Light painting and champagne on the Oregon coast, summer 2009.

AND HELLO AUTUMN!!!

Yes, today is the autumnal equinox, the very first day of fall! Depending on your exact location, today and tonight will be roughly the same length. And can you feel that *crisp* creeping into the air???

I know I’m in the freaky minority in a sea of spring and summer lovers, but autumn is by far and away my favorite season. I love the feeling of it, the change of it, the flavors of it, the colors of it . . . the clothing of it! (tights and scarves and hats oh my!!!)  So I thought I’d put together a little list of things I’m looking forward to this fall. I’m so excited!


Why I <3 Autumn

• It’s apple season! I’m going to go apple tasting, revel in the first Honeycrisps of the year, take a billion pictures, and sample heirloom apples until I explode.
• It’s tea season! Time to dust off the little Bee House and unwrap my favorite looseleaf blend. Perfect for workday afternoons, an entire pot at a time.
• Eating soups and soups and more soups, with hearty homemade bread. I hereby declare autumn ‘09 to be the official season of soup-cooking!
• Switching out my wardrobes. Packing up sundresses and tank tops, and un-boxing sweaters and scarves. Ending up feeling like I went on a shopping spree because I’d forgotten about all those clothes – but without spending any money!
• Wearing leggings and stripey knee socks and leg warmers, all layered together under dresses and scarves.
• Hot porridge for breakfast!
• Commencing rotation of the extensive warm and funky hat collection!
• Re-accustoming my  hands to the constant coverings of stripey and fuzzy fingerless gloves.
• Visits to Ashland, Shasta, Southern California, and Seattle
• Having an amazing vegan Thanksgiving with my awesome omni family. Sharing recipes for cruelty-free cooking. Drinking the really good wine.
• Winter squash! Butternut, Acorn, and heirlooms, roasted up whole for dinner.
• Toasted squash seeds!
• Pumpkin curry!
• Becoming a pro pickler. Pickling my cucumbers. Pickling my beets. Pickling everything!
• Nurturing my fall garden right into winter, and continuing to harvest that fresh, homegrown produce. Such a cold-weather gift.
• And for all that slow cooking I’ll be doing: less podcasts/politics, More Music!!!

What about you my darlings? What are you eagerly anticipating in this coming season, wherever you may be?

Last week I wrote an article that explained my love affair with hair dye. We covered natural dyes, box dyes, salon jobs, and vegan hair dye. Finally, I wrote a bit about my current colorant of choice: Manic Panic.

I use Manic Panic because its a ‘non-toxic, non-noxious, vegan vegetable-based semi-permanent product’ . . . but what does that actually mean? I wrote to the company for more information, but alas, they were silent.

So I took matters into my own hands (as I tend to do) and began an investigation. An inquiry into each and every ingredient in my hair dye: what is it?, what does it do?, and is it going to hurt me? Here I present my result, in black and white:


Manic Panic ‘Classic Cream Formula’ hair dye
Ingredients: Synthetic beeswax, Cetearyl Alcohol, Ceteareth20, Humulus lupulus extract, Anthemis nobilis extract, Acetic Acid, Methylparaben, Propylene glycol

May Also Contain: Orange 4 (CI 15510), Red 33 (CI 17200), Blue 1 (CI 42090), Yellow 10 (CI 47005), Green 5 (CI 61570)

Synthetic Beeswax

• A blend of fatty esters, fatty acids, fatty alcohols, and hydrocarbons, with properties similar to natural beeswax.
• Acts as a thickener and emulsifier.
• Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database Page
• Skin Deep Rating: 1 (out of 10)

Cetearyl Alcohol

• Another wax, not really an ‘alcohol’ in the traditional sense.
• Vegetable derived fatty alcohols, like coconut alcohol.
• Acts as an emulsifier, emollient, thickening agent, and moisturizer. Also a ‘carrying agent’ for various ingredients.
• Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database Page
• Skin Deep Rating: 0 (out of 10)

Ceteareth20

• Helps ingredients to dissolve within a solvent that they wouldn’t otherwise dissolve in.
• Not advised for use on ‘damaged skin’.
• May contain traces of 1, 4-dioxane, a nasty no-no, but this is removable with proper purification.
• Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database Page
• Skin Deep Rating: 5 (out of 10)

Humulus lupulus extract

• This is hops extract (yeah, the beer stuff)
• Acts as a strengthener and conditioner in hair products.
• A very understudied additive, with virtually no data.
• Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database Page
• Skin Deep Rating: 0 (out of 10)

Anthemis nobilis extract

• This is chamomile extract (yes, the tea stuff!)
• Used for conditioning properties as well as fragrance.
• May increase skin absorption of other ingredients.
• Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database Page
• Skin Deep Rating: 1 (out of 10)

Acetic Acid

• Essentially this is vinegar, in a concentrated form.
• Classed as ‘Generally Recognized As Safe’ (GRAS) by the FDA.
• Acts to stabilize the pH.
• Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database Page
• Skin Deep Rating: 2 (out of 10)

Methylparaben

• Eek! This one is no good.
• Implicated in a slew of health concerns, including allergies, immunotoxicity, organ toxicity, and skin/lung/eye irritation.
• May have an estrogenic affect.
• Added as a preservative.
• Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database Page
• Skin Deep Rating: 8 (out of 10)

Propylene Glycol

• Considered safe in concentrations up to 50%.
• However, it’s implicated in a slew of health concerns, including carcinogenic properties, allergies, immunotoxicity, organ toxicity, skin/lung/eye irritation, and bioaccumulation.
• Added to absorb water and maintain moisture.
• Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database Page
• Skin Deep Rating: 7 (out of 10)

May Also Contain . . .

Orange 4 (CI 15510)

• Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database Page
• Skin Deep Rating: 4 (out of 10)

Red 33 (CI 17200)

• Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database Page
• Skin Deep Rating: 3 (out of 10)

Blue 1 (CI 42090)

• Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database Page
• Skin Deep Rating: 0 (out of 10)

Yellow 10 (CI 47005)

• Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database Page
• Skin Deep Rating: 2 (out of 10)

Green 5 (CI 61570)

• Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database Page
• Skin Deep Rating: 1 (out of 10)

And that’s that, the ingredients profile. If you want see how they all work together, here is the Skin Deep Database page for a sample color. I chose my most recent inspiration, Infrared. As a whole the product receives a Safety Rating of 5.


Whew! That was a lot of work. I sorta wish the company had just written back to me, but oh well. Now you have the information, plain and simple. And you can make your own, informed, choice.

[ sources: (1) (2) (3) ]

Oi there! It’s the weekend!!! Put the work away, ’cause it’s time to play! And it’s also time for comments, critiques, thoughts, support, and suggestions.

So, what’s on your weekend agenda? What’s exciting and inspiring you lately? What’s been knockin’ around inside YOUR noggin?! I want to hear from you!

Me? I’m just terribly excited for my first annual Northwest Veg Fest. That’s where I’ll be this weekend, and if you’re in the neighborhood you should come by! It’s only 5 bucks to get in, and enough entertainment and nommy free samples to last all you all week. I hope to see some Portland readers there!

And as always, the Feedback Forum will say here at the top of the page all weekend, so if you’ve got an idea or a question or you just want to introduce yourself and say ‘Oi!’, you can drop by any time to have a say.

As always my dears, have a delicious weekend!

Bright Red, Light Yellow, True Green, Pure White, Pastel Pink, & Strawberry Blond

I’m not sure if you’ve noticed, but I sort of dye my hair. A lot.

The love affair began when I was 13, and has continued, uninterrupted, ever since. Seriously.

It started off eggplant, a dark auburny aubergine, inspired by the blossoming Grunge movement and, admittedly, My So-Called Life. Hey, what can I say? It was junior high. That show totally rocked.

By high school I was ‘that freaky blue-haired girl’, and I was a dye-hard. I went through a brief phase post-graduation, where I decided that I was an ‘adult’ now, and thus I had to ’start acting like one’ (ha!). I got a job at a posh little boutique, started wearing mainstream clothing, and dyed my hair a normal color. Within 6 weeks I was miserable, alienated, and pretty much an alcoholic. A few months later I quite that job, quit the afternoon cocktails, and shaved my head down to the first guard. That was the only lesson I ever needed in the importance of self-expression.

My aesthetic is a huge part of who I am and it’s played an integral roll in my life. I make no excuses or apologies about that. At university I excelled within a highly competitive field. I was a model academic in every way – except for my appearance. It definitely worked in my favor though, and endeared me to my professors once they realized I could back it all up with intellect. Before my lab flew out to present our work at an international congress in Glasgow, my advisor asked me if I was going to tame down my [then magenta] hair. “Um, . . . no?” I cautiously replied. His answer: “Good.”

So suffice to say, my hair dye is here to stay. But how natural is it? And how healthy is it? I’ve received a lot of email regarding the topic, and so I wanted to address a few of the issues. I’ve got some good news, and some bad news.

Burgundy, Platinum, Cobalt, & Magenta

Is there such thing as a natural hair dye?
Short answer: sort of. There’s henna, but true henna only comes in one color (reddish-orange) and is rather hard to find. Most ‘hennas’ are sold as compound hennas, containing additional dyes, metallic salts, and other [toxic or nontoxic] chemicals. Other plant-based dyes, like indigo (to get blue-black) or woad (to get a dark brown) are available. But again, these are difficult to find in pure form.

If you’re hoping for candy apple red, neon orange, submarine yellow, granny smith green, turquoise blue, grape jelly purple, princess pink, or bright white, you’re simply out of luck. Same goes for bleach/lighteners. Sorry! Any compound product claiming to be ‘all-natural’ or ‘organic’, whether it be alternative or traditional colors, is blowing smoke. Don’t buy into it!


Have you ever used henna?
No – not yet! It’s next on my list though. Henna doesn’t react well with bleach or other dyes, so I have to grow out my roots and then shave my head. I’m looking forward to the experiments with henna. Stay tuned for a full report!


Is there any vegan hair dye?
Unfortunately, it’s pretty grim. Like the vast majority of cosmetics, most hair dyes (and/or their ingredients) are tested on animals. Luckily, the entire line of Manic Panic’s classic cream formula dyes, as well as their flashlightning bleach kits, are 100% animal and cruelty free. Woo-hoo!


How bad is the boxed stuff at the drug store?
Pretty bad. It’s ammonia-based and noxious (you can tell it’s trouble just by the smell). It’s probably not gonna kill you, but it’s certainly nothing you want to apply to your precious self.


What about the stuff my hairdresser uses?
Sorry, but it’s about the same. Ammonia-based and full of noxious chemicals. Plus, most hair dressers don’t know the first thing about real-world coloring (in my experience, and no offense to the good ones out there!). Stay true to the subculture; DO IT YOURSELF.


So, what do *you* use, then?
In my almost 15 years experience I’ve used everything imaginable, from the drugstore box dyes to Kool-Aid (yes the drink), from the revolving ‘trendy’ alt dyes like Fudge, Punky Colors, and Special Effects, to lemon juice + sunshine, from professional salon jobs to backyard experiments with Jello (yes the dessert).

These older-and-wiser days, I stick exclusively to Manic Panic. Most importantly, they’re vegan. But they also provide an excellent range of colors and they super-condition your hair. Plus, they’re the original old school alt dye, and I grew up on the stuff!

Manic Panic is a non-toxic, non-noxious, vegan vegetable-based semi-permanent product. They are NOT all natural, they are NOT organic, and they are NOT saving the world from environmental destruction. No illusions, okay?

I wrote to the company requesting further information, but I never heard back from them. So I decided to do a little sleuthing of my own, and began researching each and every ingredient. My goal was to accumulate an honest, unbiased assessment of the risk associated with use. I’ll be presenting these findings here, coming soon.


So, what’s your real hair color?
Ha! Wouldn’t you like to know!?

No seriously, I don’t actually know. Before my first dye job I was a towhead, like totally white-blond. But that was pre-puberty and I’m certain it’s darkened up since then. But to what, who knows? . . . and maybe we never will . . .

I love cilantro. I know it’s too much for some people, but I grew up in southern California and Mexican is my favorite cuisine. I love cilantro in my salsas (especially good in a mango pico de gallo), I love cilantro in my tacos (it pops so well against soyrizo!), and I especially love cilantro in my favorite food of all, the burrito. It’s also great in Thai and Vietnamese, and of course in the ever-important green smoothie. I guess that’s why I grow so much of it!

But why am I talking about cilantro? I though this was a post about harvesting precious coriander . . .

Well my dears, they are in fact one and the same. Well, sort of. Both ‘cilantro’ and ‘coriander’ can be used to describe the plant as a whole. But in common culinary terms, cilantro is the leaf and coriander is the seed. These seeds have a delightfully warm, nutty, almost citrus-y flavor, and are an integral staple in Indian and Middle Eastern dishes.

So until recently, I was one of the many people who grew my own cilantro, but purchased my coriander. How silly! With a little patience (a relaxing Sunday afternoon with a really fun podcast) and a little planning, it’s easy to ‘have your cilantro, and eat your coriander too’.




Coriander seeds form when the cilantro begins to dye back. Allow them to mature as the plant browns, and then harvest the plant before they’re released. Place the plants in a brown paper sack to dry out completely.

A week or two later, remove the stalks from the bag. The seeds reside in little round pods at the ends of the stems. Separate the seed pods and compost the leftover debris.




Now comes the finicky part. You need to remove the seeds from the pods, which should be relatively easy if the pods are pretty dry. You do this by rubbing the pod between your thumb and forefinger, or rubbing a bunch of them in a napkin or something. The outer sheath should separate, leaving two half-globe shaped seeds. If they’re not dry enough, you’ll have to pry the outer layer off with your fingernails, which can be *ahem* a p.i.t.a. Eventually, you’ll be left with a collection that looks something like this:




Success!

Store your spice in a tight-lidded jar in a cool dry place.