No More Dirty Looks: The Truth about Your Beauty Products--and the Ultimate Guide to Safe and Clean Cosmetics

a good friend of mine mentioned a book she was reading about chemicals in beauty products. she told me that the message of the text (backed up by studies + whatnot, including links throughout the text) was so strong that she was going to stop buying her normal beauty products. although lately i haven't been as healthy as i used to be, so i decided to get my hands on the book, which is no more dirty looks. i haven't read a book so feverishly since bret easton ellis' imperial bedrooms. when i would come across an interesting fact, i would tell my boyfriend about my findings, which was pretty much every other page. i'll make a long + interesting story short + simple: google all of the ingredients on your body wash bottle. now, keep in mind you slather that stuff onto your skin at least three times a week. your skin = biggest organ you got. there is obviously much more included in this book, but for the sake of brevity, i will spare you all. authors siobhan o'connor + alexandra spunt also update the site, [...], with various articles/products/etc., in which they comment on regularly. these ladies admit they are by no means experts in this field, but they have done great deal of research, which they often will include links to their findings.what i love about the authors? they aren't pushing or selling the reader a product - they're just giving you a heads up. o'connor admits in the book she still goes to her stylist to update her color.awesome blog update from the dynamic soap-free (yes, they hate soap) duo: the no-soap challenge! believe it or not, i am a little over a week into this. no, i don't smell gnarly. in fact, i smell pretty yummy. organic extra-virgin coconut oil is my new bff (skin moisturizer, lip balm, shaving oil, even deodorant), as is raw honey (sugar cravings, skin, etc). my relationship with bragg apple cider vinegar is still going strong (i used it diluted as mouth wash + even used it as a rinse in my hair after i massaged my cranium with extra-virgin olive oil). my lover, who has a nose for any scent that enters his three feet of personal space, did not think i smelled like salad dressing - he actually said my hair smelled sweet. i didn't tell him what i used until after i made him sniff my hair.i think this book should be in every household. i'm not saying you follow every piece of the text for life, but pull what you want from it. anything o'connor + spunt have written about can be googled to back their findings up. if you care about what you put inside your body, read how you can improve how you take care of the outside. many of us read labels for our food products, but not for our beauty products. as mentioned in other comments below me, there are numerous manufacturers who use natural ingredients, the book isn't shunning store-bought products. Just read the labels on what you buy, simple as that.

I really liked this book. It opened my eyes to a lot of things the cosmetic industry does and has made me realize that companies do put a lot of junk in their products (I read all the labels now). For example, it seems to me that mineral oil is in EVERYTHING. I haven't used products with mineral oil in them since 2006, however, it's in a LOT of baby products (what do you think baby oil is made out of). I really DO want to change the types of products I use and go more natural, safe and organic, but it's very price prohibitive. I was looking through the book's recommendations for products and one particular foundation is over $40 (and I can only buy it online or at their retail store in CA (hard to do when you live in CO)). I try to shop at Wholefoods for a lot of my products now (trying to go organic) but again, it's a huge cost issue. I live in rural Colorado and the closest Wholefoods is about 75 miles away. The fact of the matter is, if you want to go organic and remove pesticides and other harmful chemicals from your makeup bag, you either have to be somewhat rich or go au naturale (or try to use some of their homemade products). I decided not to throw away all of my current makeup (even though a lot of them were on the bad-boy list according to cosmetic database online) but I am going to try to buy cleaner products for my home and try not to go broke doing so. The book DOES suggest making some homemade products, but to be honest, I am not going to beat a bunch of egg whites and throw it on my hair for a mousse substitute. The smell alone made me gag. I used to make homemade soaps at home (and with two little kids, it's just not something I have time for) so I know what products are good. My advice, if you can afford to buy the pre-made stuff, go for it, otherwise, stick to organic oils for your skin (as the book recommends).

pros:1. easy to read/understand delivery. No technical jargon to wade through. Terms That the average person wouldn't know are explained in plain English.2. Each subject (i.e. lotion, lipstick, acne cream, etc) has only a page or two to read through to get the relevant info.3. Good organization of the information. I can find exactly what I want without wading through every thing I don't.4. Good information. Helpful hints. Each chapter has the section "why these products are bad" followed by the section "here are products that are good and where you might find them to buy them, or how to make your own."5. comprehensive in the types of products covered. Probably a majority I have never used, or only used once or twice in my life.6. Also covers other ways of making yourself beautiful naturally, (i.e. good health, good lifestyle, etc.)cons:1. I found the use of swear words in the book to be flippant and unprofessional. While they don't occur all the time, I am one who believes that strong words should be reserved for special occasions where a strong impact is desired. That didn't happen here. There was no need, and therefore it came off as offensive rather than effective. There were also a few mild references to human sexuality that I thought didn't add to the book.2.While it's nice not to have to read through a chapter for every cosmetic product, I felt like some things were kind of skimmed over and could have used more detail. In some places it felt more like an overview than a truly informative book. Once again, this is both a pro and a con.3. I would have liked to see more "make at home" possibilities. Surely there's more out there that you can use to clean your hair than the old "baking soda and vinegar."Also, they mentioned that Baby Soaps have these "bad" chemicals in them too but offered no alternatives for your little ones, nor discussed the effects of adult "clean" soaps for your little ones.Over all I thought this book was worth the read, and the information presented was valuable.-Melissa

I am givin it 5 stars because it is so easy to read. Actually laughed out loud a couple of times. This book is perfect for a beginner in the subject who wishes to know more about ingredients and the potential harm or non-harm. Explains stuff clearly and is forward, i did not feel the need to skip pages or chapters. Even the stuff i don’t necessarily use i found it truly interesting. And by all means i use a lot of products and they really spoke about everything. There is a chapter about hair and when I first started reading i thought to myself that I’d be skipping that one but as pages went by I just could not skip it and got myself new shampoo and conditioner ( i am no hair addict so it was not a heartbreak but still, honestly never thought I would ever even consider switching ). It had me thinking and seeing with another pair of eyes which is exactly what i wanted. Am I going to turn vegan and throw my MUFE foundation in the trash next to...wel, legit my whole makeup? Nop but surely when I run out I’ll look at the ingredients and go for something less chemically made !My only meh is that it’s not as recent as i had wished. Everything said is science that since have not changer but the recommendations might have been more accessible if the book was to be more recent. So please girls how about a volume 2 with the yes and no buys?:)

This is an absolute must read. I found it to be a page turner it is so interesting to learn about all the junk they are allowed to put in cosmetics YUCK!

This book exposed a huge lie by the cosmetics industry and changed my skin and my life for the better. Since I entered my mid-twenties I've noticed more problems with my skin and my hair, to which I treated with even more expensive lotions and creams. But the results were disappointing and even made situation worse - my skin became so congested and I started developing acne which I didn't even have as a teenager!So I started looking for solutions and this book came to my rescue. I followed tips and advice from the book and noticed a huge improvements of my skin and my general well-being. The main idea is that because there is little regulation in the cosmetic industry, many of the ingredients of the products we use are actually toxic. These toxic substances gets absorbed into our body every time we put makeup on our face, wash our hair, putting on nail polish.. you name it. As a result not only many of the cosmetics are not good for our skin and hair, they are actually damaging it.The book provides lists of toxic ingredients, as well as safe cosmetic products. While I find it okay as a quick reference, many of these safe cosmetics are quite hard to procure in the UK, not to mention more expensive, so it's not as useful as it would've been for a North-American reader. As a result I find it easier to understand the principles and then be creative about a skin-care and makeup routine that suits the lifestyle and budget of each individual.One bone to pick about this book is that it gives the impression of a fashion/beauty fad type of book, but it's so much more than that. I feel that the layout and design could be a bit less dumbed down to lend itself more credibility. If I wasn't so desperate I probably wouldn't have taken it too seriously if I judged it by the cover.Overall I think more people should read this book, and the message of this book really needs to reach the mainstream. Too many people blindly use cosmetics, seduced by clever marketing, without thinking about the long-term effect on health and beauty. If being dumbed down is what it needs for the message to reach the masses, then perhaps this book is exactly how it should be.PS for an even more dumbed down version of the story of toxic cosmetics, watch this short and interesting video here [...]

Utilizzo makeup da almeno 15 anni con tanto di lozioni e pozioni. Mi ero stufata di buttar soldi con roba che non funziona e di dare soldi alle multinazionali che investono in marketing e vendono schifezze chimiche con un ricarico assurdo. Ho iniziato a cercare informazioni attendibili sull'argomento makeup/skincare naturali: questo libro e' spettacolare!Scritto in modo assolutamente a-tecnico (anche chi non e' un chimico capisce la parte legata agli ingredienti da evitare), il libro spiega come molti degli ingredienti dei prodotti che utilizziamo giornalmente (anche quelli "naturali" per bambini) contengono solfati, phtalati, conservanti & co che sono nocivi alla salute. La Food and Drugs Administration chiude un occhio (anche entrambi). In Europa la legislazione e' più stringente ma molti degli ingredienti "pericolosi" sono venduti tranquillamente anche qui (solfati in saponi, PGA negli shampoo e formaldeide negli smalti solo per fare alcuni esempi) .Utilissimo il capitolo "the dirty ingredients" con la spiegazione di che cosa evitare, perché, gli effetti sulla salute ed i nomi chimici da controllare sulle etichette. Poi si passa alle diverse parti del corpo: i prodotti, le schifezze che ci mettono dentro e cosa si può' acquistare. La maggior parte dei prodotti non sono venduti in Italia ma si trovano facilmente su siti online europei.Libro che mi ha cambiato la vita in quanto non uso più' porcherie (basta L'Oreal, Procter & Gamble, etc) ma solo prodotti efficaci di aziende per lo più' piccole che si concentrano sulla qualità' del prodotto e non sui profitti smisurati a spese dei consumatori. Peraltro le autrici sono molto giu' alla mano (il tono del libro non e' da maestrina) ed hanno anche un blog molto utile sul quale controllare le ultime news su ulteriori ingredienti schifezza.

An easy but informative read, with a relaxed writing style. There is plenty of info here you are bound to know already, but equally lots of new ground. I am certainly glad I live over the other side of the pond and that the European Cosmetics legislation seems more stringent than the FDA. The book sways between balanced and being dare I say I preachy, but I hope that is just the passion of the authors. I am certainly more committed to my cause of greener, cleaner beauty than ever before, there is no reason not to be!