The quest for the Fountain of Youth has been going on for centuries and it still seems to elude us most of the time. The whole purpose of SmartFem magazine is to protect, serve and educate women and only work with people and companies that operate with the highest integrity. It delights me when I find strong, intelligent women who are passionate about what they do and who share their gifts with others.
Cherylanne DeVita is one of these women and she was kind enough to share her story. I, like many women I know, have an entire drawer full of skin creams and serums that claim to erase the hands of time. I once spent as much as $150 for a wrinkle cream with “guaranteed results and proven clinical studies.” The only thing it erased was my bank account. I am very skeptical when it comes to lotions and potions and so-called anti-aging products. In addition to the products not working, or irritating the skin, several of them contain toxic ingredients. Having had a near fatal bout with skin cancer I do know first-hand, that what you put on your skin definitely makes a difference.
Cherylanne created DeVita Natural Skincare, a vegan and Paraben free line of skincare and cosmetics for women. She shared with me her story and pain of having to deal with cystic acne all of her life. Cherylanne actually cured her own acne with a formula she made on her own. (She is a master chemist, did I forget to mention that?). Her own esthetician told her to keep doing what she was doing as the results were remarkable. I really enjoyed my time with Cherylanne… so much that my interview ended up being three hours long. I was impressed with Cherylanne’s passion and commitment to women and to the environment. All of her products are all-natural, 100% Paraben free, PETA Certified Vegan and despite the gorgeous Chanel-esque packages, they are all recycled and Earth friendly packaging.
I asked Cherylanne for a tip for women about how to know that they were getting a safe product and she said to read the label, the active ingredients are mentioned first and if you need a dictionary to know what the ingredient is… it probably is not natural and may not be safe. Despite how progressive the US is, it is still about 30 years behind when it comes to regulating our cosmetics. Most of our cosmetics would not be allowed to be sold in Europe or in Canada due to many of the toxic ingredients of our manufacturers. Most people would be horrified if you knew what was in your mascara (bat excrement), another toxic ingredient still found in red lipstick is lead. The list goes on, if you knew what ingredients companies use in baby products you would be outraged.
It is good to know that there are women who will go the extra mile and take on these big companies to make sure that people have safe and healthy alternatives. It is for this reason I am so happy and honored to feature Cherylanne DeVita as our SmartFem Woman of the Month.
