Charm's Chatter
Dangers of Skin Whitening Cream Continues
Posted on: 03-08-2010In Cambodia, a bride-to-be was found dead. The reason is allegedly blood infection from a skin whitening cream called Bao Dao cream which contains high level of mercury. The bride rubbed the cream all over her body to whiten her skin in preparation for her wedding which caused severe allergic reactions such as peeling skin, chest discomfort then losing consciousness. Vendors have taken off Bao Dao from their shelves after learning about the woman's death.
A Great Bit of Wisdom
Posted on: 03-08-2010 One evening an old Cherokee Indian told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
"My son, the battle is between the two wolves inside us all.
One wolf is Malicious- it is called the Destroyer.
It is anger, sorrow, self-doubt, negative-talk, demeaning thoughts, resentment, inferiority, and guilt.
It eats away at the marrow of our Self.
The second wolf is Good- it is called the Healer.
It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, truth, awareness, kindness, forgiveness, and empathy.
It enriches and nurtures our Being.
The grandson then asked his grandfather,
"Which wolf wins?"
The elder simply said,
"The one you feed."
The Global Water Crisis
Posted on: 03-06-2010Our planet is in the midst of a global water crisis. Citizens of many countries do not have access to clean drinking water. Water shortages are felt all over the world, including in my own backyard, in California. On March 22, the whole world will be celebrating World Water Day to raise awareness of the importance of freshwater and to advocate for sustainable management of freshwater resources. There are two events in Los Angeles coming up:
1) March 14, 9:30 - 3:30 PM, at Los Angeles Natural History Museum
I will be volunteering for the Food & Water Watch organization. If you are interested in participating please check out their website.
2) April 18, 2010, The Run For Water
There will be a 6km run/walk (the average distance many women & children walk every day to secure water) taking place over the course of 24 hours around the world. The walk is aimed at igniting a tipping point to help solve the water crisis. There is one in Los Angeles. Please check out the website for details.
Helpful Fact About Water: Bottled water is not good for our planet for many reasons, one of which is that there are more than 60 million single-use water bottles thrown away each day and 20 million barrels of oil used each year to make plastic bottles. If you must purchase bottled water, it is best to purchase Primo Water (www.primowater.com) or Biota Rocky Mountain Spring Water (www.biotaspringwater.com) as they are packaged in compostable bottles. They are both sourced in the U.S. Primo is municipal water that has been through some extra filtration and Biota is spring water that's packaged close to its Colorado source.
Two skin whitening products from China were banned in the Philippines due to high levels of mercury.
Posted on: 03-03-2010I've expressed many times in interviews, during live performances, and online chats my strong desire for my kayumanggi (or brown) sisters to embrace their indigenous beauty. Trying to achieve artificial "whiteness" has negative psychological and social effects; it also can be a serious health issue. In the case of two whitening products from China that were recently banned in the Philippines, the creams contained high levels of mercury, which can cause multi-organ failure, among many other symptoms. There are other whitening products recently banned in other countries (Kenya, Brunei) because of their health risks. Common ingredients that are harmful include mercury, hydroquinone and tretinoin. A recent article in Philippine Daily Inquirer caught my eye. "Brown is beautiful," Makati Mayor Jejomar Binay said, and I could not agree more.