Category: Blog Post

Green cleaning products no home should be without

Green Cleaning Products No Home Should Be Without

Posted on by Lydia D

The search for “Green” Cleaning Products

How many times have we seen TV commercials advertising cleaning products that promise to make our lives easier? The choices are almost endless. Add to that the challenge of finding “green” cleaning products that live up to what they promise. We may be looking for products that are naturally derived, free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and that don’t harm the environment. More and more manufacturers are claiming to provide these benefits and more, while still doing the job of cleaning your home.

Green Cleaning Products

But there’s another option for consumers looking for earth-friendly products. Most of the time, you need not look further than your kitchen cabinets to find products and ingredients that can clean while not harming the environment. Here are just a few examples:

    • Baking Soda – It’s not just for baking anymore. Baking soda, or sodium bicarbonate, is a fine white powder with a pH of 9 that is found in products like toothpaste and deodorant. But it also makes a great cleaning product when mixed with water to make a paste. It is just as effective as commercial cleaning powders, while saving money. In a pinch, you can even use your favorite whitening toothpaste to clean ceramic surfaces in the kitchen and bath. You can polish stainless steel appliances safely without scratching them. You can also add a few tablespoons to your wash cycle to sweeten clothing. You could say that baking soda has 101 uses.
    • Lemon Juice – A great citrus fruit that’s popular in salad dressings, cocktails, and as an emulsifier in Hollandaise sauce, it contains about 5% citric acid. This gives it a very low pH (2-3). Its high Vitamin C content makes it a popular ingredient in brightening serums. But did you know that lemon juice can help kill germs? Add a few drops of lemon oil to castile soap or dishwashing liquid and clean as usual. If you’re feeling ambitious, you can create your own furniture polish. Just mix .2 oz lemon oil with 8 oz. of melted beeswax or candelilla wax. Cool and apply to furniture with a clean cloth in a circular motion.
    • White Vinegar – This product, which contains acetic acid, should be bought by the gallon. It is great for everything from removing clothing stains (avoid with delicates) to cleaning product buildup from your hair. But did you know that white vinegar is great for cleaning the toilet? Just pour and let it sit for about 2 hours before brushing the bowl clean. It is also great for neutralizing stains and odors in your coffee maker. Of course, who hasn’t used it as a window cleaner? Add 2 tablespoons of vinegar to 2 cups of water in a spray bottle.
    • Hydrogen Peroxide – Found in most medicine cabinets and hair color salons, hydrogen peroxide is another versatile product that cleans and disinfects. An active ingredient in the OxyClean family of products and many whitening toothpastes, it lifts stains from colored clothing without bleaching. Combined with baking soda, it is great for brightening sinks and tubs. Spray onto kitchen counters to disinfect. (Always check with the manufacturer before using on stone countertops or appliances. If skin is sensitive, use gloves.) The by-products of oxidation are oxygen and water. It doesn’t get any more earth-friendly than that.

    The next time you’re tempted to run out and purchase the latest toilet bowl cleaner, remember that you just might have what you need at home right now. There’s no time like the present to begin living clean.

Why is Vitamin C the Wonder Vitamin?

Why Is Vitamin C The Wonder Vitamin?

Posted on by Lydia D

Why Is Vitamin C The Wonder Vitamin?

Vitamin C, or Ascorbic acid, has been the subject of much conversation in the healthcare and beauty industries and is often touted as a “wonder” vitamin. Of the 13 essential vitamins that the human body needs (because it cannot manufacture them), Vitamin C has gotten more than its share of attention. How did a water-soluble micro-nutrient present in citrus fruits and other foods come to be found in our beauty products?

Vitamin C and your health

Citrus fruits were found to cure scurvy in sailors long before they understood why. Basically, Vitamin C is needed to make collagen, the most abundant protein in our bodies. It is found in everything from skin and bones to nails, hair and tendons. Without Vitamin C, sailors developed weakness, gum disease and skin ailments. Vitamin C was also studied for its possible benefits in treating infection. Some studies show that large doses of Vitamin C can shorten the severity and duration of the common cold. It has been found in high concentrations in certain immune cells, which need the vitamin in order to function properly. For this reason alone, many find Vitamin C supplementation an essential part of their daily diet. While supplements many have their place in cases of deficiency, they have been found to be less useful in normal, healthy individuals. Being water soluble, excess Vitamin C is excreted in our urine. Too much of the vitamin can, in fact, lead to kidney stones. Exercise caution and take it only when your body is under stress or in the case of a deficiency. Your physician can provide guidance on the proper dose to take in these cases.

Vitamin C and Your Skin

Perhaps the most interesting uses for Vitamin C have been in the beauty industry. As a potent antioxidant, the benefits of Vitamin C cannot be overstated. It is a potent free-radical scavenger that can help to treat damage from excessive sun exposure, which can make you look older. This makes it a desirable ingredient in skincare products. However, pure Ascorbic acid is unstable and oxidizes quickly, so it’s important to look for products that use stabilized or alternative forms of Vitamin C. For example, while L-Ascorbic acid is the purest form of Vitamin C, it is highly unstable (e.g. sensitive to light, heat and air) and requires a very low pH to work, making it more irritating than other forms of Vitamin C. This is often experienced as a “tingling” feeling.

Some forms of Vitamin C have been formulated in the lab to make them more stable and more effective at lower concentrations than L-Ascorbic acid. Magnesium Ascorbyl Phosphate, for example (found in our Age-Defying Vitamin C Face Creme ), is water-soluble, more stable and gentler than L-Ascorbic acid. This is helpful for people with sensitive skin. When combined with other ingredients like Vitamin E and Niacinamide (Vitamin B3), Vitamin C can impart real benefits to skin ravaged by sun damage and environmental stressors. Combined with a diet consisting of whole foods rich in Vitamin C, your body will have what it needs to maintain healthy cell function and collagen formation. We truly believe it to be a “wonder” vitamin! So try a few products out for yourself and see if you don’t agree.

(Disclaimer: We are not health professionals. The views expressed here are our own and do not constitute medical advice. Please see a physician if you have questions regarding Vitamin C deficiency or any medical condition.)

References:
Healthline.com article about Vitamin C
National Institutes of Health article on Vitamin C deficiency
National Institutes of Health article on Vitamin C and immune function

Tips for Soft Healthy Lips Blog Post

Tips for Soft Healthy Lips

Posted on by Lydia D

Tips for Soft Healthy Lips

In honor of National Lipstick Day, we’d like to provide some tips on maintaining soft, healthy, kissable lips. After all, they are a prominent form of expression and one of our erogenous zones. With a little extra care, they can remain softer, smoother and healthy for life. But first, let’s learn a little more about this important part of our anatomy.

Facts About Our Lips

The lips consist of three major components – the labius superium oris, the labius inferium oris, and the vermillion border (the outermost margins of the lips). The main muscle that moves the lips is the Obicularis oris muscle. The unique features of the lips include:

  • The skin is very thin compared with the rest of the body.
  • The lips do not have hair follicles or sweat glands. In this way they are similar to the soles of our feet and the palms of our hands.
  • The lips do not have oil glands, so they dry out more quickly than the rest of the body.
  • The lips are very sensitive to touch, warmth and cold.
  • Lips tend to have fewer malanocytes than the rest of the body, which allows blood vessels underneath to give them a pinkish hue.
  • Lips tend to get thinner as we age, due to the decreased production of collagen.

    • How To Care For Our Lips

    Because of these unique properties, it is important to protect our lips from the effects of the environment, harsh chemicals, and sunlight. The same environmental forces that can cause our skin to age is magnified on our lips. Hear are a few ways that you can keep your lips soft and healthy:

  • Moisturize regularly. Without oil glands, our lips are especially prone to drying and cracking. A moisturizing shea butter lip balm or other barrier balm can go a long way towards trapping moisture to prevent cracking.
  • Avoid products that can dry lips out, like alcohol, camphor, phenols, menthol, perfumes, salicylic acid and hyaluronic acid (which in low humidity can pull moisture from your lips).
  • Rethink using products that don’t actually moisturize like 100% petroleum jelly (which is highly refined and may contain other contaminants) and mineral oil. Choose moisturizing, penetrating oils like shea, olive and coconut oil instead with a natural wax like candelilla instead.
  • Exfoliate lips gently, especially during the winter months. The skin on the lips sheds, too, and regular exfoliation with a gentle scrub or a washcloth can help maintain a smooth appearance and helps lip care products absorb better.
  • Wear a sunscreen on your lips! Of course, it’s wise to wear sunscreen on all exposed areas when we’re outdoors, but the lips are especially vulnerable. A barrier sunscreen containing zinc or titanium oxide is best.
  • If you smoke, stop. After sun exposure, nothing ages skin more than smoking. It accelerates the breakdown of collagen and causes our skin to age prematurely. For the same reason, avoid excess sugar in the diet.
  • Use products that are proven to enhance collagen production. The jury is still out on whether or not supplements and powders can improve the skin. However, ingredients like antioxidants, peptides and ingredients like niacinamide have been shown to help with collagen production. For example, our Age-Defying Vitamin C Face Creme contains both antioxidants and niacinamide without the high price tag of other Vitamin C creams.
  • Stay hydrated. The same thing that can dry your skin also dries out your lips. If you suffer from chronically dry skin, lips, hair and nails, then it’s time to drink more water.
  • Eat a healthy diet. Foods rich in collagen precursors like glycine and proline include foods like fish, dark leafy greens, beans, cabbage, bananas and many other foods. Eating foods rich in these amino acids help the body maintain healthy skin, hair and yes, lips too.
  • Don’t lick your lips! It’s tempting to do when lips are cracked, but it only speeds dehydration.

    In addition to these tips, we also recommend that you read labels before applying any product to your lips. Many lipsticks, for example, contain synthetic dyes, lead, and other ingredients that may cause an allergic reaction or worse. After all, many of the products that we put on our lips can end up in our bodies. Let’s make certain that they are products that won’t do more harm than good. So pucker up and be smart about your lip health!

    References:
    Huffington Post article about lip facts
    Wikipedia article on lip anatomy

Beeswax Honey Pinterest graphic Blog Post

Why We Avoid Beeswax and Honey

Posted on by Lydia D

Why We Avoid Beeswax and Honey

There are a number of reasons why we avoid beeswax and honey – both in our skincare products and in our diet. Many of us grew up putting honey on our pancakes and burning hand-rolled beeswax candles. We may even have tasted a real honeycomb. But times have changed. Colony collapse disorder is threatening to render the honeybee, as well as many other native bees, extinct. For a species that has been around for tens of billions of years, this is truly concerning.

It is important to understand the role that bees play in agriculture. Yes, they pollinate our flowers, but they are also crucial to the production of about 30% of the world’s crops. That includes such crops as berries, avocados, apples, citrus fruits, sunflowers, and the list goes on. Without bees, most of these crops would cease to exist. While other animals are known to transfer pollen, bees are the workhorses of the agricultural world.

Why Are Bees Dwindling in Number?

There are many theories; here are a few:

  • Large agricultural operations with hundreds of acres of a single crop require a huge number of bees in order to produce a large harvest. To do this, they often “rent” bees from individuals who truck them in from far away. Prolonged travel puts a tremendous strain on the bees. Feeding on just one type of crop can suppress their immune system, leading to disease.
  • Bees involved in large commercial operations are often fed poor diets consisting primarily of high fructose corn syrup during these long trips across the country, which leaves them weakened and susceptible to disease.
  • Environmental factors like high levels of pesticides, excessive heat and a changes in flower growth patterns leave the bees with less food and damaged immune systems.

To learn more about these issues, watch the documentary https://youtu.be/CBmlwx_6A8Q on Youtube.

What Can We Do To Help The Bees?

The demand for both beeswax and honey continues to grow. In much the same way as palm oil (which we also avoid), these products are found in everything from skincare products to furniture wax to candies, candles, etc. This can only fuel in increased use of bees in ways that leave them vulnerable to disease and death. While there are thousands of bee species, the few that produce honey are the ones that are relied on to produce ever increasing amounts of honey and beeswax. Here are a few things that you can do:

  • Avoid the use of pesticides. Not only have they been implicated in colony collapse disorder, but repeated exposure may put your health at risk, as well. Use natural means like vinegar (for killing weeds), diatomaceous earth (avoid inhaling), and hand picking to eliminate pests. Use companion plants (e.g. tomatoes and basil), which will encourage good bugs to take care of pests. After all, pesticides can kill beneficial species like bees as well.
  • Avoid products containing commercially-produced honey and beeswax (Cera alba). Although honey, propolis and royal jelly have been touted for their health-promoting properties, these products are not essential for good health and these claims have not been substantiated scientifically. Moreover, more and more consumers are experiencing sensitivity to beeswax. Harvesting these products disturbs the bee’s habits and habitat in some way – which is something that we’d like to avoid. There are many substitutes for honey like maple syrup, agave nectar, and simple syrup made from organic cane sugar. Instead of beeswax, we use candelilla wax, carnauba wax, sunflower wax, and (in the future) bayberry or non-gmo rapeseed wax in our products. For example, we have been using sustainably-harvested candelilla wax in our Body Balms since Day 1. So check your labels or go online and find out what ingredients are in your skincare products. And look for plant-based, vegan and gmo-free products.
  • Buy local whenever possible. That includes local produce, seeds and flowering plants. If you can grow your own food, do so organically. Plant flowers that attract bees like bee balm, purple coneflower and sunflowers. And if you must enjoy honey and beeswax, buy local honey from reputable independent beekeepers. They are more fully committed to preserving the bees’ habitats and health.
  • Learn more about the indigenous bee species that live in your area. Many bee species do not produce honey, but their important role as pollinators should not be ignored.

Let us strive to co-exist with these workhorses, while helping them to thrive and grow in number.

References:
The Kind Life blog post on beeswax
Article on market demand for beeswax
Smallbones Studio article on beeswax candles
PETA article on factory-farmed bees
BBC Earth article about bees