Product Review: Biolink VCO Hot Oil Conditioner

It’s not intentional, but the fact that my second product review is another hair-care product is quite telling. Pinoys–especially Pinoy women–really take pride in their hair. Just within a one kilometer radius of my home in Mandaluyong, you can find about five or six hair salons!

I don’t know if I fit the stereotype of the hair-obsessed Pinay–I don’t like having long, straight hair (I prefer my hair short, but my mother insists I look better with long hair), I don’t like combing often, I’m not obsessed with making my hair look shampoo-commerical perfect, and I rarely go to the salon/parlor. Thrice a year is about it for me.

I am still fond of hair products, though–and thus without intending it, the review below is for a conditioner–to match with the shampoo review. Hehehe.

The fact that I even tried Biolink VCO Hot Oil Conditioner is proof of the effectivity of product sampling. I received a free sachet while walking through a mall one day, used it while at the beach, and liked what I saw. So, the next time I went to the supermarket, I looked for a bottle of it, and started using it regularly.

What I really like about this product is not only that it’s locally-made, but also…

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Why Buy Pinoy? Part 2: Buying Local, Carbon Emissions, and Climate Change

A rescue worker in Guinsaugon, Southern Leyte. Catastrophic landslides hit the barangay in 2006. Photo from www.flickr.com/photos/remzamora/418662063/. (I believe Rem Zamora is a photojournalist for a major Philippine daily.)

I was planning to put off this entry to a later date, simply because I wanted to do more research first. However, two things spurred me to writing this entry today:

1. Today is EARTH DAY! Happy Earth Day, everyone!
2. The weather. 

It’s supposed to be the middle of the summer in our part of the world, Because we’re a tropical country, Philippine summers are very warm, with very little rainfall, but high humidity.

Today, however, is the second day that it has been raining–and not just summer shower rain, but torrential rain. The quality of the rains of the past two days make me think of July, the middle of the typhoon season. The sky in Metro Manila is completely gray. As I write this, I am in the MRT and the sky’s dimness makes it seem as if it were dusk, though it is just 2pm.

According to PAGASA meteorologists,* this is a highly unusual weather pattern, even worrisome. The present rains, they say, are due to an intertropical convergence zone in the atmosphere–but intertropical convergence zones form only after the warm season.

Yes, folks, the climate has already begun to change.

What does climate change, irregular weather patterns, and the Guinsaugon landslide have to to with buying Philippine-made products, you might ask?  You might be surprised–buying locally-made products have a lot to do with it.

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Why buy Pinoy? How buying locally-made products helps the country, Part 1

 ”Why buy Pinoy?” is both a simple and complex question, with both simple and complex answers.

It’s a simple question because it’s straightforward, direct to the point, and asks a meaningful question. However, depending on the context in which the question is asked, it becomes quite complex.

In some situations, asking the question “Why buy Pinoy?” implies a certain preconceived notion or prejudice about locally-made products. For example, growing up in the 1980s and early 1990s, I was surrounded by so many people who preferred to buy imported (usually Made in USA) products, and would always assert that “Imported products are of better quality than local products. So, why buy local?”The early 1990 PX/Duty Free craze is testament to that mindset. My family would actually troop en masse to Subic and Clark to buy PX goods. American-made Ovaltine, Tang, Planters Cheez Balls, and 100% US cotton bedsheets were part of my childhood.

In the same way, answers to the question, “Why buy Pinoy?” can be both simple and complex. They can be simple because we can point to certain generalizations and patterns–the economic benefits of buying locally-made products, its effects on our economy, on the labor force, on preserving and creating jobs, generating more tax revenues, and creating a vibrant local economy. On the other hand, we can’t deny the effects that globalization has taken, which makes the whole situation of the local economy far more complex. Sure, by buying local products, we support local manufacturing businesses–but don’t importers and distributors of foreign-made goods generate jobs and income as well? Don’t they pay taxes, too?

On top of everything else, I’m not at all close to being qualified to talk about things like the economy, globalization, and things like that. I have to admit that it’s nowhere near my area of expertise. 

At the same time, though, as someone who advocates buying Philippine-made products, the question does need to be asked, and answered. Why do I feel so strongly about buying locally-made products, in the first place? Where does this strong opinion and sentiment come from, on my part?

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Product Review: Human Nature Moisturizing Shampoo (Aloe Vera, Egg Whites, Guava)

I first heard of the Human Nature line from my friend and colleague  R., who blogs at PinoyBaby.com. As you can probably tell from the title of her blog, she’s a mother to a wonderful 5 month old baby boy, and she blogs about her experiences as a first-time mom. She had only good things to say about using Human Nature’s baby shampoo on her son, and I thought of giving it a try as well. I selected this particular variant of the many Human Nature shampoos because my hair tends to get dry easily, and because I get dandruff easily as well.

 (please excuse the crappy lighting in this photo)

 
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Buy Pinoy: My Story

Six months ago, while getting into the shower, I realized that almost all of the bath products I used were made in other countries—from my shampoo, conditioner and soap, even to my toothbrush and dental floss. I was surprised because, as a child, I had been raised to Buy Pinoy—buy locally-produced products to support local industry—yet here I was, with 90% of my bath products made elsewhere. Coincidentally, I had recently taken an online test that mapped out my carbon footprint as an individual—measuring the amount of carbon emissions that my kind of lifestyle generates. In the process, I learned that a tons of carbon emissions are generated each year by the importing process—and that amount keeps growing as the demand for imported good rise. After that realization, I started paying close attention to the labels of the products that I bought at the supermarket, taking note of where each product was made, making an effort to by locally-made products.

Paying attention to the labels of products then led me to pay more attention to the ingredients lists of these products. After encountering a whole host of names that I didn’t understand and wasn’t familiar with (Dimethicone, anyone?), I decided to educate myself about these ingredients—and what I learned surprised me. There are so many chemicals that go into commercially-produced shampoos, conditioners, even food products that are safe in small amounts, but not so safe in large amounts. Even though these chemicals are technically safe for human use, many of these chemicals end up going down our drains and into our sewers—and given the kind of sewage system we have in Metro Manila and in the rest of the country, these chemicals eventually end up in our groundwater, causing all kinds of chemical contamination.

Knowing all of these things was a deal-breaker for me—I felt very frustrated about my unconscious contribution to polluting the Philippines and the world (not to mention making multinational companies richer in the process), a negative contribution that I’ve made over the past 24 years of my life. It also made me start asking questions about whether there are any alternatives to the kinds of consumer products that I usually buy—alternatives that cause less pollution, are made locally from ingredients that are kinder to the environment, and generate sustainable development through providing training and jobs to my fellow Pinoys. I was skeptical at first—apart from organically-grown vegetables, I wasn’t sure if there were any other products that fit these criteria.
So, where did I start? Well, the internet, of course! And I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of products available—online and offline—that met all of these criteria. Little by little, I started buying products and trying them out, just to see if they could be viable alternatives. I also started seeking out alternative shops, cafes, and restaurants. The more I looked, the more alternatives I found!

Then it came to me—what if there are other people like me who are looking for products and services that are responsible alternatives to those provided by big companies (some of whom have unjust environmental or labor practices?). What if there were people who wanted to find out more about Philippine-made products, but didn’t know where to start? So I began thinking, what can I do?

The tipping point for me really was two things:

1. I received a Facebook invitation to join a Cause from a friend, and it led me to the website onetama.com. I don’t know anyone behind the website, but its message truly inspired me—that we Filipinos can make our country a better place, one tama (right action) at a time. And one of the actions listed there was: buy Pinoy (and encourage other to do so as well).
2. While taking a bath yesterday, I suddenly realized that, without any real effort/difficulty, all the bath products I use now are Pinoy-made—some even sustainably-made and socially-responsible. If it was easy for me to make the transition to Pinoy products, then maybe it could be easy for many others. People just need to know what options they have, and maybe I can help others know of these options.

And so, this blog was born!

What can you expect from me? You can look forward to updates 1-2x a week, featuring product reviews, news, information about products and “alternative” lifestyle options—and of course, stories of my efforts to buy Pinoy products.

Happy reading, and I hope to hear from you, too!

(Happy Easter, as well! )