Amazing Deals!

Acure Organics - through Monday April 24th, Acure products are 20% off on the Acure website. Acure is a family owned and operated company founded on sustainable principles to provide the highest quality natural and certified organic personal care.

Dickinson's Witch Hazel - through April 30th Dickison's witch hazel is 50% off at your local CVS store. I use witch hazel as an all-natural toner and in a lot of the products I make. Dickinson's has been around for 150 years and all their products are made from 100% witch hazel.

Dr. Bronner's - through April 30th, all castile soaps are 15% off. In my last post I told you about their limited edition scents, green tea and cherry blossom. Stock up!

Juice Organics - through May 20th these products are on sale for $7.99 at Target. I'm not sure what Target's normal price will be, but they are $9.99 at Ulta. This is my favorite line of chemical free haircare and Target just started carrying it.

Dr. Bronner's

As you all know, I'm obsessed with Dr. Bronner's castile soap. It's the top selling soap in the US natural marketplace. They do not use any chelating agents, dyes, whiteners, detergents, foaming agents, synthetic preservatives or synthetic fragrances. Dr. Bronner's has been family owned and operated since 1948.

What is castile soap? Castile is a region in Spain where vegetable soap was originally made using local olive oil. Castile has now come to mean any vegetable oil based soap as distinct from animal (tallow) fat based soap. Castile soap comes in liquid and bar forms and Dr. Bronner's is the most popular brand.

They just launched two limited edition scents, cherry blossom and green tea. I don't know how long they will be available for so I just ordered both. The standard scents are lavender, peppermint, rose, citrus, tea tree, eucalyptus, baby unscented, and almond.

For the whole month of April, all the castile soaps are 15% off on the Dr. Bronner's website. It's also free shipping if you spend $50. Stock up while they are on sale!

While I was on the Dr Bronner's website, I added a few more items to my cart:

Organic Magic Balm - I get really dry skin around my nose. It says to use this balm to moisturize and heal dry skin anywhere on the body. Soothe skin safely and simply without synthetic ingredients.

Organic Sugar Soap - I bought this to use as shampoo. 4-in-1 Organic Sugar Pump Soaps are good for washing hands, face, body & hair. To wash hair work one pump of it into wet hair until it lathers, then rub and rinse. Repeat for thicker or longer hair. After washing, follow up with a lightly acidic conditioning rinse, like the hair rinse below or you can use diluted apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.

Organic Hair Rinse - After shampooing with Dr. Bronner's soap, dilute the hair rinse in one cup of water and pour it over your hair. The citrus extracts in the rinse counteract the soap's alkalinity, tamp down the cuticles, leaving your hair manageable and smooth.

Lisa Bronner has a blog where she gives tips and 'cheat sheets' for all the Dr. Bronner products. Here is her post on using the soap as shampoo and the hair rinse as conditioner. Shampoo to Soap - My Story

Bug Spray

As the weather gets warmer, we spend more time outside, forcing us to deal with bugs. I hate bugs. All bugs. I don't discriminate either, mosquitoes, spiders, ants, flies, bees, I hate all of them. There is nothing worse than trying to drink a glass (I mean bottle) of prosecco outside and getting eaten alive by mosquitoes. Traditional bug sprays, like Off, smell horrible and contain toxic ingredients. One of those ingredients, deet, can cause major damage to your central nervous system. What is deet? It's a chemical (N,N-diethyl-meta-toluamide) created by the US Army in 1946 to ward off mosquitoes. The EPA warns us about it; don't spray it anywhere near your face, avoid breathing it in, and wash it off immediately after coming indoors. If these sprays can kill mosquitoes, melt plastic, and are not meant to breathe in, it's probably not a good idea to put them on your skin. Since deet is the most common ingredient in insect repellent, it's in almost every brand on the shelf. Luckily, there are a few alternatives:

Quit Bugging Me! by Jason - this is a non-greasy, light oil formula, bug spray. It's deet, paraben, and PABA free.

Natural Insect Repellent by The Yellow Bird - this is a long lasting, deet free, bug spray. Made with all natural ingredients and no harsh chemicals added.

DIY Chemical Free Bug Spray
First you will need a spray bottle. I always try to use glass if you have it, if not plastic is fine.
Fill the bottle 2/3 with distilled water and 1/3 witch hazel
Add 20 drops of purification essential oil (I use Young Living)
Add 20 drops of lavender essential oil (I use Young Living).
This is the combination I use. However, there are a few oils that bugs hate. Lavender, peppermint, tea tree, lemon, eucalyptus, cinnamon, vanilla, and cedarwood. You can play around until you find one that works for you.

Everyday Coconut Face Lotion

I may have found my new favorite face moisturizer, everyday coconut face lotion by Alaffia. You all know I'm obsessed with using oils my skin and I rarely use anything else to moisturize with. Some of you mentioned oils don't work for you so I have been searching for alternatives. I also needed something to travel with as the oils always leak in my bag.

This lotion contains zinc oxide for SPF 15 broad spectrum sun protection. It does not contain synthetic fragrance or parabens. It's vegan, soy and gluten-free, non-gmo, and never tested on animals. It's loaded with neem and papaya making it an antioxidant rich everyday moisturizer for all skin types. Alaffia is a part of fair for life and uses certified fair trade coconut, handcrafted.

It's light, fresh, and leaves my skin super soft. It's also ultra moisturizing. Under makeup, it almost acts as base and helps my skin glow. A tiny bit goes a long way making the 12 ounce bottle seem like it lasts forever. It's less than $10 for the whole bottle so it's a bargain!

This lotion may not be for everyone. The zinc oxide leaves your face tinted white if you don't rub it in all the way. When I say a little goes a long way, I really mean it. You only need a tiny bit to cover your whole face or you will wind up looking like a mime. It takes a little effort to rub it all in so if you don't mind that, definitely give it a try. I got mine at a Wegmans but I'm sure you can buy it on Amazon.
Everyday Coconut Face Lotion