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Her Products Provide Natural Beauty

Tribune photo by FRED BELLET

In her clinic, Rose Kalajian works on mixing up the ingredients for her natural skin care cream.

By CLOE CABRERA

The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 2, 2008

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On a 7-acre plot outside the Natural Health Hut in Wesley Chapel, bright yellow calendula thrive under the strong sun, lavender flowers bloom, and clumps of lime-green lemon-grass leaves scent the wind.

Donning a straw hat and carrying a basket, owner Rose Kalajian, 54, heads outside to select the leaves and blooms she uses to make a skin care line that includes body lotion, face creams, toners, masks, bath salts and lip balm.

She'll grind and blend the ingredients, bottle up the mixture, then set it out in the sun, "so nature can do some of the work."

Two weeks later, she'll strain it; add essential oils, beeswax and other ingredients; pour her potion into 8-ounce containers; and sell the "Luscious" body lotion for $29.99.

"I take my time and do it the old-fashioned way," Kalajian says. "It preserves the integrity of the ingredients we're using."

Kalajian is a gold mine of information about the properties of herbs and plants. The leaf and root of comfrey works great for cell growth, she says. Lavender flowers help tighten the skin and work as an antibacterial. Lemon grass helps build collagen.

Kalajian says conventional skin care products can be harsh on skin, especially sensitive skin. Many people are allergic to the preservatives, fragrances and synthetic chemicals found in most skin care products, she says, and there are ingredients in some products that are toxic.

"Whatever you put on your skin is going to be absorbed by your skin," she says. "Just like the food you put into your body; you don't want chemicals going into your body."

"You can eat" my products, says Kalajian, who also makes herbal medicines. "That's how natural they are."

Julie Gabriel, a British holistic nutritionist and author of "The Green Beauty Guide" (HCI Books, $16.95), which will be available in bookstores Friday, has long preached the benefits of choosing natural and organic products.

She cites a 2006 study of 7,500 bestselling beauty products that found about 90 percent of cosmetic ingredients have never been analyzed for health impact by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review Board, an independent panel that oversees cosmetic safety. The study also revealed that nearly 55 percent of products contain "penetration enhancers" that increase the ability of chemicals to enter the bloodstream.

"To me, synthetic skin care is the beauty version of the Western diet," Gabriel says. "It's highly processed, loaded with synthetic chemicals and fragrances, and it contains very little natural substances. We also know when you get off the Western diet, your risk from all the devastating conditions diminishes dramatically. When you get off the beauty version of the Western diet, your risk of premature aging and various skin conditions diminish, too."

Unlike the United States, many European countries regulate what can and cannot be put into beauty products, she says, and as a result, there aren't as many chemicals, especially those that can cause cancer.

People concerned about aging skin and wrinkles don't have to resort to chemicals, Gabriel says. Antioxidants including vitamin A, C and E, coenzyme Q10, or its synthetic form, idebenone (best when already added to your skin care product by expert chemists), can help prevent wrinkles, she says, and should be among the main ingredients in your face cream.

Though the terms "natural" and "organic" are used interchangeably, they are very different, says Gabriel, who has her own organic skin care line, "Petite Marie Organics." An organic product is grown, cultivated and processed without the use of synthetic materials such as insecticides and herbicides, but natural products may contain one natural ingredient, such as plant or vegetable extracts, and still be called natural.

Another difference is that there are no official guidelines for what constitutes "natural" beauty products, whereas "organic" products must abide by regulations. So if your face cream says "natural cocoa butter" on the label, it doesn't necessarily mean the entire product is natural.

"The beauty industry has used the word natural as a tricky loophole to make products sound natural when they are not," Gabriel says.

She advises consumers to buy products from reputable sources, and to look for adequate label information with specific ingredients.

Debbye Wilson, owner of Natural Awakenings: Healthy Living, Healthy Planet Magazine, believes in the power of nature. She has used Kalajian's natural products for about seven years and says her skin has never looked better.

"It really evened out my skin tone," says Wilson, who lives in St. Petersburg. "It looked better and it felt better. And I really like the fact that I'm not putting all those chemicals on my skin."

Wilson said the first time she tried Kalajian's body wash, she was surprised to see some of the ingredients in their raw form.

"It's not like what you get at the cosmetics counter," Wilson says. "You can see some of the good stuff she puts in there. She uses ground cloves, and sometimes it's all over the shower. But I know it's good for my skin."

Another convert is Lucia Penney, a nurse who runs the nonprofit organization The Seeds of Life Institute in Pine Island.

"I'm sensitive to fragrances and preservatives," Penney says. "I feel that natural is better; it allows your body to respond by giving it the natural nutrients it needs instead of something synthetic."

However, Tampa facial plastic surgeon Edward Farrior says there is no proof that natural or organic skin care products are better than the run-of-the-mill stuff, or any more dangerous.

He says consumers make a mistake when they think that the terms "organic" or "natural" mean you won't be allergic to a product and that it's better for you.

"There are lots of natural things that may not be good for you," he says. "The public perception is that natural lacks preservatives and petrochemicals, things created from oil, although technically, that's natural, too."

Farrior says natural products as a whole have general appeal because people are sick and tired of chemicals and want to control what they put in and on their bodies.

"People understand they are exposed to chemicals and formaldehydes in the air and the environment that they can't control," he says. "They believe they can eliminate their exposure to toxic chemicals at least in what they buy for their skin."

If you are sensitive to an ingredient, you will react against it, whether that ingredient is natural or synthetic. Farrior advises patients to dab a little of a new product behind an ear or inside the arm for a few days. It can take several days to develop an allergic reaction.

Joseph Cozzolino, director of ReNew Institute Medical Spa in Wesley Chapel, says conventional products are more powerful than what nature offers, but he's a fan of both. "I would never throw away conventional wisdom for purely natural products," he says. "And vice-versa."

Kalajian, who has been a vegetarian since she was 13, says her skin and good health are all the proof she needs that nature works best.

"Nature can give you everything you need," she says. "I'm proof."

Reporter Cloe Cabrera can be reached at (813) 259-7656 or ccabrera@tampatrib.com. Go to TBO.com, Keyword: Natural, to watch a slideshow of herbalist Rose Kalajian making skin care products.

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