So, as you can see by my byline, I'm a dog...and I can type (obviously). With all the hubbub surrounding natural skincare, people have been asking me, the dog, if they should be using these products on their dogs too. Just so you know, I wholeheartedly believe that NOBODY should be putting toxic mystery potions on their skin, and you especially should not be doing that to your best friend (me, a dog). However, there is a consideration to be mindful about: Not all natural ingredients that are safe for humans, are safe for dogs. We are special. Don't believe me? Think about this:
Ever watch two dogs communicate with each other without saying a word? That's called "Telepathy" and we're masters at it. Ever read or listened to humans relating otherworldly experiences such as alien encounters or psychic phenomena, and note the form in which the communication took place was non-verbal? Who's the higher evolved being now? I rest my case.
Now that we've established that I am a superior being to you humans, it's clear that I've secured my credibility here, and you should continue reading...you just might learn something...from me, the dog.
The natural skincare revolution came about because big companies started putting horrible crap into their products to prolong the shelf life and cheapen the cost, thus putting their bottom line ahead of our health and safety. Since the industry was not regulated, this allowed them to roll the dice and take their chances that the potential for massive profits would outweigh the potential for lawsuits – after all, how would people be able to trace back a trans-dermal application of toxins, to their product, when everyone was doing it? Plus, by the time people figure out that they are sick, the chances of them pinpointing with great accuracy, exactly what made them sick, is like a game of Pin the Tail on the Donkey. It doesn't hit your bloodstream as quickly, and in as great an amount, when the toxin is delivered trans-dermally, vs ingested through the mouth or intravenously.
Most of us by now, are aware that this was the game being played with our lives...and some of us sadly, learned this the hard way (ie, cancer from products like Shower to Shower and the subsequent class-action lawsuits that ensued), and to fight back, a great number of us started demanding clean/natural products (food as well as skincare). The problem still exists though, that the skin care industry is lax in regulations, so this puts the onus on the consumer to become educated.
My human has made it her passion to research and educate the public with her findings, and share all resources that come her way, which she feels are helpful to consumers in making these decisions. You shouldn't have to be an expert, just to purchase a product, and it's a shame that corporate greed has created such a culture.
Back in the old days – I mean the really old days before electricity and stuff – there were shamans and ethnobotanists (sometimes derisively known as "Witch Doctors", and discredited in the western world as relegated to healing maladies ascribed solely to witchcraft when in fact, they were the experts in local flora, aka ethobotany) in each community or tribe, who served their people with their knowledge in herbalism and spirituality.
These were healers, and they didn't become healers by paying a bunch of money to attend a school that was underwritten by pharmaceutical companies who decided which knowledge was useful and which knowledge wasn't, based on what would turn a profit for them (yeah, that's how it works these days – for more info on this, check out a man named Dr. Bruce Lipton -a cell biologist and med school professor, who became a pioneer in the field of epigenetics.) Given the fact that our culture has changed drastically from the days of the tribal doctors, ethnobotanists & shamans, it's no surprise that we have come to this point of losing our way. While I'm not entirely against Western medicine – after all, it does have merit – I am saddened by the greed which compelled it to try and work independently of the spiritual element – dismissing it altogether as "Woo-Woo" – when the truth is, we are now coming full-circle to realize that healing encompasses a broad range of modalities including spiritual and physical. It is the spiritual aspect which addresses things like stress and other fear-based emotions which lead to illness. To make matters worse, Western Medicine is losing favor with a great many people who have come to realize they are more interested in profit, than in healing, ie, treating symptoms rather than root causes, affixing prohibitively inflated value to the price of "health", and making sure the customer always comes back by promoting drugs with a laundry list of horrible side-effects, thus upping the odds that "If this pill cures you, it will give you a new disease that we can cure with another pill!" Thus creating a cottage industry of illness and misery.
It's no wonder people are exploring alternatives and natural compliments to Western Medicine...and wisely so!
While as I stated earlier, there is obviously merit to what Western Medicine has to offer, it has sadly become an industry rife with greed, and greed and medicine should not be co-mingled. It goes against the very fundamental nature of medicine's intent – to heal. (period). So while our world falls into this shameless cycle of greed and the propagation of fear (seen any pharmaceutical commercials lately?) - which is intended to upset our spiritual nature (or even dismiss it altogether), create vulnerability, plant seeds that will hopefully grow into an illness...and finally, profit! -There is hope! That hope is the manifestation of millions of humans who are tired of being exploited for profit, and have decided to take their control back.
Poisons don't belong in our foods, our medicines or our personal care items, and people are fighting back.
My human has been studying the field of ethobotany, herbalism and the mind for over 20 years, and she has finally decided to put her knowledge into practice by creating this line of all-natural skincare, as well as a line created especially for dogs and cats (I don't like cats, but you might...I voted to not have cats included, but my human said it was good to include the cats because they are mysterious creatures with uncanny mental powers to control human behavior in otherwise sane human beings, so I reconsidered and voted to let them stay. Youtube videos and memes are their preferred way of disseminating their message of control over humans (just thought you might want to know). Laser pointers however, are their kryptonite.
So I guess this is my "long answer" to the initial question, and my more concise answer would be to READ LABELS and educate yourself, find trusted sources (like my human, who is always happy to share her knowledge) and remember, everything you put in or on your body becomes a part of you in some way. Some things have a molecular structure that lend themselves to quick absorption, and some things take longer to be transdermally delivered, but don't put anything on you or your best friend's skin that has a chance of creating a hostile environment.
My human has researched and tested her formulations for safety and efficacy to make sure they won't harm your pets. She created the first pet product in the Feral Yorkie line – Feral Yorkie Alchemist Potion – in response to a problem I was having when we were living in a forest (where she created the line). I was bringing home ticks. She gave me tick medicine, but became alarmed when not only did it not work for the full month (it stopped working about 3 weeks in) but it started to make me listless. Through her natural healing instincts (she is considered a shaman/healer/psychic) - a gift she inherited from her Sicilian great grandmother who came from New Orleans - she has created many products which people have come back to her and excitedly told her how they got rid of a persistent and sometimes serious problem. When she saw the effect of the tick medicine on me, she realized it was harming me and not working well, so she created Feral Yorkie Alchemist Potion (you can buy it below!). It's a spray that you spray all over the pet and rub into their skin after a bath about once a week...that's all. I never had another tick or flea since.
With that said, I will leave you with these wise words:
The closer to nature you stay, the better off you are – you weren't created in a lab and neither should the products you wear or food you eat, be.
Your skin is the largest organ in your body and it absorbs what you put on it
Not ALL natural is good for you (think arsenic and other heavy metals) - trust a formulator who has done the research, will explain the findings and is willing to cite studies
Not all natural ingredients that are good for humans, are good for dogs and cats
Got questions about a product? Run it (the actual product name or the ingredients) thru the EWG's Skin Deep website to find out what's really in it and how the experts rate it safety
and finally, READ LABELS just so you know for sure – The marketing material is sometimes vastly different from the actual ingredients on the label.
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