It’s a tricky time, while we’re still wearing flip-flops and sundresses and dodging hurricanes, but thinking about boots, jackets, potential Halloween costumes, and trading in iced coffee for hot java. I have to admit that I am obsessed with that back-to-school feeling; the smell of sharpened pencils gets me high.

Moisturize

Luckily, I’ve been turned on to some amazing green products to ease my skin, hair, and body into the cooler season. Year after year, I’m shocked by how quickly my summer tan fades. I was first introduced to argan oil last summer, while I was researching Eco-Sex. It’s quite the “it-oil” now, but don’t ignore it just because it’s popular. I totally vouch for it’s miraculous properties. Argan comes from the kernels of the argan tree, indigenous to Morocco; the Berber people have used it for centuries. It can be used anywhere on the body, and works as a light moisturizer (a few drops will do ya) in summer, and mixes perfectly with lotions when the air gets drier in the late fall. It’s also beautiful for the decollete, under the eyes (for fine lines) and can be used as a hair oil. And I’ve found nothing better for a fading tan; it keeps everything oh-so-supple. That’s just one of the reasons it’s one of my fave green products; it’s amazingly multi-purpose. The best brands are fair-trade and made by women’s cooperatives in Morocco. Argan Oil Tree is one such brand — their basic oil is perfect. Note that argan has a distinct smell — I don’t mind it, but it’s not necessarily pleasant for all.

If you want something a bit fancier and high-end, but still ethical to the last drop, try some of the fabulous products from Kahina Giving Beauty. Although they don’t have official Fair Trade status, they donate 25 % of their profits to women’s initiatives and their packaging is made from recycled materials. I dig their amber glass bottles, both because they’re not made from toxic plastic and because they protect the precious product inside. My current fave is their delicious, delightful eye cream. It’s taken me all through the summer and I’m sure it’ll be rich enough for the winter months as well. I’m very excited to start using their 99.4 % organic serum again as the weather cools — it’s got an extra kick of deep moisture from sea buckthorn and carrot seed oil.

Protect

Next, don’t forget to protect your skin from the sun’s rays, even though you’re not in a bikini on the beach. All summer I’ve been slathering Luzern Labratories brilliant broad spectrum, mineral-based La Defense sun block all over my face and body. It’s so hard to find products that protect from the sun without awful, harsh chemicals. This stuff is the best I’ve found for using on its own or under makeup. It’s free of synthetics, anti-inflammatory, and has no cakey feel or tell-tale white powder glaze. Luzern is a super pure line that uses a lot of organics in their products. It gets the Eco-Sex seal of approval.

Glowing & Showing the Wonder of Your Hair

In September and October, you’re back from the beach and socializing full tilt. Bouncy, shiny hair is a nice plus, but we’re often grossly dried out and strawified at summer’s end. I am an eco prodcuct-whore, I admit it, but I realize that DIY is greener and always more fun than shopping. We have to wean ourselves off the idea that we can buy beauty, but it’s nice to have some tools in our toolbox, isn’t it? Try this awesome deep-moisturizing DIY hair mask to get your hair back on track.

(Organic is always best)

One mashed avocado
2 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons of olive oil

Mix together in a blender, stand over the sink, and apply to clean, dry hair. Make sure all strands are coated. Leave on for 20 minutes, covering in a towel (this gets very messy, be prepared). Wash out very, very carefully, lest you find bits of avocado in your hair a few days later.

Glimmer & Shimmer

Fall is perfect for honing your flirting skills without putting it all out there. If you want to keep a bit of summer bronze in your back pocket, try anything from The All-Nighter line of products. I’ve been loving their All Over Shimmer Powder this summer. Excellent for bare shoulders and the collar bone on night’s out. It’s also a lovely highlighter for the face (cheekbones) and even the hair. Speaking of hair, the other product I’m starstruck by is the hair powder (the original All-Nighter). This stuff is amazing for building volume and keeping your hair looking super fresh after you’ve gone a few days without washing. It seems to last forever. This is one product that’s kind of hard to make yourself; paraben-free and made from pure rice and tapioca starches, it’s a guilt-free buy. You will likely be an addict, as I am.

Tune back soon for my report from the Green Shows in NYC. I can barely wait!

According to a recent article by Greg Campell in Foreign Policy, the UN-sanctioned system in place to protect both mine workers and consumers from conflict diamonds just isn’t working. It’s called the Kimberly Process, and although the UN has touted it as the solution to the ravages of war and slavery, activists have known for years that it’s a miserable failure. Leonardo Di Caprio first brought this issue to our attention in 2006 with his film Blood Diamond, but all is still not well in the world of diamond mining — conflict gems abound.

From Campell’s article:

“Conflict diamonds,” also known as “blood diamonds,” are rough stones mined at gunpoint by slaves and prisoners for the enrichment of those holding the weapons. They were a cause célèbre at the beginning of the decade, when human rights groups exposed the role of diamonds in conflicts in Sierra Leone and Angola, but in recent years the issue has largely fallen off the radar of socially conscious western consumers. That’s not because the situation has improved.

The sordid business of blood diamonds was believed to have ended with the adoption in 2003 of the Kimberley Process, a UN-sanctioned agreement between 75 countries that import and export diamonds, diamond industry leaders and nongovernmental organizations. Its mission is to certify that diamonds on sale at the corner jeweler did not arrive there at the expense of murdered and mutilated Africans.

Eco-Sex: Go Green Between the Sheets and Make Your Love Life Sustainable covers this topic in a chapter called “Are Diamonds (and Chocolate and Roses) Really a Girl’s Best Friend? Giving the Gift of Love Responsibly”. You can find some excellent information about conflict diamonds by visiting the Global Witness site, and find some gorgeous, sexy alternatives to conflict gems here and here.

Please join Human Rights Watch’s boycott of conflict diamonds. And if you’ve got bling on the brain, learn a bit about how to green your gold here.

http://besustainable.com/greenmajority/1980/07/23/tgm199-f2/

http://www.rnw.nl/english/radioshow/procreation-bad-planet

In her new book Eco-Sex: Go Green Between the Sheets and Make your Love Life Sustainable, Stefanie Iris Weiss says the things we do in the bedroom could be affecting the entire planet, which really gives new meaning to the phrase “he rocked my world.”

Read more:

http://www.lemondrop.com/2010/07/26/eco-sex-stefanie-iris-weiss-green-sex-life/

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stefanie-iris-weiss/russell-simmons-hosts-spe_b_655652.html?ir=Impact

In the meantime, if you want to be able to walk into CVS without freaking out about poisoning the temple that is your body, sign this:

Ask Congress to get behind the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2010

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uo5SZXiyAV8&feature=player_embedded

Watch and learn, baby…

As I say in my recently published book, Eco-Sex: Go Green Between the Sheets and Make Your Love Life Sustainable (Crown Publishing/Ten Speed Press) it’s time to create a new paradigm of sexual health:

If we aspire to redefine sexual health for a new generation of eco-sexuals, we should start by redefining sexual “dysfunctions” or “conditions.” Let’s called them “imbalances,” with the understanding that we can almost always bring our bodies back into balance with a combination of nutrition, detoxification, exercise, and psychological wellness. It’s the pharmaceutical industry that wants you to believe that you’re “dysfunctional” and therefore must rely on their wares. Before you fall for that line, explore other options.

The myths of “sexual dysfunction” are many. If a person learns that the way they feel is “dysfunctional”, the first thing they’ll do is reach for a (little blue) pill, or whatever the doctor is currently dispensing. But what if we looked at our sexuality through an entirely different lens? What if we started with our baseline health instead of instantly running for a pill the moment our bodies fail to perform they way we want them to?

Do you know how much Big Pharma spent on lobbying between 1998 and 2006? A whopping $855 million, more than any other industry in the US.

The aggressive marketing of Viagra, Cialis, and the rest of the drugs in this category are proof positive that making a buck is the point — improving people’s sex lives isn’t. If we were healthier in general — fit, free of diabetes, high cholesterol, and the many toxins that make us exhausted, perhaps we wouldn’t need a chemical boost in the bedroom — we’d rev right up at the right moment, without the pusher that is Big Pharma.

The vast majority of sexual imbalances can be addressed through diet. Heavy meat-eaters and those that consume too many processed foods are often obese and on a sugar see-saw. Experiment with vegetarianism or Meat-free Monday or if you’re more daring, go raw. If that’s all too radical, just cut down on the poisons and toxins and adapt a diet based on whole foods instead of nutrient-free processed foods, especially Frankenfoods. Insist on organic and GMO-free produce whenever possible.

Next: get moving. It’s nice to aspire a little boom-boom in the bedroom, but if the rest of your life is sedentary, how do you expect to find the stamina to make it happen between the sheets? (No less to get it up in the first place!) Daily exercise, even walking for thirty minutes a day, can almost instantly change your perception of “sexual dysfunction”.

We can get back to health, and subsequently back to great sex, by paying a bit more attention to the way we treat our bodies. Let the sexual healing begin.