If renewing skin to a youthful glow is on your mind, but not in your pocketbook, the SkinGlow bedding collection is a pretty fine answer. The copper-infused fabric is clinically proven to reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and crow’s feet in just four weeks of use! How wild is that?

And by use, I mean sleeping! Getting your beauty sleep has never been so productive.

Copper ions woven into the fabric are activated by moisture released from the body during sleep, beautifying skin’s appearance, making it look smoother and younger while nourishing stressed and aging skin. The ions last for the lifetime of the product without losing effectiveness, even after repeated washings.

Available at select Bed Bath & Beyond stores.

Image: SkinGlow

Post from: eBeautyDaily

Mr. Bader, a longtime sufferer of the condition known as multiple chemical sensitivity, has founded a company called Organic Mattresses, Inc. that manufactures and markets organic mattresses and commercial mattresses. “There’s always the issue of potential contamination. Polyester and all this stuff goes airborne. Who knows what goes where?”

An excerpt from the article:

In stores and on the Web, she found plenty of mattresses labeled “organic,” “natural” or “eco-friendly,” but little guidance about what exactly that meant, or what made any one of them better than — or even different from — another, or from a conventional mattress. Vast disparities in pricing, from a little more than $100 to more than $500, only added to the confusion.

….

Stores across the country have lately been trumpeting the benefits of “organic” and “natural” mattresses, for adults as well as babies. There are now models made with soybeans, stuffed with coconut husks, infused with green tea and treated with aloe vera (“known to have a significant effect on energy levels,” according to a press release from Serta).

But as mattresses like these have become increasingly common — and an increasingly popular subject of online discussion forums for parents — it has become ever harder for consumers to sort through the panoply of manufacturers’ claims.

No government agency regulates the labeling of mattresses as “organic” or “natural,” and trade groups like the International Sleep Products Association and the Specialty Sleep Association offer their members no guidelines for using the terms. Throughout the industry — as a number of people within it acknowledged in interviews — promotional materials are rife with vague or misleading information. “The whole thing is a smoke and mirrors industry,” said Ralph Rossdeutscher, the president and owner of Natura World, a manufacturer in Cambridge, Ontario.

….

“The chemicals in consumer products are a huge problem,” she said. “Mattresses are one of the only things where it’s not a problem.”

But as awareness of toxic chemicals in ordinary products has become widespread, many consumers have been drawn to arguments like Ms. Dadd’s.

In recent decades, most mattresses have been made either with metal springs sandwiched between layers of polyurethane foam, or with just foam. In showrooms, salespeople typically focus on firmness, talking about the number of springs or the density of the foam. What they rarely bring up — but what has become increasingly common knowledge among consumers — is that polyurethane foam is made from petroleum, and that it can emit volatile organic compounds (V.O.C.’s), which have been linked to respiratory irritation and other health problems, according to both the Environmental Protection Agency and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

Salespeople are also unlikely, green-minded advocates say, to talk about the chemical makeup of fire retardants. In the 1970s, when cigarettes were the main cause of mattress fires, polyurethane foam was itself seen as a retardant, because cigarettes don’t make foam ignite. Open flame, on the other hand, does, and in later years, when candles and children playing with matches were the bigger threats, manufacturers began treating some foam with polybrominated diphenyl ethers, or P.B.D.E.’s. This type of fire retardant began to worry environmentalists and health experts as scientists found them accumulating in places as diverse as seal blubber in Greenland and the breast milk of American women.

In 2004, after animal studies suggested that P.B.D.E.’s impaired development of the nervous and reproductive systems, their manufacturers voluntarily stopped making them in the form that the Polyurethane Foam Association said was used in some mattresses. Most of the new fire retardants introduced since then consist of synthetic fibers that block fire, and in many cases consumers have no way of knowing what they contain, since the fibers are proprietary and manufacturers are not required to disclose their composition.

The material that covers a mattress — its ticking — is another source of concern. Conventional mattresses for children are often covered in vinyl, which begins life as a hard plastic and is softened using additional chemicals, frequently ones called phthalates. But small amounts of phthalates have been found in human tissue, and have also been linked to health problems. Last year California became the first state to ban the sale of mattresses with phthalates for use by children, in a law that became effective on Jan. 1. On Feb. 10, a federal law passed by Congress in August will forbid the use of three types of phthalates in products for young children, including mattresses.

…

Even if consumer concerns about health risks are exaggerated or entirely misguided, though, the lack of clear standards for mattresses labeled as organic or natural — and in some cases, a lack of transparency about their contents — may risk feeding the kind of suspicions that Mr. Luedeka noted. Serta, for example, describes its Perfect Balance Organic Crib and Toddler Bed Mattress as having a phthalate-free vinyl cover and “organic cotton fill,” but does not disclose all its other contents. When contacted by a reporter, Kelly Rampson, a spokeswoman for Serta International, would not say exactly how much of the filling is organic cotton, and referred all questions to LaJobi Industries, which makes the mattress for Serta. A LaJobi spokeswoman also declined to identify other filling components.

“Most people don’t think or realize that memory foam is made from petroleum,” Mr. Alexander added, referring to the high-density form of polyurethane foam that has been popular in recent years. “People need to start paying more attention to what they’re sleeping on. They need to stop going into stores and believing everything they tell them. They need to take personal responsibility for their personal health. Nobody is regulating it.”

“Green products have really taken off in the last two or three years, and it’s a hard thing to really get your hands around,” said Ryan Trainer, the executive vice president of the International Sleep Products Association. “What is green? The food people are farthest ahead on this issue and even they are having difficulties.”

Post from: eBeautyDaily

Post from: eBeautyDaily

Also, something to note, I really do think that Joey New York’s LipNIX did help a good bit with the cravings those first few days. I was skeptical, I really was, but I do know there is something to be said about aromatherapy, and Joey has it down pat. I am now using their lipFIT, which is aromatically designed to keep me out of the kitchen cabinets, and I can definitely say it works there too, however I need the aromatic metabolism booster, as I have gained 6 pounds in these 14 days and have exercised every single day and not eaten any more than usual. That was what kept me from quitting in the past, mostly. Joey New York – are you working on that one??

I have the lipFIT in the colored lip gloss, and it is really a pretty color, with sparkles, and is not sticky and nasty like a lot of lip glosses are. This is a fine lip gloss even without the extra benefits and can be purchased from the Joey web site or check out this killer palette from GreatSkin.com (there is also a similar palette to this one for the LipNIX). Who doesn’t need this? Well maybe Mary Kate Olsen and Nicole Ritchie – but everyone else, you bet they do!

Photo credit

Post from: eBeautyDaily

May is Better Sleep Month and the Better Sleep Council was so kind as to send me some interesting materials about sleep and its importance not only in your overall beauty, but in your mental function as well. Here you can find the council’s Better Sleep Guide, which is full of tips on how to get a better nights sleep – hint: you might probably need a new mattress!

Here you can find some interesting information about the connection between obesity and lack of sleep.

Sleep Expert and 2006 Better Sleep Month Spokesperson Dr. Amy Wolfson answers common questions about sleep and emotional well-being. Dr. Wolfson is a sleep researcher, Professor of Psychology at the College of Holy Cross, and authored the authored the book “The Woman’s Book of Sleep: A Complete Resource Guide.”

• Q: Is it a myth that we can “catch up” on sleep? Does “sleep debt” really exist?
  A: We can’t really catch up on sleep as we continue to accumulate a sleep debt over our lifetime. However, just as the effects of sleeping longer for several nights can improve alertness, the negative effects of getting too little sleep accumulate over time. Getting an inadequate amount of sleep each night for a week can make you vulnerable to a number of problems: excessive sleepiness, irritability, reduced motivation, impaired performance, limited ability to think creatively, and so forth.

• Q: What happens when your body doesn’t get the amount of sleep it needs? What are the implications?
  A: The timing and quantity of sleep and the onset of illness may be associated. New research suggests that if you are coming down with some sort of bug, sleep will probably have a preventive effect. Lack of sleep can impair an individual’s physical health and emotional well-being. Inadequate and irregular sleep/wake schedules influence the body’s defenses by weakening the immune system, straining the organs, and, therefore, making people more susceptible to illness.
• Q: Do women need more sleep than men, and if so, why?
  A: No, both adult men and women need about 7.5 to 8.5 hours/sleep each night.
• Q: Are women more like to be affected emotionally from sleep deprivation than men?
  A: Women certainly are more likely to report that they feel depressed when they are unable to obtain an adequate or quality night of sleep. It is unclear; however, if this is a reporting bias or that a woman’s mood is more affected by insufficient sleep. Overall, about 2 times more women report depression than men.
• Q: What times in life are most important for a good night’s sleep
  A: A good, sufficient night of sleep is always important. Sleep is as important as nutrition and exercise. It is most important to pay attention to getting a sufficient night of sleep, however, when one is responsible for driving, operating machinery and/or responsible for taking care children.
• Q: Is it true that sleep can have an effect on our emotional “performance” during the day? Is it just psychosomatic because you know you didn’t get enough sleep or is there really a neurological impact and explanation?
  A: Sleep definitely has an effect on our emotional well-being. It is not merely psychosomatic; sleep results from changes in the balance of major neurotransmitters in the brain, such as serotonin, norepinephrine, dopamine, melatonin and others. Many of these neurotransmitter systems are also responsible for multiple brain functions, including those related to mood and other cognitive/emotional behaviors. It is not surprising that significant interactions occur between sleep and depression and/or depressed mood.
• Q: If sleep deprivation is impacting your mood one day, can you fix it immediately by just getting a good night’s sleep or are there residual or more long-term effects?
  A: One will find that as they begin to obtain a consistent sleep schedule and get an adequate amount of sleep, close to 8 hours per night, they will experience a better daily mood. However, individuals diagnosed with clinical depression may require other interventions in addition to getting an adequate amount of sleep.
• Q: Does your sleep surface really make a difference in how well you sleep
  A: Absolutely. It is important to evaluate your sleep surface on a regular basis. If you walk every day or every other day for exercise, you probably check to make sure that your walking shoes are in good shape and are not worn out. Similarly, if you are having difficulty getting a quality night of sleep, it is important to evaluate your bed and sleep environment.
• Q: When considering sleep disorders and depression, are sleep problems a result of depression, or is the depression a result of the sleep problems.
  A: Sleep problems and depression are associated with each other. It can be difficult to tease the two apart. Individuals who regularly get an insufficient amount of sleep for a variety of reasons may be more susceptible to feeling depressed. On the other hand, individuals who are diagnosed with depression may have coexisting sleeping problems such as insomnia and/or chronic sleepiness. Undoubtedly, if you are depressed and/or concerned about a sleeping problem, it is important that you seek attention from a health care provider who has expertise in both depression and sleep disorders.

Post from: eBeautyDaily

Post from: eBeautyDaily

You might think JLo would have a list of favorite products a mile long, and costly as well, but she summed up her beauty regime pretty easily and quickly at contactmusic.com:

Lopez says, “Sleep is my weapon. I try to get eight hours a night. I think what works best is sleep, water – and a good cleanser.”

Post from: eBeautyDaily