Travel Pack

“The essential foundation of beauty is health.” - Dr. Alkaitis

Sociobiology makes me cringe. The realities of economics and aesthetics are frequently politically uncomfortable. There appear to be some basic principles that all humans operate by—for example, that everyone likes money and beauty. Money is intrinsically meaningless and worthless: a bale of Benjamins won't do you much good in the middle of Antarctica except as tinder. Pot shards, metal disks, cocoa beans—all have done service as manifestations of worth, tokens of sweat and time. The presence or absence of cash does not necessarily indicate that the holder is good, talented, wise, or kind—the infamous caprice of fortune, depicted as female—but try getting a thing done without it. As a tool, a means of exchange, it is a necessity that defines our lives. Most people on the planet are preoccupied by raw survival and ethics can be a luxury. Beauty is equally vexing a concept. Notoriously subjective, yes, but globally consistent in some respects: symmetry and youth are admired across cultures. The extent to which the value placed on youth is based on some sort of Darwinian reproductive imperative, I'd rather not dwell upon. Instead, I'll opt for Dr. Alkaitis' succinct suggestion that a healthy exterior reflects a healthy interior, at least on the animal level.

Dr. Alkaitis offers a variety of products of indisputably healthy content: facial cleansers, herbal toners, creams, treatment oils; masks for exfoliating, cellular repair, or mixed from the crushed petals of flowers. Ingredients are largely non-chemical: organic oat bran, berries, grapes, barley grass, and turmeric. This echoes Michael Pollan's direction to only consume foods you can read. The doctor proffers credentials indicating that the additional enzymes are informed additions, and says that he concocted his potions with “dry, mature problem skin and those with Multiple Chemical Sensitivities in mind.” The quantities in a travel pack make effective testing difficult, but the masks struck me as the best (not included). It's recommended that the user mix the masks with organic honey or agave. I used water, preferring to save the honey for tea. Still effective. However, my philosophizing is so lucrative, next time I'll probably exfoliate with plain oatmeal, daub on a free-range chicken egg for a mask, and refresh my eyes with cucumber slices, if they don't go to breakfasts, or salads. That's healthy.

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