Go green: How to become a natural beauty
| Wednesday, Jul 14 2010 02:32 PM
Last Updated Wednesday, Jul 14 2010 02:32 PM
Gorgeously Green Day
Sophie Uliano's skincare workshop
12:30 to 2:30 p.m. Saturday
Greenshops, 7737 Meany Ave. Suite B-3
$30, by reservation; store closed to the public
587-6477 or visit greenshops.com.
Sophie Uliano book signing
Lassen's 39th anniversary event
11 to 11:30 a.m. Saturday
Lassen's Natural Foods-Vitamins, 4308 California Ave.
Free book signing; books can be purchased at Lassen's
324-6990 or visit lassens.com
Uliano will make this inexpensive scrub made from basic kitchen ingredients at Saturday's beauty event.
1 cup of ground oatmeal
1/2 cup of dry lavender flowers; flowers stripped off stalks (optional)
1/2 cup of powdered milk (whole or non-fat is fine)
2 teaspoon of cornmeal
filtered water
Step one: Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl before transferring to a sealable container.
Step two: To use, combine 1 tablespoon of the scrub with enough filtered water to form a thick paste. Gently massage in circular motions over your face and neck. Rinse with warm water and pat your skin dry.
Yields: Approximately 16 ounces of scrub
Application: Use three times a week
Storage: 16-ounce plastic or glass container
Shelf life: 6 months
Eco-friendly household cleaner
Instead of using chlorine bleach or other household cleaners, buy some hydrogen peroxide and keep it in an opaque spray bottle (the opacity helps slow down decomposition). Use it once a day on coutertops, doorknobs and bathroom. Uliano says it kills just as many germs as anti-bacterial products and is less expensive.
-- Courtesy of Sophie Uliano
SOPHIE ULIANO'S GENTLE FACIAL EXFOLIATING SCRUB
No longer the radical movement it started out as in the tree-hugging, hippie-loving, sit-in and lock-out 1960s, the green movement has changed.
Consider the case of Sophie Uliano, a successful author and supporter of living green: She shops at Target, dyes her hair, paints her nails and eats meat. But Uliano, a frequent guest on television shows like "Oprah" and "The View," practices an earth-friendly lifestyle.
And she acknowledges it's impossible to live a perfectly green life.
Uliano will bring her common-sense approach to Bakersfield, where she will instruct residents on skin care and other beauty concerns at Greenshops, 7737 Meany Ave. Tickets to the Saturday workshop are going fast, but several were still available Wednesday.
In her latest book, "Do It Gorgeously: Simple Steps to a Less Toxic, Less Expensive, and More Beautiful Life," she instructs women to follow a beauty regimen that will make them more conscious of their impact on the earth.
"I have always been active in the sense that I was raised to be green, only it wasn't called green then, it was called common sense," Uliano said.
Uliano learned to be conscious of the environment from her mother, who was all about frugality and saving everything.
"I think I just had an epiphany when I got pregnant. I realized we are trashing our environment and that's what set me on this path," Uliano said.
She questioned how a regular woman could live a fun and easy green life without compromising her style.
"I think the first step toward becoming greener is to think in terms of health. Don't think of global warming or the oil spill -- those are issues we can't really do anything about," Uliano said.
She suggests examining eating habits and what people plaster on their skin, which is how Uliano got into creating her own products from ingredients she had at home.
"I consider it healthy living. It's made such a difference in my life," said Jennifer Jordan, co-owner of Greenshops boutique.
Since Jordan changed her habits, she said her skin has improved, she feels healthier, has lost weight and saved money.
A perception about the green movement is that eco-friendly products are more expensive, but Uliano said people will actually save money if they make their own products.
Where to start? Uliano said try replacing all-purpose cleaner, skin care products, pesticide spray for the garden and flea spray for pets.
Some key ingredients consumers should avoid are fragrances, parabens and Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS), Uliano said.
"Look for a much shorter ingredient list. If you see a lot of numbers, letters and abbreviations -- avoid it."
While eco-friendly products won't necessarily make you look better, Uliano said, they will perform well and are much healthier for people's skin.
And just because Bakersfield isn't a metropolitan city with specialty eco-friendly stores on every corner, residents can still find green products. National chain stores like Target, Walgreens or Rite-Aid carry some of her favorite brands of skincare products like Physicians Formula and Burt's Bees.
For more tips and do-it-yourself recipes, visit Uliano's website, gorgeouslygreen.com.
