Some Skincare Tips and an Old Wives Tale . .

Clear healthy skin is the perfect canvas for makeup. To cleanse, tone and moisturize daily is a good way to achieve clear healthy skin (unless you are one of those very frustrating people with perfect skin all year round!)

For excessively oily/blemished skin use a tea tree or seaweed based product as these are great for drawing out oil and build up whilst keeping your skin nice and soft. A good way to choose a skin product is to look at the ingredients list. Never buy products with chemicals in (most common in products aimed toward people with oily skin), as these dry out your skin and leaves you with a horrible tight feeling to your face. REMEMBER some oil is good for your skin.

If you have excessively dry skin, aim toward a Kinetin, Jojoba or Vitamin C based product. As these are very rich, they are also good for more mature skin types as they help smooth out any fine lines and wrinkles.

For combination skin (some parts oily some parts dry). Go for a Vitamin E or Aloe Vera based product. These are also very good for sensitive skin as they are low on perfume. For those oilier areas (commonly the nose and forehead) use a little less product than you would use on the drier areas.
A common misconception in skin care is spots, DO NOT POP THEM! Believe it or not what you think is clearing your skin of dirt and impurities is actually making it worse. By doing this you are spreading more Germs and bacteria causing more spots to form. If you do feel you have to pop the spot make sure you clean the area as soon as you have finished and wash your hands.

Finally an old wives tale of getting rid of and reducing spots is to put a tomato or a small dab of aftershave on the area. This will reduce swelling, redness and will stop the spot from surfacing. Once again though remember to keep the tomato or aftershave to a limited area and not to do it too often as it will dry out your skin.

I will be posting some more skincare and makeup tips over the next few weeks so make sure you check back here soon!

Warmest wishes, Stacie Groom x x x

Did you have a good one?

Just checking you all had a great weekend!

We had a meeting today about launching a trial advert throughout our local shopping centre today - so if your in Lakeside, Essex anytime soon check out the big screens - we may even be running a special promotional offer alongside them *wink wink*

See you soon x x x

Climate Change

I have just finished writing an article on climate change and thought i would share a few snippets from it here for discussion.

"We are going to all have to take action soon, maybe wilfully or not so. My biggest concern is how it has become a fad and a marketing gimmick for the corporate world. The big companies have the power to influence our perception and unfortunately they have for the worse – climate change has fallen in the same bag as organic products and fair-trade practices, we see them as boring or fake maybe? Or maybe we see them as a way for companies to slap extra money onto their products and make more profits?"

Do you agree? How do you perceive these words - organic, fairtrade and eco-friendly?

I also included a great site which I will mention here - it offsets your carbon emissions through various projects set up.

"A big problem is transport – a very big pollution cause. It’s too much to ask to stop flying and driving as everyone needs to get places and wants to go on holiday every now and again. There are companies around that will offset your emissions such as www.carbonfootprint.com . Just go through your figures and at the end you will be able to see the amount of C02 you release each year in tonnes and then select which of your activities you would like to offset. You then get to choose how you would like the offset to be made such as reforestation in the UK."

The full article is going to be added to our website soon along with others which we can discuss here and I hope you benefit something from reading them!

Bye Bye for now! x x x

Moisture Moisture Everywhere!

Its no surprise that a fair few people suffer from dry skin - for starters our bodies are mainly comprised of water and there is no way 100% of us drink the right amount of water every day. Add to this our love of coffee, alcohol, salt and so forth which dry up our body its no wonder we are headed for disaster!

So a few tips are in order to keep your skin supple and moisturized and your body well hydrated in general!

DRINK LOTS OF WATER!!!

I know this is obvious and i also know that most of us won't but at least give it a good crack. Failing this

USE GENTLER CLEANERS

Notice how most soaps dry your hands and face out? Its because many companies make extra money stripping soap of its glycerin and selling it. Glycerin is great for keeping your skin moisturized - the scientific blarb is that it a humectant, meaning it absorbs water from the air and lovingly gives it to your skin. How nice!

USE THE GOOD STUFF

There are many an ingredient which has good properties for moisturizing so make sure whichever products you use contain these - some you can even put neat on your skin or into your bath - great!

Jojoba Oil - Contains sebum which your skin needs to keep healthy
Milk
Honey
Rose Oil
Aloe Vera
Orange Oil/Juice - Apparently contains a natural source of collagen!
Olive Oil - Especially Olive Pomace

USE A SCRUB

Use a gentle scrub every once in a while to clarify your skin and remove dull and dry skin cells. One that contains plenty of the above ingredients, glycerin and a gentle scrubbing agent such as ground almonds is best for the job.

EAT AND DRINK WELL

Now I'm not saying cut out everything you eat and replace it with the boring (however the best for us) stuff but try and incorporate some of these into your regular meals.

Foods high in sulphur - asparagus, garlic and eggs for example - yum!
Cold pressed oils - Olive and Flaxseed for example.
Eat more carrots - not only good for your eyes but your skin too - anything orange or yellow!
Fruit and Yogurt - A brilliant skin aiding combo! Add some seeds if you so wish.

AND FINALLY . . .

Try and reduce your sugar and salt intake as well as your caffeine and alcohol - moderate it and you'll feel much better. Now don't think I'm saying you can't go and get drunk every once in a while or have an espresso in the morning, just be relaxed about it and be careful!

Well i hope this has helped - I'll be adding to this regularly so make sure you check back (if your rubbish at remembering things like web addresses you could bookmark us!)

Until soon - farewell!

Sodium Laurel Sulphate

I mentioned in my last post one of the most common chemicals found in bath and body products (second to water) is Sodium Laurel Sulphate (or SLS for short).

It seems that it is mainly used as a cheap detergent, a thickening agent and as a foaming (the thing that makes your bubble bath 'bubbly!') however it was first used as a garage cleaner as its properties strip oils - not so great to think about as you pour it in your bath and massage it through your hair!

There is a lot of myth, opinion and fact on the Internet about SLS ranging from the never use anything containing this ingredient through to whats the problem?

Mentions of it being a carcinogenic have appeared which i don't believe to be true but what i do believe is its bad effects to your skin. Following is the health hazard section of SLS's Material Safety Data Sheet.

Route Of Entry - Inhalation: YES
Route Of Entry - Skin: YES
Route Of Entry - Ingestion: YES
Health Haz Acute: ACUTE: CAUSES MILD IRRITATION ON CONTACT W/SKIN, EYES OR MUCOUS MEMBRANES. SKIN CONTACT COULD CAUSE IRRITATION OR ALLERGIC REACTION. MODERATELY TOXIC BY INGESTION.
Carcinogenicity - NTP: NO
Carcinogenicity - IARC: NO
Carcinogenicity - OSHA: NO
Explanation Carcinogenicity: NOT RELEVANT
Signs/Symptoms Of Overexp: SEE HEALTH HAZARDS.
Med Cond Aggravated By Exp: DATA NOT AVAILABLE.
Emergency/First Aid Proc:
EYES: FLUSH THOROUGHLY W/WATER FOR AT LEAST 15 MINUTES.
SKIN: WASH THOROUGHLY W/SOAP & WATER.
INHAL: REMOVE TO FRESH AIR.
INGEST: IF CONSCIOUS, INDUCE VOMITING.

GET MEDICAL ASSISTANCE FOR ALL CASES OF OVEREXPOSURE.

Now I know that this is information for people working around the substance however the consumer can still come into contact with this ingredient several time a day - Shampoo, Bubble Bath, Handwash, Shower Gel, Toothpaste - all contain Sodium Laurel Sulphate and most often as one of the most prominent ingredients.

I'm going to wait for some of your comments on this one and discuss it further as it is one of the most widley researched substances! So, untill then, be careful what products you buy and use, make sure you are well informed and can make your own decisions on what you use on your body and in your bath.

Goodbye for now x x x

The INGREDIENTS List

It dawned upon me today how sneaky companies can be when it comes to listing the ingredients of a certain product. At the end of the day it is the law to provide a detailed list of the ingredients that comprises a product, with each ingredients Latin name and ordered by the quantity of each (highest first).

The guidelines are so vague that many work arounds can be found. Natural products that contain a blend of chemicals are still allowed to be classed and advertised as natural.

Unsurprisingly water features prominently at the top of a lot of lists (yes most of what you pay for in a shower gel, bubble bath or shampoo is water) almost certainly followed by Sodium Laurel Sulphate (not a very nice thing to put on your body or in your bath but i will be looking at this in depth soon).

What follows is normally a complex mix of chemicals, preservatives and other nasties which you can tell at a glance aren't good choices to bathe in but even the more natural companies sneak these in as well in a conspicuous way.

Parfum is a cheaper alternative to natural scents and are usually made from petroleum by-products. Often listed as fragrance, essence or perfume they could contain known carcinogens, cause allergic reactions and most are classified as hazardous materials. If you notice a reaction to a seemingly natural product this is more than likely the cause, and just the same as how many food products contain flavourings - its a catch net for all the ingredients the companies don't want you to know about.

All i can say is be careful when choosing your products - especially when going for natural and organic choices, as all may not be as it seems. Check the ingredients, ask questions, check the Internet and make sure you have the choice of what you put in your bath and on your body.

Speak to you soon! x x x

A New Year and New Prospects

So here we are in 2008 - Hope you all had a great New Year!

As you may have seen we have re-vamped our website and even as I type there are updates in the pipeline - a new forum, user accounts and of course, many new products!

All of the great big new years ads are out, mainly emphasising our age, size and lifestyles as being sub-par (my rant for the next month or so - who needs to target their A zone anyway?) and many post Christmas shenanigans have been happening as per usual.

Check back here soon as we will be discussing various skin care tips, discussing organic and natural living, talking about the environment and having a great time in general!

See you all soon! x x x