Stephanie in her store, Bubble & Bee
Too little progesterone
Here at HBP, we are often criticized by “the establishment” for starting the conversations that we do. Healthy, non-toxic beauty discussions can get heated sometimes. Our goal is to educate, not to start fights. Honest. One way we’d like to educate is by bringing you, our readers, personal accounts from women who’ve changed their beauty routine (and their lives) because of health related issues.
Our first interview in this ongoing series is with the wonderfully gutsy, well-informed Stephanie Greenwood of Bubble & Bee Organic – a great, all natural (and USDA Certified Organic) line of skincare and bath & body products. Stephanie’s outspoken, informative site has gotten her reprimanded (“You’re not a chemist!”) by the same crowd that dislikes us. Oh, well. We’re in good company 
HBP: What started you on your journey towards natural products and ultimately creating your company, Bubble & Bee?
Stephanie: When I was 26, I had a period that lasted for 5 months. Straight. With no end in sight, I visited my doctor. She diagnosed me with adenomyosis, basically an enlargement of the uterus, and low progesterone. She told me that the only cure would be to have a baby or a hysterectomy. As a single woman of 26, neither was an option. She slapped down a prescription for the pill to regulate my periods and sent me on my way.
HBP: I have heard something similar to this from other women – the pill becomes the fix all.
Stephanie: That didn’t sit right with me. It seemed like taking the pill was only covering up the symptoms and not treating the actual problem. So, I started researching. Why wasn’t I making enough progesterone? Why was I stuck in the estrogen-dominant phase of my cycle? And what was causing the adenomyosis?
HBP: That’s so vital. I think we often believe we should just blindly accept what doctors or scientist say when really, it’s our responsibility to make sure we understand what our options are.
Stephanie: Exactly. That’s when I found out about xenoestrogens and how these synthetic estrogens were causing my body to go haywire. I realized that all of the personal care products I had been using for years were loaded with them. From phthlalate-containing “fragrance” to parabens, it was all contributing to the problem. I switched to an all-organic diet (pesticides on foods can also be xenoestrogens) and tried to switch my personal care products, too.
HBP: I’m getting a clue here that the personal care part didn’t go so well.
Stephanie: Unfortunately, I’d get a supposedly “organic” product home and then read the label only to find out it contained parabens! After an extensive search, I couldn’t find any products that were truly free of questionable chemicals. Fed up, I started making my own.
My friends and family caught wind of my creations and encouraged me to sell them. My partner, Steve, was sparked with creativity and designed our labels, came up with our name and logo, and we decided to hit the local farmer’s market. Within a year, we became distributed region-wide in Whole Foods and had a bustling internet business. It turns out, I wasn’t the only one looking for truly organic products!
HBP: That’s incredible. And the interest in healthy products is growing by the day. That’s why so many brands are coming out with “natural” products. Unfortunately, that isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Tell us how you define “natural.”
Stephanie: There are so many different definitions and certifications for natural, and no real legal meaning. Some people or companies will call something natural if it’s derived all from agricultural sources instead of petroleum.
My definition of natural is more strict. I define natural as something that is only one chemical reaction away from the raw materials. So, for instance…Coconut oil is used to create soap. There is one chemical reaction that occurs, coconut oil combines with lye to create a new compound we know as soap. Coconut Oil to Soap. One step, one chemical reaction. By my definition, soap is natural.
HBP: That makes sense.
Stephanie: Sodium Lauryl Sulfate takes many more steps from the original coconut oil. First, coconut oil is reduced in to lauryl alcohol. Lauryl alcohol is then reacted with sulfuric acid, then reacted with sodium carbonte. So the steps look more like this: Coconut Oil > Lauryl Alcohol > Hydrogen Lauryl Sulfate > Sodium Lauryl Sulfate
Here we have four chemical reactions that occur, so I don’t consider Sodium Lauryl Sulfate to be natural; However, some companies will bill it as natural because it was once coconut oil. But, by my definition, it is a synthetic.
HBP: I totally agree. And it’s very drying to hair and skin. It doesn’t even contribute positively to the beauty routine.
Stephanie: That being said, not all synthetic ingredients are “bad.”
HBP: Right. We stress that a lot here, too. Although our preference is to use natural, not everything synthetic is toxic.
Stephanie: Exactly. For the most part, the safest products are natural. But not everything that’s natural is healthy. For instance, some essential oils are highly toxic. (For a list, refer to my blog)
HBP: Let’s talk for a minute about USDA certification. Why is this important to you?
Stephanie: USDA certification is the only way you can tell if a product is free from harmful synthetic ingredients. It is the gold standard when it comes to personal care products. With USDA certification, you can be sure that companies are fully disclosing their ingredients and not sneaking in synthetics under a natural name, like Japanese Honeysuckle Extract which contains butylene glycol, or Grapefruit Seed Extract which is actually a quaternary ammonium compound.
HBP: Thank you so much Stephanie for sharing your insight with our readers. Perhaps a woman will read this and say, “Hey, that sounds like what’s going on with my body.” We hope we can empower women to become advocates for healthy, non-toxic beauty products.
Stephanie: I hope so, as well. I’ve seen a definite change. I no longer have periods that last for months on end. I haven’t used an asthma inhaler for five years (before that, I was using it multiple times a day), my skin is much much clearer, and the adenomyosis seems to be gone as well.
Thank you, Lindsey. We'll be sharing other women's accounts so check back in.
What a great article! I too have had issues with estrogen overload. When I was 14, I became a vegan and started eating mainly soy product meat substitutions. This wreaked havoc on my reproductive system. Whenever I drank a glass of soymilk it actually made me start my period within a few hours, irregularly.
I tested this three times, and came to the conclusion that soy was causing my problem. Immediately after finding this, I had cut out soy. A few years later I had learned about parabens and their estrogenic activity so I had cut those out as well. As of recently I have just learned about Japanese Honeysuckle, and I would probably never have learned if it weren't for Stephanie's blog!
I am very thankful for the thorough research that she does and time she puts into her quest to inform everyone of what we're putting on our bodies. Thanks to everything you do, Stephanie. I also would like to give thanks to The Healthy Beauty Project for the work that they do.