The Pretty Price Check: Your Friday round-up of how much we paid for beauty this week.
- 37 percent: How much more likely you are to develop an early form of liver cirrhosis if you dye your hair (compared to women who go au naturel) says a new study published in the international gastroenterology journal The Gut. (Via The StyleList.)
- 18: The new minimum age for tanning beds in New York State, if the “Teen Tanning Ban” passes. (Via Shine.) Poor (hopefully skin cancer-free) teens. There’s always beet tanning, lovelies. Yes for real.
- 100% certified wind power is what Aveda is using to manufacture all their products these days. They’re also doing great on the charitable donations and the recycled packaging front. How’s about taking out some toxic chemicals, my friends? (Via what I am pretty sure is just a press release on Technorati)
- 6 lightening creams contained mercury (out of a sample of 50) in a recent Chicago Tribune investigation. Wow, the list of reasons not to use those just keeps getting longer. (Via BellaSugar.)
Favorite New Blog: Before You Were Hot. “Because every swan was once an ugly duckling.” I know, I know — you might think that a site where people post photos of themselves during their awkward years (braces, bad bangs, and all) wouldn’t jive with my whole “love yourself the way you are” ethos. Um, you would be wrong. Braces and bad bangs are hilarious. Not taking our appearances so damn seriously is a Very Good Thing.
And, as creators Anne and Melissa say on their about page: “This is all in good spirits, like ‘we were all in this awkward phase together.'” Love, love, love.
[Photo: “A Vacuum Used as a Hair Dryer” via Flickr where all the other info is in German, so I can tell you nothing more.]
Honestly, I still can’t get on board with the “Before You Were Hot” thing. I hate the message that “it’s all ok as long as you TURNED OUT red carpet-worthy.” I would like it a lot better if they didn’t post “after” pictures. “Let’s all laugh at how awkward we were at 13” is cute and fine, but this site isn’t like that. It’s more like “if you were awkward at 13, then you HAD BETTER look like these women now. And, awkward 13-year-olds, take heart! Your life is not over, because someday you might look like these women. Which, of course, is the most important thing.”
Hey, Melissa.
This is Melissa, one of the BYWH creators. Thanks for the thoughts. We REALLY don’t mean it that way at all. We just thought the “after” photos would be fun for people to see. They’re not supposed to be “you MUST BE THIS HOT” messages.
I was kind of worried about this type of interpretation, and I’m going to keep thinking about how to make the site feel less like that… it’s supposed to be just a fun glimpse into the years we all shared.
Thanks again.
PS-Thanks for the love, Beauty Schooled!