This holiday season, green gift guides are seemingly everywhere (thankfully!). Thus, I’m sad to say, my idea for this blog is unoriginal. Really, I should be promoting a consumerism-free holiday season, which is perhaps the greenest kind of holiday; but I fear that idea is not going to catch on any time soon in this country. So, just in case you’re still looking for ideas for your mom, sister, daughter, grandmother, partner, best friend, mentor, or whoever else has touched your life, give her a gift even Mother Earth would appreciate. Here are some of my favorite finds (many of which I wouldn’t mind finding under the tree):

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Two things happened today that made me a better parent. First, I got a facial. Even the aesthetician’s aghast remark that she had never heard of anyone putting oil on her face as a moisturizer (huh?) did not interfere (very much) with the serenity of lying in near silence for 60 minutes having the furrows in my brow steam-cleaned, masked, and massaged. The forbidden oil is Spectrum organic coconut oil, packaged as skin-care oil. Right now it’s on sale at New Seasons. A few months is too soon to tell if it has a marked effect on the furrows, but at $8.29 for a giant 15 oz. tub, it is worth finding out. This in contrast to $30 for the little ½ oz. pot of eye cream that my spineless, age-phobic self bought after Aesthetician’s (presumably) casual remark about fine lines. Hmm. Next time I’m going to Zenana.

The second was finding my copy of Husker Du’s Zen Arcade that I got signed by the band in a Eugene record store, back when Eugene had a downtown mall and there were record stores. Back when I was 17 with a furrowed brow but no fine lines (though I think my friend J. and I went looking for some after meeting the band and before the show). As a parent, I would now say we weren’t making good choices, but then . . . it was the 80’s. If you don’t already have one, you could go get your own copy of Zen Arcade and look for the secret messages scratched in the runoff area of the disc (“Falling, Shirley, Every Time I Square Off Against Someone’s God”). Music Millennium has some on backorder. Or whatever makes you feel 17 again.

60 minutes of facial and 30 minutes or so of playing some of the record (“Never Talking to You Again,” “Turn On the News” and “Reoccurring Dreams”) allowed me a little time to be the person who deserves some unrepentant hedonism and also the one who never ever wiped someone else’s bum and usually got to finish a sentence. It made me agree to painting, group cookie baking, multiple games of Candyland AND a screening of “It’s the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown,” all in the same afternoon. This is a big deal for my kids, maybe not for yours. Probably you’re not as humorless. Maybe you’re a better parent.

My absolute favorite place to go when I need to be a better parent and have more than 90 minutes is Loyly Sauna (2713 SE 21st Ave). The best deal is to buy a 5-visit card for $80. Given that you can stay up to three hours at each visit, that’s a lemon-grass steam room, cedar sauna, super-cool magazines, and glorious quiet for less than $6/hour. Its sleek, spare interior emphasizes the lack of sharp-edged toys to step on. Water comes in corn-based plastic cups. For a few dollars more, Jessica will give you generous dollops of organic Dr. Hauschka scrubs and masks, or even a steaming hot flower-filled foot soak. Or cleansing tea. Or dark chocolate and red wine. Women-only, men-only, and coed times. It’s the best place to go in SE Portland when you need a time-out, hands-down.

Finally, if 80’s hardcore and self-indulgence just aren’t enough, there is the Portland Parenting Connection Conference this weekend (10/20-21). Naturopathic physician Ed Hoffman-Smith is bringing in Aletha Solter, a developmental psychologist and founder of the Aware Parenting Institute. Local sponsors include Zenana Spa, Yoga Bhoga, and gDiapers (www.gdiapers.com,coupon in Chinook Book for $2 off).

Now if I can just find that journal Henry Rollins signed back in 1985 . . . More...

The irony of some standards of “beauty” is that what women put on their faces to look good isn’t always good for their body. Numerous studies and reports indicate that the chemicals used in cosmetics have been linked to cancer, birth defects and learning disabilities. According to one source, more than one-third of all personal care products contain at least one ingredient linked to cancer. (Skin Deep, www.cosmeticsdatabase.com) Chemicals and toxins with hard-to-pronounce names, such as phthalates and butylated hydroxytoluene, top healthy cosmetic activists’ most wanted lists. Despite this, the FDA shockingly doesn’t require companies to test their own products for safety, and few companies actually invest in appropriate safety testing. So the onus is on the consumer to know what’s in the product and what it does to his or her health.

But how do you know what toxins are in there and what harms they may cause?

Fortunately, the Washington, DC-based non-profit Environmental Working Group (EWG) and the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics have joined forces to develop a database that reveals the true face of numerous brands of cosmetics and other personal care products. Dubbed “Skin Deep,” this interactive database ranks each product by how harmful its ingredients are for both people and the Earth. Each product has a scorecard that lists which ingredients are linked to cancer, developmental/reproductive toxicity, allergies, violations and/or warnings and other concerns, as well as explains the specific concerns linked to that ingredient. Much to the environmental and social injustice of it all, many of the products that get the worst ratings are the cheapest and most accessible.

But there’s hope. We are lucky to live in a city where natural and healthy cosmetic options are readily available to us. Portland-based grocers such as New Seasons and any given neighborhood cooperative sell safer alternatives to the mainstream cosmetics that find themselves on the EWG hit list. Even online, you can find several Oregon-based product manufacturers, such as RainShadow Labs and Wild Carrot Herbals, that sell natural and/or organic cosmetics. Although these natural products might weigh a little heavier on your wallet, they’ll certainly be a lighter load for your health and the environment.

Curious about what’s lurking in your medicine cabinet or vanity drawer? Then visit www.cosmeticsdatabase.com and let Skin Deep show you. More...