Next to Christmas and Thanksgiving, Halloween is one of the most celebrated
honored holidays of the year. It never ceases to amaze me how many people
get into the spirit of the holiday and enjoy the festivities. 2,000
years ago, Halloween was a very sacred holiday celebrated by the Celtic
people in the ancient British Isles. It was a holiday celebrated by
Druids, Witches and Wiccan Covens, Fairies, Elves, and various other
Celtic Tribes. On All Hallows' Eve, as it was called back then, the
Druids would go from door to door holding an empty basket asking for
fruit and whatever treats the residents would give them. Later in the
evening, everyone would gather together in a festival, dancing, singing,
playing, and enjoying the foods they were given.
Many centuries later, Halloween is still a celebrated holiday, but
today things have drastically changed. People still enjoy wearing costumes,
pretending to be their alter ego. They also enjoy going door to door
saying, "trick or treat" and asking for sweet treats, but
the tradition has vastly changed. Halloween is probably one of the most
expensive holidays. As soon as the summer begins to fade, stores begin
stocking up for Halloween and the Christmas Holiday Season. Throughout
the store, you’ll see the regular merchandise combined with racks
upon racks of new Halloween paraphernalia.
One of the biggest traditions of Halloween is the wild and elaborate
costumes people design. Many people go with the traditional Angels,
Ghosts, Devils, and Superheroes, while others opt for outlandish costumes,
portraying celebrities in Hollywood. The costumes are usually cute,
colorful, and beautiful and the makeup is a process all to its own.
Dressing up and playing make believe, pretending to be someone or something
else for a day is fun and exciting. It is a beautiful way to express
the inner child. The problem is that the makeup and hair goo that is
used to complement the costumes is usually toxic, smelly, and very harmful
to the health. It’s fun to dress up and wear wild and zany colorful
makeup and create funny wild hairdos that get attention. But when these
products contain toxic petrochemicals, the fun disappears.
I
remember attending Halloween parties with friends and I always had a
great time dressing up and checking out everyone’s getup. We always
had such a great time trying to guess what someone was supposed to be
and admiring the elaborate costume designs. Unfortunately, there was
also a down side. Each person had bright or dark colorful thick makeup
on and colorful hairspray with funky silver and gold streams sticking
out of their hair. As soon as I would get close to someone, I would
have trouble breathing, would start coughing, and I’d make a mad
dash for the bathroom. At first, I thought I was crazy and I couldn’t
understand what was wrong until years later.
When my husband and I began learning about holistic natural living,
we began to question and analyze all the holidays. We were invited to
a couple parties, but we started turning down invitations. I was no
longer interested in wearing funky or sexy costumes with wacky colorful
makeup because I couldn’t find anything fun that was non-toxic.
All those crazy facial makeup applicators and the silver and gold aerosol
junk you put in the hair are permeated with toxic petrochemicals. That
shiny silver and gold stuff that you use to draw lines and decorations
around your eyes and on your cheeks is filled with petroleum, potentially
toxic food dyes, and horrible fragrance.
Those petrochemicals contain coal tar, the same smelly toxic chemicals
that are used to pave roads and repair leaky roofs. Essentially, you’re
putting gasoline on your face and in your hair! If you find this gross
and appalling, then you’re paying attention. It’s cheap
and massively distributed to all cheap dollar stores and can make people
very ill. The fumes from the adulterated scented products pollute the
air, groundwater, and wildlife.
If you want to have fun and get dressed up in some wild funky colorful
costumes and makeup, opt for something that is safe enough to eat. Aubrey
Organics and Aveda make some beautiful makeup, including some playful,
funky, wild colors. There’s no reason that you can’t have
fun in a non-toxic earth friendly manner. Pure organic plant essences
are safer for the environment and the recycled packaging they come in
can either be reused or recycled. The cheap inexpensive little makeup
applicators you find in the bargain stores are better off ignored.
A really good way to enjoy Halloween and the Holiday Season is to make
your own nontoxic earth-friendly makeup and check out some books with
some good nontoxic tips. This Halloween, make a strong statement that
tells the world that you genuinely care about Mother Earth and all Her
Beautiful Creatures. Show the world that you are no longer willing to patronize those companies
that only care about profit margin, even if it means polluting the environment.
The best thing we can do to correct this horrible problem is to become avid
strict label readers and vote with our wallets. Say “No” to greedy multi-nationals! Say “Yes”
to organic, green, earth friendly conscious companies that care about
Mother Earth, the humans, and the animals. Eat, live, shop, and be Green!
Shopping at your local health food store and purchasing only those products
and items that are 100% green, organic, and earth friendly, nontoxic
is the best thing people can do to contribute to a cleaner greener Earth
and reduce our footprint upon Mother Earth.
To learn more about how to enjoy an organic Halloween and other wonderful Holidays, please check out my website, NotPerfume: www.notperfume.com/book.html and learn how to green your beauty and cosmetics and be more kind and loving to your skin.
