Choose Happiness to Naturally Heal Skin & Body

"Whoever is happy will make others happy, too.  He who has courage and faith will never perish in misery." - Anne Frank


Choosing to feel happy and grateful about the many good things we can see in our daily lives releases many different brain chemicals that generate a profound sense of well-being in our minds and bodies.  Happiness is also truly contagious!  Folks who always appear to be "up" and bubbly are fun to be with and really create happiness in others around them.

What a great avocation- to choose to create happiness in ourselves and the lives of others!  It certainly is easier if we can remember that we are never truly left alone to solve any problem that comes up in our day.  Reminding ourselves of this can reduce the anxiety we sometimes feel that blocks happiness.  We can choose to remember that "Spirit" is always with us, always available, and can help us to relax and decide on the best course of action for any situation we encounter in our day.  With this knowledge, we can choose to go about our day feeling happy, rather than stressed, angry or depressed.

If we make feeling good, happy & up a regular daily practice, it will have a pronounced positive effect on our mental, emotional, spiritual and phycial health.  Many scientific studies have shown the inherent connection between feeling "good" or happy and improved physical health.  It seems that a "happy" mind and body are a healthy body and mind, too.  Feeling happy every day is a great way to heal your skin, too, because this powerful emotion also releases chemicals in the brain that work to heal the skin and other organs, too.

Try spending some time powerfully focusing on feeling happy and on what you are grateful for every day.   Research shows that just 10  minutes daily of this kind of mental practice can substantially lower blood pressure, boost mental focus and clarity and even boost the immune system.  Try this for a week or two, and notice how much better you will feel and how much more energy you will have.

Anti-Aging Benefits of Virgin Coconut Oil in Organic Skin Care-Part II

 

Recently, we've been discussing the many anti-aging benefits of choosing to use Virgin Coconut Oil in daily organic skin care.  It's been found in recent studies that an ideal anti-aging facial or body moisturizer will contain an organic, botanical oil that will soften skin, as well as protect it from free-radical damage, promote skin healing and of course help us look younger.  Pure Virgin Coconut Oil fits that description!  

Organic Virgin Coconut Oil is a smart choice to get the best anti-aging ingredients for body moisturizers and cremes, cleansers, soaps and body care today.  As we mentioned in Part I of this Blog, it does a great job of preventing destructive free-radicals from forming in skin.  This wonderful gift from Nature is rich in natural anti-oxidants that, when used as part of a daily skin care plan, continue to fight new free radical attack.  The oil also has many additional health benefits for the body when taken internally or used in the preparation of food, because it's also an immune system-strengthening powerhouse!

The intoxicating scent of pure, organic Coconuts is best preserved in their oil when it's pressed through a non-chemical process known as the "DME Method" (see previous and future Blog posts for more information.) So the fragrance makes it delightful to the senses, and regular use of Virgin Coconut Oil helps to maintain the strength and elasticity of the connective tissues in the skin.  This added benefit discourages formation of deep lines and wrinkles and loss of skin firmness!

Fragrant, Pure Virgin Coconut Oil has even been shown to beautifully restore damaged or diseased skin.  It is  easily used on the face and body in its pure essential oil form, or as a strong, proven anti-aging component in organic facial and skin moisturizers, body butters, body scrubs and soaps and more.  Why not get rid of age spots, fine lines, wrinkles, loss of firmness and tone with a healing botanical oil that has both a lovely natural feel and exotic fragrance? We do, and we love it!

Are We Culturally Biased Against Organic Skin Care?

 
Recently I've been having conversations with friends who actually use organic skin care products, about people's perceptions when it comes to choosing whether or not to purchase these products.  A number of interesting possible "roadblocks" came up in our discussions, that I think are worthy of some discussion on this Blog.  Of particular note among these conversation topics, was the theory that Americans may be somewhat culturally "biased" towards purchasing organic body care. 

According to what several people have mentioned, there seems to be a pervading "westernized" idea in American culture that organic skin care and body care products that are or are not manufactured in this country, according to the FDA's standards, may not be "clean" or pure.  Additionally, people seem to believe that purchasing and using Organic products that don't fall under the FDA's watchful eye, could be risky, because these products could potentially contain some kind of harmful contaminants that could cause illness or injury. 

Well, I really had a good laugh over this, probably because I may have wrongly assumed that Americans are long over this kind of thinking.  The truth is, anyone who does a bit of research on the internet today will find that this is simply not true.   Most organic products are grown according to USDA Certified Organic standards, which are actually very strict standards, when compared to those followed by the FDA.  In addition, it is worth purchasing organic products grown and produced in European and other nations, whose government standards for "organic" are even stricter than our own, due to the purity of these products. 

A great rule of thumb to always follow when considering different organic products currently available in stores, is to look for the USDA Certified Organic seal (shown below.)  These skin care and body care products are guaranteed to be pure and free of any possible contaminants.  



 I'll be publishing more soon on this Blog about other possible roadblocks to purchasing organic skin care and beauty products that are truly healthy and healing for everyone.

Anti-Aging Benefits of Virgin Coconut Oil in Organic Skin Care-Part I

One of perhaps the most annoying signs of aging is when brown, freckle-like spots or "liver spots" start showing up, especially on facial skin and hands.  Unfortunately, these "age spots" mean that free-radical deterioration of the lipids (fats), or lipofuscin, has already occured in skin.  It is well-documented that the main cause of age spots is oxidation of polyunsaturated fats and protein in the skin, due to free radical "attack."  The skin cells can't rid themselves of the discoloration caused by lipofuscin, and it continues to accumulate over time, causing the brown or "age spots."  

 

The good news is it's absolutely possible to prevent further skin aging and to even reduce the appearance of these age spots with using a moisturizing, free-radical-fighting botanical oil in daily organic skin care. We've been talking about the many virtues of Natural Organic Virgin Coconut Oil for quite some time on this Blog.  One of it's best healing qualities is that it's strong in fighting against free radicals, because it is unrefined and hasn't been stripped of its innate antioxidant-rich properties through a chemical refining process.  Most folks don't realize that commonly-purchased "natural" skin care products are made with refined vegetable oils- all the natural, botanical antioxidants have been stripped out of them, and so they are very likely to actually generate free-radicals both in and outside the body. 

 

Remember, whatever we put on our skin is absorbed into the skin cells and bloodstream in 23 seconds.  Using products that contain refined oils in fact causes skin to age faster. These "natural" products might feel like they bring temporary relief, but they actually accelerate the aging of the skin, production of age spots and can even promote skin cancer due to the free radicals produced by these  refined oils.   Fortunately there are many organic facial moisturizers, body lotions, body butters, organic body cleansers and soaps available to choose from today that are made with unrefined botanical oils, like Virgin Coconut Oil, that are rich in natural, free-radical-fighting anti-oxidants. 
- Check back for more Anti-aging Secrets of this miraculous organic skin care oil in our next Blog! (:  

Healing Skin Care Benefits of Organic Lemongrass Oil

Organic Lemongrass, or Melissa, is an herb easily recognized by its tall fronds of leaves and strong lemon-citrusy scent and is indigenous to Sri Lanka and India.   Applying this healing botanical to the skin can help alleviate common skin disorders and problems, such as bacterial infections and even large pores.  In addition, organic lemongrass is even used an excellent mosquito repellent. 
 

Inherent anti-microbial and anti-bacterial properties give organic Lemongrass the ability to discourage bacterial or microbial growth on the skin.  The essential oil reduces the occurence of skin infections as well as alleviates skin irritations, like folliculitis and cellulitis, that are caused by bacterial infections.  

Lemongrass oil is also fungicidal, as it clears fungus infections on the skin. 

This healing essential oil from nature's bounty has been gifted with unique antifungal, antimicrobial, antibacterial /antiseptic chemical qualities that allow it to also be a very effective astringent.   Facial skin toners, cleansers and soaps containing organic lemongrass oil do a great job of firming and tightening the skin.  When used as an astringent/toner, this lively-scented oil is very effective in minimizing skin pores, while it forms a protective barrier of hard tissue under the skin that guards it against daily free radical exposure.

 

Astringent herbs and oils constrict the skin, contract pores, provide skin-firming, limit the secretions of oil in the skin and help to clear and fight the recurrence of acne.  Astringents/ facial toners are meant to cleanse, stimulate and remove excess oil from the skin, leaving it feeling toned and fresh.   Organic Lemongrass essential oil makes an excellent, healing addition to toners and soaps, due to its natural astringent and antiseptic qualities.  

This lovely, lemony-scented organic essential oil is also well-known for its aromatherapeutic qualities to calm and relieve stress, and this is very important in healing the skin and body as a whole!  Stress is a large contributor to decreased effectiveness of the immune system, and disease.  Adding organic lemongrass essential oil to your daily skin care regimen or bath is an easy, enjoyable way to increase the healing in your skin care.

Tired of Spending Too Much on Cosmetics that Don't Do the Job? -Vegan Skin Care is the Answer!

 For many years, I would go shopping at the local department store and always be "pulled in" to the cosmetic counters by the many lovely aromas, scents, colors, sparkles and all of the "glam" that bombarded my senses!  I just loved to try samples of different perfumes and cosmetics / facial care products that advertised things like, "look younger in just 14 days," "take better care of your skin with this scientifically-proven skin care system," and "this scent will make you absolutely irresistable!" -Who could resist these tag lines?

So, like many women my age, I would spend $50 to $100 just about every time I passed by one of these counters.  Yes, I was a very good customer, and I especially loved products that advertised they were made of "all natural" and "pure" ingredients, because I thought I was buying products that were "good for me."  My dressing table and bathroom drawers became cluttered with products, but sadly, my skin didn't seem to show any signs of "improved wrinkles" or "firmness," even though I followed the directions for the skin care system to the letter. 

A couple of years ago, I began to suffer some health issues and  sought the care of a Naturopathic Physician.  She was very helpful in getting me on track with a much healthier, organic, plant-based diet, and I began to lose weight, have more energy -and my skin began to look younger and healthier!  I started reading labels on everything I bought at the grocery store, and I began taking more notice of the skin care products on the "All-Natural" shelves of my favorite store.  Oddly, the labels often listed many ingredients that were not at all natural, but chemical.  

This lead me to research these chemicals so readily found in many cosmetics- and what I found out was not pleasant.  All of the skin care products I had been religiously using over the years for "anti-aging," "improving skin texture," and so forth contained many chemicals that had actually been aging my skin faster! I'd have been much better off just using Certifed Vegan Almond or Olive Oil- on my precious skin and would have achieved much better anti-aging and firming results.  

Organic plant oils like these contain very high levels of anti-oxidants, nature's strongest age-fighters.  I began to do more research and became more frustrated about the lack of warnings present on popular brand labels.   That's when I started buying all-Vegan or Organic Skin Care from trusted companies, and decided to start distributing them online, too!

Most people have no idea that if they spend $49.95 on an 1.3 oz/ 37 ml bottle of Certifed Vegan, Daily Moisturizer, they are getting a product that is so pure and concentrated, that only a very small amount is needed- compared to regular store brands of moisturizing lotions- to effectively give you healthier, glowing skin and maximum anti-aging results.  In addition, if used as suggested, that bottle will last anywhere from five to six months! - So you end up spending only $10.00 or less per month, much less than you'd spend at the department store.  What you get for that price is less wrinkles, more glow and improved skin firmness within the first 7 days of using the product daily. 

In our book, the facts are these:  We no longer use toxic chemicals on our skin; we choose to use lovely, vegan products  that are so healthy for the skin; we achieve beautiful, measurable results- our wrinkles, redness, dryness and skin texture are all greatly improved- there's simply no comparison!  You cannot get these results from store-bought, chemically-treated brands, and why would you even want to try?  If you take some time to really think about it, you certainly will draw the same conclusions we did.  When that time comes, we look forward to serving your all-natural, vegan, healing skin care needs!

Organic Summer Feet Cooling Treat!

Is the summer heat killing your poor, tired, dried-out 'lil feet?  Have you developed thick, painful, unsightly calouses on the soles of your feet from walking barefoot or in sandals? This is a very common problem for many of us during the summer months.  To alleviate calouses, soreness and minor skin irritations, give your little dear footies a real summer treat -Organic Plaintain Oil! 

This very healing essential oil is known for its anti-bacterial qualities.  Plaintain Leaf contains allantoin, an anti-inflammatory phytochemical that increases healing, actually generates new skin growth and also revives the immune system.  It's relatively simple to create an herbal poultice from the leaves that is a wonderful organic remedy for cooling and soothing minor blisters, bug bites, sunburn and other skin irritations. 

Fresh, organic Plantain Leaves are the best to use when making healing skincare home remedies.  Easily prepare the organic Plaintain leaves in a high-speed blender to thoroughly macerate all the leaves.  The resulting organic, fresh leaves mixture, or poultice, can then be applied to quickly relieve minor foot and skin irritations, like poison ivy, blisters, bee stings and sore calouses- especially those irritations associated with dryness and itching. 

Organic Plaintain Oil/ Ointment made from the organic plant leaves also effectively treats and heals minor foot irritations and speeds natural healing, due to its excellent

anti-inflammatory and styptic properties!  It's a wonderful all-natural asset to have in your home First-Aid kit.  Natural, organic skin care treatments and products provide more protection and healing to skin than non-organic brands or cosmetics.  Purchase organic skin care and beauty products that contain organic Plaintain Leaf, instead of harsh chemicals, dyes and additives that can potentially cause further harm.  Heal, cool & rejuvenate your Summer feet & skin instead- with this incredibly healing natural treasure, Organic Plaintain Oil.

Try some today - and watch your summer calouses disappear!