HELLO JI!
A WORD (OR TWO HUNDRED) FROM THE EDITOR
Does one really need a chemical lab on one’s face when a simple soap will do? Image credit: ZAHRA AMIRI on Unsplash.
One can discover new ways of seeing things – even find wisdom or a philosophy – in the most unlikely places. Purity is natural, I read, on a bottle of cleanser. “We come into this world with all the right instincts. We are innocent, and therefore, perceive things as they should be rather than how they are. Our conscience is clear, our hands are clean and the world at large is truly beautiful. It is at this time we feel most blessed.”
Our family friend Avi says, “Some people collect stamps,” when he’s at a loss to explain someone’s idiosyncrasies. He’s quoting from Barney’s Version by Mordecai Richler: “Some people collect stamps, or bookmatch covers,” she once said, “but with you, my darling, it’s grievances.”
I count reading labels as one of my (among a few) quirks. I trace it back to when I heard something about rust-free cans and bottle caps in a television commercial for a brand of cola many years ago. They were saying rust-free, and I was thinking, that means cans and bottle caps can be rusty. That cognitive dissonance got me into reading product labels.
And so, back to this bottle of cleanser. It concludes its philosophy thus: “To begin feeling young again, we must begin with the most basic step of all, the daily ritual of cleansing.” Then I read the ingredients. In very fine print. Aqua/water/eau, sodium lauroamphoacetate, sodium trideceth sulfate, limnanthes alba (meadowfoam) seed oil, coco-glucoside, coconut alcohol, peg-120 methyl glucose dioleate, glycerin, phenoxyethanol, isopropyl alcohol, carbomer, polysorbate 20, chlorphenesin...
Does one really need a chemical lab on one’s face when a simple soap will do, I wonder. But then there is no such thing a “simple” soap any longer, is there?
I used to pick up artisinal soaps in India. Khus promised cooling and refreshing; and neem tulsi, clarifying and soothing, exactly what the names conjure in my head. Then I read the labels. Soap base (sodium cocoate, sodium stearate, water, propylene glysol, sugar, sodium lauryl ether sulphate, sodium cholride, disodium EDTA and BHT), vetiver (khus) oil, glycerine, castor oil, aloe vera. The khus shows up so far down on the list of ingredients that I was relieved to actually see it.
Labels promise all sorts of magical transformations. They use certain key words and expressions to evoke pleasurable imagery. Sun-dried and drench your skin being two overused to the point of cliché that come to mind. But apart from being an amusing exercise, what does reading labels do? It’s a simple way of identifying what, exactly, I am consuming or slathering on my face. It helps me make an informed choice.
So, start reading labels. If you find a great new product, tell your friends about it. If you discover a harmful ingredient in something you commonly use, share that information as well. Maybe write to the manufacturer. Because that’s what consumers can do, make some noise.
After all, there’s something to be said for purity.
Baisakhi ki badhai!
Ramzan mubarak!
Happy Earth Day!
Shagorika Easwar