After six long years, the main organic certification bodies in Europe have finalised the COSMOS-standard - an EU-wide standard for organic cosmetics - to which 1,000 companies have already signed up. The standard was developed through the co-operation of BDIH from Germany, BIOFORUM from Belgium, COSMEBIO and ECOCERT from France, ICEA from Italy, and the Soil Association from the UK.

As well as harmonizing the minimum standard for organic and natural contents, the COSMOS-standard acknowledges the challenge of maintaining the planet’s natural balance.

“The long-term objective of [the] COSMOS-standard is to actively contribute to establishing sustainable development by stimulating changes in production patterns and consumption practices,” said Riccardo Anouchinsky of ICEA.

The new standard incorporates green chemistry into its rules. According to members of the European Cosmetics Standards Working Group, who led the process, certifying via the COSMOS-standard is expected to begin in September. Certification/inspection bodies that are not members of COSMOS will also be able to apply to the standard. In addition, new membership is open to raw material suppliers, cosmetic laboratories, cosmetic manufacturers and certifications bodies.

To stimulate sustainable production and consumption, the organic and natural beauty sector will adhere to the following simple rules:

• promoting the use of products from organic agriculture, and respecting biodiversity;
• using natural resources responsibly, and respecting the environment;
• using processing and manufacturing that are clean and respectful of human health and environment;
• Integrating and developing the concept of “Green Chemistry”.

Seeing as SOPHYTO practises exactly the same principles on a daily basis, you can imagine our delight that these are finally going to become standard procedure for companies who wish to brand themselves as organic! If a product claims to be organic, it should have undertaken the necessary efforts to validate that.

Beth Ditto, James Cordon, Ruth Jones, Dawn French… what do all these celebrities have in common? Well aside from being paid to entertain, they are all morbidly obese. And a new report by a UK health professor is lambasting these fat celebrities and their similarly over-sized comrades for suggesting that obesity is acceptable by implicitly embracing their unhealthy physiques.

Apparently, one in five of the 23% of UK citizens weighing in at morbidly obese remain apathetic about their prognoses of diabetes and other obesity-related ailments and continue to eat with gusto. And this health professor says the prevalence of fat celebrities is only encouraging them in this vein.

So, what should we do? Boycott all overweight TV, film and music personalities until they attempt to lose weight? It’s a tricky one, isn’t it? We don’t live in a Big Brother-style society (just yet) and a person has a right to eat as much as they like, in theory, as it is supposedly only themselves they are harming (not taking into account the medical services that will more than likely have to support them in later life and - obesity related - lesser health, and by extension, therefore, we taxpayers are also impinged upon)… but do people in the public eye have a responsibility to behave better because of their potential to influence?

I really don’t know. On the one hand I applaud people like Beth Ditto for breaking the skinny mould and embracing her curves, but perhaps we should be looking for role models to be somewhere comfortably between twiglet thin and obese? What do you think?

It’s always great to see someone trying to take control of their health and make steps to green up their lives in the process.

Girly Girl Goes Green is an inspiring account of one woman - Dana Arcuri’s - journey from a typical western diet (complete with preservatives, yeast and sugar) and lethargy towards natural, organic foods and vibrant energy plus weight loss. I know from experience that it’s not easy giving up the comfort foods we love but know to contain substances our body considers veritable poisons. So, to see Dana stick to it and not only lose nearly a stone but feel so much better is truly encouraging.

Dana describes her frustration with the medical care she received but goes on to prove that we don’t necessarily need to rely on medics to help the healing process and that we can in fact often do a lot for ourselves. Dr. Frank Lipman would be so proud

Dana is actually a trained professional in several fields of the beauty industry so I am very interested to read what she has to say about organic skin care greening up her beauty regime too.

Best of luck to Dana and here’s hoping she manages to persuade a few more people on her green crusade as well!

It’s a sad day at SOPHYTO HQ.

He may have made some questionable choices in his life but Michael Jackson was certainly one of a kind and a bona fide legend of pop. His death is extremely sad and our thoughts go out to his family and those poor children whom he clearly loved very much.

Methinks it’s time to dust off the old Thriller album for a little reminder of why, despite his eccentricities, we’ll always have a fondness for Wacko Jacko. Rather than sit and mourn, you can bet he’d want everyone to dance and celebrate his fabulous life so that’s what we must do.

Happy Fridays y’all.

Well, yes, according to a new report by US agricultural research association Cornucopia, but you have to look for it. The paper, entitled Beyond the Bean: The Heroes and Charlatans of the Natural and Organic Soy Foods Industry, names and shames the various companies promoting their soya brands as being natural and/or organic and imply an ethical conscience when in fact they use toxic chemicals (notably Hexane) to process these soya products and/or import them from China or other parts of the world, such as Brazil, where deforestation occurs freely.

The report rates soya brands on their ‘natural’ practices, highlighting the heroes and villains of the supposedly health-orientated soya industry. To find out which category your favourite brands fit into, take a look at the report on the Cornucopia website.

Of course, more and more medics are suggesting we shouldn’t be relying on soy for meat-free protein options anyway because it is detrimental to our health in a number of ways. Or, specifically, while fermented soya - namely, soy sauce, tempeh, miso and Natto - are actually very good for us, non-fermented soy - that is, tofu, soya beans, soya milk, soya yoghurt etc - should be avoided at all costs.

Renowned soya disenthusiast Dr Mercola gives the following reasons:

• Firstly, most non-organic soya is genetically modified.
• But, even organic soya is loaded with trypsin inhibitors which prevent the trypsin (an ezyme) from being able to digest protein.
• Soya contains goitrogen which suppresses thyroid function (hypothyroidism is already widespread in the western world); and phytic acid - a fibre which can limit one’s ability to absorb minerals.
• Soya also contains phyto-oestrogens (plant hormones) which can interfere with our existing hormone levels, which is particularly problematic for childhood development and menopausal women (and it surely isn’t ideal for men to load up on oestrogen either..?!)

For someone who would eat soya yoghurt every day if possible, this was a devastating discovery, but I have already discovered that soya is a mucous-forming food (like gluten and dairy) anyway, so I can definitely tell that my body doesn’t want it! Sad times. Here’s hoping someone discovers how to make a deliciously healthy dairy free, soya-free yoghurt one day so that we can still enjoy that lovely texture!

Here at SOPHYTO HQ, we talk a lot about the benefit of only feeding your body organic ‘food’ on the outside, but in our down time, we try to make sure we only feed ourselves organic food on the inside too.

The availability of organic food has skyrocketed in the last couple of years and these days you’d be hard- pressed to find a supermarket that didn’t carry at least a few organic items.

But, if you haven’t quite embraced organic food yet - or even if you have - we wholeheartedly recommend that you check out www.organicfoodee.com. Why? Well because with endless organic and natural food books to her name, author Ysanne Spevack really knows her stuff. A Londoner who now resides in LA, Ysanne seems to live and breathe good food (writing for the LA Times among others) and organic is her passion.

What really piqued my interest, however, is the sheer wealth of info available on the site. Aside from recipes and book reviews and the standard facts about why we should eat organic and which non-organic fruits to avoid like the plague etc, she’s also posted an A-Z guide to the world’s best organic chocolate (I must admit I spent a lot of time on this page checking to see if my favourites were listed!), as well as a very detailed guide to natural health remedies.

For instance, did you know that Astragalus (also known as Milk Vetch) is an immune system booster, heals burns and abscesses, offsets adverse effects of cancer therapy, protects the heart against viral damage - but equally interestingly, helps alleviate the common cold and other minor, irritating ailments? Or, that Cinnamon soothes indigestion, controls blood sugar in diabetics, prevents stomach ulcers, wards off urinary tract infections, and fights tooth decay and gum disease, among other things…?

A veritable encyclopaedia of organic and natural-related wisdom, www.organicfoodee.com really is worth your time. After all, organic beauty starts from the inside, too…

Think summer – think kicking back with a tall, fruity cocktail… Only this time it’s your skin that’s thirsty, so revive it with this delicious, fresh strawberry and honey cocktail of live food enzymes, fruit acids, vitamins, minerals and essential fatty acids.

It will help you kiss blemishes and surface debris goodbye while nourishing and soothing your skin from the outside in. The fruit-derived antioxidants will ward off free radicals and revitalize your skin, leaving it looking radiant and more youthful. The honey will cleanse, soften and stimulate renewal, while the cucumber soothes and tones.

Strawberry Bliss Mask

Ingredients

• 1 tsp. honey
• 1 squirt of lemon juice
• 2 tsp. mashed strawberry pulp
• 2 large strawberries cut in half
• 1 sachet of SOPHYTO Purifying Active Mask (or as much as needed)
• OPTIONAL: SOPHYTO Ultra Mild Silken Cleanser and/or SOPHYTO Deep Pore Foaming Cleanser; SOPHYTO Purify & Energise Super Bioactive; SOPHYTO Polyphenol Skin Drops, SOPHYTO Skin Energising High Potency Concentrate; SOPHYTO Mega Omegas Day Face Moisturiser.

Step by step application

1. Cut the large strawberries in half and set them aside. Mash more strawberries with a wooden fork (or blend them) and place them in a bowl. Add the honey, lemon juice and the Purifying Active Mask. Mix well and set the live facial aside.
2. Thoroughly cleanse skin with either Ultra Mild Silken Cleanser and/or Deep Pore Foaming Cleanser.
3. With half a strawberry in each hand, gently massage fruit over face, neck and décolleté. if you are not using the full SOPHYTO range skip to step 7)
4. Gently wipe skin clean with Purify & Energise Super Bioactive.
5. Using a light circular motion, apply Refining Peel Active Mask to face, neck and décolleté.
6. Gently wipe skin clean with Purify & Energise Super Bioactive.
7. At this step you can either steam for 2-3 minutes or apply a hot towel (not burning) on the face. (We recommend performing Manual Lymphatic Drainage at the end of this step). Follow with extraction of impurities if required. Apply Purify & Energise Super Bioactive to sterilize the area.
8. Apply Strawberry Bliss Mask mixture. Leave on skin for 10-15 minutes. Tip: For an effective eye treatment, cut 2 sets of thin discs of cucumber, chill if possible. To apply to eyes, rest 2 discs on the lower eye socket bone, leaving space between the eye and the disc and rest 2 discs on the upper eye socket, but do not cover the eye itself.
9. Massage skin with remaining 2 strawberry halves and gently wipe with steam towels or wipe skin clean with Purify & Energise Super Bioactive.
10. Apply Polyphenol Skin Drops and Skin Energising High Potency Concentrate and feather-in Normalising Day Face Moisturiser. (If the skin is dry or irritated, use Mega Omegas Day Face Moisturiser instead. For oily/acne skin types, moisturizer should only be applied around the eye area)

Suitable for all ages, skin types and ethnicities, this facial smoothie is sheer bliss for the skin. Go forth and layer on the fruity organic beauty goodness!

Sometimes, in order to get healthy, we have to take medication, whether we like it or not. But sometimes we do have a choice. For instance, when it comes to pain relief.

If, like me, you’ve experienced quite severe musco-skeletal pain, you’ll know that even though you’d rather not, ‘giving in’ and taking some over the counter pain relief tablet can feel like the only manageable way to keep going.

However, there is another way - a drug-free method that has helped lots of people with all kinds of pain - the TENS machine. Back pain, neck pain, period pain, labour pains - using a TENS machine has been shown to alleviate all of these things for lots of people.

So, what is a TENS machine?

TENS (Transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation) is the application of electrical current through the skin for pain control. The TENS machine for at-home use is usually a small, hand-sized battery-operated unit with self-adhesive electrode patches to stick on the body and the ability to adjust pulse width, frequency and intensity. They cost around £20-£80, depending on size and spec, and are widely available online and in pharmacies across Europe and the US.

How does it work?

TENS works by stimulating your body’s own natural defenses against pain. This happens in one of two ways. If you have the TENS programmed to a low frequency (which feels like small, gentle, individual pulses), the TENS encourages the brain to produce the body’s natural painkilling hormones - endorphines. Alternatively, if you switch the TENS to a high frequency (which feels like a constant vibration) it performs what is known as ‘pain gating’ where the electrical stimulations block the pain messages before they reach the brain.

Are there any side effects?

TENS machines are very gentle, non-invasive and completely safe (unless you are pregnant or have a pacemaker, in which case you should consult your doctor before using one). TENS doesn’t seem to work for everyone but there are no known side effects so there’s nothing to lose either way.

I absolutely love my little TENS. A physio friend who specialises in pain management, prescribes them to lots of her patients suggested it might help and it sure does - it’s instant and, more importantly 100% natural pain relief. Feel free to drop me a line if you have any questions - my physio friend is on hand to answer any more technical questions, too so ask away…

Sir Paul McCartney is one of the world’s most notorious vegeterians and he’s also in a position of considerable influence so perhaps the Meat Free Mondays campaign he and his daughters, Stella and Mary, launched this week will actually sway some on the fence about their carnivorous habits.

So, it looks like the Belgians’ ‘Veggie Thursday’ movement has been picked up in the UK now, too… (although why Sir Paul wants us to go with Mondays instead, I’m not sure…) Anyway, tons of celebrities are joining in on the veggie fun - Coldplay’s Chris Martin (of course), Joanna Lumley, Ricky Gervais, David Walliams and Matt Lucas - even Kevin Spacey and Woody Harrelson, and government ministers are behind this one, on the grounds that producing meat emits a hell of a lot more carbon than the equivalent in plant protein.

So, if you are in London town on a Monday from now on, don’t be surprised if all the restaurants are trying to tempt you with a lentil bake or some veggie sausages.

I have to say Linda McCartney’s selection of frozen veggie food has never really tickled my fancy but if I could get a stalwart veggie to teach me some mouth-watering veggie dishes I reckon I could be persuaded to give up meat and fish for at least one day a week…

Have you got any great veggie recipes? If so, please share them! I need some veg-spiration!

Check out www.supportmfm.org for more details. And, if you happen to be in the St James Park area in London, today, keep your eyes peeled for veg-eating celebrities…

Check out the brand new face of our Polyphenol Skin Drops! Rest assured, we’re still talking about the same great, award-winning organic anti-ageing formula on the inside - namely, high-performance actives from organic olive leaf extract, organic apples, organic green and white teas and organic fermented red grapes.

We just felt it was time to revamp our lovely serum on the outside. So, it’s out with the monodoses and in with a swanky 30ml container. No mess, no fuss and you can use as much or as little as you like each time.
Due to overwhelming demand, the products have been flying off the shelves but the new-look Polyphenol Skin Drops will be available from June 15 and we are taking advance orders now.

So, what do you think of the new look? Drop us a line now and tell us… all thoughts welcome.