Green Cosmetics

By Leigh Grogan

Everyone is getting into green living. We regulate our thermostats, bring cloth bags to the supermarket, and recycle our bottles and cans. But not everyone has carried their environmentally-friendly habits over to their cosmetics. And they should. Because harmful chemicals in makeup are not only bad for the environment ... they're harmful to you, too.

Deborah Burnes is a leader in green cosmetics. She believes something as simple as a bar of bath soap shouldn't require a degree in chemistry to figure out what makes the bubbles bubble.

"Simplicity is the answer," she says. "You don't need a checklist to be a green person."

Burnes, 45, lives with her family in Sebastopol, Calif. She's co-founder and CEO of Sumbody, a skin-care company that's committed to all-natural, eco-friendly products free of chemicals and synthetics.

She's also written a book, "Look Great, Live Green" (Hunter House, $16.95, 332 pages), which goes beyond being a guidebook to green living. It educates, explains and, as Burnes puts it, "gets the elephant out of the room."

"We've got allergies, ailments and sensitivities we didn't have 20 or 30 years ago with regard to the products we use every day, whether it's shampoo or soap," Burnes says.

"Our bodies weren't meant to bear the burden of all the toxins we're exposed to."

Here, Burnes explains how going green is easier than you might think.

You write in the book about multi-tasking the process of living green. Where can we start?

I love that word because it's simple. There's not a big difference between body wash, shampoo and hand wash. A lot of advertising is window dressing to entice people to buy. You can use shampoo on your body. Instead of five face creams a day, just use one. You save money and reduce the amount of packaging, which is totally out of control.

Does going green mean a chemical-free makeover all at once? And can't that get expensive?

I never suggest getting rid of everything. For every product that you use up that's heavy on the chemicals, replace it with one that's free of artificial preservatives. For example, a bar of my soap would be more expensive than a bar of Dove ($5.95 vs. $1.50). You'll feel squeaky clean with the Dove, but if you follow that with a body lotion, you end up drying your skin trying to get it soft. I call this the "chemical conundrum." You end up using more products than you need. Look at your overall budget. If you swapped two products you use for two that are green, you'll eventually use less and save more money.

Do you think there will be a time when the use of "bad" ingredients in many of these daily products will be regulated?

In my humble opinion, yes. I believe consumers will use their voices with their pocketbooks. Nobody wants to be an enemy of the beauty industry. That's why you see celebrities endorsing products. Money talks. But you can believe in a product and not have a clue about what's in it or possible adverse effects. If it's on "Oprah," it will sell.

"Look Great, Live Green" is available at Barnes & Noble and Borders bookstores andwww.amazon.com. Burnes' personal care and beauty products are available at www.sumbody.com.

Source: YellowBrix, The Sacramento Bee