East Side beauty bar is a chemical-free zone

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      When you treat yourself to a manicure, do you take your sweet time picking out just the right shade of nail polish? Siren reds, shimmery metallics, iridescent pinks—I mean, what’s a girl to choose? Well, at Claudine Michaud’s spa, the decision about what colour to use on your pretty little digits is already made for you: none. There is no nail polish on the premises. That’s because her chic, Parisian-style East Side beauty bar is a chemical-free zone. And that’s no greenwash.

      Educating people about avoidable toxins is her passion and she practises what she preaches. She is the founder and creator of Bioéthique Certified Organic, a line of all-natural, third-party-certified vegan skin-care, body, and hair products. When she says “organic”, the woman means it. All her products are certified by Nature et Progrí¨s, a France-based company that is considered one of the strictest, most comprehensive and transparent certifying agencies in the world. And if you think there’s a comparable agency in Canada, Michaud says you’re mistaken.

      “There’s an assumption that our well-being is being considered on some sort of governmental level, where products that go directly onto your skin or into your hair are being tested for safety—or at least for veracity to make sure those ingredients [listed] are really in there—and that’s not happening,” says Michaud, who recently sat down the with the Straight at her environmentally friendly Bioéthique Boutique and Day Spa (688 East Hastings Street). “And organic and natural are not legal terms, so it’s very confusing for the consumer because they’re maybe not getting any organic ingredients whatsoever.”

      Even though her line has only been on the market for a little over three years and her spa has only been open a couple of months, the path that led Michaud to creating a line of chemical-free beauty products started about 15 years ago when her best friend was diagnosed with cancer. The two then became very health-conscious.

      At first, it started with just eating organic food, but it wasn’t long before Michaud got another ecological wake-up call—this one in the form of a gift from her mom.

      “It was a fig foaming bath, and I was like, ”˜Ooooh, how luxurious,’” she recalls. “So I drew a bath and got in and I broke out in a rash, which really alarmed me. I remember looking at the ingredients and there was, first of all, no fig—anywhere. And I think it was the first time that I really looked at a cosmetic product label and thought, ”˜What is this? They’re just chemical names. I don’t even know what these things are.’”

      With Bioéthique products, the opposite is true. For example, the Antioxidant Serum ($68) contains just a handful of ingredients—all of them edible and easy to pronounce, like milk-thistle extract, lavender extract, and vanilla absolute essential oil. Same goes for her Hydrating Shampoo ($33) and Hair Conditioning Mist ($36).

      As for her spa, everything from the floor cleaner to the laundry detergent is toxin-free—which brings us back to that manicure. If you want one, make sure you remove your nail polish before you come in. There is no polish remover in the house.

      Instead, clients are treated to Michaud’s blissful twist on a traditional French manicure, which includes a soothing massage, exfoliation, mask treatment for your hands and forearms, and of course, cuticle work and nail shaping. Instead of white polish on the tips, she puts white clay pencil under the nails for the same effect. If you want to be lulled into a relaxing state of euphoria, go for one of their facial treatments (ask for Jas) ($95 to $155).

      All these services and products are part of what Michaud calls “intelligent aging”: “I really do believe that we can achieve health and beauty intelligently and without buying into this consumer-driven idea that we need to use all these synthetic chemicals.”

      Comments

      2 Comments

      James Johnstone

      Dec 30, 2010 at 10:36pm

      Great article, on a great business, run by two very great people. It is so wonderful to finally see the Spa up and running. During the years when they could have paid 100% of their time and energy launching their business, Claudine and Kieren devoted untold hours spearheading the effort to save the historic Heatley Block, the landmark East End (Strathcona is not in the East Side, BTW) building complex where their business is now located. These community heroes deserve all the business they can get... and they will get it not because they fought the good fight, but because they have indeed created an awesome line of excellent natural organic body products. Bioéthique is the real thing. Try it, you'll love it. I did and do.

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      Melanie Sharpe

      Jan 6, 2011 at 11:14am

      Excellent article! I have been using Bioéthique products for almost two years now and would never, ever go back to using the chemical laden products that are pushed upon us. I have no idea why everyone is not making the change to Bioéthique. I am so happy to read about the Day Spa in the historic Heatley Block - I will be making my appointment right away.

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