Wine Making
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Making Sense of the Natural vs Synthetic Debate: Acceptability of Synthetic Ingredients in Cosmetic
   
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The Ghosts And Legends Of The Queen Mary
The Ghosts and Legends of the Queen Mary
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Grilled Hawaiian Chicken
1/4 c Unsweetened orange juice 2 tb Chopped red bell pepper 2
tb Unsweetened pineapple juice 1 Jalapeno pepper, seeded and 1
ts Minced cilantro leaves -chopped 1/4 ts .....
In the cosmetics industry, hundreds of ingredients are used to impose various effects on the skin. These ingredients range from purely natural ingredients extracted from nature in their original condition, to purely synthetic ingredients which have been created from synthetics through a complex series of chemical reactions and have no connection to nature any longer. So how is a consumer to decide which ingredients are natural and which are synthetic?The Ghosts and Legends of the Queen Mary
Read Jetsetters Magazine at www.jetsettersmagazine.com
Grilled Hawaiian Chicken
1/4 c Unsweetened orange juice 2 tb Chopped red bell pepper 2
tb Unsweetened pineapple juice 1 Jalapeno pepper, seeded and 1
ts Minced cilantro leaves -chopped 1/4 ts .....
Every chemical reaction has three parts, and each prompts a series of questions to help us decide:
reactants ----- + -------- catalyst/energy process ----------> products
Reactants:
- Are these naturally occurring, i.e. taken from the earth in its original state or modified physically through grinding, melting, sifting, etc.?
- Are these the result of biological processes?
Catalyst:
- Is this a natural substance?
- Is this natural but toxic i.e. harmful to humans or the environment?
- Is this environmentally damaging to obtain or use?
- Is this re-usable?
- Is this synthetic? If so, where does it belong on the synthetic continuum?
- Is this a petrochemical?
Energy Process:
- Is the process externally imposed on the reaction?
- What is the source of energy being imposed and is it from a non-renewable or renewable source?
- Is the amount of energy needed to conduct the reaction minimal or energy intensive? This must be weighed against the benefit of the products resulting from the process i.e. is it worth the energy cost when compared to human benefit?
Products:
- Are these naturally occurring in the reactants but now separated out?
- Are these chemically different than the reactants in part or in whole?
- Are these toxic or non-toxic to humans and the environment?
- Are these biodegradable without impact to the earth through normal micro-biological or decay processes?
Implications for Daily Use of Cosmetics
There is a vast array of cosmetic products at our disposal. Why does the natural versus synthetic debate matter? Our personal health and well-being, as well as our environment locally and globally, are in question by the widespread use of synthetic substances. We cannot avoid all synthetic substances, and not all synthetics are bad for us. Many of these materials have improved the quality of our lives, but many have also deteriorated it. We do not know what will result from our use of certain synthetics in the long run. Cosmetics are products which we have a direct physical and emotional relationship with, as we wear them daily on our skin and bodies. The environment can be sustained or systematically destroyed by our choices. As consumers we can participate in the sustaining of eco-friendly organic farming practices, wise waste disposal, clean manufacturing processes and biodegradeability of ingredients. The choices are many, and the freedom to choose is ours. Where do you stand on the natural vs synthetic debate? The answer can make a difference to your health and our ecosystem.
The Organic Make-up Company considers synthetic ingredients to be those which:
- do not have natural reactants
- use petroleum derived reactants
- use catalysts which are petroleum derived or on the upper end of the synthetic range
- use processes which require pressure and/or heat which cannot be achieved with simple technology
- yield products through chemical reactions that have properties which are chemically (not physically) different from the reactants
- yield chemically produced substances which are not biodegradable through normal biological processes
The Organic Make-up Company considers natural ingredients to be those which:
Antique Bottle
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For the elegant addition to a beer bottle or wine bottle collection, which many people .....
- are derived, obtained or drawn from plants, minerals or animal sources such as beeswax (please refer to our policies on animal testing and use of animal part ingredients).The Perfect Collector' s Item Is An Antique Bottle
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- have not undergone a synthetic process as defined under our criteria above of a synthetic substance
- are refined through physical processing
- result from biological processes
- result from simple chemical processes where the reactants and catalysts are natural as defined in this article and the statements above
- have been changed or created through the use of simple technologies such as those that can be found in a conventional kitchen
References:
- Freeland-Graves, Jeanne & Peckham, Gladys. Foundations of Food Preparation 5ed, Macmillan Publishing Co; New York:1987
- http://www.naturalmakeup.ca
You may use this article but any modification or publication of this article for fiancial gain must be approved of by the author. The author's name, Lori Stryker and her company's name, The Organic Make-up Company, needs to by noted when used.