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Day 1 – Change Your Thoughts

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What do your thoughts have to do with beauty? Everything. No matter what a woman looks like on the outside, if she lets negative thoughts run through her brain all day, she will not come across as appealing to others. We’ve all met a woman like this–a woman who’s beautiful by society’s standards, but the moment she opens her mouth, she instantly becomes less attractive. Maybe she’s rude to a stranger or she starts bitching about her husband (or her boss or her kids or her new haircut). It doesn’t matter. The moment she starts complaining, gossiping, criticizing or whining, the truth of what’s in going on in her inner world is revealed. And it’s ugly.

On the other hand, we’ve all met a woman who may not be gorgeous, but after speaking with her for even just a few minutes, she suddenly appears far more attractive. The light in her eyes, the warmth of her smile, her intelligence, wit and kindness are an outward reflection of what’s happening inside her head. Her demeanor and speech—the way she interacts with the world—it’s all a reflection of her thought life. And her thought life is predominantly beautiful.

The Science

Your thought life cannot be ignored if you want to be the most beautiful woman you can be. This fact is backed by the latest neuroscience. Scientists have found that when we let fear-based thoughts into our brains, they form new connections and release disruptive chemicals that place our brains in a continual state of stress. This will eventually manifest in a variety of anxiety disorders, depression and even physical illness such as fibromyalgia, autoimmune disorders, etc. Some neuroscientists have even suggested that up to 92% of all mental and physical illnesses are a direct result of our thought lives. That alone should be enough reason to take a thought inventory immediately.

When you begin stopping toxic thoughts the moment they pop into your head, the dendrites in your brain where you previously formed negative connections around those toxic thoughts will begin to shrivel up and die. This allows room for positive thoughts to take hold in their place. Where you would usually think a negative thought, replace it with one of gratitude–for anything. You will become instantly more attractive within hours of doing this. It’s the best beauty secret on earth.

Your Powerful Inner World

Just how important is “inner beauty”? Let’s think about a few women we know for a minute—women like Britney Spears, Lindsay Lohan and Paris Hilton. All three girls are technically beautiful by society’s standards, but they remain the brunt of late night jokes because their inner beauty has yet to be fully cultivated. Or take someone like Heidi Montag, the reality star whose quest for beauty resulted in 10 plastic surgeries by age 23. Did she reach her goal of being gorgeous? Not really. Most people hear her name and laugh. She’s a caricature of beauty–a shell of a person. She (and millions of other women like her) are proof that big boobs, collagen-injected lips and Botoxed foreheads do not a beautiful woman make.

Any woman whose quest for beauty stops at her external appearance will never reach her goal. Until a woman reigns in her thoughts, thereby changing her attitudes, emotions, words and behavior, she will never escape a litany of associated problems such as depression, anxiety, addictions and failed relationships. These types of problems are not attractive. To anyone.

How It Works

Women who radiate true beauty do not allow fear-based thoughts to take up residence in their brain. Scientists have found that our brains are actually hardwired for love not fear. But when toxic thoughts enter our brains and we let them hijack and override the system, we can think ourselves into a state of anxiety or depression very rapidly. On the other hand, if we only allow healthy, positive thoughts to circuit through our brains, the chemicals they release make us feel instantly calm, peaceful and confident. We feel capable as we deal with the little trials of everyday life. We live in the present moment with gratitude and joy.

Your assignment today is to observe your thoughts. Begin “catching” every toxic thought that enters your brain to eliminate it before it can take up residence and form new connections. Once a toxic thought has time to “form connections” and gets to know the other negative thoughts in that particular region of the brain–it will bond to those thoughts, making the toxic mess of dendrites in that area stronger and harder to eliminate.

Toxic thoughts are all connected, but we don’t have to let a thought that enters our brain trigger us to head down the rabbithole. We can stop the spiral of negative thinking before it even begins.

Try to “think about what you’re thinking” as often as you can in the next 24 hours. Whenever you realize you’re thinking a negative, fear-based thought, toss it out and determine to think a love-based thought of gratitude in its place. Instead of visualizing the worst happening, begin visualizing the best. I promise you your entire life will change.

Verbal Cues to Listen For

We as women are especially vulnerable to fear-based thoughts when we’re with other women. The competitive nature of beauty in our society can cause automatic toxic thoughts such as, “Why is she so thin? What’s she doing that I’m not? Wow, I feel so ugly. She’s so pretty. What’s wrong with me? I’ll never get it together.”

If you are ever in a situation with other women and you notice yourself thinking these types of thoughts, stop. The best way to catch yourself thinking negatively is to listen to your words. Here are some verbal cues to listen for that will let you know your thoughts aren’t what they should be:

Complaining. If you hear yourself complain about anything—from the weather to your husband’s work schedule—stop and pay attention your thoughts.

Criticizing. We cannot control other people. We can only control ourselves. We are only responsible for our own choices and the way we choose to live our lives. It is not our responsibility to tell anyone else how he or she should live. Whenever you hear yourself criticizing anyone—from your sister to the President of the United States—stop and think about what you’re thinking.

Gossiping. If you hear yourself speaking negatively about someone, it’s time to think about your thoughts again. Gossiping is never pretty because it screams, “I’m insecure!” to the world. It shows that you are in such dire emotional straits you’ve resorted to slamming others in order to feel better about yourself.

When you criticize or gossip, your judgements about others say nothing about their behavior, it only tells those around you that you’re the kind of person who has to make judgements about others in order to feel better about yourself.

In Summary

Some toxic thoughts may have been part of your brain for so many years that you can’t imagine life without them. If that is the case I recommend you look into The Work by Byron Katie. By working through the free step-by-step process on her website you will learn how your negative thoughts have shaped your identity and how you can free yourself from them once and for all.

The good news is that you can choose to rewire the dendrites in your brain so the toxic connections you’ve already formed will literally shrivel up and die. Then you can begin to replace them with new healthy dendrites, linking together positive, uplifting thoughts of gratitude and joy.

More than 30,000 thoughts will enter your brain today. These thoughts will ultimately determine whether or not those around you perceive you as being beautiful. Every message you send the powerful computer that is your brain will either put you closer to the beautiful woman you want to be or further away. It’s up to you to choose.

Three Ways to Help Your Brain

As you begin to change your brain with new thought patters, make use of these three secrets scientists have proven to boost brain health. Following these tips will ensure your brain is functioning at optimal levels as you embark on the process of rewiring it.

Take an Omega-3 oil supplement every day. Omega-3 fatty acids improve communication between brain cells. The lack of Omega-3’s can cause a communication breakdown in the brain. DHA, a fatty acid found in high concentration in the gray matter of the brain, is instrumental in the function of brain cell membranes—which are important for the transmission of brain signals. Research has shown that many people with emotional, mental and psychiatric problems have one thing in common—a lack of Omega-3 fatty acids in their body. As many as 22% of Americans now show no detectable amounts of essential Omega-3 fatty acids in their tissues. Low levels of DHA have been linked to memory loss, depression, bipolar, ADD, schizophrenia, autism and more. Omega-3’s help regulate mood by increasing levels of serotonin in the brain. So the real question is: Why not take some kind of Omega-3 oil every day? My favorite brand is Barlean’s Omega-3 Fish Oil Swirl in Pina Colada or Peach. This delicious oil eliminates the gross taste and fishy burps.

Get your heart rate up every day for at least 10-20 minutes. Neuroscientists at the University of Cambridge and the National Institute on Aging found that even just a few days of heart-pounding exercise stimulates the brain to grow new cells. Mice who ran on a wheel grew an average of 6,000 new brain cells in the hippocampus when compared to mice that didn’t get their heart rate up. This could be due to increased blood flow to the brain, elevated hormone levels or a decrease in cortisol, the hormone associated with stress. Scientists still aren’t totally sure what causes it. The bottom line is that there are many good chemicals released in our bodies when we get our hearts pumping, including endorphins, norepinephrine, serotonin, dopamine). And all of them have been shown to have a positive impact on our mental and emotional well-being. One study even found that regular exercise improved depression symptoms just as well as medication.

Get 8 hours of sleep every night. Yes, getting your “beauty rest” is still an absolute must, especially if you want your brain to work correctly. Scientists have long known that sleep impairs the body by causing a breakdown in the immune system and even the metabolism, but they’re only beginning to learn just how much lack of sleep harms the brain. Researchers have found that sleep-deprived animals produce significantly fewer new brain cells in a particular region of the hippocampus. Brian imaging studies show that without sleep, the emotional centers in the brain cause us to dramatically overreact to negative experiences. The brains of sleep-deprived people were over 60% more reactive than those who’d had a normal night’s sleep. Without enough sleep, the brain is unable to put emotional experiences into context and produce appropriate responses to them. A good night’s sleep appears to restore this function and fix the brain’s circuits. The brain regions that become impaired in sleep-deprived people are the same ones that become impaired with aging. So unless you want to age your brain well before it’s time, make it a priority to get at least 8 hours a night. And don’t forget that the hours of sleep you get before midnight are the most vital for restoring both brain and body.

Guru recommended reading list:

Who Switched Off My Brain: Controlling Toxic Thoughts and Emotions by Dr. Caroline Leaf
Psycho-Cybernetics: A New Way to Get More Living Out of Life by Dr. Maxwell Maltz

A Complaint-Free World: How to Stop Complaining and Start Enjoying the Life Your Always Wanted by Will Bowen

Widows to the Soul

Posted by beautyguru

Maybe you’ve thought about switching from your regular drugstore brand eyeliner to something a bit more natural, but you’ve been concerned about the cost. I’ve seen “all-natural” eyeliners run as high as $30-40. That’s just way too much to spend on one little pencil.

Well, let me offer a solution to your problem. I heard about Physician’s Formula Organic Wear 100% Natural Origin Eyeliner from the plethora of positive reviews about it online. It’s the little pencil with the long name that, apparently, works remarkably well. I decided that, even though I usually prefer to try smaller, organic brands, I’d test out the popular well-known brand just this once—if for no other reason than the eyeliner’s $ 7 price tag. I was more than pleasantly surprised with the results. It glides on smoothly and wears great. I prefer it in the color Black Woods.

Need more reason to make the switch? Check out this ingredient list comparison.

Revlon ColorStay Eyeliner. Cost: $7

Ingredients: Cyclopentasiloxane, Ozokerite, Trimethylsiloxysilicate, Polyethylene, Phenyl Trimethicone, Candelilla Cera (Euphorbia Cerifera {Candelilla} Wax), Tocopherol, Sorbic Acid, BHT, Methylparaben, Propylparaben. May Contain: Iron Oxides, Titanium Dioxide, MICA, Black 2, Ferric Ferrocyanide, Carmine.

Physician’s Formula Organic Wear Eyeliner. Cost: $7

Ingredients: Simmondsia Chinensis (Jojoba) Seed Oil, Beeswax (Apis Mellifera), Mica, Capric/Caprylic Stearic Triglyceride, Copernicia Cerifera (Carnauba) Wax, Squalane, Oliva Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Glycine Soja (Soybean) Oil, Tocopherol (Vitamin E)

Your Feet Will Thank You

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Have you ever seen the As Seen On TV product Heeltastic? The one that promises to be the final solution for cracked, dry heels? I bought this after I was disappointed by several other products promising to make my feet smooth and ready-to-go for summer flip-flops. After trying Heeltastic for a few days I must admit my feet were softer. Then about two weeks into using it I noticed they were slowly returning to their normal cracked and dry state. This so-called “miracle cure” was definitely not a permanent solution to problem heels. At least not mine. After Heeltastic failed me, I just assumed that there was no solution for me. If a product made specifically to fix calloused heels didn’t work on mine, it wasn’t likely I’d find a product that would. But, thankfully, I was wrong.

Rocky Mountain Soap Company, a great all-natural beauty company headquartered in the Canadian Rockies has accomplished what I previously thought was impossible. Their Foot Butter made with cotton seed oil, cocoa seed butter, carrot root extract and a host of other good-for-you ingredients, actually works.

When I first started using it, I assumed it would be similar to Heeltastic in that it would work for a while in the beginning but my feet would eventually return to their cracked, dry state even while continuing to use it. To my surprise, the reverse was true. The first week or two that I used it, I only noticed a subtle difference. Then about eight weeks into using it, I looked down at my feet one afternoon and was a little taken aback. They were almost as smooth my 7-month-old baby’s feet. They looked better than they ever had. I immediately wondered what I was doing differently…then I remembered…I’d still been using Rocky Mountain Soap Company’s Foot Butter. The stuff lived up to its promises. It works much better than Heeltastic. In fact, it works much better than anything else I’ve tried. I’ve not had a single crack or callous since I began using it. My feet are completely soft. Just click on the Testimonials tab on this page of their website and you’ll see that I’m not alone in my amazement at how this product was able to solve a previously unresolvable problem. I’ve since tried other products from this company and had great experiences with all of them. Their deodorants work…their lip glosses are great…they’ve created an all-around exceptional brand. You have to assume that anyone who’s figured out how to permanently fix dry heels might know a thing or two about making high-quality, effective beauty products.

Meet Sharron Pinheiro from Eve Organics

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I’ve been very impressed with Eve Organics lately. They really know what they’re doing when it comes to creating beautifully rich-colored mineral eyeshadows and they’re a cut above other natural brands when it comes to educating the consumer about harmful ingredients in beauty products. I recently talked with Eve Organics founder Sharron Pinheiro to learn the story behind the company.

Tell me a little about your background and the journey that led you to develop your own organic beauty line?

The human form and how colors mixed together to form other colors were subjects that were a common thread in my background.

Ever since I was a small child, I loved to draw and color. After high school, I attended the Center for Creative Studies in Detroit to study graphic arts. I was kind of a free spirit and left the school when I realized that it wasn’t fun for me anymore when I was told what to draw and my work wasn’t necessarily “inspired” by me. I moved to L.A. afterward and had two children. Throughout that period, I became a paralegal, working from 9-5, dabbled in property management and permanent makeup.

Once my children were in grade school, I became a Certified Massage Therapist. I was privy to a lot of information I had never heard prior to that time. I learned about aromatherapy, the muscles, anatomy and reflexology. I became enamored with the wonderful “basic,” yet fantastically intricate schools of knowledge ~ how the body heals itself if it is supported correctly.

I took a special interest in aromatherapy and delved into the subject full on after graduation. It intrigued me how for centuries, since the time of the Egyptians, it was known that certain oils applied to the skin, for either beauty or medicine, produced positive or negative responses by the body.

Through training and research, I learned of the potentially dangerous ingredients in a majority of the conventional skin care products and the positive affect that organic and therapeutic grade products have on the body and soul. Then, it was only natural for me to want to teach women so they could make educated choices about the products they purchased and companies they chose to support.

After years of creating my own essential oil blends and skin care products, with great feedback from customers and friends, I created Eve Organics, LLC.

Something I love about you guys is that you really try to educate the consumer. That’s one thing that definitely sets your brand apart. When you started the company, did you make a conscious decision to do that?

Yes, that was our mission from the beginning. There are not too many companies that want to educate their consumers like we do. For us, education is first and foremost. We feel our products completely fit into a whole living lifestyle. But, most women (or men) do not even know that, although they feel they are doing their bodies good in every way, there is more to whole living than eating and exercising. Ingredients from personal care products being absorbed into the skin are a big part of keeping the body in balance and whole.

What else do you feel sets Eve Organics apart in the crowded all-natural/organic beauty market?

There are many products out there that are definitely nice on the ingredients end, but don’t perform too well. We have tested and tried all of our products (on people, no animals!) and have had great feedback on the performance of all of them. And, after all, if the ingredients are awesome and it performs well, why wouldn’t you change? It’s a no brainer!

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve faced since starting Eve Organics?

The obvious one would be that we need brand recognition. We have been building our customer base slowly but surely. We have so many extremely loyal customers with such great stories about how our product has done what so many others (prescription, high-end or otherwise) could not do for them.

Who’s Eve? Is it a reference to the first woman herself?

Eve is not a reference to anyone we know personally. The name was given to the company for a couple of reasons. We wanted to have a name that was easily remembered and had a semblance of healthy, from the earth and “stands the test of time”. We thought Eve Organics was the perfect name to encompass all of those characteristics.

Every quarter you guys give 10% of your net profit to a different charity. What charities have you given to in the past and how did you pick them?

We really try to choose organizations we feel are making an impact. In the past we’ve given to Susan Komen Breast Cancer Research (on more than one occasion), American Multiple Sclerosis Society, City Mission (Detroit), Green America, and The Organic Trade Association, to name a few.

What is your personal favorite Eve Organics product?

My favorite product is the Balance Skin Care set (cleanser, toner and moisturizer). There have been a couple of times that I have run out on vacation (you would think I’d have buckets full at home) or somewhere I couldn’t get another and have used another product either to clean or moisturizer my skin. In both instances, my skin broke out almost immediately and it took me a few weeks to get it back to normal. I have since learned to keep a back up at all times!

What’s your bestselling mineral eye shadow?

Definitely Champagne, with Bling and Fanatic tied for a close second.

Can you really sleep in mineral makeup? Is it that pure?

You can sleep in mineral makeup, but you really should wash your face before you go to bed. Even though the zinc in the foundation is extremely healing ~ anti-inflammatory for sensitive, inflamed skin and naturally anti-microbial and protects skin from the sun, everyday environmental pollutants and grime still build up on your face after a whole day of “living”. This needs to be washed off with a creamy cleanser and re-moisturized with antioxidants to help support the skin in its “replenishing”, the majority of which happens during sleep.

Pool Party

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If you’re headed to the pool this month, don’t pack your drugstore brand sunscreen from last summer. Instead, throw it in the trash and buy an all-natural sunscreen such as the one from Soleo Organics.

Studies show that the chemicals found in sunscreens are absorbed through the skin and end up circulating in the blood stream. And the main chemical in 90% of all sunscreens just happens to be octyl methoxycinnamate…which kills cells in mice, even at very low doses. Numerous other ingredients found in most common sunscreens have also proven toxic, (such as oxybenzone–a hormone disrupting chemical).

Replace your old sunscreen with one like Soleo that uses zinc oxide to reflect and scatter UVA and UVB rays. Soleo is full of non-toxic ingredients that are so safe I’ve been using it on my 2-year-old whenever she plays in the backyard:

Ingredients: zinc oxide 22.3%, vitis vinifera seed oil (grapeseed), helianthus annus seed oil (sunflower), capric/caprylic triglyceride, vegetable oils, candelilla cera, cera alba (beeswax), macadamia ternifolia seed oil, theobroma grandiflorum seed butter, camillia sinensis leaf extract (green tea), anthemis nobilis flower extract (roman chamomile), lecithin, carthamus tinctorius seed oil (safflower), cucumis sativus fruit extract (cucumber), tocopheryl acetate.

Bronze Babe

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I have never been big on sunless tanners. A girl I knew in elementary school was one of the first people to get into the whole sunless tanning craze. She was known for being orange. I can still see her splotchy hands now. So maybe I subconsciously associate the practice of sunless tanning with her…and I’d prefer not to look that unnatural. But I also don’t want to lie in the sun at length and promote premature wrinkles. That’s why I decided to give sunless tanning a shot this summer. Naturally, I wanted something as pure and organic as possible, so I went with Lavera’s Glow & Go Gradual Self Tanning Gel. I put some on over my moisturizer in the morning and left the bathroom, totally forgetting about it. That last sentence is more important than it may have sounded. I totally forgot about it. In other words, I didn’t smell it every other minute all day long like I have with other sunless tanners in the past. That’s not to say that it was completely odorless. When I put it on I smelled just the faintest aroma of DHA (the compound in all self-tanners)—but after it was on, it didn’t morph into an unwelcome intruder all day long.

Apparently I didn’t look at myself in the mirror at all after I put it on because I remember a few hours later my husband came home, took one look at me and said, “Wow, when’d you have time to get so tan?” I walked over to the mirror. I looked like I just got off a cruise ship. Better still, I was brown, not orange. The stuff works.

Self-tanners (whether deemed “all-natural” or not) are made up of DHA and erythrulose—two natural ingredients that react with the amino acids of the skin to create a darker skin color. From what science has found, these two ingredients are harmless, often having been derived from sugar beets. So the main ingredients in most self-tanners aren’t the problem; the problem is all the unnecessary parabens, fragrances and other dangerous synthetics often added to them. For instance, look at this ingredients’ list for Jergens Natural Glow Daily Facial moisturizer and note the ingredients in bold:

WATER, DIHYDROXY ACETONE, GLYCERIN, ALUMINUM STARCH OCTENYLSUCCINATE, C12-15 ALKYL BENZOATE, C13-14 ISOPARAFFIN, GLYCERYL STEARATE, POLYACRYLAMIDE, BEHENYL ALCOHOL, DIMETHICONE, PHENYL TRIMETHICONE, PEG-100 STEARATE, TOCOPHERYL ACETATE, STEARETH-2, CETYL ALCOHOL, XANTHAN GUM, LAURETH-7, CITRIC ACID, METHYLPARABEN, PROPYLPARABEN, DMDM HYDANTOIN, FRAGRANCE, CARAMEL, ERYTHRULOSE.

Lavera’s ingredients’ list, on the other hand, is full of products you can pronounce that won’t harm your health. And they use natural oils to mask the obnoxious DHA smell instead of some kind of cryptic “fragrance.” Take a look at their ingredients’ list:

Organic jojoba oil, calendula, aloe vera and rose water. Water Grain Alcohol* Glycerin Dihydroxyaceton (DHA) Erythrulose Sodium Lactate Sunflower Seed Oil* Xanthan Gum Castor Seed Oil* Calcium Sodium Borosilicate Silica Macadamia Ternifolia Seed Extract* Aloe Vera Leaf Juice* Rose Flower Water* Lavander Flower Water* Camelia Oleifera Leaf Extract*

At $24 a bottle, I think it’s worth it for the amazing tan you get. I’m officially hooked.

A Morning Shot of Tequila

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If your shower contains a bar of soap with the words Dove, Dial, Irish Spring, Ivory or Lever 2000 etched into the center, it’s time to make a change. Maybe you’ve used the same brand for years and can’t even conceive of what I’m suggesting. Well, if you need some motivation, start by reading this. After you’ve decided to give all-natural soaps a chance—which I really hope you will—navigate over to the Biggs & Featherbelle website to check out their selection of bar soaps.

I love when smaller brands specialize in one type of beauty product because it often means they really know what they’re doing in that particular area. And bar soap is most definitely the Biggs & Featherbelle specialty. With choices like Granola Bar, Handle Bar, Beach Bar and Lemon Bar, you can immediately tell they’ve “raised the bar” when it comes to all-natural soaps. And if you don’t believe me, just read these testimonials.

The sisters who started Biggs & Featherbelle began melting and pouring their own soaps to give to friends and family and later realized it was something they wanted to do full time. One thing I especially love about this company is their artful packaging. Having worked in the magazine industry for years, I have a real appreciation for their eye-catching design and creativity.

I currently have their Tequila Bar in my shower and I absolutely love it. It contains a blend of saponified oils including coconut, sunflower, palm, soybean and macadamia nut. My morning shot of tequila truly invigorates me everyday. It smells great and works better than any drugstore brand ever has.

At only $4.99 each, the Biggs & Featherbelle soaps are well worth the knowledge that you’re not rubbing chemicals all over your body to kickoff your beauty routine. So go do some bar hopping today!

Lather Up…Or Don’t

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Since you use soap in the shower on a daily basis, it’s smart to check the ingredients of your favorite soap brand before rubbing it all over every square inch of your skin. When you read through the list, be on the lookout for these red flags…

1. If you see the word fragrance, it’s time to find a new soap. We already know that “fragrance” can be beauty industry code for up to 4,000 more synthetic chemicals. Fragrance also usually contain phthalates, and we know how hazardous those can be.

2. If you see any colors or numbers, it’s time to find a new soap. I’m talking about Yellow 5, Green 3, and other FD&C dyes often used in soaps. Why are these cause for concern? Well, Yellow 5 has been shown to adversely affect both the liver and kidney, not only at higher doses but also at low doses. And Green 3 has been prohibited by the European Union because it was “found to have tumorigenic effects in experimental animals as well as mutagenic effects in both experimental animals and humans.” Yikes!

The bottom line is that we can do far better than the chemical-laden drugstore soap brands. Nature has provided us with some exceptional options for getting ourselves clean if we’d just be willing to branch out. So forget your Dove, Dial, Irish Spring and Lever 2000 and try something new like the Tahitian Vanilla Soap from The Body Deli. Check out its list of all-natural ingredients:

Oils of organic Olive, organic Jojoba, organic Avocado, organic Castor, Palm Oil, organic Coconut, organic Shea Butter, organic Evening Primrose, organic Rose-Hip Seed & Pure Food Grade Extract of Tahitian Vanilla.

The Best Deli in Town

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If you know anything about me, you already know I’m a huge proponent of raw/natural foods. I have my certification in plant-based nutrition from Cornell and have taken half a year’s worth of “cooking lessons” from an all-raw chef. So it only makes sense that I would be extremely attracted to The Body Deli from the moment I laid eyes on their vibrant colored website brimming with fresh fruits and H2O. But what I wanted to know was whether or not my lust for their clever marketing would turn into a love for products that actually worked. I was so smitten while reading their ingredients lists, I thought there was no way I’d find depth beyond my instant attraction. It seemed too good to be true. However, after trying several products from the The Body Deli, I’m happy to say…this beautiful brand actually has the brains to match.

The Body Deli products are made with “fresh, uncooked superfoods.” It simply doesn’t get any better than that. Why wouldn’t you want to feed your skin and hair the same nutritious foods you feed your body? Some of The Body Deli products are so fresh, in fact, that they actually have to be refrigerated. And no, it’s not just a silly marketing gimmick, (although it may look that way when you’re staring at a glass case full of refrigerated beauty products.)

Whenever I hear about celebrities who are diehard fans of this or that beauty brand, I usually discount it. But with The Body Deli, I didn’t have to because the celebrities who’ve embraced them are already known for their all-natural approach to health and beauty—women like Alicia Silverstone, Goldie Hawn and Kate Hudson. In other words, they’re serious about this kind of stuff.

The first product I tried was the Blueberry Fusion Scrub, and yes, as many of the women in the testimonials proclaimed—it smells amazing and, better yet, my skin looked immediately smoother after just one use.

My pores were smaller and more refined. It’s not a miracle potion of some kind, but it is definitely an exceptional facial scrub. The reason it works so well is because it uses all natural lactic, malic and citric acids to remove dull, dry skin cells, revealing brighter skin texture. Here’s the part I love most: The ingredients include such things as wild blueberry puree, acai berry puree and pomegranate juice. Which sounds exactly like the ingredients I put in my Vita-Mix to make a smoothie yesterday. I can confidently say there is no other beauty brand willing to be this pure and innovative when it comes to what goes in their products.

I also tried their Radiance Enzyme Peel, which contains therapeutic grade Manuka honey, known for its skin healing benefits.

The ingredients’ list for this peel reads like the back of a Probiotics bottle at your local health food store, (L. Acidophilus, L. Bulgaricum, L. Leichmanni, etc.). Other ingredients that got me borderline giddy included kale juice, beet juice, spinach juice and goji berry. The peel worked well, revealing a brighter complexion. It may not be the best choice for those with acne-prone or sensitive skin, however.

The only negative thing I have to say about The Body Deli is really not negative–it’s just the downside to all things truly natural. Just as I’d have to pay a whooping $8 for a 4-pack of organic bell peppers at the grocery store instead of $4 for the regular, pesticide-laden ones, so too does this purity come at a higher price. The Blueberry Fusion Scrub is $36, (which is still not too bad when compared to some high-end brands), and the Radiance Peel was recently marked down from $48 to $38. So while I may not be able to outfit my entire bathroom with The Body Deli anytime soon (as much as I’d like too), for a beauty splurge, this is most definitely the freshest way to go.

The Great Sun Debate

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Summer is here and the Internet is drowning in articles about sun exposure and sunscreen…writers warning of the evils of the sun and the necessity of sunscreen all packaged in skin cancer statistics and delivered with a bow. If you’re as sick of it as I am, there’s good news: Much of what they say is wrong! Let me break down the basics for you as quickly as possible so you never have to read another article about sun exposure and sunscreen again…

Should I go out in the sun?

Yes! Sure! Have at it! Avoiding the sun completely is not good for you. Excessive sun exposure is not good and can lead to skin cancer (though chances are better that it will simply lead to more wrinkles. But getting a little sun exposure on a regular basis has actually been show to decrease your risk for sixteen different types of cancer, including breast, colon, pancreatic and prostate! All you have to do is get some sun but don’t get sun damage. In other words, don’t ever get burned. And don’t sit outside and sunbathe all day. Anyone can tell that’s not smart to do. But by all means play in the sun a while. Why? Because your body needs vitamin D…

What’s the big deal about vitamin D?

Your body needs vitamin D to run properly. When you are deficient in vitamin D your body will experience increased inflammation (which can lead to hypertension, heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune illnesses, etc.). Vitamin D fights colds and flu and regulates the genes that influence your immune system to destroy bacteria and viruses. A study by vitamin D expert Dr. William Grant, Ph.D. found that about 30% of cancer deaths could be prevented every year with higher levels of vitamin D because it reduces the spread and reproduction of cancer cells.

According to the Vitamin D Council, the amount of vitamin D recommended for supplementation by the U.S. government is not enough to receive the full health benefits of vitamin D. That’s why they say: “Sun exposure should be your method of choice for getting vitamin D.”

How much sun exposure do I need?

Twenty minutes will do it, but don’t get hung up on numbers. And no, lying out for two hours won’t get you “more of a good thing” because you’ll likely be subjecting your skin to sun damage. But also know that there is no risk of getting too much vitamin D from being in the sun. Vitamin D toxicity only happens but when using vitamin D supplements.

What’s all this talk about UVB-rays versus UVA-rays?

UVA rays are the main cause of sunburn. They penetrate the skin more deeply than UVB-rays and cause free radical damage. The reason tanning beds are not good for you is because the high-pressure sunlamps they use can emit doses of UVA-rays as much as 12 times that of the sun. This is why people who use tanning beds all the time are much more likely to develop skin cancer. Some tanning salons now have UVB-only beds, which are definitely an improvement.

So what am I supposed to do about sunscreen?

Put it on if you know you’ll be outside much of the day. But if you’re obsessive about putting it on every single day under your makeup you’ll never get the vitamin D you’ll need. So use common sense. Just don’t use anything except an all-natural sunscreen.

Conventional sunscreens are extremely hazardous to your health. Don’t use them on yourself and please don’t use them on your children. The main chemical in 90% of sunscreens is octyl methoxycinnamate (OMC). OMC kills cells in mice, even at very low doses. In addition, butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane, an ingredient found in most sunscreens, has also demonstrated to have toxic properties.

Studies have shown that the chemicals in sunscreens are absorbed through the skin and end up circulating in the blood stream. Other chemicals often found in sunscreens that you don’t want circulating through your bloodstream include:

Octyl salicyclate
Para amino benzoic acid
Avobenzone
Oxybenzone
Cinoxate
Padimate O
Dioxybenzone
Phenylbenzimidazole
Homosalate
Sulisobenzone
Menthyl anthranilate
Trolamine salicyclate
Octocrylene

You would think they would use safe ingredients in sunscreens made for kids, but they don’t. For instance, here are the ingredients in Coppertone Kids Sunscreen Spray With Protective Vitamins:

Avobenzone 3%, Homosalate 15%, Octisalate 5%, Octocrylene 10%, Oxybenzone 6%, Alcohol Denat. (63.5% V/V), Acrylates/Octylacrylamide Copolymer, Glycerin, Diethylhexyl Syringylidenemalonate, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Fragrance, Retinyl Palmitate (Vitamin A Palmitate), Caprylic/Capric Triglyceride

No amount of “protective vitamins” will help save kids from the dangerous chemicals used to make this sunscreen. And most other popular kids sunscreen brands have the same thing going on. Just check the label if you don’t believe me.

So what sunscreen should I use?

An all-natural one that uses zinc oxide to reflect and scatter both UVA and UVB rays. For instance, this great kids’ sunscreen from Belly Buttons & Babies would be completely safe for little ones because it contains these ingredients only:

Purified water, zinc oxide, grapeseed oil, grapeseed extract, tocopherol (vitamin E)

The bottom line about sun: Get some. Not too much. Don’t get burned. Never ever use anything except an all-natural sunscreen.

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