Archive for Uncategorized
Beauty Lies
Posted by: | CommentsBeauty alert! When personal care companies advertise, do you believe their claims?
In the previous post, I raised this question and now there is further proof that beauty companies deal in deception first, and your well-being last. The Advertising Standards Authority has banned an ad for Johnson and Johnson’s Clean and Clear Spot Control Kit and deemed it as deceptive and misleading. In the commercial, young girls (who are not actresses, according to J & J) are depicted before and after using the product. In the before pictures, the girl’s faces are blotchy and shiny. In the after ones, their skin is smooth and clear. It was reported that in the before picture, the girl’s had no face makeup on. Their skin was completely bare. In the after shot, J&J admits a light powder was applied to their skin. If a company can be deceptive simply in their promotional material, isn’t it likely that they are deceptive about the effectiveness or safety of their product? Does something like this make you feel misled? Do you feel like you wasted money on products because the company manipulated the results?
Click here to see the actual commercial and let me know what you think.
Stay natural…stay beautiful…go green!
Robin
Your Honey Do List
Posted by: | CommentsI always knew how healthy honey was for the skin, but not until recently did I make the step to purchase some quality honey. I bought Manuka Honey from Luckyvitamin.com. Honey is versatile and so much more useful externally then internally. Many skin care products contain honey as one of the top ingredients.
A reader asked….does it matter which type of honey you use? The best choice is organic honey but I know that can get pricey. So if your budget doesn’t allow, I am sure it is ok to use regular honey. If you do decide to buy organic, I highly recommend buying it online as it can be much more affordable. Try luckyvitamin.com for great deals on honey and more!
What else can honey do? The benefits go on and on:
- Treat skin blemishes
- Promote glowing skin
- Protect skin from sun damage
- Cleanse skin
- Heal irritated skin
- Treat burns
- Moisturize severely dry skin
- Anti-bacterial agent
- Anti-microbial agent
- Vitamin and mineral rich, including copper, iron, silica, vitamin B, manganese, chlorine, calcium, potassium, sodium, phosphorous, aluminum and magnesium
- Pain relief
- Prevent scarring
- Tone the skin and tighten pores
By now you might be saying, “Wow! I didn’t know honey could do all that!” Just try it and you just might be incredibly pleased with the results. See the previous post on how to use it as a moisturizing face mask.
Need an idea of how to use honey in your beauty routine? Check out this video for an amazingly yummy toning chocolate honey scrub. Just in time for Valentine’s Day!
Have you used honey before in your beauty routine? If so, how did you use it? Have any good recipes to share? Let’s dish!
On a sad and completely different note, I would like to dedicate this post to Karissa Gundling, a fellow green beauty blogger who passed away on Saturday. Her warmth and genuineness came through on every post she wrote. She was an inspiration to me and will be greatly missed. See her blog here:prissygreen
Stay natural…stay beautiful…go green!
Robin
The Honey Skin Cure
Posted by: | CommentsToday I welcome a guest blogger! I am so happy to be able to share this page with others who share my vision of having everyone learn how to go green with their beauty routines and life. Today’s guest blogger is scientist Dr. Renee Lea-Currie , who has a Ph.D. in nutrition and is the Health Leader for the Philadelphia Seventh Day Adventist Church in Burlington, NC. Please take the time to visit her website and blog in which she promotes eating real “food” and shares coupons and deals for organic and natural products, making them more affordable for everyone. In the following, Renee, gives some great tips for smoother, softer skin at a price we can all handle. Thank you , Renee. Enjoy!
The Honey Skin Cure
by Dr. Renee Lea-Currie
I too was plagued with super sensitive skin and adult acne until I tried a very simple inexpensive recipe. Try this:
1. Wet your hands and then apply honey to your face. Feel free to massage it in if you wish
2. Leave it on for 5-10 minutes.
3. Rinse with water. NOTE: I don’t like the smell of honey so I use water and unscented pure glycerin soap like Dr Bronner’s to rinse. $2 sample bottles of the liquid version can easily be found at Target stores.
4. If you still feel dry, use a dab of olive oil and massage in while your face is still wet.
This simple cheap regimen has “cured” my acne, dry skin, enormous skin pores and lightened old scars! It was hard to find a regimen that works on African-American brown skin, but this one does. Every 1-2 months, I do a simple body honey treatment the same way for all over softness. The ingredients are simple, affordable and available most everywhere.
- As a research scientist, I am familiar with many of the chemical names in many products. Oddly enough, many of the same chemicals in cosmetics would have to be classified as hazardous and disposed of in special manner if they were in my lab at any concentration or amount! Scary.
- As a scientist, I also share with the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and conduct local Natural beauty recipe workshops and shopping tours; this is how I found Robin’s blog a few months ago. I have been very pleased as it seems like we are of the same mind to share information about HOW TO be beautiful and safe. Keep searching and checking out blogs and website to find the information you seek.
On my next post, I will share with you even more about the health and beauty benefits of honey.
Stay natural…stay beautiful…go green!
Robin
Winter Skin Blues? Try an At Home Facial
Posted by: | CommentsJust before new years, I noticed my skin had lost some if it’s luster. Maybe it was because of the cold, dry air where I was vacationing…who knows…but if the chilly winter wind has your skin looking a bit dull, I have the solution for you (and it doesn’t even cost that much!)
I concocted my own at home facial! It was a 5 step process. You can use the products you already have on hand or even get creative and make some of your own recipes. I used a product line from Blissoma, an awesome company I just discovered through one of my favorite eco-beauty blogs, ecochick.com. I jumped on the chance to try the starter kit (4 full sized products) for only $25! UPDATE: This deal is no longer being offered but visit iriestar.com for to sign up for future promotions! Wanna know more? Read the review of this amazing, affordable natural line here: ecochick.com
Read on for your step-by-step instructions for your DIY facial!
Here are the easy steps to your skin rejuvenating at home facial:
Step 1: Cleanse. Wet face and cleanse using a gentle cleanser. I used Blissoma’s Mild Rice Cleanser. Pat dry.
Step 2: Exfoliate. Use face scrub to remove dead skin cells. Since I didn’t have any scrub around, I created my own. Take about 2 tablespoons of olive oil and combine with 2 tbsp. of sugar. You can play around with the amounts. Gently apply to face and rinse. By now your skin will already be incredibly soft!
Step 3: Clarify. Apply a clay mask to skin, being careful to apply it evenly. Blissoma’s Clay Renewal Treatment mask did an excellent job for me. Let dry and remove with a warm wet cloth.
Step 4: Tone. Blissoma’s set came with this great toner spray (Intense Hydration Tonique) which hydrated my skin. If you don’t have a product like this, you can skip this step or mist face with some purified water. Let dry.
Step 5: Moisturize. Apply moisturizer (it was night so I used Blissoma’s Evening Facial Creme.) The set also came with a Morning Facial Moisture. I love the fact that it had different formulations for day and night. Your skin needs different treatment at different times of the day.
Step 6: Enjoy smoother, softer, and healthier skin!
This isn’t something you will do everyday but once in a while it is nice to pamper yourself! After I gave myself this facial, my skin was new year ready. Do you have any other tips for an at home facial? Please share!
Stay natural…stay beautiful…go green!
Robin
Go Greeeeeen Tea!
Posted by: | Comments
Green tea is not only great for your heart, but for your skin and hair too.
Did the title catch your attention? I hope so…The benefits of drinking green tea are many: weight loss, increased metabolism, inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, and improving the immune system to name a few. Green tea contains EGCG, a powerful antioxidant which kills cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone. If green tea is not part of your daily diet, it should be.
Green tea is so healthy in our diet but what can it do in our beauty products? There are times when your hair needs a break from regular shampoo and needs a clarifying shampoo to remove buildup of styling products. Enter Aubrey Organics Green Tea Clarifying Shampoo.
It deep cleans and rinses well leaving the hair healthy and manageable. It contains herbal extracts and nutrients which make the hair easy to style and cuts down on dry time (who doesn’t need more time in their beauty routine??) Green tea and nettle extract protect hair and tone the scalp. Aloe replenishes moisture while almond protein strengthens hair fiber, fullness, and manageability. You will be so pleased when you use this shampoo as it contains so sulfates, parabens, or chemicals. It’s also vegan and is not tested on animals. Here are the complete ingredients:
INGREDIENTS: Deionized Water, Coconut Oil-Corn Oil Soap, Organic Green Tea Extract (Organic Green Tea, Organic Nettle, Natural Grain Alcohol), Organic Aloe Vera, Carrageenan, Organic Lemon Peel Oil, Almond Protein, Organic Blue Camomile Oil, Aubrey’s Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E).
You can explore the entire line of green tea products at Aubrey Organics.
Another company who have tapped into the power of green tea is Burt’s Bees. They make a collection of products utilizing this wonder ingredient. I was able to find a Green Tea set at Marshall’s (I am always looking for deals!) It contained a 12 oz. shampoo, 12 oz. conditioner, 8 oz. hand soap, and a soap bar. Burt’s Bees Color Keeper Shampoo and Conditioner uses green tea and fennel seed to help preserve color. This is a good shampoo, but when compared with Aubrey, I definitely like the results from the Aubrey collection better. My hair seems to stay cleaner longer than when I use the Burt’s Bees. If you decide to try both lines, it is up to you to decide which you like better. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the benefits of green tea or what is has done for you. Please leave me a comment.
Until next time, stay natural… stay beautiful… go green(tea!) -Robin 
