Oils on the skin are pure joy. Everyday when I pump Soft in my hands and rub its goodness, from head to toe, into my just cleansed skin, I imagine my skin cells singing in glee, delighting in all of the yummy delicious nutrients they are being fed. I envision them getting bigger and plumper, kind of like Popeye’s muscles after a can of spinach as they prepare for battle against harsh external elements that come my way. Oils protect and shield the skin like nothing else whilst also leaving it radiant, soft and supple.

Oh oils, you are so misunderstood. If only everyone could grasp your true powers and realize how amazing their skin would be once they took the plunge and slathered you all over, and then I remember, I have a blog. I can debunk the myths and untruths about oils and help people understand how to use them and which ones to use and why. How thrilling!

Oils get a bad rap: they make the skin break out, they congest the pores, they leave the skin greasy and oily. I agree with it all, but not when using the quality of oils that I  consume for my skin or suggest for my clients. Yes, it is true that when you use a substandard oil on the skin, it will remain on the surface longer than most. Your skin is rejecting it, not wanting to absorb (eat) it.  It is solvent extracted, not organic and not cold and/or expeller pressed. This subpar oil is what I refer to as “junk food” for the skin. The heat and chemical processing has adversely compromised the nutrients, essential fatty acids, proteins and vitamins that are the heart and soul of the product. When your skin comes into contact with this “empty” food, it is not recognized and will linger on the surface, leaving you greasy and consequently with clogged pores. The chemicals in these inferior oils also tend to be quite irritating, which can instigate inflammation, i.e. pimples, redness and cysts.  This, by my standards, goes nowhere near my skin!

Now it is time to praise the quality of oils that I use and delve deep into their regenerative, nourishing and surface immune building properties. How when you feed these most precious, antioxidant rich, organic, cold pressed oils to your skin, it responds immediately, strongly embracing and fortifying your body. Your skin, our most complex organ, is able to be completely present and take on the many crucial roles that are natural to it. Continue Reading »

Owning a waxing salon, I talk with plenty of women all day long about their waxing experiences and I am shocked that many of these smart and sophisticated women repeatedly tolerate filthy conditions, returning to dirty salons to only risk their health time and time again.

Most of the time when I ask my clients if their previous salons were clean and if they double-dipped, they do not know. They don’t even know what double-dipping is. And for the few that do know, they do not seem very concerned and are focused only on breathing their way though their wax, eyes closed unaware if their esthetician is double-dipping or not.

So, what is double-dipping and what makes it so gross and unhealthy? Double-dipping means the esthetician is using the same wax stick throughout your entire service and oftentimes is even using that same stick over and over again all day long. The problem is that wax stick is not just on your genitals (and let’s not forget lip and eye area – scary!) but complete strangers as well (I wouldn’t even want to use a wax stick that was used on my best friend for goodness sake!) and if you have ever waxed before than you know that waxing will sometimes draw a little blood. Now, every time that stick, bloody or not, goes in the wax pot, the product becomes contaminated with not just bacteria, but dead skin cells, pubic hair and basically, all your stuff. And then that intermingles with ickiness and potential disease (in blood) from previous clients that were there before you. Eeeew! When this stew is applied to your body with every spread of the wax, you are playing Russian roulette with your health, exposing your body to yeast infections, disease and STD’s. And though it is very unlikely to get an incurable STD like herpes from a wax service, it has happened, so why on earth risk it?  And, think about if  you do get away disease free. You still have been in contact with other folk’s pubic hair. That should be enough to get you to demand a clean pot of wax. Continue Reading »

I discovered hydrosols many years ago. I was in a bookstore and I picked up a book by Suzanne Catty, Hydrosols The Next Aromatherapy. I quickly thumbed through the book and immediately found myself excited. For years I was in search of a significant plant and herb extract that was medicinal and healing like an essential oil but also something that was more subtle and tempered. I am not comfortable mixing and playing with essential oils, not because I do not love them, but because I am not an aromatherapist and do not have the experience to understand completely their “personalities”. Hydrosols however are much more approachable and once I began studying and experimenting with them, I fell in love with their subtle powers. Hydrosols were exactly what I was looking for.

A hydrosol is a pure essential water  from  flowers, herbs, needles, leaves, woods, roots, barks and seeds that is left over after the distillation process of extracting an essential oil. These “waters from the gods”, as I have penned them, contain a subtle strength that is all their own. Because they are less complex than essential waters and oftentimes contain components that are not in their partner essential oil, they are so skin and body friendly that many even drink them for internal healing. However do not be fooled by their calm nature. They have a power all their own and can heal even the most inflamed skin and body conditions. When using the highest quality essential waters, the sky is the limit when it comes to their therapeutic capacities. Continue Reading »

If it were not enough to know that what you see on your label may or may not actually be in your product it is unforgivable to also know that certain ingredients are “trade secrets” and are strategically used to deceive the public and potentially risk their health by hiding the most noxious industrial chemicals used in skin and body care.

Fragrance is not necessarily a scent. It is oftentimes dozens or even hundreds of synthetic chemical compounds covertly hidden under trade secret laws. Because most products, from shampoos and deodorants to lotions and shaving creams that you pick up these days will list fragrance on their ingredient label, one must be educated when choosing personal care products. Also, it is crucial that you understand that a product labeled on the front of a package as “unscented” only means that there may be no physical scent, but the manufacture of the product allows for the use of chemicals to mask the odor of  toxic industrial chemicals. You will definitely see “fragrance” on the back ingredient label.

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Oh honey. I just love you. Whether slathered on my face to deep cleanse or mask it, or slathered in my hair to wash it, honey consistently does what no product can do on a regular basis: it deep cleans, treats acne, hydrates, softens and firms the skin. Also, since it is packed with proteins, amino acids, potassium, calcium, magnesium, iron, vitamins B5, B1, E, C , D and folic acid, honey nourishes the skin completely to build a strong surface immunity.

Honestly, I do not remember the exact time or place where honey entered my skin care regimen. With all the research I do on a daily basis, I am sure that honey was part of my daily reading. Knowing how much I love it with peanut butter and banana, and always using the yummiest foods on my skin, I can only presume that I decided to immediately try it in my signature facial treatments.

Reading so much about the anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties of honey, I decided that my first try-outs with it would be with my clients who had very moody/breakout skin. I started by tempering the regular acne cleansers with it, using it in hot water compresses and as a final facial mask for 15 minutes. Immediately after these signature treatments, I received fantastic feedback. My clients would rave about how soft their skin was. Then, in the days that followed, I began getting emails from clients. Their skin was less red, their pimples were healing and  their skin was super hydrated and supple. This was probably due to the fact that in all honeys, there is, to different levels, hydrogen peroxide which is produced from an enzyme that bees add to the nectar. No wonder their skin was healing. Honey is anti-bacterial, anti-viral and anti-fungal! My clients immediately wanted to know where they could get honey to use at home and what kind of honey they should use. Before I knew it, I began to be known as the honey lady when it came to facials and I could not be more thrilled! After all, any foods that I could get even my hardest “product junkie” clients to use was a huge accomplishment. That’s one less mass produced product on their skin and in our water supply! Continue Reading »

I get it. You’ve tried the natural deodorants and they just don’t work. You’re still sweaty and smelly and shamefully running for cover to the nearest drug store to buy the first anti-perspirant you see. Natural deodorants – Not! While this scenario is pretty funny, there is nothing amusing about putting aluminum or propylene glycol based deodorants on your underarms (or anywhere on your body for that matter). What you may not know is that to get it right with natural deodorants, you have to take the time to transition into them and trust me when I tell you, it is well worth it. Not only will you experience amazing results with the natural stuff, but, and don’t squirm when I say this, like me, you may never need another deodorant again! 

Before making the switch to clean and toxin free deodorants it is best you know exactly what the transition will be like for the next 28 days, and also, why  it is so vital to your health that you remain dedicated to this challenge because honestly, there is no way to justify not doing it.

So first, what is sweat? Why do we sweat and how is it directly related to our skin, blood and lymphatic system? And though we  would do almost anything to be rid of it why is not sweating unarguably one of the most unhealthy and dangerous things we could ever do to our body?   Continue Reading »

On July 22, 2005 I was intrigued by an article in the Los Angeles Times. The title, “Dozens of Chemicals Found in Most Americans’ Bodies” was especially compelling because with all of my years in product development and research, I always believed that personal care products were cause for alert due to the high amounts of toxic chemicals that they include and it was only going to be a matter of time that our bodies would reach a plateau, finally breaking down, exhausted from the struggle. Continue Reading »

Back in the day I was adamant. Always read the ingredients of the products you are about to buy before committing to the final purchase. That was when doing something that simple was all one needed to do to guarantee they were using quality skin and body care. However, because “natural” products with “organic” ingredients are now a billion dollar business, there are many that want a piece of the pie, stopping at nothing to get it.

With green being the new black, health and being “eco” are unarguably in vogue, and in business that communicates a ripe opportunity to make top dollar. Because the cosmetic industry is self-regulated, anyone can create, market and sell their products without oversight or a set of standards to abide by and this has led to a growing trend for manufacturers and formulators to falsify ingredients to give the illusion that their product is as pure as the driven snow. Continue Reading »