Healthier & Greener Beauty Products Make Great Holiday Gifts!

The average woman in America wears 515 chemicals every day, just from the beauty products, skin care, and personal care items she uses on a regular basis. And it's not just women; men are also exposed to many harmful chemicals in deodorants, shampoos, shaving lotions, and more. Buying healthier products is not only better for your health, it's also a great way to give the gift of health this holiday season!

Ava Anderson Non-Toxic beauty, personal care, & cleaning products.
Party Code: 42532

There are a number of companies boasting "natural" or organic products these days, but not all of them are all they claim to be. Many "natural" products still contain harmful chemicals - or chemicals which can combine to form harmful substances, such as formaldehyde. And it only gets more confusing as more and more companies jump on the "natural" bandwagon. By law, manufacturers can put the "natural" label on just about anything, as long as it contains even ONE naturally-sourced ingredient! Organic is a bit stricter, but companies can still advertise "organic ingredients," while including other chemicals as well.

So how can you be sure you're choosing safer products? Check out our recent blog posts at New Holistic Living for a list of 18 chemicals to avoid when shopping for beauty and personal care products.

Or choose products from companies such as Miessence, and Ava Anderson, which use ONLY natural ingredients - and most are also organically grown. (For a special on Ava Anderson products this month, use "Party Code: 42532" when checking out - good through December 31.)

And visit NewHolisticLiving.com for a list of recommended safer, cleaner, and greener products to help you reduce your toxic load and live (and shop) greener this year!

5 Ayurvedic Natural Beauty Treatments

If you’re looking for natural, environmentally friendly and clean beauty treatments, you can’t go wrong with Ayurveda. Ayurveda is the traditional medicinal system of India and incorporates herbs and natural elements into your beauty regimens.

Three Body and Beauty Types:

The three dosha's and the 5 great elements they are composed from (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Ayurveda defines three body types:

* Vata
* Pitta
* Kapha

Each body type has their own unique characteristics including a tendency toward oily or dry skin, curly or straight hair and so on. You can find much information about these three body typs online.

Regardless of your body type, there are many great ayurvedic natural beauty recipes. Here are 5 to get you started on your natural beauty regimen.* 

Rose Facial Mask   

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons oatmeal ground in a blender to a fine powder
2 teaspoons goat milk powder
½ teaspoon clay—yellow clay from India, or plain white kaolin clay
1 teaspoon rose petal powder
1 teaspoon sandalwood powder
2 drops rose attar

Directions:
Mix all ingredients except rose attar in a jar with a lid.  When ready to use, pour half of the jar of powder into a small container and stir in one ounce of warm water and one drop of rose attar. Apply the mask and wait 15 minutes.  Wash off with warm water.  The clay in this mask is great for oily skin.

Fruit Acid Peel

Ingredients:
* 1 tablespoon orange juice
* 1 tablespoon lemon juice
* 1 cup plain yogurt

Directions:
Blend all ingredients in a small bowl.  Apply it to your face and wait 15 minutes.  Wash off with warm water.  This mask works well to exfoliate.

Acne Clarifier

Ingredients:
* 1 teaspoon of turmeric
* 1 teaspoon honey
* 1 teaspoon goat’s milk

Directions:
Blend all ingredients in a small bowl. Apply to acne and leave on for 20 minutes. The turmeric reduces inflammation, while the milk and honey soothe, calm, and moisturize the skin, and kill bacteria.

Beautiful skin (Photo credit: dermatology.com)

Almond Milk Cleanser

Ingredients:
20 whole almonds soaked and peeled
1 cup water
2 ounces rose lavender hydrosol
4 drops geranium essential oil
1 ounce vegetable glycerin

Directions:
Blend 1 cup of water and soaked and peeled almonds (soak almonds in water overnight and peel).  Strain and combine remaining ingredients.  Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to two weeks.  Use to clean and exfoliate skin.



Facial Scrub   

Ingredients:
1 cup rice bran powder
1 cup chickpea powder
¼ cup hibiscus powder
¼ cup rose powder
¼ cup sandalwood powder
¼ cup coriander powder

Directions:
Blend all ingredients and store in a sealed container.  To use, add water to a few teaspoons of the scrub and apply to damp skin.

Ayurveda natural beauty treatments combine the best ingredients to provide you with simple and healthy solutions you can make at home, no matter what your body and beauty type.

* Note: Even though the ingredients are all natural, some people still may be sensitive or allergic to them. Be sure to test the product on a small patch of skin 24 hours before using on a larger area of your body.

Video - Reduce Exposure to Toxins in 5 Areas

This video provides succinct guidelines for reducing the toxins entering your body through cleaner air, water, and food choices. From choosing a good air filter, to filtering your water, to finding and identifying organic foods that are affordable, to choosing natural cleaning and personal care products, she offers a number of tips that can help reduce toxins in your daily environment. Tips such avoiding dry cleaning, and choosing natural methods of pest control in your home and garden. She also lists ingredients to avoid when shopping for personal care products, and reviews the "Dirty Dozen" list - produce which is most contaminated through conventional farming, and is most important to buy organic.

Check out this informative video to learn more about how you can reduce toxins in your home and lower your toxic load naturally.

Brenda Watson's Detox Strategy: Vibrant Health in 5 Easy Steps - Reduce Exposure
Excerpt from Brenda Watson's Detox Strategy (PBS Special) where Brenda Watson, CNC explains that the "R" in RENEW is for Reduce. She gives you some easy ways to reduce exposure to toxins in your life.


For more helpful tips on reducing your toxic load, as well as where to find cleaner, healthier products, visit http://www.newholisticliving.com/toxicload.html.

Henna: A Non-Toxic Hair Dye Option

Love to dye your hair but not so happy about the chemicals involved and the possible harm to your hair, health and the environment?  Henna may be exactly what you’ve been looking for. 

Detail shot of Henna (Lawsonia inermis) leaves (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

What Is Henna?

Henna is a flowering shrub native to Africa, southern Asia, and northern Australasia.  Henna (Lawsonia inermis), an element found in the leaves, produces a burgundy dye molecule, which bonds with protein quite well and makes a great hair and skin dye. 

There are many myths surrounding henna, including the fact that it comes in a variety of colors.  Any pure henna hair dye will result in some level of reddish tinge.  If the dye says it will give your hair a black or brown color then it most certainly has other chemicals or products in it.  Pure henna can only change your hair to red.

Benefits of Henna

While pure henna can only change your hair to red, other henna-based hair colors can give you the hair color choices you’re looking for. 

Henna is a natural hair dye and most henna-based hair dye products are also all natural and vegetable or plant based.  For example, some other henna products are really mixes of amla, indigo, walnut and rhubarb, with other plant dyes added.  Take great care to read the package to ensure it is 100% natural.  If the product has a developer added then you know it has chemical ingredients. 

Henna isn’t permanent.  No hair color is truly permanent and Henna is no different.  However, it fades much more naturally and gradually.  Chemical dyes can actually change color as they degrade.  Typically, henna dye simply fades. 

Henna also contains other properties, which are said to thicken and strengthen hair as well as add gloss and shine. 

Tips for Using Henna

A painting from the late 1800s showing the artistic fashion for henna-enhanced hair. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Plan ahead and know what color you’re going to get.  Henna cannot be stripped out of your hair and the results are there for a good long time.  They’ll fade over time but to get rid of the color entirely you’ll have to cut it out.

Don’t use henna hair dye if you’ve recently used chemicals on your hair, i.e. chemical hair dye, perms or relaxants.

The henna hair dying process takes a long time - some recommend sleeping with the clay-like mask on your head, so make sure you have time to devote to doing it right.

When it comes to natural hair dye, henna is a tried and true method people have been using for thousands of years.  It’s all natural so it doesn’t harm your health, your hair, or the environment.  Make sure you’re using a pure henna product or a vegetable-based hair dye, and for best results make sure you’re not expecting a drastic change.  Even with henna, you’re going to have to live with the results. 


All-Natural Henna Hair Dye Options:
   

Video - Homemade Vanilla Body Cream

Here is a delicious recipe - for your skin! In fact, it looks so good, it made me a little hungry....   I'm running low on my favorite lotion right now, so I may try this soon!  Check it out, and feel free to share your own recipes or natural non-toxic beauty suggestions below.

And if you don't want to make your own, find out which products you can purchase that are TRULY natural and safe - find fact sheets with info, ratings, reviews, and more at at www.thenaturalproductdirectory.com.


Non Toxic Vanilla Body Cream
Sophie Uliano, NY Times Best Selling author of Gorgeously Green, the Gorgeously Green Diet, and Do It Gorgeously, shows you how simple it is to make your own beauty products. Vanilla Body Cream. Get all the indgredients at gorgeouslygreen.com/store