Madeleine Bird (Coordinator, Health and Environment Awareness Project)

During October, our local CBC radio station features a program called "Montreal Matters;" this year's theme was the environment.

Seeing this as an opportunity to spread the word about toxic chemicals in cosmetics, the Health & Environment Awareness Project (HEAP), with the cooperation of the NDG–CLSC, scheduled a workshop on ‘The Beast of Beauty’ on October 22nd, as part of “Montreal Matters.” We had a full house — thirty participants. While I acted as facilitator, Judy Shapiro (of the NDG–CLSC) and Carol Secter, Maychai Brown and Terrye Perlman (of BCAM) provided invaluable aid.

This workshop, part of a series available from HEAP, focuses on toxic chemicals in cosmetics and the regulations governing them, and offers constructive ways of responding to the problem. Once the discussion has wound down, participants — guided by the facilitator — learn how to make their own non-toxic cosmetics. Together, we made four different products — an Exfoliating Grains Face Wash, a Maple Sugar Body Polish, Cranberry Lip Gloss and Rosemary Bath Salts. The workshop was a hit with both the participants and CBC-TV who gave excellent next-day coverage of the workshop on their News at Six.

To see all the recipes available at the workshop go to CBC’s Montreal Matters website: http://www.cbc.ca/montrealmatters /features/heap.html

To see the CBC TV News At Six coverage of the event go to: http://www.cbc.ca/montrealmatters/media/oct23.html

Cranberry Lip Gloss Recipe

1 tablespoon sweet almond oil
10 fresh cranberries
1 teaspoon honey
1 drop of vitamin E oil (or wheat germ oil)

Preparation: Mix all the ingredients together in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave for a couple of minutes or until the mixture just begins to boil. (Bowl may also be heated in a pan of water on a stovetop.) Stir well and gently crush the berries. Cool mixture for five minutes and then strain through a fine sieve to remove all the fruit pieces. Stir again and set aside to cool completely. When cool, transfer into a small portable plastic container or tin.