Freckles.

So, the sad truth of things is that I have freckles, and not just like a little sparse sprinkle across my cheeks… I am the real deal.  Arms, legs, face whatever.. you name it, I can probably pinpoint a freckle there.  Not terribly dark in tone, but there all over the place nonetheless.  In summer months my left arm (the driving arm as it were) gets decidedly more freckly than the right arm, and rather than a tan I seem to just get more visible freckles.  Generally speaking I never give them a second thought.

But my dad is always reading stuff about stuff I am blissfully ignorant of and now I need to consider my freckles and how I truly feel about them at a base level.

Dad read an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune that speaks to the hidden dangers and toxins found in cosmetics that women blissfully paint themselves with on a daily basis.  He pointed it out to me as we frequently discuss safety issues and a frequent topic as of late has involved job conditions and inhalents and it had not ever crossed his mind to think about the hazzards women might self inflict.

I am included in this daily routine; I’m a spackler.  I don’t want the bags, dark spots and cracks to show and I diligently conceal, as it were.  Dad recently pointed out, I now have the “boy toy” to keep up with who has the blessing of perpetual youthful appearance on his side.  I am terrified to come across looking like his mother or something equally horrendous.  (The term “Cougar” comes to mind and, well sir, I don’t like it.)

So, I run to the internet and pour through tons of information that is available to us as consumers that of course we had no idea was out there or should be looked into…

and I find out that I am POISONING myself with my Clinique tinted moisturizer with SPF.  And I thought I was doing the right thing!  SPF is good… Clinique has a reputation for being good for those of us with sensitive skin, no animal testing, etc.  But no.

My foundation has known neuro-toxins and carcinogens in it.  (yes… as in Neurological)

You are spared here what I am doing to myself with my favorite red hair color that I thought was not so bad as it’s ammonia free and so on and so forth.  It even has avacados in it, or some non-sense… it’s of course killing me.  On a scale of 0-10 with 10 being might-as-well-start-smoking-again, my hair dye is an 8.

Lotions, facial clensers, toothpaste, deodorant, eye stuff, hair stuff, hair removal stuff, elbows, knees and toes.  I quickly evaluated my products (lined them all up on my desk and went through one by one) and discovered that I’m not nearly as contientious as I thought I was about what I put on my skin.

Then I find out that the 0-2 rated products (as in: not comprable to smoking) are like 3 to 5 TIMES the cost of the crap I’ve been buying.

So, finally, for those of you who have stuck with me… here is my point.

How important is it that I cover my freckles on a daily basis?

Where do I stand ulitmately on the topic of freckles how it impacts my satisfaction with my “meat puppet”?

Apparently I’m going to have to be okay with them as my new cost effective solution for tinted facial moisturizer with sunscreen is just not as effective at freckle coverage… and my beloved Clinique has been retired.

I have freckles and I’m not really a red head.  You will all find out soon enough as I phase into a more educated role as a consumer.   I have to say that I am SO sick of Dad reading stuff in the paper.  Last time he did that I had to give up Diet Coke.

Pbbbt.  Integrity is hard on me.

If you want to find out more about the products you use, here are some web-sites.   I’ll apologize in advance if you have to give up that perfect color of nail polish, or that anti-perspirant you found that actually works. You might be glad to find out before your ovaries shrivel up or your testicles fall off.

Formerly Blissfully Ignorant,

Sarah

http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/index.php?nothanks=1

http://www.safecosmetics.org/index.cfm