Animal Fats In Hair and Cosmetic Products

Some things when I hear about them, I'd stop and try to make sense of the logic behind it. Case in point: animal fats used in hair care and cosmetic products. According to Hair Finder:

"Animal fats in particular have been used as emollients, thickeners and solidifiers for everything from shampoos and conditioners (to give smoothness and shine), lotions and creams (to soften and protect) and lipsticks and waxes (as base ingredients to give form to the products). Animal fats have been used to help repair damaged hair, bind split ends, smooth the cuticle layer of the hair shaft, and moisturize overly-dry hair.

Why animal fats and not plant oil? I mean, wouldn't it be healthier and cleaner to use plant based stuff? And how and where do the animal fats come from? The answer: dead animals that died from natural causes. This past weekend was a really eye opener for me after watching an episode of Discovery Channel Dirty Jobs. 

The process works like this:

1. 50-55 dead animals are picked up daily by a company that specializes in recycling dead animals.
2. Animals are skinned first at the factory. 
3. Each animal is then put into this huge grinder. Yep, the entire animal goes right into this big hole and within seconds, every bits of it is mush meat. 
4. Some of the meat is used to make chicken, turkey and other livestock feed. Some are used to for pet food.
5. This company also picks up leftovers from slaughterhouses. Everything goes to this huge pot to boiling. The fat content from this pot is what some hair care and cosmetic manufacturers use to make our shampoos, facial cream, and so on. 

So there you have it. I tried searching on Youtube to see if I could find some segments of this episode but I could only find one clip of it. This is when the host of the show blows air into a dead cow before skinning it. Please note, the graphics are pretty gross. If you think you can stomach watching dead and maggots infested animals, please proceed. 

 

Here are some of the words I found at Beauty Products Suite 101 indicating that the product contains animal by products:

• carmine
• collagen and elastin
• keratin
• stearic acid
• tallow

PETA website has a more comprehensive animal derivative word listing. If you are interested, please click here. 

Things Were So Much Easier Back In The Days

Back when I was in school, I remember my parents bought school supplies way before school started. I don't remember ever needing additional supplies afterward. Nowadays, each teacher gives their students a list of class, home, and donation supplies. My son, who is in 10th grade this fall, texted me on the first day of school immediately afterschool with a MOM -  I NEED SAFETY GOGGLE!!! NEED BY TOMORROW!! Then he texted a list of supplies he needed the next day. I went around town looking for safety goggle for him. I ended up buying safety glasses because none of the stores I went to sold safety goggles. I told my son to show it to his teacher first before opening the package. Before we went on the goggle search, we were at Office Max looking for the rest of school supplies for my son and daughter. My youngest daughter didn't need anything except for a box of Ziploc bags for the class but the two older ones need A LOT. There were so many students and parents at the store, it was like an after Thanksgiving sale! When we found everything we needed, we went to get in line. My golly, the line stretched so far back, I couldn't even see the end of the line. When it was finally our turn to pay, my eyes nearly popped out when I saw the total: $116.00!! I was looking at everything the cashier scanned so I knew he didn't miscanned any item. When we were walking out, my eldest daughter who was with me asked me was the total $16. How I wish it was only $16 :(

Kindergarten - First Day!

My daughter started kindergarten this Monday and this is the first time when all of my kids are in school. I've always had one child at home to take care but now it feels strange. Really strange. After I dropped off my kids and returned home, I looked around and, well, the first thing I felt was the utter silence in the house. Suddenly I remember my mom who spoke about the emptiness and quietness in the house when we all moved out. 

Several weeks ago, my little girl asked what I would do at home and if I'd go back to work. I asked her if she wanted me to go back to work and her response was yes because she didn't want me to be lonely. On the first day of school, I stayed in her classroom for about 10 minutes and I could tell she was scared and wanted to cry but she's tough cookie, she was holding back her tears. When I told her I was leaving soon, she looked horrified. I thought to myself, oh no, here comes the tears but right then, one of her classmates bursted into tears. He asked for his mommy and wanted his mommy. The teacher assistant quickly walked over to the little boy and tried to calm him down. I looked at my daughter and she looked right back at me and smiled. I felt so relieved because I thought she was going to cry along with the boy. On the second day of school, she did fine too. I'm so relieved that all went well. 

Did you cry on your first day of school? 

Why Do Government Agencies Lack Customer Service?

I was at the Department of Traffic to help my brother make a payment for his expired meter citation. The line was long to the door and there was only one window open while the other 3 were closed. The man at the cashier window was asking like a million questions about his ticket. The customers in line were getting pretty restless and many of them started blurting out comments like "why are the other f***ing windows closed?" "you've got to be f***ing me!" When the man at the window was done with his questions and transactions, the cashier pulled out her 'CLOSED' sign. She looked at us and gave us a "Yeah, gotta a problem?" look. She went to the copier and made some copies. There were some other employees chatting in the back. They would glance at the line occasionally. A few minutes later, the cashier reopened her window. A few more minutes later, another window was opened. I was probably in line for 20 minutes and I was third in line! When it was my turn, I asked the cashier for the manager's name. He pointed to the wall and so I turned around and saw the picture of the director. I overheard a customer venting to the other cashier about the wait and demanded to know why there were only 1 window opened earlier. I was done with my transaction and walked away so I didn't hear the cashier's response.  I told my friends out with me that day what happened and they said to save myself copy toner and paper if I wanted to write in a complaint letter because government agencies are notoriously known for 1) stuck up employees and 2) zero customer service. I know and I agree. One of my friends said she used to write lengthy complaint letters and nothing happened. Hmmmm....how about a letter to the director and let him know that the mayor and district supervisors will also get a copy of the complaint?

Just A Yellow Lamborghini

When we walked to our car, we found this yellow baby parked one parking space away from us. I didn't know or care what kind of car it was. To me, it was only a y-e-l-l-o-w car. What caught my attention was guys stopping by and looking at it. Even drivers slowed down to check it out. My husband didn't start our car engine and asked if I could take a picture of it for him. I was like 'what?!'. Before I could ask him what was the big deal about that super bright yellow car, he hopped back outside to check the car out. When we pulled out of our parking space, my husband stopped right behind that y-e-l-l-o-w car and asked me what was the word in the back of it: Lamborghini. Geez, no wonder it drew so much attention. And you know what? Not a single woman looked at it. It was only the guys. 

Gel And Hair Serum On Their Hair

While waiting in line to pay at a store today, I happened to look down at my 5 year old's head and saw a section of her hair looked stiff. I touched it and asked her what she put on her hair. The reply: Gel!. I asked her where she got the gel from and she said her sister. So I asked my eldest daughter about the gel and she said auntie (my sister) gave it to her. She then asked if I noticed anything on her hair. I looked and saw one spot that had a blob of oil. She had put hair serum on her hair. You know the saying, monkey see - monkey do? Yep, the little one saw her sister putting something on her hair and did the exact thing. Next on my to do list: call sister and ask about the gel and hair serum.

Shopping With A Crying Baby In Tow

 I was at Office Max doing some back to school shopping with my kids. The moment I walked inside the store, I heard a baby crying hysterically. Needless to say, I wasn't the only shopper looking around to find where the baby was. My mommy mode immediately turned on. I scanned around the store to see if I could spot the baby and at least know that everything was fine. I wondered if the baby was hungry or hurt. Moments later, the crying stopped. I was relieved. Then the baby started crying again. It was hard to concentrate on my shopping. I think I spent 10 minutes browsing up and down the aisles and during the entire time, the baby was still crying. When we were at the checkout stand, we saw the mom with the crying baby at the nearby customer service desk. She was with her daughter who's probably 2 or 3 years old. Her son was sitting on the stroller crying. I guess he didn't want to sit on the stroller! The little girl asked if she could buy a candy bar and the mom took it away telling her she already has candies at home. The girl cried. By now, both of kids were crying. The mom looked super stressed out. She knelt down trying to calm the daughter. The daughter did stop crying for a minute before resuming again. When we drove up the street, we saw the mom with her kids and yes, her daughter was still crying. Seeing this, I'm sooooo glad I didn't have to deal with this when my kids were younger.  


Clipart Courtesy: Statue Forum

Q & A Clash of the Titans From a 5 Year Old

Our Saturday movie night at home was Clash Of The Titans. I have seen the original version when I was a kid. If my memory serves me right, I think the 2010 remake omitted a lot of stuff from the original 1981 version. My youngest daughter kept me entertained throughout the movie with her questions and thoughts. She was making side comments so often that I had to turn on captioning because I couldn't hear what the characters were saying.

My eldest daughter had a sleep over at her cousin's house leaving my little one quite bored. At first, she didn't want to watch Clash Of The Titans with us so she stayed in her bedroom. She must of heard the thunderous sound effects from her room because she walked into the living room and stood there watching the movie for a minute before climbing on my laps. Here's courtesy of a 5 year old take on the characters in Clash Of The Titans:

When Pegasus - a winged horse god - first appeared in the movie, my little one asked:
Daughter: Is that a dog?
Me: A dog doesn't have wings baby.
Daughter: Is it a pony with wings?
Me: Close. It's a horse with wings. 
Daughter: Can I have one?
Me: Shhhh.... 
Daughter: Mom, can you buy me that?
Me: No, shhhh....
All the while, I was trying to figure out if it was indeed Pegasus because Pegasus was white in the original Clash Of The Titans.

Medusa scene...
Daughter: Is that a girl? 
Me: Yes. 
Daughter: How come her hair is moving? Mom, is her hair snakes?
Me: Yes. 
Daughter: How come her head has snakes?
Me: Because she was a bad girl.

I have no idea what this creature is...
Daughter: What's that?
Me: Don't know.
Daughter: Is that a smoke face?
Me: Huh? 
Daughter: His face is smoke face. 
Me: Yeah. (Agreeing with her so she'd stop asking anymore questions)

And finally, Kraken!
Daughter: Is that a chihuahua head?
Me: LOL! No, it's a monster.
Daughter: A chihuahua head monster?
Me: It's not a dog. It's a monster.
Daughter: How come he has a lot of teeth? Do he eat people?
Me: Yes. He eats people. 

Have you seen Clash Of The Titans?