Saturday, July 31, 2010

Shampoo With A Message!

There's no shortage of bath and body products made with organic ingredients or otherwise positioned as earth and human friendly. Hoping to stand out in that increasingly crowded marketplace, a new German company is taking things a step further: instead of a regular brand name, it operates under a message: Stop The Water While Using Me.

Stop The Water currently sells shampoo (EUR 13) and shower gel (EUR 12) through its online store, with toothpaste in the works (EUR 8). All products are made with organic and/or natural ingredients, packaged in biodegradable containers, and manufactured with sustainability in mind. But the standout feature is that message, reminding people to switch off the tap while lathering up.

Managed by ad executive Stefan Kolle, Hamburg-based Stop The Water was shortlisted for a 2010 Cannes Lion and is currently seeking retailers to sell its products. Whether or not you sell bath products, the concept of message-as-brand is worth a brainstorm. 

Website: www.stopthewaterwhileusingme.com

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Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Papaya For Softer Lips

by Irina Wardas

Natural Counselor

In a previous article on lycopene, we learned that super foods can be used to protect our skin and face from sun damage; papaya, rich in natural enzymesand alpha-hydroxy acids is one such food. Papaya and other fruits, can also be used to make a honey face mask by adding honey or plain yogurt. But did you know that you can also use papaya to make your lips look luscious and flake free?  I would like to share with you some tips on how to make a lip facial to exfoliate your lips with papaya from The Green BeaLip Facial and Natural Face Masks as Exfoliating Beauty Remediesuty Guide.com

For a quick lip exfoliation, use ripe, juicy papaya. You can use leftovers from a fruit salad or dessert. Mash the papaya flesh into a juicy paste so that you get at least a tablespoon of puree.

Apply a generous amount of papaya pulp to the lips and skin around the lips. Leave on for ten to fifteen minutes. Rinse off with warm water and enjoy smooth, flake-free lips.

For an even quicker exfoliation, rub the inside of papaya skin against your lips for a few minutes.

By the way, pineapple has also natural enzymes andalpha-hydroxy acids that can be used for face exfoliation to rejuvenate, restore elasticity and add glow to our skin.  So, next time you want to make a pineapple and papaya smoothie as an energy booster or midday snack, don’t forget it is one of the best lip facial beauty remedies.

P.S. Don’t miss our discussion on Natural Beauty Tips and Remedies with holistic nutritionist and author of her best selling book The Green Beauty Guide, Julie Gabriel. We will be live on Feel and Look Fabulous with Irina on Tuesday, July 20th at 11:00am PT

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Saturday, July 17, 2010

The Story of Cosmetics - Sneak Peek!

From: Campaign for Safe Cosmetics
July 14, 2010 www.safecosmetics.org


We're almost there! Just one week from today, with your help, "The Story of Cosmetics", a short film about toxic chemicals in cosmetics, will be released around the world. Watch the trailer now:

We've partnered with Annie Leonard and Free Range Studios - the creators of "The Story of Stuff " - to release this 7-minute movie online on July 21, just in time to help build momentum for the introduction of groundbreaking safe cosmetics legislation in Congress.

We have the opportunity to reach millions of people around the world with "The Story of Cosmetics", creating a wave of support for an effective, common-sense law that will ensure all cosmetics and personal care products are safe.

Earlier this month we asked you to help launch this film - and we've been blown away by your response so far.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH STORY OF COSMETICS TRAILER HERE JULY 21st RELEASE DATE


THANK YOU to everyone who has already who's already donated and offered to spread the film far and wide! Because of you, we're almost halfway to our goal of raising the money we need to put the finishing touches on the movie and create opportunities for viewers to turn their learning into action. But we're not there yet!

In the past six years, with your help, we've educated millions of people around the world about the problem of harmful chemicals in products like lipstick, cologne, soaps and even baby shampoos - and together we're shifting the market toward healthier alternatives.

Now, for the first time in 70 years, we have a real chance at national legislation that would eliminate chemicals linked to cancer and birth defects from the products women, men and children put on their bodies every day.

Thank you for everything you're already doing to give the beauty industry a makeover. Stay tuned!

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Tuesday, July 13, 2010

Greening Beauty: Herbal Remedies For Menopause

By Paige Donner


So it seems to have gotten popular in Hollywood to start having kids when you're 45!  But for the rest of us, our 40's mean the onset of menopause and the end of possibilities for natural, organic conception and childbearing.

What is wonderful to bear witness to these days, however, is women's beauty manifest at all ages and in so many forms, such diversity.
Menopause need be no different. It's a time of womanhood that ushers in a new era of the feminine. Strong and beautiful and womanly.  Here are some natural herbs that some of have suggested can ease the physical transition.

Herbal Natural Remedies For Menopause

On top of these measures natural remedies for menopause include herbs, homoeopathic remedies and aromatherapy oils.
Herbs often used include: [In addition to Black Cohosh]
  • Agnus Castus - best selling herb for menopause and periods
  • Dong Quai - another best selling herb for menopause and periods - has a centuries old reputation in the Far East
  • Gingko biloba - helps to allay 'brain fog' and counteract cold hands and feet
  • St John's Wort - great in keeping up the spirits, nourishing the nerves, and counteracting depressive tendencies
  • Red sage - recommended by many for 'keeping cool' during menopause
  • Motherwort - a 'forgotten' herb, strongly recommended by old herbalists for women - especially at menopause; for energy; and for the heart.
  • Cayenne pepper - which, surprisingly, can be used to help counteract hot flushes. For this purpose it is usually used in capsule form, so that sufficient can be taken to help.
Let's focus on Dong Quai. This is a popular herbal, natural remedy in China and other parts of the Orient. It is seen there as a sort of wonder remedy for women.
Dong Quai is, foremost, a blood tonic used to nurture the blood and invigorate the blood circulation. The interlinked acupuncture meridians are the Liver, Heart and Spleen. Some of the chemical ingredients of Dong Quai include vitamin B (nictonic acid, folic acid, vitamin B12), and vitamin A. Its ability to regulate and normalise hormonal imbalances means that this herb can be immensely worthwhile in alleviating symptoms asscociated with PMT, infertilty and the menopause.
Healthy Food And Exercise
Other recommended remedies are more of a lifestyle approach and include, healthy diet of fresh fruits and vegetables or the "Mediterranean Diet" of lean meats and fish for proteins. We always need to include fair doses of exercise and it's highly recommended to avoid stress and stressful situations.
SOY
Soy is another key ingredient in alleviating some of the side-effects of menopause. The 'active constituents' in soy that act as a natural remedy for menopause are the soy isoflavones, and it is suggested that you take 50 mg of soy isoflavones per day or get it in your diet by eating tempeh, tofu, soy milk and other soy products.
Another little secret, from WebMD, is natural progesterone cream
A study published in the journal Obstetrics and Gynecology in 1999 found that natural progesterone cream significantly reduced hot flashes compared to the placebo group. In The Wisdom of Menopause, Northrup says that a 2% progesterone skin cream works in about 85% of perimenopausal women.
A little as 1/4 tsp once per day can ease hot flashes. Make sure that you read the labels of natural progesterone cream products careful as there is great variability of progesterone content.

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Sunday, July 11, 2010

Incredible Edible Eco-Beauty

by: Rachel Sarnoff

EcoStiletto

Good enough to eat. We say it about dessert—and that gorgeous guy on the second floor who hoses off his mud-covered mountain bike in the courtyard on Saturdays.

Yummy.

But what about beauty? If you consider that 60% of what goes on our skin goes in our bodies, wouldn’t it make sense to use products that are safe enough to eat in the first place?

When we put our favorites to the test, we found that many of them are—technically—edible. That’s because they eschew parabens, phthalates, synthetic perfumes and other petro-chemicals in favor of truly natural, organic-whenever-possible ingredients.

Note the use of the word “technical.” Please don’t call us with a bellyache after you decide to make your face mask your meal: These products are formulated without taste in mind, no matter how safe they might be to ingest. Oh, and p.s. we scored $1,300 in edible eco-beauty giveaways!

The Environmental Working Group shook up the beauty industry last year when it found that 60% of lipsticks contain lead, a known neurotoxin. Add to that the fact that the average woman eats about nine pounds of lipstick over the course of her lifetime—just from licking her lips. Ick.

That’s why we love Primitive lipsticks. Made with natural waxes, shea butter, vanilla extract and vitamin E, the rainbow of gorgeous colors in the Primitive line up is created exclusively from elements like iron oxides and carmine. Lip smackin’.


Cosmetic chefs David Parker and Margaret Skarin are organic beauty veterans—he as a NorCal spa owner and she of Blue Lotus Organic Skincare fame—but when the two joined forces in 2002 to create The Body Deli their goal was to take it a step further with products so clean you could eat them. Hence the refrigerators in their flagship Palm Desert, CA store—and the allegiance of local farmers in the California Central Valley. With a truly unique range of products for women and men—our favorite, hands down, is the ever-so-masculine, sandalwood-heavy, Spanish Fly line of scrub, wash, lotion and soap—The Body Deli truly serves it up. Take a number.


It’s seriously hard not to eat Bodykor’s Chocolate Macadamia Mask—it smells that good. Made with organic almond oil, antioxidant-rich chocolate, organic shea butter, macadamia nut oil and honey, among other natural ingredients, the hydrating mask penetrates without any greasy feeling, leaving skin soft and supple. Go ahead, take a lick!


Sweet Beauty takes the concept a step further, with an entire line of Theo Organic Chocolate spa treatments like something out of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” only guilt-free. We’ve been addicted to their lip balms for years, but our new faves are Sweet Beauty’s Pot de Crème body creams made with shea butter and grape seed oils, which present a chocolate flavor base accented by rose, coconut, coffee or a double shot of cacao. Mouth-watering.


A pinch of salt highlights the sweet, and nowhere do we find this to be truer than in Golden Path Alchemy’s Kiwi Coconut Exfoliating Mask, crafted with brightening kiwi enzymes, antioxidant-rich coconut milk and acerola cherry fruit acids, complemented by Himalayan sea salt. Hand-made in small batches from USDA Certified Organic food-grade ingredients—many of them sourced from the company’s own organic farm in Montecito, CA—the entire GPA line is edible and based on the five elements of Traditional Chinese Medicine.



Tata Harper wants you to feed your head. Or your face, rather, with her eponymous and uniformly edible line of unique custom skincare products, made with love on her organic farm in Vermont. The Rebuilding Moisturizer is a perfect example: Minus the superficial silicones that leave skin with an oily finish, Tata Harper Rebuilding Moisturizer includes naturally-fermented sodium hyaluronate and organic raw honey to protect from sun damage. Amazingly, Tata’s Moisturizer leaves the skin matte, yet hydrated.  Dig in.

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Wednesday, July 7, 2010

DIY Eco Beauty Recipes

Think Eco-Beauty’s Expensive? Not If It’s Free

You don't need to make a special supermarket trip to find eco-friendly beauty. Go to the kitchen and grab sugar, eggs, honey and instant oatmeal. Go on, I’ll wait!
 
I love scrubs but don’t like that most of them contain oil. So I created this Essential DIY Scrub & Mask that I’m totally addicted to. You can even use it every day—okay I’m a little obsessive—and seriously your skin will never look better. When I use it regularly my blackheads disappear, my giant pores are smaller and my skin feels super soft and clean. Try it!
 
Essential DIY Scrub & Mask
Six tablespoons raw organic sugar
One free range organic egg white
One tablespoon organic honey
One packet plain instant organic oatmeal
 
Strain the egg white into a bowl (or mortar, if you’ve got one).

Add sugar and honey. Blend in the sugar with a fork (or pestle). Blend in the honey.
 Then the oatmeal (leave it uncooked).

Now rub the mask into your skin in small circles. Some people think that sugar can be too harsh for the face, so if your skin is sensitive, please be gentle. I, on the other hand, have alligator skin. I like to put some muscle into it.
 
Once you’ve thoroughly exfoliated your face, just clump some more of the scrub onto it and let it dry for 10 to 20 minutes. (Make sure you’re wearing not-so-nice clothes, as it sometimes does fall off a bit.) Wash off, and presto, glow-o!
 
For more about how--and why--it works, plus a short-and-sweet video of me with what looks like barf on my face, please visit MommyGreenest.com.
 

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