Tana Parry, a licensed esthetician, discusses the importance of healthy skincare. She shares her personal journey into skincare and explains why she chose to specialize in healthy esthetics. Tana emphasizes the impact of skincare products on the body and the need to choose products with safe and natural ingredients. She highlights the harmful chemicals commonly found in skincare products and the benefits of using plant-based skincare. Tana also discusses the importance of protecting the skin and shares insights into her personal skincare routine. In this conversation, Tana Parry, an esthetician, discusses skincare products, makeup, chemical injections, self-esteem, and the importance of taking care of your body. She also mentions using databases to evaluate product ingredients and shares her experiences and opinions.
Takeaways
• Choose skincare products with safe and natural ingredients to protect your skin and overall health.
• Avoid harmful chemicals commonly found in skincare products, such as parabens and phthalates.
• Opt for plant-based skincare products that are sustainable and locally sourced.
• Protect your skin from sun damage by using mineral-based sunscreens.
• Educate yourself about the harmful ingredients in skincare products and make informed choices. Choose skincare products that are suitable for your skin type and address specific concerns.
• Be cautious when selecting makeup products and look for clean, talc-free options.
• Consider the long-term effects and potential risks of chemical injections.
• Recognize the impact of beauty standards on self-esteem and make choices that align with your values.
• Use databases and apps to evaluate product ingredients and make informed purchasing decisions.
• Prioritize self-care and give your body the care it deserves.
CONTACT TANA PARRY:
Facebook page - Tana Linnae Skin
IG @tanaparry
Google page for now Tana Linnae Skin
https://linktr/ee/tanaparry
TANA'S FAVORITE PRODUCTS:
Free Girl Skin Care
https://bit.ly/48zWvaF
Laurel Skincare
Tizo Sunscreen
NON TOXIC SKINCARE & FOOD DATABASES:
https://www.ewg.org
https://yuka.io
https://thinkdirtyapp.com
https://www.beauty-heros.com
Chapters
00:00Introduction to Healthy Skincare
01:02Personal Journey into Skincare
03:23The Importance of Inner and Outer Beauty
04:42The Impact of Skincare Products on the Body
05:50The Harmful Ingredients in Skincare Products
06:39Using Plant-Based Skincare Products
07:36Choosing Skincare Products with Positive Missions
09:01The Benefits of Sustainable and Locally Sourced Skincare
10:14The Importance of Protecting the Skin
11:14The Antioxidant Serum and its Benefits
12:32Maintaining Healthy and Glowing Skin
13:08The Importance of Serums in Skincare
14:09Choosing Safe and Effective Sunscreen
15:00Avoiding Harmful Chemicals in Skincare Products
16:14The Dangers of Harmful Ingredients in Soap and Skincare
18:42Personal Experiences with Harmful Skincare Products
19:23The Need for Education and Awareness in Skincare
20:35The Pressure to Use Harmful Skincare Products
21:36The Importance of Natural and Plant-Based Skincare
22:59Avoiding Toxic Fragrances and Chemicals in Skincare
23:25Personal Skincare Routine
25:00Makeup
31:40Chemical Injections and Aesthetics
33:10Self-Esteem and Beauty Standards
36:13Long-Term Effects of Chemical Injections
39:17Databases for Product Evaluation
44:03Taking Care of Your Body
#nontoxic #skincare #safesunscreen #chemicalpeels #facialinjections #botox #fillers #plasticsurgery #esthetician #womenover50 #wellness #su
Watch this episode on the Wellness Whisperer Podcast YouTube channel.
Follow us at https://www.wellnesswhispererpodcast.com or on Instagram at
@WellnessWhispererPodcast
Tana Parry (00:00.756)
Brenda Geiger, Host (00:01.318)
Good morning. Welcome to the Wellness Whisperer podcast. I'm Brenda Geiger. And today we are gonna dive into skincare, healthy skincare. And we have a guest who is a part of the wellness consortium in Kansas City with me, Tana Perry. She is a licensed esthetician and she had a certification in acne treatments. So welcome Tana, thank you for being here today. Would you like to start and tell us how your...
journey into healthy skincare habit came to be Reader's Digest version.
Tana Parry (00:35.03)
How much time do you have? Well, I started out as a sun worshiper, so we all know how healthy that is. I mean, I love the sun and the sun is very important. So that is a whole other topic of conversation, but the extent to which I worship the sun was excessive. And long story short, my husband ended up finding a suspicious mole on my back and said, you know,
doesn't look great, you should go see about that. And it turned out it was a basal cell carcinoma. So that is the good cancer, if you will. That's the easiest to treat. You just remove it and basically you're done. And then I kind of thought, and that was about, well, it's right around the time I decided to go to aesthetic school. So then I kind of thought maybe I should spend the next 40 years correcting my damage that I did the first 40 years.
And so that's a very, very cliff notes version of how I got into aesthetics.
Brenda Geiger, Host (01:40.594)
Yeah. So now that you're into, now that you're a licensed esthetician, you have chosen to specialize in the healthy product lines. You look at things for their ingredients, what's good to put on your skin versus, oh, this is what's mainstream. Let's just lather ourselves in this. So why did you choose to be a healthy esthetician versus just, oh, let's just use Obagi or Aveda or whatever else is out there?
Tana Parry (02:08.746)
whatever is the it thing of this month. Well, before aesthetic school, I ended up having tick-borne diseases. So I was very sick, autoimmune diseases, also thyroid issues, like, you know, you name it, it was happening. And what I had decided was the doctor,
Doctors all over the nation, nobody's helping me. I'm just gonna have to fix myself. So I started with nutrition. So I am a certified nutritionist consultant as well. And that, I feel like if I was gonna talk about nutrition and I was gonna tell people, give them information, basically just educate them, I should have something behind that. So I took a program and it's part of a holistic healthcare practitioner and naturopathic practitioner program. So it's like the first course that you take.
Um, so it started with food. It started with growing my own food, edible landscaping in my yard, oregano time, just plants in general. I pulled dandelions out of the ground, for example, and put, there are some in my freezer and I put them in my food, like just things, right. Um, and so I've gotten myself distracted and forgot what your question was, but, um, oh yeah, so
Brenda Geiger, Host (03:23.486)
No, you started with the inner side beauty and then you went to the outside beauty, which I love that because it really does start with what we put in our bodies first and what's on our bodies.
Tana Parry (03:32.254)
It does. And I'm trying to not get where I think we're going to go. So I'm holding off on that part. But I did work in a big med spa right out of school because I really just wanted to be in a plastic surgeon's office. I wanted to do aggressive peels and lasers and all the machines. And while I do have an affinity for those, I realize long term.
It's not ideal. I also really, truly believe that the plants will provide us medicine. And it's just all outside. If we just allow it, we just go outside and allow it, but maybe not with all the pesticides and all the other things. So, um,
Brenda Geiger, Host (04:13.922)
Exactly, amen to that. So most people that are listening to this, if you're at all into wellness and health, you realize that the skin is the largest organ we have on our body and it serves to protect us. So it's a protective mechanism, that's its role. But when we put a lotion or a shampoo or whatever on our bottom, our body, our perfume, it goes right into our blood.
It's not filtered out by the liver. Is that your understanding, Tara?
Tana Parry (04:47.018)
as little as 26 seconds it's absorbed in the bloodstream. So put it on your skin, 26 seconds later, it can be in your bloodstream. That's not that long. I mean, and that's everything. That's not just a topical product. We're talking laundry detergents and dryer sheets and types of fabrics. I mean, we're bombarded constantly. And what better way to...
Brenda Geiger, Host (04:55.71)
Mm-hmm. No.
Tana Parry (05:15.61)
support your body than using cleaner everything.
Brenda Geiger, Host (05:22.726)
Yes, absolutely. Tara did a bunch of research before this podcast. So did I. And I found this old infographic. And if you go, obviously, if you're listening to audio, you won't be able to see this. But if you go to the YouTube channel, you will. This is a woman in her little white, tidy whitey. And it has Eero's show. Oh, you've got it too. I love that. It shows the 515 bad things that we
Tana Parry (05:45.007)
I do.
Brenda Geiger, Host (05:50.706)
put on our bodies, especially women every day, because we are putting the makeup and the lipsticks and the hairspray where men probably are just putting aftershave and who knows, not as much stuff. So it is scary.
Tana Parry (06:05.79)
And 515 hardly sounds like enough, but at the same time, try to list all of those. I mean, that's crazy.
Brenda Geiger, Host (06:11.642)
Yeah. So talk about, I'm lucky I have an appointment with Tara for my first facial on Saturday. What, how do you, how do you help women and men come in when they come into your salon or your, your whatever treatment room? What type of products do you use and why, what do you walk them through for their healthiest experience?
Tana Parry (06:39.466)
Well, most of the time somebody has done a little bit of research on where we are, you know, where, where I work, what we use. And they've kind of, in some way or another, understood that we're just doing things a little bit differently. We're using plant-based skincare. We do have an acne line that, that does have a lot of plant-based products in there, but, or ingredients in there, but they also, there's also some other things. So the acne line is just a little bit
outside of just the strictly plant-based products. And I specialize, do you, are we, we're okay to talk about brands and things? Yeah. I primarily use Laurel skincare in my treatment room right now. I'm kind of working with another product line and have an idea of another one that I'd like to add to my practice later, 2024, 2025.
Brenda Geiger, Host (07:17.758)
Sure. Yeah.
Tana Parry (07:36.054)
Um, but a local Kansas City company that I've just recently started working with free girl skincare. So, um, they both have kind of different missions and I have my, all of my notes about them, um, the local company free girl skincare is a made certified skincare. Um, line. So that basically means they've gone through rigorous testing and a certification of every single ingredient in.
in their products and each of their products that states that it is not harmful or not known to be harmful. And then they also have like part of the things that I want to incorporate in my business now and in the future is partnerships, working with people, things like what we're doing right here, but also something that's important that's giving back to people, the planet.
sustainability, like Laurel Skincare, for example, uses sustainable sustainability farmers that are bio dynamic. Yeah, bio dynamic farms. So they they're holistic locally sourced diversified ecosystems. I mean, and they are small as much as she can. It's within like 100 mile radius of where they make the products. Now some products like Manuka honey, for example, is not really grown in the US.
So that will come from like Australia or New Zealand, but for the most part, everything is just as local, locally sourced as possible. Free girl skincare, cruelty-free, vegan, non-GMO, gluten-free, and they, every purchase, they give back to women and children that have been involved in human trafficking. So they're giving back to the people, and they're also...
Brenda Geiger, Host (09:25.383)
Huh?
Tana Parry (09:30.026)
you know, made certified. So that's environmentally friendly, reef friendly. Um, so both product lines, while they're both plant based and they're both a little bit different, they still are doing positive things. I feel like for all of us.
Brenda Geiger, Host (09:45.25)
Well, as a marketer, it's funny. I always mention if you're going to market something, always have a cause marketing piece to it too, because the world needs so much help. And if you are making money, even to give one, two, three, four, five, 10% back to a good cause, absolutely makes sense. And the world, yes, Mother Earth needs love. Definitely. She got really
Tana Parry (10:03.142)
Penny's add up to I mean, they just really do. Right. So let's face it, we're not really nice to her. So I mean, anywhere.
Brenda Geiger, Host (10:14.922)
during the pandemic and said enough. I can't breathe, you can't breathe. So thank you for describing what's in the Laurel products and what's in the Free Girl skincare products.
Tana Parry (10:21.039)
I don't really blame her.
Brenda Geiger, Host (10:29.89)
Um, I know that you gave me a sample of the serum. I think that was from Laurel and I fell in love with this spell and how it felt. And just like, gimme, gimme some more of that. Talk about the serum that it's from.
Tana Parry (10:35.054)
Mm-hmm.
Tana Parry (10:45.074)
Oh, that's the antioxidant serum. That's the one that I gave you with that one. Um, okay. Well, in September I went to where they manufacture and I literally watched, like I watched the gal in her mask and her gloves sifting through the flowers after they had just come in from the farm for impurities, bugs or whatever, and then, and then watched from start to finish the process and how long they, the shelf life in the manufacturing facility is not very long. Um.
and it's just a very small group of people. So I got to see start to finish. It's nothing but plants, nothing but oils, all natural. I mean, three lunar cycles in the sun and the moon, with crystals, I mean, it was super fascinating. I can't wait to go back. But the antioxidant serum that I gave you has 31 different active ingredients. So it's basically a three in one serum moisturizer.
defense oil, so we're not calling that obviously a sunscreen, but there are like carotenoids that vitamin A basically that will help protect the skin from elemental damage outside toxins environment.
Brenda Geiger, Host (12:06.303)
This is an off the, I'm going rogue on you, so I apologize. You look wonderful and you're glowy and obviously very healthy and what you're doing eating wise and skincare wise is working. Are you over 60? Are you under 60? I'm trying to pinpoint your age. Okay.
Tana Parry (12:12.054)
Thanks.
Tana Parry (12:24.554)
I will be 49 in a couple, a month and a half or so. Ha ha.
Brenda Geiger, Host (12:32.69)
Look at you, no bags, no wrinkles, glowy. I mean, that's the big word I keep hearing on the internet all day. Look glowy. And I will admit, I'm 62, a bit more haggard than Tana, but I have invested in my skin. I have researched and tried to use the good stuff and eat well. And I think that pays off. And a lot of people I think try to take shortcuts and
that doesn't pay off in the end. It's going to accumulate in your body and create harm. I mean, jump in.
Tana Parry (13:08.622)
And I always, I mean, I will always tell somebody that, that whatever your budget is, the important thing is a serum. Serum is always something that you want. I mean, you just always want that. Laurel has come out with these compounds that are super concentrated. It's just like.
Brenda Geiger, Host (13:23.247)
Mm-hmm.
Tana Parry (13:30.334)
I kind of call it like a serum on crack. It is super concentrated. So like you're talking one, two drops for your whole face and that is all you need. Where the serums are like three to five drops. I mean, these are typically higher priced products but they last longer and they're doing all the work. So that part I love. The other part is I am happy to talk about, I have full spectrum from
Brenda Geiger, Host (13:49.606)
Mm-hmm.
Tana Parry (13:59.126)
the things that I know are coming up in our conversation to the plant-based skincare. So I'm happy to talk about that. Yeah.
Brenda Geiger, Host (14:09.733)
Let's talk about protection and sun damage. Because I know that it's probably one of the hardest products to buy is sunscreen. Because what should you be avoiding in your sunscreen? What's bad and what's good? And what do you advise in that area since you have had basal carcinoma damage?
Tana Parry (14:26.338)
No.
Tana Parry (14:33.262)
Yeah, I, well, there's really only one sunscreen that I use. Um, and that is Tyzo, which is titanium dioxide and zinc oxide. So it is, it's another brand that, that I honestly, I've used it for decades. And then, and now I happen to have an account with them. Yay. So, um, I, uh, it's also like a hundred.
100% free of chemicals. So it's a mineral sunscreen. So the mineral sunscreens are a little bit better. Avoid the chemicals. Anything that, and I hate to say name brands, but if you remember the smell of sunscreen as a child, or even last year, that typical smell is probably something I would stay away from, because that is generally going to have just chemicals.
Brenda Geiger, Host (15:29.19)
Yeah, and that's funny that you say that. I remember growing up and I loved that smell. I love the coconut or whatever else was in there. It just, it reminded me of summer. It's like, boom. But scents are usually synthetic and that's not good for the body.
Tana Parry (15:39.573)
Mm-hmm.
Tana Parry (15:46.334)
Yeah, and that was one of those on the list was, gosh, I wanted to remember that too, because some of these items that are on your toxicity list are things that are used in paint thinner and cereals that we eat. The same product is in paint thinner is also in the cereals that you feed your children and then you wonder why they have issues.
Brenda Geiger, Host (16:12.446)
Alright.
Right.
Tana Parry (16:16.648)
So many other things. I mean, there's just so many, we can go down the toxin rabbit hole all day long.
Brenda Geiger, Host (16:22.938)
Well, I was going to read the top 10 most harmful ingredients in soap and skincare since this segment is really focusing on skincare. Most of them I can't pronounce, so they'll be in the show notes. But the most common that we hear about all the time is parabens, which serves as a preservative, phthalates, which is probably what you're talking about. It makes them softer, emulsify. Yeah.
Tana Parry (16:49.326)
It's plastic. Plastic.
Brenda Geiger, Host (16:53.702)
which we're finding microplastics in the body now because it's just building up from us drinking out of plastic water bottles and plastic tub of water and plastic everything and then the PEG compounds the polyethanol glycol which is the thickening solvents that are in paints and whatnot and you're like what are we doing with our bodies we didn't think
Tana Parry (17:19.486)
And so, yeah, and so after we, you know, we kind of decided we were gonna do this, I was like, okay, I'll bite. And I just happened to get an email yesterday that happened to be talking about forever chemicals. And I was like, this is beautiful because this conversation is happening tomorrow. And the forever chemicals, which are some of the things that you just mentioned, exactly what that sounds like. The PFAs they call them, polyfluorinated alcohol, it's a carbon fluorine bonded.
toxins in cosmetics, carpet, non-stick cookware. I mean, there are Netflix shows about that in our food and water contamination. I mean, it's just impossible to get away from all of it.
Brenda Geiger, Host (17:50.78)
Good job!
Brenda Geiger, Host (18:07.974)
Yeah, and I look back, I was having a conversation with my husband last night saying, I'm so excited to talk to Tana tomorrow about skincare. And he knows that I'm just hyper.
I am hypersensitive. I've had autoimmune conditions and things as you have. So that just raises your awareness. And my personal experience in 2012, I put on a lotion from Pacifica on my neck before going to a yoga class. It had some sort of shimmer in it, which is probably some form of glitter. And I went into toxic shock and I lived alone.
Tana Parry (18:40.819)
Yeah.
Brenda Geiger, Host (18:42.994)
and I couldn't breathe and I had to drive myself to the emergency room. My eyes were swollen shut. My lungs were down to three percent capacity. That
Tana Parry (18:52.952)
Oh my god.
Brenda Geiger, Host (18:55.086)
2012 was my turning point. Like I could have died from something I put on my body. I need to start reading labels and getting more educated. And then I read that the main ingredient that caused the respiratory failure was phenoxylethanol, which is a preservative that is only allowed in the United States, UK, other countries do not allow it. Very toxic.
Tana Parry (19:17.592)
Hmm?
Brenda Geiger, Host (19:23.694)
and in a lot of things. So very scary.
Tana Parry (19:26.722)
a large, yeah, a large amount of these items that are in our products are banned in the European Union. So they're not just banned in one country, they're banned all the way across the pond, all the way everywhere. It's sad. And the other thing that that's really kind of upsetting too, is that until you have an illness, until you have something that personally affects you, unfortunately, we just don't.
Brenda Geiger, Host (19:41.255)
and
Tana Parry (19:53.914)
as Americans make the changes. I mean, I didn't either. So, and I still struggle with certain things that I just feel are important to me that are not necessarily benefiting me in the long run.
Brenda Geiger, Host (20:10.246)
right. But my flashback when I was talking to Tom last night about doing this, I'm like, Oh, we're going to talk about the 515 harmful ingredients and skincare products and cosmetics. He's like, Oh, bogus. My mom lived till she was 97. And she never checked out anything. And I remember going into my grandma's bathroom, I was a nosy little grandkid and opening the medicine cabinet. And there was
I mean, maybe 12 products in there. She used cuticle soap, you know, that little black soap, which is probably very safe and never put makeup on. I think maybe she wore lipstick once a week going to church. Other than that, she was a farm woman. So much lower exposure, you know, in the people that grew up in the Great Depression. They just weren't buying the things that...
we are in the 20th century because it's competitive or it's pressure from society to look your youngest and look your freshest and look your best and we're trying all these things that may not be helpful.
Tana Parry (21:13.418)
And when you're a billion dollar plus industry, there's constantly going to be products and improvements of products and, oh my gosh, you know, adding this and creating that in a lab instead of just finding a new plant or figuring out what this plant can now do for us that we didn't think it could do before or.
Brenda Geiger, Host (21:27.367)
Mm-hmm.
Brenda Geiger, Host (21:36.238)
Mm-hmm. Yeah, and that's the scary part. Everything that's being artificially developed in a lab to smell a certain way, to feel a certain way, everything can be manipulated versus the skincare, Laurel people that you toured, which was 100% plant-based and natural and very tight quality control.
Tana Parry (22:00.778)
Yeah, no, no fragrances, dyes, any of that. And the thing that I love is when you, when you get the oil out of the bottle, you can literally see all the colors, the red, orange, yellow. I mean, everything that you, that is in nature, think of the dandelions and the flowers that, you know, lavender or, you know, there's hundreds of them. They have over a hundred products or a hundred ingredients. So all of that literal plant material is in the product.
So that is the fragrance. We don't need the other fragrances that quite frankly are so toxic. We have enough troubles with our kidneys and our liver and our skin and everything else, removing the toxins, the plugins and the scented candles. I mean, I personally can't be around any of those. They make me nauseous right away. Laundry detergent, I make my own. I can't do any of those.
Brenda Geiger, Host (22:53.396)
out.
Brenda Geiger, Host (22:59.386)
Good for you. Yeah, I used to be a Glade plug-in person and then I switched to Febreze and now I'm just got my essential oil diffuser. It's probably the safest thing you can do other than putting a pot of boiling water with some lemon slices in it and just do it naturally. Yeah, yeah, just back to the basics, back to the basics. So if you don't mind, Tana, would you walk us through your skincare routine and
Tana Parry (22:59.746)
Yeah.
Tana Parry (23:15.71)
And a cinnamon stick. Yeah.
Brenda Geiger, Host (23:25.938)
what you use and why and how and the results.
Tana Parry (23:32.23)
Okay, so I actually, because I'm an esthetician, my countertop has a lot. I have the Laurel, so I definitely use the Laurel. I have the Free Girl Skin Care. Their eye serum, that's not really a serum, their Eye Balm is just one of my favorites. I'm pretty particular about Eye Balms, so that one I wanna highlight because it's...
not heavy, it's not congesting and just makes you feel good. So I have that and then, and I do use the face reality products because lucky me, I have hormonal acne, so it does keep that under control. Um, the sun body oil from Laurel, if I could put it in my bathtub and just dip in it every day, three times a day, I would do that. That is my all time favorite. It smells amazing.
It feels good. And the Tyzo sunscreen, which I wear as I use, it's actually a primer sunscreen, so it's tinted. I mean, they have other products, but the one I use is tinted and that's all I use as the foundation. I'm currently looking for makeup that is clean, you know, talc free, and I haven't tried very hard, but that's on my list because I'd like to switch out the things that I know that I have.
Brenda Geiger, Host (24:50.055)
Mm-hmm.
Tana Parry (24:57.438)
in my bathroom that are not doing me any favors.
Brenda Geiger, Host (25:00.546)
I'm going to do my next episode hopefully will be about makeup. I've reached out to some natural makeup pod or bloggers out there Because that's a whole other hour discussion maybe five hours Because it's it and it is deceiving. You know, I was really surprised as I was looking at
Tana Parry (25:12.768)
Yeah.
Brenda Geiger, Host (25:18.618)
There was, when you look, and we'll get into this in a minute, where you can check out your products and make sure they truly are what they say they are versus false advertising or maybe, you know, greenwashing, honest company. We'll get into this in the next episode. It really narrowed down to just a very select few, because I know I used to go to Aveda salons and thought they were just the cat's meow because it's plant based, plant based, plant based.
but they even admit they have a long ways to go to be keeping up to their motto. Cause when you read their ingredients, they've got all the crap in there too. They're trying to make a shift.
Tana Parry (25:51.732)
Yeah.
Tana Parry (26:00.542)
And I tried to use a lot of the mineral-based makeups years ago, and I just didn't like them. I found them to be congesting. And once I found the Tyzo, I was like, that's all I'm putting on. I don't like a lot of makeup on anyway. I just don't want all that stuff on my face. But sometimes you wanna have a little shadow or some mascara or some blush or something. So that will be exciting. I will for sure want to see that one right away.
Brenda Geiger, Host (26:23.478)
Okay.
Brenda Geiger, Host (26:29.47)
Yeah. So yeah, it sounds like even though your countertop is full of products because you're vetting things for your clientele and staying in the know that really when you look at what you're using every day, you know, it's maybe, I don't know, five, 10 things. It's not like you're just locked and loaded on, you know,
Tana Parry (26:50.058)
I'm kind of, I'm a Taurus, so I'm kind of loyal to a fault. But I mean, when I find something that I like, I'm just gonna stay with that, and that's how it's gonna be. I'm pretty stubborn that way.
Brenda Geiger, Host (27:03.487)
Right. And I like that you mentioned, at least with the laurel, and maybe it's a little pricier, but the longevity of how long it's going to last is going to carry you through. Because yeah, what I'm finding is that, at least in the makeup, you have to be very especially cautious with mascaras and lipsticks, petroleum-based, lead in the lipsticks.
Tana Parry (27:29.01)
I was just gonna say that. Mm-hmm.
Brenda Geiger, Host (27:30.446)
And anything with a colorant, the deeper the color, the more suspicious you need, or the more cautious you need to be about the ingredients. So let's...
Tana Parry (27:40.074)
And even some of the well-known brands, now I don't know if, and I haven't looked for several years, but I know for a while Burt's Bees was, they're very known for being clean and safe, but were very high in lead. And so I don't know if they've corrected that or not, but I would assume by now probably something's happened, but yeah, I mean, you just don't know. But they were one of the first brands that I remember coming out as.
you know, safe and natural and.
Brenda Geiger, Host (28:12.334)
Yeah, they're not in the environmental working group database. Maybe 20% of their products are in the twos and ones, and then you've got to, then they creep up into the fives and tens. So the higher the number, the more risk involved with your body. What about your just day to day soaps? Are you a Zum or a Bronner's or a Castile person at all?
Tana Parry (28:27.436)
Yeah.
Tana Parry (28:41.118)
Well, years ago, actually when I started aesthetic school, I used Dr. Bronner's and quickly found out that the pH level, we did pH testing in school. So we, you know, bring in your soap, everybody bring in what you're using, let's do some pH testing. And the pH was so far from our natural pH that I just was like, okay, I'm not gonna, maybe I'll use it for laundry detergent or something. I'll just, you know, get rid of what I have.
The sad thing is I went this morning and I was like, okay, I better look this up because she's going to ask me this question and my current body wash does not have ingredients in there that I would say are great. So yeah, I'll be looking for a new one of those too.
Brenda Geiger, Host (29:28.666)
Well, it's tough. I mean, it's a constant thing. I don't know, unless we were the girl in the plastic bubble like that movie with John Travolta way back, we're just not gonna not be exposed because I went to a distributor of LeBri, which is all aloe based products. So
If I buy their shampoos, their conditioners, their body wash, I bought their lipsticks. I know that they're 100% clean and they don't use preservatives like phenoxylethanol. The first ingredients in everything they have is aloe, which is good to see because you know it's starting with a natural product or natural ingredient. And if the list is short, you're better off. And if you look, let's turn our shampoo bottle over and there's like, you need a magnifying glass and you could do a print out of 10 pages
Tana Parry (30:11.688)
Right.
Brenda Geiger, Host (30:19.856)
ingredient list. That's not a good sign.
Tana Parry (30:22.498)
Well, and then with that, just for the people that don't know the ingredient list, the ingredient that is first has the most, it's the most concentrated. So aloe is the first ingredient on the list. Aloe is the most, is the one thing that is in there, the primary ingredient. Yeah. I'm like fumbling on myself. And then if you, so let's say it's a citrus, you know, it's a vitamin C serum and you have 10, 15 ingredients and then you have
Brenda Geiger, Host (30:38.386)
the prevalence of the virus.
Tana Parry (30:51.218)
lemon, citrus oil at the end, you're not gonna have a lot of citrus oil doing a lot of work. You want that to be in the very first, yeah, yeah. And that's something that's easy, it's easy to, I mean, I find myself doing it. It's easy to look at the ingredients and you scan and you're like, oh gosh, lemon oil and oh, rosemary, that's great for my hair and my scalp. And oh, you know, all these things, but they're halfway down the list to the bottom of the list. What's the first half?
Brenda Geiger, Host (30:59.553)
Mm-hmm. Top. Yeah.
Brenda Geiger, Host (31:20.926)
Okay, so let's dive into the hard questions on chemical injections and some of the aesthetic things that we may choose to do to stay fresh looking and less wrinkled and the impact that has on our health. And this is all individual opinions. So.
Tana and I are just bantering about our individual. Everyone has the right to do with their body what they want to do with their body. We're not condemning anyone. Just what you've worked in a med spa, I've marketed med spas. I've had Botox and filler and medical dermabrasions. So I've done it all, tried it all. So. Yeah. And what is, what is.
Tana Parry (32:04.194)
Same. This is where I have to full disclosure, because of my self-esteem issues that I've had since as long as I can remember, I have done all of the above and more and still do here and there and probably still will.
Brenda Geiger, Host (32:28.135)
Uh huh.
Tana Parry (32:31.51)
because when I look in the mirror, I need to feel good about what I see for myself first. And that's a struggle. So I mean, for me, it's like, there's no judgment because I've probably done it. And or I will next month in my next appointment or something. But it's picking and choosing where you can make the changes and not beating yourself up because you can't make them all because we just.
We just can't make them all and we're not gonna be perfect. And that's something that I struggle with for sure.
Brenda Geiger, Host (33:10.382)
No, self-esteem, feeling good for me, competing in the marketplace for jobs and projects against younger folks, yeah, has been a catalyst for me trying some fillers and freezers and microdermabasin. And what else have I tried? The LED and the, you know.
The lights, I mean, there's red lights, there's LED lights, there's, I forget the name of everything, but yeah, it's competitive. It's not only for our self-esteem, but if you are in the marketplace competing against younger folks, it's a factor. So employers, people.
Tana Parry (33:50.11)
Mm hmm. Well, and for me, yeah, yeah. And for me, building an aesthetics business at my age and not at 22 or right out of school. It is difficult because the expectation is that I go on social media and I do all these floofy frilly videos of myself and
that's just not who I am. I'd rather just talk to somebody. I have walked up to people in the parking lot and just created conversation because I'd rather do that than try to engage in thousands of people that are consuming thousands of things. It's just too much. It's too much pressure for one person.
Brenda Geiger, Host (34:32.93)
I absolutely agree. I went on vacation to Mexico in April and I really just needed to be just watch the ocean waves come in. That's the point in time I need.
one week of just smelling sea air and watching the waves come in. That's all my husband and I wanted. And we were, we had a balcony facing the ocean because that's, that was our priority. And I remember just watching all the younger generations, the 20, maybe the 17 to 25 year olds in the ocean with their selfie cameras all day long. I mean, okay, how many pictures is she going to take? You know, yeah, it's great to say, Hey, I'm in Cabo or wherever we were.
Tana Parry (35:05.726)
Mm-hmm.
Brenda Geiger, Host (35:13.19)
But I mean, a lot of, you could tell they were trying to be influencers on a beauty channel or whatever channel. And it was just options.
Tana Parry (35:20.606)
It's just too much. Yeah, it's just too much pressure. And I mean, I'm not saying I have not done that. I'm guilty of it, but I'm like, can I just get one and then be done with it and move on? Let's do something else. It's hard. It really is hard, especially the beauty industry because there is so much competition and I don't want it to be that way. I would prefer us to all work together and collaborate, cooperate, support. Just doesn't.
It just isn't always that way.
Brenda Geiger, Host (35:52.498)
So do you have any concerns since we're both being very transparent about what we tried, what we taper back on? Do you have any concerns about the long-term effects of putting a toxin in your body, shoot it in your forehead or your 11s or your navio-lavial folds? Is there any information that says it could be harmful down the road?
Tana Parry (36:13.436)
Yeah.
Tana Parry (36:17.982)
Well, if you read through all the risks, it certainly, I mean, it could be harmful at that moment. You know, if a particle gets into the bloodstream or gets into a vein or something, there's risks with everything. It's a risk. You know, what risks are you willing to take? You know, because I personally am somebody who does, and I use Disport and I use Sculptra.
Um, not a lot. And I, you know, my injector is nurse is not going to make me look plastic. She, she just, it's not that way. They're very natural, natural. Um, it's hard for me to, and Seamus agrees it's hard for me to, um,
kind of frown upon it because it's something that I do. I think it's a personal choice. I think that there certainly are side effects and it's not for everybody and people will have allergic reactions. Sometimes they'll grow like a nodule in the injection site or assist or also go to a reputable person. They need to be, you know, for an injection, they need to be a nurse or above. An esthetician doing injections
not in Kansas or the United States that I'm aware of is legal. I mean, people are using fix-a-flat in their behinds to like, don't do that. That's not going to end well. Silicon, like, just don't do that.
Brenda Geiger, Host (37:49.059)
Yeah, well.
Brenda Geiger, Host (37:53.47)
I found it unusual seeing how many different businesses are now offering Botox. Like why is my dentist now offering Botox? Why you just doesn't, it's a disconnect to me. Yeah, I want my teeth to be clean, but I don't want to lay there in the chair and have that done too.
Tana Parry (38:06.926)
That's nothing.
Tana Parry (38:11.166)
Right. I'm sorry if you can hear my dog. He's passing gas over there. Okay. Perfect timing, Shannon. Thank you. Yeah, that's something. Anytime I've had any plastic surgery or injections, I have the same place I've gone for forever. So I mean, just use a reputable source, make sure they're qualified, make sure if it's plastic surgery, make sure they're board certified.
Brenda Geiger, Host (38:13.754)
Okay.
Brenda Geiger, Host (38:18.902)
Oh, okay.
Brenda Geiger, Host (38:34.34)
Mm-hmm.
Tana Parry (38:41.09)
just check out the credentials. The cheaper is not better. I mean, spend the money on something, if it's, especially if it is going to be something that everybody sees anywhere you go, anytime, and you have to see for the rest of your life in the mirror.
Brenda Geiger, Host (38:58.446)
Yeah, don't fly to Mexico, do the medical tourism and save money and cut corners because that will bite you in the butt, probably. So I'm going to segue over to these databases that are out there that I appreciate so much.
Tana Parry (39:08.098)
Gary.
Brenda Geiger, Host (39:17.826)
and the one that most people have heard of is called environmental working group. So if you're going to be a little bit more diligent about looking at the ingredients and learning, if it could affect your hormone disruption or if it can affect your respiratory breathing, like I had the experience in 2012, ewg.org is probably the first one that came to be, and they have 103,000 products.
vetted on their site that you can go to and look at from a scale of one being best to 10 being worst and see who I want to put my money towards that product. And then my hairdresser, my hairstylist just this past weekend told me about Yucca.
and it's spelled Y-U-K-A, and it focuses on cosmetics and foods. Those are the buckets that it's working on. So you can download the Yucca app, which I have for free, take it to the grocery store, take it to your spa or your pharmacy or wherever you buy your cosmetics, scan the product, and they have 2 million products listed.
So they're a bit more aggressive. And definitely if you're looking for clean food and you don't wanna be eating something that has processed this and processed that and chemicals and glyphosate, it will tell you what's in there. And then, Thin Dirty, Think Dirty, a typo, excuse me, Think Dirty Shop Clean has 68,000 products vetted, so it doesn't have quite as many. And then beautyheroes.com.
is not a database of products, but they do have a list of clean products partnered with Good Face Project, and they have a pocket guide that you can download for free. And I'll put a link to this that just says if your product has this, and this in it, it might not be the best to purchase. Do you use any of those databases?
Tana Parry (41:20.382)
Well, I'm wondering if your Think Dirty shop is the same as I have a Think Dirty app and there are only over 200, I'm sorry, 2.5 million products on there.
Brenda Geiger, Host (41:30.49)
Okay, then I might, there might be another one. You know, I think there's a bunch of people jumping on the bandwagon to put these apps together because they see how popular they are. So tell me the URL of the one you used, Hannah. Think dirty.
Tana Parry (41:33.416)
Yeah, so I'm
Tana Parry (41:39.346)
Yeah. Um, it's just think dirty app. And, and, um, like, for example, this morning, when I was in my sauna, sweating it out, I, uh, I went on there and I'm like, I'm just going to look up Laurel skincare products. I'm going to look up free girl, free girls, not on there. Free girls, skincare, free girls, skincare is not on there yet, but they are very new company. Laurel is on there and everything was pretty good. So
Brenda Geiger, Host (41:45.467)
Think dirty.
Tana Parry (42:07.478)
That's nice to know, feel good about that. But then also, you know, as like we talked about at the beginning, what you put inside is so important too. Every year, and I'm not sure who puts it out, but there's a clean 15 and a dirty dozen, the food lists. So like, I think strawberries, for example, are almost always on the dirty dozen list.
Brenda Geiger, Host (42:07.512)
Nice.
Tana Parry (42:31.946)
because of the pesticides and the chemicals that they use. So that's something just to kind of be aware of every year when it's this time of year, when we're about to start eating the food from the yard or the farmer's market or the grocery store or wherever. So any of those things, I'm always, I haven't heard of, Yucca, I'm super intrigued by that. So I'll look that stuff up this afternoon.
Brenda Geiger, Host (42:42.139)
Yes.
Brenda Geiger, Host (42:46.366)
Mm-hmm.
Brenda Geiger, Host (42:54.278)
Yes. Did you, when you were sonning this morning, did you happen to type in the Tyzo sunscreen or the tinted sunscreen to find out how it rated?
Tana Parry (43:03.522)
I didn't on that one. I should though, because I didn't even know until I really started talking to the reps, like, hey, I need to know about this a little bit more. I didn't even know that they are like gluten-free and dye, fragrance-free, paraben-free. I mean, I just didn't know that. I just liked the product, but it's nice to know that my instincts are, they just kind of always lead me toward what is a
better choice anyway. So, for some intuition involved, if you learn to pay attention.
Brenda Geiger, Host (43:33.17)
Mm-hmm. Well.
Brenda Geiger, Host (43:37.958)
Yes, and I think that's key, paying attention and just being a little bit more of your own advocate for your health. And not just, I mean, yeah, when we're in our 20s, as we both know, we would lay out in baby oil and the foil and college and just, you know, mutilate our bodies. But the older you get, the less resilient you get, and you need to give your body a little bit more care.
Tana Parry (43:51.842)
iodine and the, yeah.
Brenda Geiger, Host (44:03.682)
So I really appreciate you coming on the Wellness Whisperer. And I would urge anyone looking for a licensed esthetician to find someone with the passion that Tana Perry has because it shows and you're gonna get the result of that. I know that I've been trying to get in to have a facial with you wanting to, cause everyone I...
talk to you that's been to you is like, oh, my OMG, you've got to go to Tana. I fell asleep. I got a head massage. I left with the best products. I mean, you are doing the right thing for your clients and for yourself. So don't go away. Thank you for listening to this episode. Stay tuned next week when we do the one on makeup.
Tana Parry (44:40.51)
Bye!
Tana Parry (44:46.327)
Thanks.