The Pensive Exposition

Itchy Skin and Bad Soap: Sodium Laurel Sulphates, etc.

Some of you have heard me rant and rave about avoiding trans-fatty-acids (partially hydrogenated fats) in your food... but here's something you should attempt to avoid in your soap, shampoo, and conditioner type products, especially if you have sensitive skin: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS); sodium laureth-3 sulphates; and DEA or TEA sodium lauryl sulphates.  Technically, the chemical is in about 90% of most soap style products... and is a known skin irritant, and is also used in industrial cleaning (heavy chemical cleanup). 

I've been having trouble during cold weather with itchy skin, but no flaking... and turned to researching new products to try and alleviate the mild irritation.  I have tried natural soaps/organic products... and various moisturizers... trying different samples and options at my local Whole Food's grocery store.  The switch to better soap (those without SLS's) met with success - concerning the whole skin irritation problem, plus my mild dandruff condition has improved! 

Where do I find these safer soap options?  Some Crabtree and Evelyn products are clear of this stuff, along with Thymes products, vegetable glycerin based products, and many other lines of organic or natural soap...  If you play your cards right, you won't have to spend too much more on attempting an alternative from SLS based items.  Many ebay sellers offer home-made options of quality product at a nice cheap bulk rate.  Look for a seller with good feedback.  One side effect of moisturizing/parfum based soaps (that guys might run into) is that they don't always get rid of body oder very well (i.e. underarm).  Problem solved... buy some 'natural' antibacterial hand soap for those underarms... leave it on for 60 seconds, and case closed: this brand works for me - EO Liquid Hand Soap, Peppermint & Tea Tree (and it doesn't take much to do the job). 

I'm not saying to drop all your current SLS products at one time... But go out and experiment with a natural soap, instead of these detergent based SLS type products (Dial, Toni & Guy, etc) and see if you notice an improvement in skin/hair condition.  One way to make the transition is to phase out the old soap with the new.

Most of what you might buy at Whole Foods, Wild Oats, Central Market, and health food stores will not contain this harsh chemical.  If you dont' have sensitive skin, maybe you've never worried about this issue.  If you'd like smoother, cleaner feeling skin... I urge you to try this out!  If you want to know what other soaps and shampoos have worked for me, post your question in the comments section.

Also, if you're still reading... I pledge here and now to send an free SLS free bar of soap to the first 4 people who make a comment in this blog article, and email me their physical address: Banana Republic Classic 8.5+ ounce - NEW (I happened to get 14 bars of the great smelling discontinued stuff for under $3.00 each, lol). 

Here are two mostly un-biased SLS info links.

http://www.greenpeople.co.uk/Organics_Features_SLS.htm

http://homepages.tig.com.au/~pvzalm/earthhaven/and%20-Laurel%20Sulphates

Global Warming vs Global Pollution

SCIENCE NEWS UPDATES:

Lately I've been in the global warming camp that alludes to the fact that geological emissions create more damage to the ozone layer than humans, by a large percentage.  However, that doesn't mean that humankind should cut back on efforts to stop pollution or nasty emissions.  It is my belief that pollution poses the greatest global threat, above greenhouse emissions, and war.  However, I have a lot to accomplish concerning being called a worthy recycler of materials, and what not.

Here are some interesting new links on the environment, etc.  Also, I believe ocean currents and their effect on weather, etc. is quite overlooked in the media.

Geologic Evidence for previous global warming trends:

http://www.livescience.com/environment/050120_great_dying.html

Could global warming spur global cooling?:

http://www.livescience.com/forcesofnature/041217_sealevel_rise.html

Glacier National Park: Down to 26 glaciers from 150! (Check out the links at the bottom of this page, very interesting and worth your time: various theories on global warming effects).

http://news.yahoo.com/s/space/20060324/sc_space/glaciersdisappearinbeforeafterphotos;_ylt=Ahx7KEsp2Zu_jx2nNuDx8cGs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3MzV0MTdmBHNlYwM3NTM-

Essays from the Patagonia Web site... links for buying organic & 'recycled material' clothing (remember, one way to join the recycling movement is to buy used clothes - ebay, thrift, etc.):

http://www.patagonia.com/enviro/reports/archive_enviro.shtml

Free Films: Public Domain and B-Movie Downloads!

http://www.veoh.com/channel.html?channelId=9&network=Cult+Classics

http://msn-cnet.com.com/Its+the+site+of+the+living+dead%2C+as+cult+films+hit+Web/2100-1025_3-6047466.html?part=msn-cnet&subj=ns_3-6047466&tag=tg_ns  (for more general information)

Yes, you've heard it... Yes, its true... Find those hard to obtain older films, cult-classics, sci-fi/horror reels, and sundry unusual plots - all for free on video streaming/download!!!!! 

Memorable genre titles are waiting at the click of a mouse button: Metropolis; Night of the Living Dead; House on Haunted Hill, kung-fu films, and many others...

My Funny Valentine/Yes It's True

Big Muff -- My Funny Valentine  Likely the most unusual and still appealing version of this memorable old tune.

DJ Wally -- Yes, Its True           A humorous parody of UFO culture, if there ever was one - in trance music.

Download big_muff_my_funny_valentine.mp3 Download dj_wally_yes_its_truevarious_artistsbarbecue_beets_2_return_of_the_yams1.mp3

After combing through a lot of ambient tunes these past few weeks, I give you a worthy double-feature for the genre - for this week's song of the week.

Somafm.org

One thing I like while studying: listening to good ambient, IDM, electronic, and micronaut style music...

Check out www.somafm.org for an unusual treat in the free music department.  Extremely low hassle, and the music plays in seconds!

"She Lay Her Whip Down" -- Jeff Bridges

Song of the Week

She Lay Her Whip Down -- Jeff Bridges

Being a fan of the film 'The Big Lebowski' - and combing the internet for film related material - I stumbled across this 'little ditty' from an album by the actor Jeff Bridges.  Aside from memorable performances in Thunderbolt & Lightfoot, White Squall, The Last Picture Show, and other films, Jeff has done a decent job crafting his laid back 'California beat' blues/rock album - 'Be Here Soon'.  The Album was produced a year after 'Lebowski' - with supporting vocals (that you might recognize) successfully sewn in by noteworthy artist Michael McDonald. 

Here is my favorite track from the album entitled - She Lay Her Whip Down.

Download she_lay_her_whip_down_jeff_bridges.mp3 

(Right click and choose 'Save As' if you have problems accessing this file automatically)