Natural Skin Care Warning

I stumbled across this article in the newspaper and had to share it with you because it raises an interesting point.

In my 10 years experience as a natural skin care specialist I've learned a lot such as: the effects of essential oils & pregnancy, 'kills 99% of germs' isn't a good thing, and there is an increase in people presenting with sensitive skin.

It doesn't surprise me that someone presented with an allergic reaction to oats after using a product that contained oats because I've also learned we can build up critical mass to certain ingredients - and this differs from person to person.

One reason cosmetic conglomerates use petroleum and mineral oil based ingredients is because it is a cheap alternative to offer to those who have nut allergies, and therefore cannot use products that contain nut oils (i.e. almond, shea, walnut and hazlenut oils). There are other alternatives such as apricot and jojoba oil, both of which cost more to use.

One thing that concerned me about this article is it targets 'natural' skin care and products containing foods - which certainly maybe a concern for some, and ignores the elephant in the room. Which is far more people present with allergies and reactions to the ingredients in mainstream skin care. In fact it is quiet prevalent and common in today's society than ever before because of the amount of products we consume and the frequency in which we use them. Plus the vast amount of known 'skin irritation' causing ingredients in them.

By all means be mindful of anything that may give you an allergic reaction and STOP using any product (cleaning agent, hair dye, makeup, skin care, oils, grease etc) that cause a skin reaction such as urinary tract infection, psoriasis, eczema or contact dermatitis.

Find the products that are right for you but don't be scared to try natural skin care and see if it's a good fit.
  

Glycerin

naturally forming vegetable glycerin

Glycerin is naturally formed during the soap making process and can be animal or plant based. Hence animal or vegetable glycerin.

During commercial soap making processes the glycerin is removed from the soap and is sold in it's natural liquid form to manufacturers to be used in other products such as moisturisers.

You can see the glycerin forming on the soap (pictured). It is a natural hand made (melt and pour) soap and after unwrapping the soap and using it, natural glycerin began to form on the soap. It appears as small oily looking drops on the surface of the soap.

Have you ever noticed that the mainstream soaps you purchase don't have this natural forming glycerin.

Glycerin has the ability to attract moisture to your skin and is a great skin softening agent. Soaps containing glycerin (such as the above hand made soap) are more moisturising to use than soaps without.

Yet another reason why natural hand made soaps are a little more decadent to use.
  

New an Improved or ?

We often hear companies telling us a product is 'new and improved' and sometimes it's really not.

Take Mount Franklin bottled water for example. They came out with what they call a new crushable bottle. The point of this is, supposedly, so you can crunch the bottle up so it takes up less room in your recycle bin. Oh yay!

That's how they're selling it to us, the consumer, anyway.

The reality is more likely that they wanted to cut down on costs by reducing the amount of plastic used. Thinner plastic means less plastic means better bottom line. It would be nice to think they did it because they wanted to be environmentally friendly and produce less plastic, though I have my doubts about that altruistic motive.

The bottle, however, is an epic fail in my opinion. As soon as you touch the bottle it's crumpling so when you remove the lid you accidentally squash the bottle and water leaks out. Unless you're really careful which I'm not and nor are my children. Not only that, by the time we've finished the water the bottle is so dented and lopsided it's useless. You CANNOT reuse the bottle!

I'm not a fan of bottled water, for environmental reasons, yet if we've gone out somewhere as a family and we've forgotten our water bottles and the children are thirsty and there are no water fountains, we will purchase bottled water for them. We bring the bottles home for recycling.

I'm even less a fan of water bottles that cannot be refilled and reused (because we often keep refilled spares in the car). My trusty water bottle is an old bottled that I've had for years. The rapper is gone so the brand is irrelevant and I've decorated the bottled so everyone knows it's mine and not to through it out. I love that it has been turned into my personal water bottle and I love that the plastic is firm so that I can refill and reuse it and keep it for a long time.

As for the new Mount Franklin bending, dented, crumpling bottles. We refuse to purchase them because we know they're not new and improved. We know they are a dodgy thin version the company has created to save costs. We now purchase Cool Ridge, the commercial featuring the funny Aussie puppets, because we can reuse their bottles and keep them for ages.
  

Are You a Naturalist?

What is a naturalist? A naturalist is someone who tries to choose natural alternatives where ever possible. They not only choose natural skin care and makeup but also try to go chemical free in many other aspects of their lives. Such as organic fruit and vegies, environmental cleaning products, menstruation products, growing their own produce where possible.

There are many aspects of our lives that have the potential to be green, and I'd go so far as to say 'back to the olden days' when we were using green products because the chemicals we have today weren't around then.

When I was a little girl (and I'm still fairly young) my mum taught me to clean the bathroom using only a natural bar of soap and a flannel. That was it. There was no bleach or domestos or pineoclean (kills 99% of germs - as well as any good bacterial defenses your body has). Just a simple bar of soap.

We had fruit trees in our yard (that we didn't spray) and herbs, and our extended family also had fruit trees and we'd make bottled sauces and pickled fruits and vegetables. To this day many of my family members choose to live this way.

We weren't 100% green, we still wore clothes dyed with harmful chemicals, we still wore makeup though it was very minimal, and used menstrual pads (luxury taxable items if you can believe that - and one way to fight that is to go green and reusable

These days it seems harder to go green because chemicals are in everything we touch and it seems our governments aren't really interested in protecting us from them. So it's up to us to be the change we want to see in this world. It's up to us to do our part and make as many changes as we can. Not everyone can grown fruit trees for example (if they don't have the space), yet there are other ways, many ways, to support going green.

Visit farmers markets (more and more are popping up) and purchase organic produce, purchase natural skin care, mineral makeup, wash your clothes before wearing them in green laundry soap, shop at opp shops - purchasing reusable clothing stops the manufacture of more clothes which helps reduce chemical dyes, sweat shops and wastage.

DITCH the big brands and big corporations who support the use of chemicals and have no intention of stopping, who don't support locally produced organic products, who don't have YOUR best interests and welfare at the heart of their existence.
  

JOLI Natural Skin Care reviews

Here's what others are saying about JOLI :-

I love the Heavenly Bath Milk. It is nice and soft, and gives your bath a lovely subtle scent. You don't need very much - I only use about half a lid full, and that's probably a bit too much! I like this bath milk better than a leading world-known brand (which I won't mention) readily available by mass-production in their stores and on-line store. Joli's is a far superior product, at an extremely reasonable price. Thanks Joli!

After using Fluffy Lime Eye Cream for 3 days I noticed a real difference to the hydration of my eye area, it's general plumpness and the unexpected bonus of lightening of dark under-eye circles that I have had for YEARS! The texture is lovely and I am very happy. Thanks! :)

Within one week of using Rich Cream Moisturiser my face was soooo soft - and I have dry flaky skin normally. I am loving it.

I have dry, very sensitive skin and I use this wonderful Rich Cream Moisturiser for everything - face, feet, legs, arms, hands, elbows! I love having a versatile natural product that I can quickly grab after my shower - saves time and works fabulously!

I have VERY sensitive skin and Facial & Body Wash is the first cleanser I have ever tried that I can use every day - love it!

I have dry flaky skin... yet I get so many blackheads on my chin (I know horrible!) every facewash that could get rid of the blackheads dried my skin even more and felt like it was burning (sensitive skin). Yet this Facial & Body Wash I can use daily, does not burn and leaves my skin hydrated and no blackheads. :) Yay

I believe Moisturising Lip Balm is the best, it does a great job, my chapped lips are gone, it is non greasy and long lasting. I just love it!

I love the strawberry flavour and my kids love watermelon Lip Balm. I feel safe being able to put these lip balms on my children's lips knowing there is no harmful chemicals or preservatives that could affect them.
  

NutriBullet Commercial

Anyone who watches TV will mostly likely have seen those NutriBullet infomercials on those numerous infomercial channels (the adds are shown on pretty much all channels these days).

The commercial begins with the narrator talking about how the US has become the most over fed yet under nourished nation on the planet - while showing images of overweight people.  The narrator goes on to say it comes down to one thing 'nutrient absorption'. "We need to increase the nutritional power of the foods we eat (images of fruit and vegetables are shown)... to dramatically change the way we look and feel".

An imagine of a man's before and after shots are shown. Images that I have seen on other weight loss commercials prior to the NutriBullet adds coming along.

This opening narrative is a gimmick to suck the viewer in because the truth is, yes we are under nourished but not because we're not extracting nutrients from our foods properly, but because we're not eating the right foods in the first place. It implies that only with the NutriBullet will be begin to get our proper nourishment and nutrient absorption and thus loose weight.

There is no talk of exercise to counteract the weight gain or a change of mindset which often accompanies those who are overweight. The commercial, with it's above image, implies that with the NutriBullet alone you'll be able to lose weight and get healthy because you'll be extracting nutrition from foods.

"Introducing the NutriBullet, the superfood nutrition extractor!!!... with the NutriBullet you can turn ordinary food into superfood!!!..." The add goes on to say that the ONLY way to get the nutrients from food is with the NutriBullet because up until now our bodies have been incapable of extracting nutrients from foods. Hence it's ridiculous link (above) to obesity... as if to say that we're only fat because we've never EVER been able to extract nutrients from our foods or turn our foods into super foods.

It goes on to say, "Open up foods' hidden nutrition on a cellular level..."

Laughable! Um... hang-on... that's what our teeth and our intestines are for right!

We don't need a device like this to 'break down' foods because our bodies are designed to break down and process foods on a cellular level already. Our bodies are an awesome machine unto themselves. We are not overfed and under nourished because the NutriBullet hasn't existed up til now and we've needed it all this time. We're overweight because we're eating an enormous amount of bad foods for the first time in decades. And because giant corporations are deciding what types of foods will be available to us such as, corn syrup, processed wheat, bleached rice and sugars in just about everything we eat!

Instead of being sucked in by this commercial we're better off purchasing natural, organic healthy foods and eating them in larger quantities than the junk food we have on offer.

Those who follow my blog are not very likely to buy into this type of gimmick (or are you?), still I'd love to hear your thoughts.
  

Natural Ways to Deal With BO

JOLI natural skin care's deodorant

Body odor. It is one of those things many of us dislike, on ourselves and others.

Certain things we do in our everyday lives affect our BO, how much we smell and how strong the smell can be, such as: eating lots of garlic, drinking lots of alcohol, smoking, not washing often, sweating more than usual.

Here are some natural ways to combat BO when you notice you've got it.

1) Drink lots of fresh water, with a dash of lemon or lime if you like, and green herbal teas (without caffeine). This will help flush out toxins and replenish your body with clean liquids.

2) Stop the intake of toxins such as sugary or fatty foods, caffeine and alcohol. These can have a stinky effect on our bodies; what goes in must come out one way or another.

3) Cleanse those smelly areas with toner to wash away bacteria that is causing the smell.

4) Apply a natural deodorant or body spray.

5) Repeat steps 1 - 4 until your BO isn't smelling as pongy.
  

P & G Product List

Proctor and Gamble (P&G) test on animals. To avoid buying into the pain and suffering of animals avoid these products.

Ace
Align
Ariel
Always
Anna Sui
Aussie
Bold
Bounce
Bounty
Braun
Camay
Cascade
Charmin
Cheer
Clearblue
Comet
Christina Aguilera Perfumes
Clairol Professional
CoverGirl
Crest
DDF
Dolce & Gabbana Cosmetics
Dolce & Gabbana Fragrances
Dunhill Fragrances
Escada Fragrances
Fekkai
Fusion
Ghost

Dash

Dawn
Downy
Dreft Laundry
Duracell
Era
Eukanuba
Febreze
Gain
Iams
Joy
Gillette
Gucci Fragrances
HUGO BOSS Fragrances
Head & Shoulders
Herbal Essences
Ivory
Lacoste Fragrances
MACH3
Naomi Campbell

Natural Instincts Nice 'n Easy
Nioxin
Luvs
Metamucil
Mr. Clean
Olay
Old Spice
Oral-B
Pantene
Pert
Prestobarba/Blue
Puma
Pampers
Pepto-Bismol
Prilosec OTC
Puffs
Rejoice
SK-II
Safeguard
Scope
Scope4
Sebastian Professional
Secret
Swiffer
Tampax
Tide
Vicks
Venus
Vidal Sassoon
Wella

See Also: Who Tests on Animals

<Click here for products not tested on animals>