Life is better in color. Now I would say that's true for many things except when it comes to artificial dyes. In this post, as part of our on-going Ingredient Truths series, we'll break down why brighter isn't always better. [More]

I think my title sounds like the name of a kids song - hmm, maybe it's time for a second career for me? Nah, then I'd have to give up sharing all these skin care truths. Ok, so in keeping with our Ingredient Truths series, I'm going to take you behind how our products (and others) are formulated. This week I'm talking about emulsifiers and how they keep all personal care, cosmetic and food products literally held together. [More]

Did you know the skin care, hair care and dental products in your bathroom cupboard may be filled with tiny plastic beads? Did you know these beads are a major environmental problem? It's true, plastic microbeads are commonly added to personal care products such as face scrubs, exfoliators and even toothpaste. One bottle of face scrub can contain up to 300,000 beads according to the non-profit 5Gyres and these beads end up in our water ways where they are toxic to marine life and add to the general pollution. [More]

This past weekend I was out to dinner with my girlfriends and while we were trading stories of diet and exercise, the subject of antioxidants came up. My friends all agreed they were important because they read something about them somewhere but no one actually knew what they were. Like my girlfriends, I'm sure most of you have heard or read about antioxidants. Have you ever wondered what they actually are and do? Well I'm here to help answer these questions in this week's Ingredient Truths post so you can be the smartest person at your next dinner party. [More]

I'm back with another one of our Ingredient Truth series blog posts and this time I'm tackling the two most commonly used forms of sulfates: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES). Why should you care? Well there's a lot of mixed info about their safety on the internet and since these two ingredients, according to some industry experts, can be found in close to 90% of shampoos and body washes, I think it's important to understand them. So is something this commonplace toxic for you? Well yes and no - I'll get to that below. [More]

We all want a miracle drug that can completely reverse the signs of aging and make our skin look 10 years younger. And there are a lot of beauty and cosmetic products out there that market to that desire. But we've all heard the line that if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it's probably a duck. This week in our Ingredient Truths series I'm going to give some real talk about how these companies maybe making you over-pay for many false promises and how the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is getting involved. [More]

Ok I'm going to answer part of the question I pose in our title upfront. It's probably going to be difficult to avoid phthalates all together. Nevertheless there are ways to reduce your exposure to phthalates and we can help you with tips to do so. We want to present you with information on this topic so that you can make informed decisions. Finally we want to note that here at Block Island Organics our products do not contain phthalates. [More]

A few weeks ago we began our "Ingredient Truths" series and talked about parabens. In my post on parabens I mentioned that parabens could be hidden within the ingredient "fragrance" (aka "parfum"). This week I wanted to provide more information on this ingredient for you - what is Fragrance, should you be concerned and how do you look out for it. [More]

We believe ingredients matter at Block Island Organics and we want to be open and honest about what goes into our products. We also believe in educating consumers about suncare, sun protection and healthy living in general. As part of our commitment to building a safe brand that you can trust we'll be doing an on-going series on ingredients. We'll break down what these ingredients do, what they mean for you and any concerns. This week we'll be talking about parabens. [More]