After hearing lots of buzz I checked out their website and I must say, I am smitten. “We aren’t perfect, but we’ve tried to make responsible decisions to reduce materials, pollution and waste”. This excerpt from their website sums it all up for me. Really isn’t that what we all should be trying to achieve? Doing the best we can under difficult conditions in order to limit our global footprint. The Cleansing Facial Oil is described as “luxuriously pure, detergent-free cleansing”. The idea of using a cleansing oil for my combination skin at first seems counterintuitive. Nonetheless I am intrigued. It makes me envision myself serenely primping without the sounds of a toddler banging on the bathroom door. Nude could be the modern “Calgon take me away” equivalent. By the way, you are all invited to my party and presents are mandatory.

Post from: Pretty by Nature

For an everyday skin care regimen, Dr. Hauschka has the Everyday Matters Skin Care Set for Normal, Dry, and Sensitive skin. It is calling me!

Available at beauty.com, this set has everything for a serious skin care regimen:

• • Cleansing Cream (1.7 oz/50 ml) ~ Provides deep cleansing and is a gentle exfoliant for all skin conditions. The unique blend of herbal extracts activates the skin to cleanse itself while preserving the natural acid layer of the skin. Dirt and impurities are washed away, leaving skin clean and feeling rejuvenated.
  • Facial Toner (3.4 fl oz/100 ml) ~ Completes the cleansing process for normal, dry and sensitive skin. It firms the elasticity of the pores, balances moisture content and leaves skin feeling fresh.
  • Lavender Bath (5.1 fl oz/150 ml) ~ Helps to sooth and calm while reducing the appearance of red, irritated skin. The relaxing aroma of lavender essential oil helps to ease strain and soothe the senses. When used in the evenings, Lavender Bath gives body and mind a feeling of restfulness.
  • Biodynamic Cotton Compress

Supporting the health of humanity and the earth, all of the Dr.Hauschka Skin Care products are infused with vital extracts of organic and biodynamically grown plants.

Post from: Pretty by Nature

SaffronRouge is an online site from Organic Beauty Expert, Kirstin Binder. Kirstin has personally evaluated all of the products she currently sells on the site.

Some of the wonderful lines that she carries include Dr. Hauschka (I am dying to try the Rose Day Cream), Weleda, Jo Wood Organics, and Pangea Organics.

As I said, Kirstin evaluates everything on the site, and here is a bit about how she does it: “I evaluate products using a three-step process which involves evaluating a product for purity, quality and effectiveness. If a product doesn’t meet the purity standard, I don’t waste time evaluating it for quality or effectiveness. And just because a product passes the purity test doesn’t mean it will meet the quality or effectiveness standards. All three standards must be met before I recommend a product.
Three-step evaluation process:
PURITY
· Are the ingredients predominantly from certified organic or certified biodynamic ingredients?
· Are all the ingredients from natural sources as opposed to synthetic?
· Are there any questionable, synthetic or potentially toxic ingredients in the product?
QUALITY
· Are the plants (from which the ingredients are derived from) grown in the ideal regions and climates to produce the most healing, beneficial and naturally active extracts?
· What method(s) is used to extract the ingredients?
· Are the ingredients watered down, diluted or refined in any way? For example, a 1:1 liquid herbal extract is 4 times stronger then a 1:4 liquid herbal extract. A refined plant oil is much poorer in quality than an unrefined, cold-pressed oil in its natural state. Good skin care in large part comes down to looking at the therapeutic value of the ingredients, and extraction methods.
EFFECTIVENESS
· Does the product do what it says it will do for the person intended?
For example, does a cleanser designed for dry skin both clean the skin and leave it moisturized rather than stripped?”

To see more about Kirstin and why she believes in using organic products vs. conventional beauty products and view the lines she carries, visit SaffronRouge.

Post from: Pretty by Nature

They recently found that a certain cancer-causing chemical 1,4-dioxane, is used by many companies in many cosmetic products. You will notice this chemical by other names, such as dioxane, diethylene dioxide, 1,4-diethylene dioxide, diethylene ether, glycol ethylene ether, dioxane-1,4, tetrahydro-p-dioxin, tetrahydro-1,4-dioxin.

The description of 1,4-dioxane from Wikipedia: 1,4-Dioxane is primarily used in solvent applications for the manufacturing sector; however, it is also found in fumigants and automotive coolant. Additionally, the chemical is also used as a foaming agent and appears as an accidental byproduct of the ethoxylation[1] process in cosmetics manufacturing.

Simply speaking, this is scary stuff and cause for concern.

From the EWG study in which they read the ingredient listings of 15,000 cosmetics, skin care and other personal care products, they have published the following alarming statistics:
*22% of cosmetics and skin care products, including baby soaps, are contaminated with 1,4-dioxane.
*80 percent of all cosmetic products may be contaminated with one or more carcinogenic impurities.

Overall, they have found that this chemical is used in almost all brands of
hair relaxers and over half of the baby soaps. They broke down the contamination levels as follows:
* 97% – hair relaxers
* 82% – hair dyes and bleaching
* 66% – hair removers
* 57% – baby soap
* 45% – sunless tanning products
* 43% – body firming lotion
* 36% – hormonal creams
* 36% – facial moisturizers
* 35% – anti-aging products
* 34% – body lotion
* 33% – around-eye creams

So, what do we need to do? First thing is to read your ingredient labels and get to know the names of the chemicals we do not want on our skin. Besides the ones listed above, look for the ingredients sodium laureth sulfate and others that include the clauses “PEG,” “xynol,” “ceteareth,” and “oleth.” These all have some form of 1,4-dioxane in them.

Even if you thought that natural was the way to go, some of these names will sneakily surprise you by showing up on the label. The only true way to avoid these chemicals are to use 100% Organic products – which will be certified as so.

Post from: Pretty by Nature

Kiss My Face was launched in a farmers feed-supply store in upstate New York 25 years ago. It has grown way beyond the pure olive-oil bar soap (which is to this day a top seller) it originally began with.

The line is famous for its Certified Organic Aloe Vera Toothpaste, Sugar Reef Organic Body Scrub and Lavender & Shea Moisture Shave. I don’t know what I should try.

It’s top sellers:
Sun Screen SPF18 with Oat Protein Complex
Sun Spray SPF 30
Pure Olive Oil Bar Soap
Peach Moisture Shave
Olive & Aloe Moisturizer

Do you have a favorite Kiss My Face product you recommend?

Post from: Pretty by Nature

This organic and vegan certified spritz can boost skin’s radiance, minimize age spots, sun spots and fine lines. It is fabulous for all skin types including oily, sensitive, normal and combination skin.

• The spritz contains some beneficial ingredients:
  MSM which helps to soften the skin
  Hyularonic Acid to hydrate the skin
• DMAE is included to tighten pores
  Red, White, and Green Tea protects your skin cells from being damaged by attacking free radicals and slowing down the aging process

von Natur Refresh & Rehydrate Spritz can be purchased for $22.00 at vonnatur.com.

Post from: Pretty by Nature

One kit I am eyeing is this Juice Beauty Organics to Go. The kit is just $29, and it looks like it is a great way for me to try one of the more popular organic lines with it’s most popular products. It claims to be the ultimate starter set that contains 5 products, all with anti-aging benefits, plus an organic bamboo wash cloth. I must say the anti-aging properties are really luring me in – I will be 40 this year!!!

Please let me know if you have used any of Juice Beauty’s products, or this kit in particular. I would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Post from: Pretty by Nature