Top 5 New Year Skin Care Resolutions

1. Ditch your lotion and use oil - Don't be afraid of oil, it's the best thing I ever did for my skin. Lotions are filled with toxins like parabens, fragrance, petrochemicals, alcohol, and oil emulsified in water. The only ingredient in lotion that provides any moisture to the skin is the oil. One of the basic principals of chemistry is like dissolves like. If you have oily skin, you should be using oil. Plant oils are excellent for all skin types. They are very similar to the oil our skin naturally produces (sebum) so they are easily absorbed into the skin, don't clog pores and promotes skin cell function. Some of my favorite oils are avocado oil, apricot oil, marula oil, grapeseed oil, argan oil, jojoba oil and rosehip oil. You can use these alone or make your own oil mixture. Just get a glass dropper bottle, choose your plant oil, add some vitamin E oil and add a few drops of essential oil. Lavender, cedarwood, lemon and frankincense are a few . If you don't have the patience to make one, grab one of these Acure Marula Oil, EO Argan Oil, or Dessert Essence Oil. 

2. Wash your face every night - Never go to bed with makeup on. Makeup can trap dirt and environmental pollutants inside the skin which results in premature aging. Sleeping in makeup also clogs your pores which leads to acne. Lastly, it interferes with the natural shedding process of the skin which results in duller, drier complexion. Get a good chemical free face wash like these, Acure Cleansing Stick and Acure Brightening Cleansing Gel

3. Get a chemical free shampoo - a good chemical free shampoo can be life changing. Ingredients in shampoo contain lots of chemicals. These chemicals can cause flaky skin, persistent itching & irritation, asthma, sinusitis, allergies and even cancer. They strip moisture and natural oils from our hair causing rashes, hair loss and dandruff. Invest in a chemical free option like one of these, Babo Botanicals and Avalon Organics

4. Moisturize after showering - keep a body oil right in the shower. Warm water strips our skin of natural oil and we need to replenish. Apply the oil right after you shower while your skin is still damp. Try one of these, EO Body Oil and Shea Moisture Body Oil

5. Make Vitamin C your new best friend - Vitamin C is not only necessary for collagen production and maintenance, but it is also a potent antioxidant that can neutralize free radicals in the skin. Environmental aggressors such as UV rays and pollution create free radicals that cause premature signs of visible aging. Vitamin C creates a brighter complexion, evens out skin tone and diminishes the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. It improves hydration and keeps your skin looking younger. I use both of these every day Avalon Organics Vitamin C Serum and Avalon Organics Vitamin C Antioxidant Oil. 

Avalon Organics Intense Defense

After trying the Avalon Organics shampoo, I decided to look into their other products. I went with two items from their Intense Defense line, the Facial Serum and the Antioxidant Oil. This entire line is formulated with vitamin C, which is not only necessary for collagen production and maintenance, but it is also a potent antioxidant that can neutralize free radicals in the skin. Environmental aggressors such as UV rays and pollution create free radicals that cause premature signs of visible aging.  Studies show that antioxidants can neutralize these damaging free radicals. Intense Defense balances vitamin C, white tea and lemon bioflavonoids to defend skin and support its natural renewal cycle. 

Facial Serum - targets sun spots, fine lines and wrinkles by energizing skin and supporting collagen and elastin production for a smooth, even, more lifted complexion. When applied twice a day to problem areas after cleansing and before moisturizing, trouble spots receive an intense infusion of protective antioxidants.

Antioxidant Oil - features a blend of Apricot, Raspberry and Argan Oil that absorbs quickly, reinforcing skin's natural lipid barrier, which locks in moisture and protects skin against environmental stressors. Just a few drops massaged over freshly cleansed skin will reinforce skin's natural resilience.

Both products score low on the EWG app. The serum ranks 3 and the oil ranks 2. If you are not familiar with the EWG Healthy Living App, download it ASAP.  EWG ranks products on a scale from 1-10, the lower the number, the safer your product is. You can scan product barcodes or simply type in the product name. I highly recommend both the serum and the oil. You can buy them directly on the Avalon Organics website, on Amazon or at Wegmans (if you live by one). 

Brush your way to healthy hair

Did you know you should give your hair a good brush every morning, before every shower and every night? Proper brushing can eliminate waste materials that build up on the scalp. Brushing three times per day helps evenly distribute sebum (the oil your scalp naturally produces) through your hair to retain moisture and keep shiny locks. Brushing also prevents hair loss by increasing blood circulation in the scalp and transporting oxygen and nutrients to the hair stem, root and bulb. Brushing also helps balance the sebaceous gland, which produces sebum. Over or under production of sebum is often to blame for hair loss.

Don't forget to get yourself a good brush. You should only brush your hair with natural bristle brushes. Synthetic bristles can actually harm your hair. They cause breakage which leads to frizzy hair. Yuck! Boar bristles brushes are the way to go. They are the most similar to human hair and they evenly distribute the sebum. When you brush with a boar bristles brush, you allow the sebum to evenly coat the whole strand rather than staying concentrated at the scalp. Always brush your hair when it's dry and use a comb when it's wet.

Lastly, make sure you are using a good chemical free shampoo. I've tried a bunch of chemical free shampoo, Shea Moisture, Juice Organics, Perfectly Posh, Acure, Dr Bronners and Monet. I liked all of these brands but I found one I like even better, Avalon Organics. This brand has EWG's stamp of approval. You can buy this shampoo in lemon, lavender, tea tree, coconut, peppermint, rosemary and apple cider vinegar. If you are lucky enough to live near a Wegmans, you can grab the shampoo there for $7.99. You can also buy directly on their website or on Amazon. Always shampoo your hair twice, the first time lifts the dirt and the second time washes it away. Only put conditioner on your ends, never on your scalp.

Chemicals Banned For Use In Cosmetics

Who regulates cosmetics in the United States? NO ONE. In 1938 the cosmetic industry was granted self-regulation. Nothing has changed since 1938. The FDA isn't even authorized to approve cosmetic ingredients. The U.S. Federal Government doesn't require health studies or pre-market testing on personal care products. Manufacturers are free to use almost any ingredient they choose. As a result, we are exposed to thousands of harmful chemicals that are banned in other countries.

So what can you do? 

Read labels - you can't bank on the what the bottle says. Unfortunately in this country, we have issues with label laws too. If a product has one natural ingredient, added to 10 chemicals, they are legally allowed to label the bottle as "all natural". Be sure to always read the label and read every ingredient.

Familiarize yourself with chemicals  - you need to know what chemicals to stay away from. Refer to the Dirty Dozen list that highlights the 12 most common toxic & carcinogenic compounds found in cosmetics.

Take advantage of EWG - Environmental Networking Group is a non-profit, non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting human health and the environment. If you click on the EWG Verified tab, they review thousands of personal care products and give their approval on products that meet their strict standards. 

Splurge vs. Steal

Beautycounter's cleansing balm is one of my all time favorite products. It's a light, airy balm with a hint of cranberry oil to give it an amazing scent. Deemed as the balm that does it all, you can use it as a cleanser or a moisturizer. Made with sunflower seed wax and a mix of oils, such as, avocado, jojoba, sweet almond and raspberry. Formulated without items from their Never List, you are guaranteed safe ingredients. It comes with a hefty price tag of $80 and you have to buy it from a Beautycounter rep.

Acure also launched a cleansing balm. Also a light, airy and pepperminty fresh balm that comes in an easy to use stick. Made with rose hip oil, sea kelp and cactus flower. I just got this and I'm very impressed with it. Although it doesn't have a dual purpose like the Beautycounter, the cleanser works quite well leaving your skin super soft. 100% vegan, paraben free, sulfate free, phthalate free, mineral oil free, petroleum free, silicone free, and cruelty free. This comes with a very reasonable price tag of $9.99 and available at your local Target.

Safe Sunscreen

There are so many sunscreens out there to choose from. Most of them do more harm than good. They are filled with toxic ingredients that may be worse for your skin than the sun itself. 

It's very easy to pick a safe one. On the back of every bottle you will see a list of "active ingredients". The only ingredients you want to see here are zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide. Zinc oxide protects against UVA and UVB light rays, prevents burns and signs of photo-aging. Titanium dioxide is a fine white powder that occurs naturally. It's a very effective UV filter.

The bad sunscreens have active ingredients such as oxybenzone, avobenzone, octisalte, oxtocrylene, homosalate, and octinoxate. These chemicals are linked to cancer, endocrine disruption, organ system toxicity, and may impact hormones. They are highly toxic to you and the environment.

EWG's 12th annual Guide to Sunscreen was just updated for the summer of 2018. This guide contains sunscreen safety ratings to help you make the right purchase. They rate the best sunscreens, SPF-rated moisturizers and lip products. EWG's Guide to Sunscreen

I'm a huge fan of All Good, Alba Botanica, and Goddess Garden products. Always protect your skin with a good chemical free sunscreen. Don't forget to stay hydrated too!

Save Your Skin...

Summer is officially here. We bypassed spring this year and went right from winter to summer. I took my snow tires off at the beginning of May and by the end of May, we are already pushing 90 degrees.  This can wreak havoc on your skin. Especially if you are going out in the sun with winter white skin and getting burned. 

Zausner Solar Recover Save Your Skin Hydrating Mist is an all-natural, fine-mist daily moisturizer that relieves dry, irritated and sunburned skin. The Mist has multiple beneficial uses that will improve the health of your skin especially if used daily. 

It was conceived a few years ago innocently enough when Michael Zausner owned a tennis club in the Southern California desert where the daytime summer temps reached 115 degrees regularly. After being nuked all day the last thing they wanted to do was to smear sticky aloe products on his skin. So they created a fine mist to rehydrate, the criteria for which was simply to use all natural essential and vitamin oils that they knew was healthy for the skin and to make it smell good. Even though as a tennis pro they were very tan, they never took their shirt off. So when they went to the beach one day and got sunburned, they discovered by accident that the spray calmed down the burn and prevented peeling unlike anything else they had ever used. They began testing it all over the Caribbean on themselves by purposely lying out in the sun and burning themselves with consistent results that saved many a vacation. Hence the slogan "The Only Animals We Test On Are Ourselves".

Ingredients - distilled water, natural vitamin E, calendula, lavender oil, sesame oil, geranium oil, roman chamomile oil, sandalwood oil and French seaweed absolute.

You can buy it at Lori's Natural Foods, Lucky Vitamin and Amazon

I keep the bottle right in shower. Spray directly on skin and rub in. I use it daily at this time of year, whether I have been in the sun or not. It doubles as a great moisturizer and smells amazing. it's a light, refreshing, easy to use spray for those of you who don't have time to moisturize. Just spray and go!

Purifying Hydro Sponge

Earth Therapeutics makes one amazing body sponge. Infused with purifying medicinal bamboo charcoal and interwoven with textured fabric to help cleanse and draw out toxins. This hydro sponge is textured to gently exfoliate away the outer layers of dead skin to unclog pores. An embedded infusion of medicinal bamboo charcoal enhances the cleansing process by drawing out impurities. It also stimulates circulation so skin can breathe freely. After regular periodic exfoliation, skin will benefit from the deep clean feeling soft, smooth, and healthy.

To use, wet in warm water, apply your favorite chemical free cleanser (such as Carolina Castile Soap, EO All-Purpose Soap or Nubian Heritage Soap) and gently massage the skin. The frequency of use really depends on the sensitivity of your skin. They recommend using it at least once a week but I read reviews where people use it every day. Personally I use it every other day. 

After using sponge, hang to dry. Replace the sponge every 3 months or so, depending on how often you use it.

You can buy the sponge at Ulta, Amazon and on the Earth Therapeutics website. 

Acure Brilliantly Brightening - Part II

I recently posted about this Brilliantly Brightening Acure line but since it's SO good, it's worth a second post. Originally I only bought the gel cleanser and the night cream. After I fell in love with both of those, I bought a few more. I got the day cream, facial scrub, face mask and glowing serum. I can't rave enough about all of them. My skin is glowing and looks the best it has in years. 

Day Cream - Face the day with CoQ10, gotu kola and argan oil. This powerhouse combo helps moisturize and protect with a one-two-three punch that fights dullness and evens out skin tone for skin that’s bright and beautiful.

Facial Scrub - “Seas” the day with natural exfoliation from the ocean. Sea kelp super-nutrients soften and detoxify, while lemon peel and French green clay cleanse without stripping away natural moisture. Madonna lily brings the brightness to round out this refreshing facial scrub.

Face Mask - Moroccan argan extract conditions and moisturizes while chlorella brings a boost of skin-benefiting vitamins and omega 3s for extra glowing goodness.

The Glowing Serum - Argan oil restores moisture, borage oil soothes and cranberry and pumpkin seed oils add antioxidant protection. That’s some serious glowing goodness. Bonus: it doubles as a makeup remover 

As a reminder, their products are paraben free, sulfate free, phthalate free, mineral oil free, petroleum free, silicone free, cruelty free and 100% vegan. Their products do not contain synthetic fragrances or artificial colors.

Ditch the Dry Cleaning

I don't know about you, but the smell on clothes when they come back from the dry cleaner is unbearable. Not to mention the terrible things dry cleaning does to your skin and the environment.

Perchloroethylene is used by 80-90 percent of all dry cleaners. It's a neurotoxin and causes cancer in lab rats. It's also a major groundwater contaminant, found in more than 25 percent of U.S. water supplies. It's toxic to wildlife, especially fish. A recent study found that food, stored in a car with dry-cleaned clothing for one hour, absorbed levels of perchloroethylene. An EPA study found that people have perc in their breath after visiting dry cleaners. Yuck!

Break-up with your dry cleaner and do it yourself.

First grab a spray bottle. Any time you use essential oil, you should use glass. Over time, the essential oils will eat through the plastic. It's so hard to find larger glass spray bottles. I can find them in 2oz, 3oz and even 4oz but anything larger than 4oz seems impossible to find. So I used a plastic bottle for this, I go through the solution so fast that it hardly sits in the bottle for long.

Grab some vodka. Vodka kills odor-producing bacteria and does not leave a lingering aroma. Go to the liquor store and get a 90 proof bottle of cheap vodka. The cheaper the better (save the Kettle One for your martinis). I found one for a whopping $9.99.

Grab some distilled water. I always have it on hand because i use it in my garment steamer. You can by a gallon of it for less than a dollar.

Lastly, grab your essential oils. You need lavender and tea tree. Lavender has tremendous antibacterial and deodorizing properties. Tea tree is known for its antiseptic properties. Not only do they smell nice, they kill bacteria.

Now here is the hard part (kidding). Mix 2 parts vodka, one part distilled water, and four drops of each oil and viola you have your own dry cleaning spray!

Turn your garment inside out and put it on an hanger. Spray the areas where you sweat, armpits, neckline etc. and make sure you fully saturate these areas. Don't be stingy, make sure they are soaked.  Then do a quick spray over the whole garment. Hang dry until the saturated areas are fully dry, I usually leave overnight. Obviously this only works to deodorize, it's not meant for stains.