrey, B.C., www.chaofbc.ca

member of the Neem Foundation, Bombay, India, www.neemfoundation.org, This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , www.ferlowbotanicals.com HMH = Honorary Master Herbalist, Dominion Herbal College, Burnaby, B.C., est. 1926, Copyright@2000, all rights reserved

His educational articles have been published in Health & Women’s Magazines, Newspapers, Newsletters in Canada, United Kingdom, United States and on numerous websites around the world.

This information is for education only and should not be used for diagnosis, treatment and prevention of disease, please contact your health care practitioner.