modernmermaids.com

In our pocketbooks, in our cars, in the bathrooms and in every classroom across the U.S.  Why?  Because God forbid we have a germ or some flesh-eating bacteria come along and get us!  Remember our grandparents?  Well, they cut chicken and veggies on the same cutting board, handled thousands of items that were covered in germs and used SOAP!  Plain old normal soap.

Now here’s the thing..let’s start with some of the ingredients:  Ethyl Alcohol, Propylene Glycol, Fragrance and the pesticide, yes, PESTICIDE, Triclosan.  Anyone as upset as I am yet?

Alcohol: simple…is inflammable and totally dries out the skin.  This is bad as it then causes micro-cracks in the hands which actually allows bacteria in anyway!  And the inflammable part…obviously isn’t safe.

Propylene Glycol: Like putting motor oil on your skin?  This ingredient is a petroleum derivative that is used in the cosmetic industry as a moisture carrier and barrier.  So now you’ve cracked the skin and introduced a nasty chemical into it.

Fragrance: As I personally don’t like chemical perfumes I may go overboard but the fact is this….synthetic fragrances are being proven to cause neurological damage to children.  With the overuse of air fresheners, candles and other “air cleaning” products, this is just one more thing that children need to filter in their little bodies.

And lastly Triclosan: I’ll give this one to The National Coalition Against the Misuse of Pesticides: 

“ Studies have increasingly linked triclosan to a range of negative health and environmental effects, from skin irritation, allergy susceptibility, bacterial and compounded antibiotic resistance, as well as dioxin contamination causing the destruction of fragile aquatic ecosystems. “

So there we go…people and the environment are “possibly” being harmed by a product that is in millions of homes, schools and hospitals around our county and one of the most important government agencies is the #1 advocate of pushing this “crucial anti-bacterial” treatment that must be used every time we use the bathroom or before we eat. 

O.K.  back to our grandparents.  They weren’t dying of bacterial infections from not constantly “disinfecting themselves”; we are now.  We have managed to create this incredible imbalance where the strains of organisms are mutating to survive.  And when the human body cannot keep up it is easy for the bacteria to attack our immune systems.  Is anyone getting this? 

I don’t do this for my ego or for money.  In fact I have spent the last year teaching for free after being a national educator in the natural personal care industry.  I don’t do this to shamelessly promote.  But because of the above facts my partner and I have created an alternative to chemical hand sanitizers.  A product that doesn’t have to have a warning label that reads “Contact Poison Control Immediately…etc” if ingested.  A product where the most “dangerous” ingredient is pure essential oil of peppermint as it may slightly sting eyes.

I hope I’ve gotten your attention as it’s only the proactive (and perhaps a little obnoxious) people who make changes and go against the tide.  MOMS and DADS!  Know your stuff!  Know what’s in your childrens’ schools and environment.  Preventative illnesses are rising everyday due to chemicals that WE CAN STOP USING!  I will do my part to educate if you will start going to school boards and demanding (yes, demanding!) that your children not be exposed to things that are not only “bad” for them but unnecessary. 

Now for my silly side….  I remember the little boy down the street who used to pick his nose and eat it, I definitely peed on my hand a time or two when I was little without washing and I have also gotten down with the dog to eat out of her bowl with her when I was six years old.  We all have stories like this and you know what???

We’re all still here.

Sitting here with Bertha at the Dunkin’ Donuts in Lauderdale trying to keep her from biting or tail whipping the lady next to us who has on the most disgusting perfume that is not only giving me an instant headache but just plain gross!  Don’t people get it that others are allowed to BREATHE in peace?!  Bertha, little problematic sea maiden that she is, has just offered to go pass gas on the lady’s head if she doesn’t move away from us soon.   You see the issue is this.  I just got to FL and my cable is not reconnected and the WIFI is too weak at my place.  I have to work and the DD is comfy, great signal and usually smells like delicious coffee and donuts (which I am fighting the partaking of).   Usually  smells good.   Until this lady, who really does look nice enough, sits a good ten feet away and we still smell her!  I’m wondering if her husband tells her that her perfume smells good or if he’s like most Americans nowadays and has no olfactory sense left to work with.  Because there is a TV in here, she and her husband have been here for quite awhile and if you’re asking why I remain her in the stench, it’s simply because I need to be working and am awaiting three emails from colleagues.  Plus I need something to  complain about, right?

Now let’s talk about why I am frustrated with this lady.  She is, at the moment, exemplifying the ignorant behavior of many who don’t realize that the chemicals in perfumes/colognes are very bad for us.  They are unnecessary (in fact a sexual deterrent for me, guys) and as we are already exposed to many chemicals in our uncontrollable environment, we should be allowed to breathe freely in the controlled places we visit.  Even the other night at an outdoor concert OUTSIDE! there was a lady that every 10 seconds I had to choke when the wind blew in my direction.  Don’t people think when they douse themselves with chemicals that it isn’t good for them?  Do they really think they smell good?!  Between the hair products, soaps, lotions, deodorants, aftershaves…… maybe Michael Jackson was right with the mask he wears out in public!  I’m almost there with him and so would you if you really knew just how toxic the synthetic fragrances are to us and the air!

Well, I hope I got the point across and now I need to go and grab Bertha’s tail before she……. oh know!  actually, though I’d rather deal with a little mermaid gas than this lady’s perfume.