I used to be a big time perfume lover. All throughout my teens and early adult years I wore Elizabeth Arden’s Red Door perfume. Just ask my husband, he is still sulking that I no longer wear what he considers my signature scent. Eventually I stopped wearing it because who has time for perfume when you have to change messy diapers and supply breast milk on tap 24/7? Then after a few years I decided I didn’t WANT to wear it because conventional perfume is some seriously toxic and nasty stuff and I wanted to abstain from toxic beauty.

Sadly, this is a largely unregulated industry and perfume companies can put nearly any chemical they want in their formulas and get away with it. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the Environmental Working Group created a report that shows how hormone-disrupting chemicals and chemicals that could cause allergic reactions (asthma, wheezing, headaches, and dermatitis) are often found in perfumes. Most of the “scents” in these perfume are not sourced from anything natural either. They are lab created with chemicals.

The good news is that we don’t need their stinking products (no pun intended)! There are many wonderful all-natural perfumes that are just as exquisite and lovely as the department store brands, but these botanical wonders contain no phthalates or preservatives. They just make better sense for ladies concerned about their health who still want to smell all pretty.

Here are a few options:

Pacifica Perfume - This brand has many, many lovely and safer scents. Indian Coconut Nectar or Mediterranean Fig? Yes please! These contain natural denatured alcohol (corn source) and Pacifica’s own fragrance blend with natural and essential oils. No parabens, animal testing, animal ingredients, or artificial colors. 100% VEGAN and Gluten-free. Price: $20

Lavanila Roll-on Perfumes – These clean vanilla scents start with a base of organic sugar cane alcohol which is the infused with pure essential oils. Price: $34-$56.

Red Flower Guaiac – Organic perfume with a woodsy blend of leaves/bark, pink grapefruit, and rose with organic oil as the base. It is also packaged in 80% post consumer recycled paper and made with wind power in the US! Price: $48

Golden Earth Perfume – These perfumes are made of 100% pure therapeutic grade essential oils and are infused with crystals. The Euphoria blend, which is what we have tried, is rose, jasmine, and agate crystal. No synthetic fragrances. Price: $20

Ever come across a product that you may have hesitated to buy at first and then it ends up changing your life and you cannot imagine life without it? The Diva Cup is one of those for me. I think I first wrote about this wonderful product about 7 or 8 years now. The concept of reusables came into my life via cloth diapers and then cloth pads for moms. While I have lots of love for those too it was the Diva Cup that ended up being the real game changer. After the second month using it I knew that I would be using a menstrual cup until I no longer needed them anymore (menopause). Also being the big fan that I am, I will happily introduce these to my daughter from the get-go. I only have a few more years until I am likely to do that. Yikes! Where does the time go?

My motivation in trying the cup was to reduce waste and eliminate the need to buy disposable pads and tampons. I also HATED both of these products with a passion. They are more like modern day torture devices and I can see why so many women refer to that time of month as a curse when those are the standard options. Who wants to deal with adult diaper rash from pads and the dryness and possible Toxic Shock Syndrome (TSS) from tampons? Not me, thank you. Cloth pads I found, were infinitely more comfortable but they also required more work. Storing them until wash day and then actually washing them was not going to make my top ten favorite things to do list. Then I came across a mention of menstrual cups on a cloth diapering message board and I ordered one. We have been likes peas and carrots ever since.

If you are not familiar with The Diva Cup, it is a cup that is inserted just like a tampon is. The “cup” catches your monthly flow and when it is full you simply empty it, wash with soapy water, and reinsert. It is made of soft medical grade silicone, which is latex-free, 100% hypoallergenic and odorless. It comes with a lovely carrying case so that you can keep it clean between uses and hidden away so kids won’t be inclined to steal it and play with it in the tub like it some kind of toy. Not saying that has ever happened but it could…hypothetically. I will say that it is really fun to explain to any male child that happens to be handling the cup, what it is and what it does. ;) This may be why I recently had to replace mine though. After one such conversation it mysteriously disappeared after bathroom cleaning duty. I think it disappeared into the trash. I wasted no time buying a new one and if you need one in a hurry you can find them at Whole Foods usually.

Reusable menstrual products are healthier to use and infinitely more comfortable.  They may take some adjustment as some women/girls may be uncomfortable dealing with menstrual blood because of years of using disposable, traditional products. I will admit that I am not squeamish in that regard. Caring for them is pretty easy too.

Have you tried a menstrual cup yet? What are you waiting for?

Related: Alternative Menstrual Products – Ditch the Disposables

A few months back now my family had its first ever bout with the big bad…head lice. I managed to go through my entire life without ever having had lice or even having it in my house. Luckily, I can still say I have never personally had lice but one of my kids did get a visit from these little guys and I was at a loss about what to do since I have zero experience with this issue. As the digital mom that I am, I sought advice from Facebook about natural – pesticide free – ways to get rid of these scary goobers. I say scary because they managed to reduce my child’s head to a bloody mass of scabs from biting and my child’s scratching. To make matters worse, we actually got the lice from a neighbor kid who had them, spent the night at our house (in my child’s bed), and never bothered to inform us. Ugh!

Anyway, from Facebook I was able to figure out that tea tree oil, peppermint oil, and vinegar would be my go-to resources for this adventure. The oils are hated by lice and they are also helpful in killing them. Vinegar would help dissolve the glue that the lice use to “stick” their nits on your hair shafts. I ended up making a list of all the stuff I found helpful…

Natural Ways to Remedy Head Lice

• Peppermint Oil
• Tea tree Oil
• Oregano Oil
• Salt
• Vinegar
• Coconut oil, another vegetable oil, or mayo – smothers lice – apply to hair and wrap with plastic wrap
• Flat Iron – To melt the nits “glue”
• A nit comb – or as I prefer, a metal flea comb from the pet store

We wanted to avoid conventional lice treatments for obvious reasons. They are pesticide based and if we work so hard to eat foods without pesticides and wear clothing grown from cotton without pesticides then it only goes to follow that putting it on our children’s heads will just not do. We also found that the tiny plastic combs sold as lice combs were nearly useless. The metal flea combs found online or at pet stores are more durable, the spaces between slats are smaller, and the one we chose actually has a double row of teeth. We compared it to the plastic lice comb from the drugstore and it was so much more effective with pulling lice and nits from the hair.

Once armed with our flea comb I made my own lice shampoo and guessed on the proportions.

All Natural Head Lice Shampoo Treatment

• 1 Quart size ball jar
• 1 Tablespoon (1 squirt) Dr. Bronner’s peppermint soap
• 8-10 Drops tea tree oil (we use Trader Joe’s brand)
• Fill jar to top with water, shake before each use.
• Rinse with vinegar and let sit in hair for 5 minutes. Plastic wrap is optional (we didn’t use it)
• Comb hair with flea comb or lice comb

We spent 1-2 hours each night doing this whole process and we did it every night for about 2 weeks. Getting that pesticide lice treatment would have been a whole lot easier, I will grant you that. It is not necessary though. Suzanne at Mommy Footprint shared on Facebook a theory that perhaps kids whose hair was washed less frequently and with non-conventional shampoos (no poo) were better safe guarded from lice. Smart Mama kind of confirmed by saying that lice cannot stick as well to hair that is “dirty” or containing the natural oils it is meant to be coated with. Very interesting! Perhaps my kiddo’s no poo hair may have helped us avoid lice until now but when the infestation is on your pillow (thanks to the aforementioned sleepover) I think the deck is stacked against you.

For bedding and stuffed toys we simply washed in hot water with a few drops of tea oil thrown in. We also dried everything on hot. We could have also dried them with a washcloth containing a few drops of tea tree oil or peppermint oil but I did not think of it at the time. If there is a next time though, we will be set!

** A reader also recommended Lice Shield Leave in Spray. It is supposedly made up of natural essential oils but I cannot find a full ingredients list so you may or may not want to check that out. If I see any, I will update.

Have you experienced head lice? Do you have any tips to share?

Attn: Giveaway at the end of this post!

This summer I will hit the big 3-5. I hope to bypass some of the trauma involved with hitting this landmark in my life by going to New York City to party it up with friends the week before my birthday, you know… pretend I am still young. ;)

I never thought I would be concerned with aging but it kind of sneaks up on you. You start to notice the skin on your neck and hands getting thinner and you might even see a few stray grey hairs or wrinkles. Thankfully the first sign is the only one I have seen but I am surprised I even care. I don’t wear makeup and frankly don’t care much about fashion either. Aging, make-up, exercise, fashion (aka, how I look) used to be a category with a big fat “Do Not Care” check-mark underneath but suddenly I find that the older I get, the more I am starting to care. I have been buying new to me clothing at second hand stores frequently of late after wearing the same old stuff for more than a decade. I kinda HAD to buy new clothes after more than a year at the gym though. None of my old clothes fit anymore.

Then I started to wear makeup here and there just because I felt like it. My daughter, who had never seen me wear makeup said I looked like Lady Gaga. I am not sure if that should be taken as a compliment. Also recently I was contacted by Juice Beauty to do a review of their Age Defy Solutions Kit and I jumped all over it. Who woulda thunk it? Certainly not me. ;)

I have really enjoyed becoming better acquainted with Juice Beauty products. I can easily see myself becoming a dedicated customer because I know they are a brand and product I can trust to be safe and healthy. I have rather enjoyed eschewing beauty products and makeup all these years because then I didn’t have to research all of it and get discouraged by how generally toxic the beauty market it. I didn’t have to worry about my skin absorbing chemical nasties every day. I feel confident about Juice Beauty though and recommended them to my readers even before I used them myself. Their products are made with a minimum of 85% and up to 98% USDA certified organic content. Instead of the typical water-base that most natural skincare brands use, Juice Beauty products have an organic fruit juice base that is naturally loaded with antioxidants, essential vitamins and phytonutrients – it’s like a smoothie for your skin! I know many raw foodies swear by rubbing pieces of fruit on their skin and these products feel like you are doing just that.

The green Apple Age Defying Kit is simply superb. You can totally smell the green apple!

The kit contains:

Green Apple Cleansing Gel
Green Apple Peel Full Strength
Green Apple Age Defy Serum
Green Apple Age Defy Moisturizer
Green Apple SPF15 Moisturizer

You start the day with the cleanser and follow up with the serum and the moisturizer. In the evening you use the cleanser, the peel, the serum, and moisturizer. You leave the peel on for ten minutes and then rinse before you apply the last two. I was a bit hesitant to try the peel because I remember that being popular when I was a teen and it leaving my face all red like a lobster but everything in this kit is gentle and nourishing. They are also highly effective. This isn’t wimpy skincare. I was deeply impressed with how my skin seemed to tighten up and how my pores seemed to shrink. Abuse of my skin as a teen has left me with large pores but they have been much less noticeable with the Age Defy Solutions. My skin has also been silky soft. ;) Both my husband and my youngest son were speaking me at different times this week and suddenly they put a hand to my face and rubbed it against my cheek, which is very uncharacteristic of both. I think they have noticed the difference just as I have.

So A+ for the product and A+ for the company, which was started by a mom who was concerned about everything she put in and on her body when she was pregnant with her first child. Her goal was to create a line of authentically organic, highly effective skincare products and Juice Beauty was born. I am so glad it was.

Now… are you ready to try this kit and/or a $50 Juice Beauty gift certificate to use on the products of your choice? You are??? Awesome! Enter below… and good luck!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

My resolution for 2012 to have more fun has meant going out more though… to places that require something other than a ripped Guns N Rose tee and perhaps a smidgen of makeup. When I went to Detroit for the Ford NAIAS a few weeks ago I had to dress business casual and I opted to wear a bit of makeup. Also this past Halloween my daughter dressed as Cleopatra and wanted to wear some makeup. For both occasions I decided to use Emani Minerals Makeup, which was sent to me to review last year.

Overall, I have been pleased with Emani makeup. It took awhile to get used to seeing myself wear makeup but other family members seemed to like it. I got tons of kisses from my 6 year old son when I wore it! LOL. My daughter told me I looked like Lady Gaga which almost made me turn tail and wash it off the after my first test run but I had to remember she may not remember me ever wearing makeup before. She was the real tester though since all other kinds of makeup make her break out in a rash. The poor child looks miserable if she she dares to play in her friend’s or grandmother’s makeup. When she wore Emani Minerals on Halloween (blush and gloss) her skin did not react at all. Awesome!

Their products use certified organic ingredients from plant or flower extracts in their formulations and they combine these extracts with key ingredients such as mica, titanium dioxide and iron oxides. They are paraben free, vegan, and gluten friendly too. Compared to mainstream makeup you will find at the drug store these are much, much better. The majority of the Emani products I saw on the the Skin Deep database rated at a 1 or 2 so they rank pretty safe there.

Now I just have to get used to the site of myself wearing makeup!

Many thanks to Emani Minerals for sending me some of their products to review.

Threading is actually an ancient method of hair removal that originated in the east (Arab, Indian, and Persian countries). The last couple years or so it has really gained popularity here in the west. Not sure where in the heck I was all this time but I am on the boat now! Basically hair is removed at the follicle level with a thin, twisted piece of cotton thread. The practitioner holds the thread in a cat’s cradle position (anyone remember that string game from when they were kids?), settles it over a section of hair and then twists until hair is pulled out by the root.

While perusing the lovely Easton mall near my home I saw a salon called Exquisite Threading and I decided to check this out for myself. They have locations nationwide. Up until now I have been mostly been waxing. Tweezing is just not enjoyable for me because I have big black caterpillars above my eyes… they are quite thick and bushy. So about 3 or 4 times a year I get them waxed in a salon and “try” to tweeze in between sessions to keep them maintained. The drawback to this is that the wax has chemicals in it and I have yet to find a place that does sugaring or a more natural eyebrow waxing. It also creates a lot of waste I am sure with leftover wax and all the muslin strips that need to be tossed away. Threading seems to be a much healthier and greener way to go. No chemicals, no waste beyond a bit of compostable cotton string.

For my first appointment I settled in the chair and the gorgeous Indian practitioner asked if I wanted my eyebrows on the thin or thick side. I opted to play it safe and go for thick. The last time I had them waxed the practitioner made them so thin it looked like I drew them on with a pencil. I really should have looked at her own eyebrows and asked for another practitioner but I didn’t want to be rude and my eyebrows paid the price. I was VERY satisfied with my threading experience though. It was lightning fast, which surprised me, and my eyebrows look very satisfactory. It did not tickle by any means so I would say it hurts a bit more than waxing but my eyes were not red and puffy for more than 30 minutes though. Waxing usually makes my eyebrow area inflamed for hours and most times I bleed as well. Threading seemed to make for quick and easy healing. Perhaps it was the optional witch hazel they apply afterwards that helped. The only drawback was that I was rubbing my eyes for a good 30 minutes to get stray hairs out of them but that little annoyance will not keep me from future threading sessions. I am sold.

Have you tried threading?

Photo credited to Skampy on Flickr.

Came across this awesome nail polish set today and had to share. Nail polish is IMO one of the nastiest products you can buy but several companies are now marketing non toxic nail polish and this is good news for moms of little girls who love to wear nail polish. This particular nail polish is made by one of those companies (Keeki Pure and Simple) and I LOVE that they have bundled Halloween sets, the Franken-Keeki Gift Pack. I want one for myself! The green is awesome although they call it Sour Apple Slushie and the black is Midnight Snack. My daughter can testify to the fact that the name is just as important as the color. ;) Although not in the Halloween pack, the Sugar Plum Nail Polish is an awesome purple color that would be great for Halloween too.

The Candy Corn Gift Pack has Lemonade, Marshmallow, and Orange Sorbet.

These nail colors have no parabens, phthalates and other nasty ingredients. They are also gluten-free, toluene-free, vegan, made here in the US, and never tested on animals.

Anxious for Halloween yet?

Related: Ditch the Nail Polish Nasties

We had some good discussion on my safe sunscreens page recently. Much of it has to do with some recent studies regarding Titanium Dioxide which along with another mineral Zinc Oxide, has long thought to be one of the better ingredients in sunscreens. Much of this data is in regards to inhalation or nano particles though, which either doesn’t apply to sunscreens or is inadvisable anyway (nano particles). Still, there are options for those seeking to use a sunscreen without this mineral. Many brands offer Zinc Oxide based sunscreens. Here are a few of the better options. Some of them are repeats from the other list and some are new. None of them use nano particles.

All Natural Badger Sunscreen – This sunscreen has 20.5 Zinc Oxide amidst many other safe and natural ingredients like Jojoba, Cacao butter, Shea butter, ect. It  also is rated SPF 30. It is supposed to last for 40 minutes in the water so with frequent applications this should a family well for days at the beach or pool. The SkinDeep Database rates it at a 1, which mean low hazard.

Loving Naturals Sunscreen SPF 30 – This product blocks UVA and UVB rays and has natural ingredients with the active one being Zinc Oxide (24.8%). Other ingredients include Grape Seed Oil, Organic Sunflower Oil, and Macadamia Nut Oil. It is certified organic and vegan as well. The SkinDeep Database rates it at a 1.

Soleo Organics Sunscreen, SPF 30 – The active ingredient is Zinc Oxide (22.3%) and other ingredients are natural… beeswax, sunflower oil, etc. The SkinDeep Database rates it at a 1.

Think Baby & ThinkSport – For a company that is already child friendly it is no surprise that they have great sunscreens. The Baby version uses 20% Zinc Oxide and the Sport version uses 25%. The SkinDeep Database rates it at a 1.

Enjoy! And for non-sun methods of sunscreen check out this older post.

The beauty industry is mammoth in size. They make billions each year selling to women the idea that beauty comes in a bottle. They tell us we need anti-aging miracle creams, moisturizers that will return our skin to the youthful state of our childhood, and numerous products that hide all our imperfections. And yet if they really worked why would women be so desperate to try the newest, greatest product on the market? Most of these products have us chasing after an illusion and worse yet they are usually harmful to our health. I am not dying to look good. Are you?

What the beauty industry does not want us to know is that the junk from their products may actually be a big contributor to why we are unhappy with the way we look. For one, they spend millions telling us we don’t look good UNLESS we use X, Y, or Z. Second, their products can make us sick with their cancer causing ingredients or the harsh  chemicals can aggravate our skin and make it look worse than it did before. I know that I did terrible things to my skin as a teen by wearing so much make-up and using so many different “beauty” products. Friends used to call me Barbie when I was a teen. It wasn’t so much because I had bleached blond hair and blue eyes, it was because I wore waterproof theater make-up. I could walk through a monsoon and my make-up would still be flawless. But after years of wearing that heavy make-up my skin looked so terrible I HAD to keep wearing it… or so I thought. I also wore contact lenses because I didn’t like the way glasses looked. I wore them so much that that the whites of my eyes turned red. An eye doctor told me I needed to stop wearing contacts immediately, possibly forever, or risk permanent damage to my eyes.

It was only when I had kids that I finally put things into perspective. I knew I didn’t want my babies to be harmed by industry’s that put profit above health and yet for years I did not care if I poisoned myself. Now though I had to be an example. I wanted my kids to see someone who made healthy choices. My big basket of beauty products left the building and they never returned. I haven’t worn any make-up more than a handful of times in over 10 years. I also don’t use hair sprays, gels, lotions, or antioxidant elixirs. And yet I love my skin. I think it has not looked as good or felt as good as it does since I was very young. Oh I still have visual imperfections and scars left over from abuse as a teen. I have surgical scars on my face, neck, stomach, and abdomen thanks to numerous surgeries. But despite all that, I see healthy skin again. Here is what my beauty regimen consists of now.

Green Smoothies – Hands down the biggest secret weapon in the natural beauty enthusiast’s arsenal is going to be a healthy diet. Green smoothies makes that as easy as pie. When I first started drinking them I noticed immediately that my digestion improved and my bowels moved more regularly. Frankly you don’t realize how irregular you are until you get regular… as in a visit to the bathroom almost after every meal regular. This is really important because this is how your body gets rid of waste and toxins. Shouldn’t you be helping your body take out the garbage? The second thing I noticed is that the cells of my skin seemed to plump up. They sucked in all that nourishment and water like they were botox injections. The skin LOVES green smoothies and all the antioxidants in them that protect against further damage. I also add greens powders to my smoothies so I can get a big boost of vitamins and nutrients. If you haven’t checked out my green smoothies recipe book, you should! I market it to parents who want to help their kids eat more greens but I drink the same stuff but perhaps with a higher greens to fruit ratio.

Dry Brushing - Ever heard of it? I had wanted to try it for years but never got around to it. Then after one of my personal inspirations, Kris Carr, mentioned it in her book Crazy, Sexy, Diet … I decided to try it. I went out and got a natural bristle brush meant for dry brushing and tried it that very day I started reading the book. Unfortunately it felt as though I was rubbing my skin off with low grit sandpaper. I went back to the book in a huff to see if I had missed something or if I was just a big baby. If I had continued reading I would have seen that Kris recommended using exfoliating showers gloves. That was MUCH better. It doesn’t exactly tickle but I wouldn’t say it hurts either. Anyway I have been using the gloves for 2 months now and WOW!!! As I sit writing this post I have been continually rubbing my arms.. smooth like a babies behind. My skin hasn’t looked or felt this good in forever.

Your skin is the biggest organ you have and it constantly regenerates itself by eliminating toxic and dead skin cells, as much as two pounds of this waste material each day. When your skin is clogged with dead skin cells and toxins that cannot be eliminated by perspiration, then your skin suffers. It needs air and sunlight so getting rid of excess waste through exfoliation is vital. In addition to exfoliating your dead skin cells and removing barriers to toxin excretion, dry brushing is also wonderful for lymph vessels and capillaries. This is why dry brushing should be done using strokes that go towards the heart, aiding in the body’s blood circulation. When you get out of the shower after dry brushing you feel amazing because your circulation has improved and then in a couple hours your skin looks and feels amazing. Dry brushing also massages the lymph nodes and gets them functioning better as well and they are a big part of our immune system.

Natural Products – I don’t use much by way of beauty products but I do have some solid lotion bars, a big tub of coconut oil, and magnesium oil. In general I find that I don’t need moisturizers and lotions with the exception of on my legs after I shave them but any of the three products I just mentioned help with that. I like to use coconut oil in my hair too but really only started to need that recently… after I start swimming in a gym pool.

Drinking Water – This is important for hydration and helping your body remove waste and toxins. Most of my water comes in the form of my 2 daily quarts of green smoothie but I also have a reusable water bottle on hand each day with pH drops and a lemon slice added to help alkalinize the water.

So there it is… pretty easy and minimal and yet the most effective I have ever come across.

What is YOUR preferred way to stay green and beautiful? Any tips to share?

Being in good health comes down to MANY things. One of those obviously is what fuel or food we put into our body. Another aspect is what we expose ourselves to… cleaners, home furnishings that off-gas, chemical air fresheners, etc. Yet another aspect that many often overlook is the beauty products that we may use on our bodies. What we choose in this regard is just as important as what food we choose to eat. It’s not enough to simply use an organic shampoo or homemade soap only to turn around and use hairspray or moisturizer filled with chemicals that can harm our skin or damage our health.

Sadly many of the products you find in the beauty department of your local WalMart or drug store are created with chemical ingredients that are linked to various cancers. Unlike food items, beauty products have no stamp of approval or disapproval from the FDA. Even if they did have a stamp of approval we see how well our government overseas junk food… NOT. Since we don’t truly know if the products we want to use are safe or effective, we have to do our own research. Always remember that whatever you put on (bath products, cosmetics, shampoo, soap) your body does absorb. So whatever materials are in that product could end up inside your body.

A Juice Beauty Product Profile

A good place to start when researching products is the Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database. By perusing this list you quickly see who is making products worth your time and money. One company that consistently rates very well is Juice Beauty. I was actually surprised by how well their organic beauty products score (low is good) because they are such a well known brand. For some reason I always figure the good stuff is some well kept secret due to low marketing budgets but Juice Beauty is highly visible (at least to me) and one of the safer choices we can make. Skin Deep tells that that most of their products score 1 or 2 which means low hazard.

They use certified organic ingredients so when you buy their Green Apple Peel for instance, you know the organic apple, lemon, grape, raw cane sugar and willow bark (sounds lovely doesn’t it?) in it, do not have harmful pesticides and agri chemicals. Same with the Cleansing Milk with raspberry and white grape juices, aloe vera, and nutrient-rich grapeseed oil. I love that they use ingredients that sound as though they could be a meal instead of a beauty product too. Their products do not have parabens, propylene or butylene glycols, petroleum, sulphates, PEGs, TEA, DEA, phthalates, GMO, silicones, artificial dyes or fragrances. You might pay a little more for organic, but isn’t your health and the health of your loved ones worth a few extra dollars? Of course it is.

Not only does switching to organic-based products help keep your skin and body toxin free, but it also can give your body some extra boosts. Did you know that many of the natural products contain vitamins and nutrients that help your body’s overall health? Just think about it… many of the ingredients are food/plant based and we know how rich they are in vitamins and nutrients and an estimated 64% of what you place on the skin is absorbed by it. It is fitting that truly conscious companies take us back to the roots of ancient beauty products. They were sourced from plant materials. From nature. Our ancestors knew that the best organic beauty products for your body were made from natural resources offered by the earth. Things really haven’t changed in that regard.

Another A+ for this particular company… they use recycled packaging, soy ink, and manufacture over 80% of their products with solar power.

For your best health, always buy organic. Look for the products that don’t contain preservatives, dyes or any other types of chemicals and preservatives. There is nothing wrong with wanting to look your and feel your best, but your health should be non negotiable.

I recently got to test out some Squid Balm products that were graciously sent to me. Most times I refuse any sort of product in the beauty and/or skincare realm. I get dozens of requests each week and I always have to politely explain that I can’t test them if I won’t use them. ;) Soap and shampoo bars are just my thing though. I was also very interested in trying a lotion bar since I have heard good things about them. Plus my skin has been drier since I started spending so much time in the pool. I wanted to try a moisturizer.

Anyway, I have been washing my hair 2-3 times a week using the shampoo bar. It foams up nice and it does the job well. After washing I have also been using the Squid Silk Solid Conditioner Bar in Wild Blueberry. I LOVE it!

Anyone who uses shampoo bars knows that they leave your hair drier and less shiny than chemical laden shampoos. This conditioner helps to remedy that. You rub it between wet hands and then rub it on the surface of your hair or your skin if you want. The smell is divine as well. Shampoo and conditioner using natural ingredients and they come in bar form. What else could I ask for?

The lotion bar has a really heavenly, albeit not overpowering scent called coconut peach. I am not a fan of scents in general but both scented products I got were a-okay for my delicate olfactory system. Anyway when you rub the lotion bar on initially it feels kind of sticky and that bothers me a bit. After 2-3 minutes or so the stickiness is gone and it feels nice and refreshing. The small tin it comes in is nice for throwing in your purse or gym bag too. Few people could carry around a bottle of lotion but this little tin would be no issue at all and it will last quite awhile.

In addition to being vegan, Squid Balm products are also nut-free, paraben-free, preservative-free, and phthalate-free. Handcrafted by moms as well.

In the end I would happily keep ordering all these products but especially the shampoo bar and conditioner bar because those are two things I cannot find locally.  The only real criticism I have is that their web site was a bit hard to navigate with all the product descriptions sort of running together and the order buttons being nowhere near the photos of the item. Plus I didn’t see any “coconut peach” scented shampoo bars. ;)

Squid Balm get a big thumbs up from me.

One of the easiest ways to “go green” with your beauty supplies is to adopt a minimalist approach. Less is more. Going minimal in the make-up and beauty products department is a good way to de-clutter your bathroom and daily routines. Saving money is another side effect worth considering too. The best benefits though would be to your body and our planet. Here are some things to consider when perusing the beauty department at the the local store.

Make-up Is Toxic - Make-up and beauty products are loaded with chemical nasties that are bad for your body and bad for our planet. Reading a book like Toxic Beauty or Dying to Look Good can help you sort through the numerous reasons why it may be time to change the way you think about beauty and make-up. Are YOU dying to look good?

Our skin is our largest organ and when we slather it with carcinogens and other harmful chemicals, those compounds are being absorbed into our bloodstream. With that in mind should we really be putting things on our skin that we couldn’t also eat? Probably not. So instead of reaching for that conventional make-up or that tube of designer lipstick try safer products like those from Miessence. They are very natural and safe and are probably the only make-up I would use… if I wore any.

Loving Yourself Is Beautiful - Loving and caring for your body means not polluting it. Instead of spending $50 a month on make-up, start going without and use that money on nice haircuts, massages, or a gym membership. There are others ways to improve yourself without donning a toxic mask. One of the best beauty tricks I have found for the skin is to drink Green Smoothies. It plumps up your skin and makes it look younger and hydrated. It’s better than Botox!

Natural Works Just As Well – Why buy moisturizer when you can use coconut oil? Why buy shampoo when you can use baking soda and apple cider vinegar? Natural products are safe, cheap, and they work. They may not make you smell like a sugar cookie or a tea rose but this is a small price to pay.

Make-up is Clutter – Many women have a tendency to over do it on make-up and beauty products and then not even use them. If you have lotion or lipstick from 10 years ago in your make-up drawer you are probably one of these women. Decide that you will only own the basics (if you must)… good make-up brushes, mascara, blush, powder, lipstick. Select a set number and buy a small make-up bag. You can’t have more than what you can put in your bag. Eventually you will see that you never needed all that extra stuff anyway and your bathroom will be clean! I remember the days when I wore make-up and there was always loose powder or mascara smears on the bathroom counter. I cannot tell you how much I don’t miss the clutter and mess.

Be a Good Example For Your Children – By being that person who cannot leave the house without 20 minutes of beautification and a mask of make-up we are perpetuating the stereotype that beauty comes in a bottle. Our kids will get enough warped messages from ads and media that they are not good enough the way they are. The last thing they need is to receive that message at home too. Set a good example for them.

What is your secret minimalist beauty trick?

No doubt you are catching on to the fact that the “beauty industry” is actually code for “toxic crap you don’t need”. Never in a million years would you think women would willingly line up to slather noxious chemicals all over their face but guess what? They do! But we can green up our beauty routines and make them more natural and safe too. Here are some tips for greening up your beauty regime.

1. Read the ingredients. Look closely at the ingredients in your cleanser, shampoo, hair gel, make-up, and so forth. Look them up in the cosmetics database and read first hand about what you are actually putting on your skin. If you find a lot of suspicious chemical names, look for alternatives. All sorts of toxic substances have been identified in conventional makeup and other beauty aids but there are companies making alternative products. The more people that purchase better products the louder our collective voice becomes against toxics.

2. Keep it simple. It’s amazing what you can accomplish with just lemon juice, for example. You don’t need an abundance of elaborate, complicated beauty aids.

3. Use natural products, such as lemons, honey, oatmeal, avocado, and yogurt on your hair or skin. The beauty tricks of long ago still work! For more info on that check out Beauty Secrets of the Bible. Its not a religious book is just gives us insight into Biblical women and what they used for beauty. They were just as concerned about it as modern women can be.

4. Use baking soda instead of shampoo. It makes a wonderful cleanser for your hair. Mix about a teaspoon of baking soda per cup of warm water, and pour over your head while in the shower. Work it in to your scalp and rinse.

5. Use an apple cider vinegar (ACV) solution as a rinse following the baking soda wash. Mix a tablespoon of ACV into 2 cups of warm water and pour over your head and hair. Rinse with as cool a water temperature as you can handle.

6. Look for natural make-up. Many top cosmetic manufacturers specialize in more natural formulations. Avoid make-up that has aluminum, phthalates, formaldehyde, fragrance, and parabens.

7. Combine cooked oatmeal with mashed bananas and spread on damp hair to treat dry scalp and dandruff.

8. Cut out beauty products with petroleum-based ingredients. Some ingredients to look for include parraffin, Propylene Glycol, and Isopropyl Alcohol.

9. Look for the “not tested on animals” label to assure you are not supporting the harmful and cruel practice of animal cosmetic testing. Human beauty is NOT worth animal suffering.

10. Use reusable products rather than disposable ones in your beauty routine. Examples of common disposable beauty items are: razors, pre-packaged, single-use hair treatments, and cotton balls.

The two BEST books on this subject happen to be written by the same person, Julie Gabriel. The first is the Green Beauty Guide. That link takes you to my review. The second is fairly new, Green Beauty Recipes, and I have LOVED puring over the recipes. My daughter is ecstatic to make some of these and I feel good about letting her go wild with it because they are safe and natural. Carrot Cake Cleansing Cream, Milk and Olive Facial Toner, Breakfast Yogurt Scrub, Pumpkin Mask, Natural Clay Deodorant… its fun, practical, and informational.

Enjoy!

I am very opinionated about what goes on my skin or in my hair. It has to have simple and clean ingredients, preferably with no fragrance or smell. Yeah, occasionally I might like to wash my hair with a peppermint shampoo bar but for the most part, fragrance makes me nauseous. Add to that the fact that I am totally a bar of soap gal. I don’t like lotions, creams, oils, perfumes, body washes, and all that fancy, smelly stuff that the beauty industry cranks out each year. If I were to go into a Bath and Body Works and buy something (not likely) I would bet that product I bought, whatever it is, would sit in my bathroom untouched until I felt it was so old I had to throw it out. Why bother?

So this means I automatically nix quite a few of the requests that come to me via this blog to review bath and/or body stuff. It doesn’t mean their products are bad or that they shouldn’t be commended for making natural, organic products… it just means I don’t use them so I am not the right person to review them. But low and behold I actually have two bath products to highlight today. One I accepted because it was… a bar of soap. Wahoo! I knew that soap and I would get along well. The other was a surprise sent to me by a clever store who looked up my address. Both had happy endings so imagine my surprise.

The first is called True Body Soap. It is clean and simple with no smell. and it was love at first site. Unlike some bar soaps which can have tons of ingredients this soap has five. Yep, only five… coconut oil, palm oil, water, vegetable glycerin, and Sodium Citrate. It is one of the first bar soaps on the market that is vegetable-based and entirely free of EDTA, chelates or any other type of synthetic preservative. Even organic soaps usually have some type of preservative.

It lathers nice, it has no smell to make me sick, and it does what it is supposed to do.. it cleans. Plus the price is right. If this soap makes an appearance at my local grocery or Whole Foods I will definitely buy again.

The surprise package made me wary at first. It came with a bottle of shampoo, a tub of diaper rash cream, and a lotion. Well, I can’t say much about the latter two items because I immediately gave them away to a gal who will use them. Although I felt comfortable giving them away after looking at their ingredients and the site where they are sold, Poof’s Closet. The shampoo and I became fast friends though.

I normally use shampoo bars but I have been wanting to switch it up a bit since my hair is getting long. I am not sure what possessed me to let it grow out in the summer but it is now touching my shoulders and shampoo bars are great but not as great for long hair IMO. Not sure why that is. Perhaps it is because the natural oils aren’t reaching the bottom of the hair but it just feels drier when my hair is longer. So I switched things up and used Baby Poof Body Wash & Shampoo on my own hair and my daughter’s waist length hair. It lasted us quite awhile because we only wash our hair 2-3 times a week.

It uses organic ingredients and has only 5 ingredients total. It has absolutely no smell and it lathers quite nicely. I can see using this shampoo again and again. Although, I did have to email the owner and ask if I can send my used bottle in to be refilled so I don’t have to keep purchasing new bottles. That will influence further purchasing decisions but not my glowing opinion of the actual shampoo.

I feel like the beauty industry is starting to speak my beauty language.. clean, simple, minimal, and unscented.

There have been numerous stories covering sunscreens this week as the Environmental Working Group released its 2010 Sunscreen Guide. According to their report, only 8% of the beach and sport sunscreens (39 out of 500) offer sufficient protection and healthier ingredients to earn the EWG’s “green” rating. In my safer sunscreens post I have highlighted some of the ones that received top honors on their list.

It is becoming clearer to more and more people that the sunscreen industry is actually less about protecting our skin and more about marketing. How else can they continue to peddle the insuffucient and chemical laden products that they do? Especially when studies have been conducted in recent years that indicate we may be more likely to get cancer from our sunscreen than to avoid it.

My own personal practice in regards to sunscreen for me and my family is to not use it if at all possible and to utilize other protection methods instead. If I need to be out in the sun for an extended period of time I will use some of the safer sunscreens I mentioned above but again.. only if I feel I will not be able to avoid a burn without it. I grew up in sunny Phoenix, Arizona and my brother and I hardly ever burned and rarely did we use sunscreen… so it can be done.

Here are some of the ways:

Sun Hats

Yes,  the easiest way to avoid a burn on face, scalp, neck, and shoulders is a nice hat. Women are lucky in that we can get away with a really wide brim hat and some big sunglasses and be considered fashionable instead of weird. Here are a couple of my favorite hats for moms:

Large Straw Stripe Sun Hat

FABULOUS CAMEL WIDE BRIM DIVA STYLE FLOPPY HAT

It is usually best to go for light colored hats that have wide brims. They keep you cool and offer the best protection. Don’t forget the sun hats for the kids too…

Summer Scarf/Wrap

A scarf isn’t just for winter. You get get lightweight cotton or silk scarves for summer to protect your neck and chest. If it is a wrap as well as a scarf then you can wear it across your back or fold it across your front, even put it over your head. If you get hot… do what I often did in Phoenix… dip in a water fountain and then drape it on yourself… it is a built in air conditioner!

Olive N Figs Crinkled Solid Colored 100% Cotton Summer Stole/Scarf/Wrap

A Sun Shade or Umbrella

I find that it is easy to get kids to stay shaded by letting them carry and umbrella. Or maybe my kids just love umbrellas more than most but they are always happy to stroll around with one. My nearly ten year old son carries one in his backpack so he will have it for walking home in the hot sun. Let them pick their own “cool” umbrella or buy a parasol for girls. I like this Gerbera Daisy or Sunflower Umbrella myself! Who wouldn’t want an excuse to carry these around?

How do you protect yourself from the sun without slathering on the sunscreen?

]]> http://naturemoms.com/blog/2010/05/25/sun-sensibility-better-than-sunscreen/feed/ 8 http://naturemoms.com/blog/2010/05/07/weekend-listening/ http://naturemoms.com/blog/2010/05/07/weekend-listening/#comments Fri, 07 May 2010 13:43:22 +0000 Tiffany http://www.naturemoms.com/blog/?p=4457

Whole Foods Market is running a 3-part podcast series promoting the “Premium Body Care” standard they have created, and the importance of know what is in your Body Care products.

Podcasts:

1. Premium Body Care® – A Worthy Challenge- discusses how their standard helps define What “Natural” really means in body care products.

2. In, Holding the Bar High in Natural Body Care – you’ll hear about why these strict natural guidelines are important. You’ll also learn about Campaign for Safe Cosmetics, a national coalition of health and environmental groups that are working to eliminate harmful chemicals from personal care products.

3. Positive Changes for the Industry, for Everyone – looks at how these standards raise the bar for the natural body care industry as a whole.

You can check these podcasts out here.

Winter time is famous for dry skin. Even though I am venting my dryer indoors and the windows are usually all steamy my youngest and I are still having dry skin issues. If you have dry skin, you know that it’s not just annoying and kinda gross looking, it can also be incredibly very uncomfortable. Your face feels tight and your lips may get chapped and your body itches. Moisturizers are a waste of time usually, in my experience at least. The reason may be that the moisturizers simply makes your skin oily or irritates the problem even further and they are loaded with unsavory ingredients as well.

The best way to avoid this is by going natural. 

Drink plenty of water. This is the area where my son and I are lacking I think. When it is cold we don't drink as much and we don't eat as much raw, hydrating food. This remedy is totally simple, and often overlooked.  Your skin needs water to stay soft and smooth.  While putting water on your skin will dry it out, putting it in your body is essential for keeping it hydrated. Plus, drinking enough water just makes you feel better too!

A really good way to get itchy dry skin quickly is to use soap.  Over cleaning your skin is often unnecessary and can really dry it out. In the winter we tend to take long baths and showers, particularly with very hot water and this is extremely drying to the skin. I know I like to do this too, I need to stop. Quick showers are the better option, for our skin and the environment. Use a natural mild soap like Dr. Bronners, sparingly. And follow up with all natural coconut oil to seal in the moisture. You can get 100% natural organic coconut oil which is used both for cooking and moisturizing at most health food stores and online of course.

If you have especially dry skin on your face, the best treatment is also probably the simplest and least expensive one around: honey.  Honey has been used for centuries to moisturize, and you really don’t need anything else.  Just apply honey to your face like a masque, let dry for 30 minutes, then rinse off.  Your face will feel fresh, hydrated, clean and healthy.

Good old fashioned oil does the trick to. Coconut oil and extra virgin olive oil are great for moisturizing and treating a variety of skin conditions.  You can even mix in some honey and heat it to soften it and make it easier to go on.

We have to remember though that natural remedies are about fixing the cause as much as they are about treating the problem.  It’s best to protect your skin in the first place.  Be sure to protect your skin from dry, cold winter conditions by using scarves, gloves, and avoid long exposures to severe cold when possible. Drink lots of water, humidify your home if you can, and remember that forced air heating systems will only dry skin more so if you can put on a sweater instead of turn on the heat, do it!

I am doing a honey mask myself  tonight and I will do a mini-one on my son as he sleeps. I am also going to make sure we drink more water and green smoothies… even if the cold makes me shy away from them. And even though I might look ridiculous picking up my kids in a ski mask… I am seriously considering THAT to!

Also a really cool book that shares time tested beauty practices from days loooong ago is Beauty Secrets of the Bible. Its a very interesting read. Women a long time ago were concerned about this stuff to and they used natural ingredients with great success. 

It is a sad reality that for many adults acne is not something that went away along with those awkward teen years. It can plague skin for years after puberty and those hormonal years. Many adults find that acne returns when the hormones do, as with pregnancy. Others find that it may be less dramatic than when they were younger but it never went completely away. This condition can make you feel awful and can put a real dent in yourself esteem and social life. This is made even worse when you’re let down over and over again by yet another “miracle” product that you discovered on an infomercial or from a well meaning friend.

The “miracle” is usually all in the marketing… as in “its a miracle if they don’t fall for this!” The sad fact is that most mainstream acne treatments make the problem worse and can even be harmful to your overall health because they are packed with nasty chemicals.

Why not try something different and use natural options to help alleviate and even get rid of your acne once and for all?

Natural Solutions for Acne

A Healthy Diet: A healthy diet is the very best thing you can do for your acne. The skin is an organ so if an organ is unhealthy you need to consider what is making it unhealthy in the first place. Our skin is used to eliminate toxins from the body. What are those toxins doing to our skin and how are they getting there?

Sugar is catastrophic for acne sufferers. It has been proven to cause an inflammatory reaction in the skin which makes acne worse (or even helps it develop in the first instance). Reduce or better yet remove all sugar from your diet and you will see a HUGE difference in your skin.

In addition to getting rid of sugar, eat a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Opt for an array of colors so that you can get the most antioxidant power in these foods into your system. Raw foods, green juices, and green smoothies do wonders for healthy skin. Uh… just look at Sarma. Whenever I stop drinking green smoothies I notice it in my skin… it gets dull and dry. When I start drinking green smoothies again… my skin plumps like I got Botox or something.

Reducing dairy or even eliminating it can also make a  huge difference in regards to acne. Many experts believe that a vegan diet is the best way to keep the skin clear from acne. Many vegans swear this is true and have healthy skin to prove it.

Eating less meat and avoiding red meat, no dairy, and no caffeine are great first steps. And although chocolate on its own may not cause acne, it contains caffeine which can make acne worse.

Whole grains will give your body much needed fiber which will help flush out toxins and keep your system running smoothly. Drinking water does the same.

Natural Remedies for Acne

Green tea: You can drink green tea to help relieve your symptoms, but you can also apply the tea directly to you skin.  There are green tea creams available over the counter, but if you’re looking for a cheaper, easier way, just brew tea bags, then apply them directly to your acne.

Egg Whites:  Applying egg whites to the face as a masque is a great way to treat your acne and immediately close your pores.  In addition, it also gets rid of redness caused by your acne and can reduce the appearance of scars from previous breakouts.

Tea Tree Oil:  While many people disagree about the causes of acne, or how to treat it, pretty much everyone agrees that it’s an infection or inflammation.  And tea tree oil has long been used as a natural way to kill bacteria and treat skin infections.

Zinc helps strengthen your immune system so you’re better able to heal and even prevent your acne. Good sources for vegetarians include dairy products, beans and lentils, yeast, nuts, seeds and wholegrain cereals. Pumpkin seeds provide one of the most concentrated vegetarian food sources of zinc. Vegans can just ignore the dairy sources.

The absolute best part about natural acne treatments is that they also improve the general quality of your skin without damaging it or drying it out like traditional products can and do.  Many of them have few or no side effects and they are safe.

Avoiding makeup is another important step. Your skin needs to eliminate toxins as it was designed to do. When we clog our pores up with makeup and oils it can’t do its job and it will protest with flare-ups.

Lastly, stress can cause big acne flare ups. Why else does a bride breakout before her big day? Try meditation or yoga to keep your stress levels low. This will not only help your acne symptoms but your overall health as well. I like to listen to meditation CDs or natural sounds CDs like waterfalls and birds singing when i am stressed.

Acne can be devastating but by using the tips above and starting a plan of attack you can start to see improvement. Use diet as your first weapon, reduce stress and apply a few natural treatments as necessary and you’ll see a difference in the overall health of your skin very soon.

Recommended: The Green Beauty Guide: Your Essential Resource to Organic and Natural Skin Care, Hair Care, Makeup, and Fragrances

I have liked Badger products for a couple years now. We have used their sunscreen often and it made my list of safe, natural sunscreens. I had never tried any of their balms beyond their baby balm and lip balm, so trying a few of their other ”powerfully pure” products these past few weeks has been a treat.

Their products are certified organic and very natural so what is not to love? I already really like their lip balm so of course I loved the Creamy Cocoa Butter Lip Balm. In addition to it being creamy soft and delightful to wear, it is natural, organic, and fair trade. I also like how big it is. Most lip balms are kinda small.

I also liked their Clear Mind Balm with essentials oils of lemon, Cardamom, and Rosemary Verbenone. The idea is that you rub it on your temples, forehead, and hands to invigorate you and help you focus and concentrate. It is a nice mood booster in the late afternoon.

My kids also really like the Sleep Balm and the Night-Night Balm which basically do the same thing but with different ingredients. I am not sure if they sleep better with the balm rubbed on their temples and neck but they certainly like the process and the ritual.

And of course the Baby Balm is excellent for diaper rash and cradle cap. Adults with sensitive skin can use it too.

Badger has TONS of other fun stuff too… Healing Balm, Anti-Bug Balm, sore muscle balm, foot balm, etc. Check out what they have on Amazon.

As far as good, natural companies go… Badger is a winner. It is also family run! It was founded on the banks of the Ashuelot River in rural Gilsum, New Hampshire, USA. Bill, Katie and daughters Mia, Emily and Rebecca started the business back in 1995, in the kitchen of their home.