EWG is a terrific organization.  To find the safest and most effective personal care products of any kind, bookmark them at http://www.ewg.org/.

But like many of us, Betsy has begun to worry about what Nora Ephron has coined “The Maintenance Issue.”  Each year it gets harder to maintain the way we looked last year, and despite our insistence that we really don’t mind aging, we are willing to try some new things that enhance our looks.  Perhaps a new moisturizer, a bit of eyebrow pencil where that bald patch suddenly appeared, or just a little blush to pick up the cheekbones.

So someone recommended that Betsy try Zia for her skin care.  After all, it is sold at Whole Foods, so it has to be good, right?  Well, not so fast. Two things must be understood about “natural” product claims.

1. So-called “natural” products frequently use synthetic ingredients, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it is deceptive labeling.
2. Natural products can be as bad for you as man-made chemicals.  Arsenic, for example, is natural, but that doesn’t mean it belongs in your spouse’s coffee.

So alas, I report to you and to Betsy, that the research I did on Zia Natural Skin line didn’t turn out well.  Paula Begoun, The Cosmetics Cop, was pretty tough in her review.  Paula has been analyzing and reviewing cosmetics for 30 years and a consumer just can’t get much better information than from her and her team.  Here is just part what she had to say:

“But in the Zia Natural line, anecdotal information and blatant misinformation takes the place of what we know to be true about what our skin needs.  As a result, this is not a comprehensive skin-care line worthy of your undivided attention.”  Ouch.

Miffed over the contradictions in Zia’s rhetoric, she chides them for labeling their suncreen natural when in fact, they contain thickening agents and synthetic actives. “In short,” she summarizes, “labeling this line as all natural is a mistake on par with thinking that you can grow vegetables already wrapped in Saran Wrap™ in your garden.”

LookinGood also relies on The Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database that is a safety guide on personal care products.  With a score key of low, moderate and high hazard, the majority of Zia’s products rate in the moderate range, but at least 4 of the products rated receive high hazard ratings for their use of questionable chemicals, particularly in their anti-aging products. Double ouch.

But people might like it anyway, you might say.  I did a quick search of cosmetic review sites and blogs to judge Zia’s popularity.  Comments are sparse and some are suspiciously polished marketing narrative, if you ask me.  Oh yea, you did.

My own bias on this is that there is a place for some synthetics, preservatives, thickeners and even frangrances in our personal care products, which is much further than some environmentalists would go.  But what doesn’t work for me is deceptive marketing.  We’re grown up’s here.  You can tell us the truth.

Gwen, who’s been setting trends since the ’90s with, among other things, her platinum hair and ruby, ruby lips, recently caught flak when her 3-year-old brunette son, Kingston, was seen with hair nearly as blonde as his mom’s.  It’s kind of ironic that in “Magic’s In The Makeup” Stefani croons “A counterfeit disposition … Can’t be good for my health,” because that’s exactly what the argument is here: it’s not good for a kid to be exposed to the chemicals involved with coloration.  If you’ve ever had one, you know the smell alone can burn your eyes and nostrils, not to mention what’s being done to your scalp and your hair.  Why do that to a toddler, or any little kid for that matter?

There’s no solid evidence that hair dye is especially dangerous for adults or children, although many people are allergic to the ingredients.  Nonetheless,  on the highly respected Environmental Working Group site Skin Deep, which compiles data on ingredients and products and assesses a hazard rating, nearly all the hair color and bleaching products fall into the high hazard zone because of the chemicals that make up the dyes. More than a third of those have earned a 10 (on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the worst).  Pick just about any of the hair color products and the data says “Ingredients in this product are linked to: cancer; developmental/reproductive toxicity; violations, restrictions and warnings; allergies/immunotoxicity.” Also checked off is the box that reads “Other concerns for ingredients used in this product:
“Neurotoxicity, Endocrine disruption, Persistence and bioaccumulation, Organ system toxicity (non-reproductive), Multiple, additive exposure sources, Irritation (skin, eyes, or lungs), Enhanced skin absorption, Contamination concerns, Occupational hazards, Biochemical or cellular level changes.”

Think maybe that’s enough to keep the stuff away from your child?

We don’t really wonder why Stefani did it – she’s a funky uber-blonde trendsetting celebrity with children. Duh.  Honestly, we would like to know how she possibly got a toddler to sit for a color job.  And we question the judgment.   There are hennas, and lots of temporary, wash-out colors that kid’s might use without exposing them to potentially harmful chemicals.

• The original story ran on Perez Hilton’s site.
• The American Medical Society released a study in 2005 citing no evidence of increased harm to those who dye their hair.
• The Environmental Working Group doesn’t like the chemicals that make up our coloring products.