Beautifully Green

I've had the idea for this post topic in my head for a few months. I've been hesitant to write about it because I felt guilty. I've decided to confess. I got acrylic nails in June. Now before you become enraged, let me just say, I don't have them anymore (and my real nails are now so brittle I ripped one below the quick yesterday and it was bleeding...this counts for punishment, right?) When I first started going green, I went WAY green. I quit using soap and shampoo and just used Dr. Bronner's castille soap for everything. I quit using antiperspirant and used a natural deodorant. I stopped wearing make-up. So I know you're asking...how did you backslide SO far? And the answer is, it's Seventeen magazine's fault. I started reading Seventeen when I was a freshman in high school. I still have that copy, although it's about falling apart because I read it and reread it so many times. I LOVED getting that magazine every month. I learned lots of great things, like how to be anorexic and how cutting is physical release for emotional pain. Thanks Seventeen! But I also learned how I need products to look pretty and be liked by others. Remember that song that came out around graduation time a few (OK, probably 10) years ago that had that "Wear Sunscreen" commencement address embedded in the song? (I think Vitamin C was the artist.) Anyway, there's a line in there that really stuck with me, "Don't read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly." How true! "How to get fabulous hair" "Lose 10 lbs in a month!" "Make-up tips from the pros!" All of these infer that you're not ok, or pretty, the way you are. And since it's all about selling, there are, of course, products that go with all of this. And they're NOT green! Your skin is your biggest organ. You put chemicals on your skin, it's in your body. (*See previous argument about the chemicals in disposable diapers.) So, even though I know that by putting acrylic nails on, I'm allowing chemicals to leach into my body every day, the Seventeen message that I got at age 15 is still so strong that I decided to do it. I kept them on for about a month and a half. And I won't lie... I loved the way they looked. Felt like I looked more "pulled together" even when I was wearing my Y clothes. They were great, until they started cracking and hurting and taking up way to much of my time to get filled. Plus, I really did feel guilty about having them on. How can I write a blog about living green and have fake nails?!!? So I feel better now. My hands are wreck, but they're mine. No one cares what they look like, except me. Despite what Seventeen magazine would have me believe!