Natural Beauty: Natural Moisturizers

When perusing the local Whole Foods for an all-over moisturizer I could use in the arid Utah climate I came to two conclusions: 1) paraben-free moisturizers are spendy and/or 2) natural moisturizers are kinda goopy and sticky.  I neither like goopy or spendy, so I decided to move a few aisles over to the cooking oils to see if I could find a better alternative to moisturize my whole body.  I was pleased to discover nature already has my back: there are quite a few oils typically used for cooking (here in the U.S.) that are amazing for keeping your skin moisturized and glowing!

Enter the holy grail of oils, coconut oil!  This versatile oil not only is an amazing moisturizer for your entire body, it's great for your face and hair, too.  Coconut oil has antibacterial properties, so slathering it on a blemish or scrape can actually speed up the wound's healing time.  Coconut oil absorbs rather quickly, so it doesn't leave too much of a residue behind after application.  Coconut oil also naturally smells amazing!

Coconut oil is solid at room temperature, but it quickly melts when applied to the skin.  If you want to use it in your hair, I recommend melting a little in a bowl in the microwave and letting it cool before application.  Coconut oil really has a ton of beauty uses!

Another great moisturizer is sweet almond oil.  It is quite a bit more viscous when compared to coconut oil and is commonly used as a massage oil.  I love it as an all-over moisturizer, except for the face.  With a light hand and applying right after the bath or shower, your skin will be glowing for the rest of the day!  Sweet almond oil doesn't have a smell, which can be considered a good and a bad thing.  If you want your skin to be lightly scented, you can add a few drops of essential oil to the large container of almond oil and mix well.  Be advised that some essential oils can be irritants, so if you have sensitive skin, I'd stick to fragrance free!

The last natural moisturizer I love is grapeseed oil.  It shares many of the same properties as sweet almond oil, but is just a tad "lighter."  I like to use grapeseed oil in the summer, while sweet almond oil is what I use for the drying winter months.  Grapeseed oil is scentless, so if you want to add essential oils for fragrance, that's up to you!

Another way to moisturize we really don't think about is from the inside out!  Taking 2000-6000mg a day of fish oil can up the moisture content of your skin.  Vegans and vegetarians report that taking flaxseed oil can help in moisturizing the skin.  Drinking water throughout the day is also an effective way to keep your skin glowing!

Natural Beauty: Exercise

Looking and feeling beautiful seem to go hand-in-hand.  When I am feeling tired, stressed, or out of it, it is usually reflected in my skin.  That zit there?  Oh, I was so stressed out a few days ago!  I look kind of pale and sallow?  Well, I've only slept for a total of eight hours in the past three days.  I look tired?  I AM tired!  It seems the older I get the easier it is to read my work or school burdens (or unwise sleeping choices) on my face!

I've found a good foil for these is a regular dose of exercise.  I never feel more connected, centered, and energized than when I'm moving around on a regular basis.  We all know that regular exercise is a great way to shed extra pounds, but I like to exercise because it makes me LESS stressed and fortified to take on my life's daily challenges.  Exercise also increases cellular turnover of the skin, fights free radicals, and increases blood flow to the skin.  All of these help keep your skin looking its best!

The problem with exercise, is that it is the first thing to fall off the list of priorities when stuff gets REAL.  Confession: this past year, I have probably exercised a total of 10 times:*(.  I'm not going to lie, my skin has never looked worse!  I've recently started a new barre workout at a local studio, where I actually have to show up!  It's pretty easy to tell my running shoes I'll "see them tomorrow, promise," but having a class to show up to, a set time of the day I can't make excuses out of, is a little better for me, personally, than a solo exercise program!

I'll let you know how it goes!  My first class was SO CHALLENGING.  I used to dance all through high school, so I thought the class would be a breeze.  *AHEM*  It was the most challenging workout I've had in awhile!  I'm actually still sore from a workout three days ago!

What are some of your favorite ways to move around?  Are you a solo runner or hiker or do you like classes and loud music to exercise to?  I'd love to know!

Smog.

The whole Salt Lake Valley in filled to the brim with pollution.  This used to happen only one or twice a winter when I was a kid, but now it happens whenever we don't have a storm system constantly blowing fresh air into the valley.

I really do love Utah and Salt Lake, but the inversions we get in the wintertime are enough to make me want to move!  We consistently have some of the worst air in the nation in the winter months!  I feel pretty guilty about my driving habits lately, as well.  I drive about 75 miles a day with my job...while I am driving clients around to appointments and the like, I still can't help but cringe when I'm heading into work on the freeway and I can't even see our beautiful mountains because of the smog.

Luckily, we have a storm system moving in on Saturday to sweep the air clean, but I can't help but think about where all that pollution goes.  Everyone has been freaking out over these mass amounts of animals dying around the world, but why can't we stop and look at how much crap we're pumping into the environment daily?  Let's not mention the ripple effects from a huge offshore oil leak that occurred last year, either.

I think the poor Earth is finally speaking more loudly and clearly: what we are doing is not sustainable and it is damaging.  So, in this New Year, let's try our bests to make the small changes that lead to a healthier and happier planet.  I've mentioned a few things we can start doing, but I'll give a few more here to think about:

• Recycle.  It's easy and its impact is huge.
• Turn off the water when you brush your teeth.
• Use dishtowels instead of paper towels to dry your hands.
• Walk or ride public transportation when you can.
• Don't let your car idle at drive-thru windows. Turn it off!
• Run your dishwasher only with a full load!
• Wash your hair every 2nd or 3rd day, it saves water and my hair looks better a day or two after a shampoo anyway;)!
• On that same note, invest in some dry shampoo or shampoo powder to freshen up your hair on the non-wash days.
• Keep your thermostat at 68 degrees or lower in the winter.  Just put a sweater on of you're cold instead of heating up the whole house!
• Use eco-friendly laundry detergent, it's an easy switch and you won't notice the difference!
• Get a reusable coffee mug and swear off disposable cups for good!
• When your old light bulbs burn out, switch to the new compact fluorescent bulbs.

There!  If you choose to try just one or two of these over the weekend, you will be making a difference!  If you have any other great conservation ideas, please leave them in the comments so we all can give them a try!  I hope you have a lovely, smog-free weekend! xo.

Natural Beauty: Vitamins

The skincare biz is a multi-bajillion-dollar industry and it's not surprising: people have dealt with skin issues that have hundreds of creams, serums, and potions that promise to fix whatever problem you might have.  I have to admit that I have funneled quite a bit of my own income into this snake oil business.

As a teenager, I was one of those terribly lucky girls who had porcelain perfect skin.  I got maybe two zits a year and they seemed to come and go with the new fashion statement I was making.  I also was a lifeguard, which meant hours upon hours in the sun with minimal amounts of clothing on.  While I did wear sunblock, I usually only applied it once in the morning.  I was always so ridiculously tan by the end of the summer.  Gross.

All of the skin issues I was spared from in high school seemed to take their vengeance on me as an adult: sun spots, acne, sun damage, photo-aging, melasma, THE WORKS.  And while I was lured into the creams and potions way of dealing with these new fun issues, I found myself turning to root causes of many of these problems when the topical treatments fell short.

Enter vitamins.  While antibiotics are the go-to treatment for dermatologists, I have real issues constantly consuming antibiotics to deal with non-life threatening issues, i.e. my skin.  I have been using a more holistic approach to dealing with the horrible way I treated my skin ten years ago.  Here's a list of supplements that have worked well for me:

• L-Lysine - helps with healing and inflammation of the skin
• CoQ10 - functions as an antioxidant
• Zinc - aids in healing and immunity
• Probiotics - maintains your body's "good" bacteria and helps prevent skin infections
• Flax Seed Oil - great for overall skin health

**Of course, I am not a doctor, so consult your physician before you start taking any supplements or vitamins, since there may be side effects when taking these supplements with other medications.  Dosages are also a personal decision and should be discussed with your physician, as well!**

Learning to care for my skin from the inside out was a true paradigm shift for me.  In a culture where miracle creams are being pushed to 9-year olds, it was liberating to realize my skin is a part of a bigger system that I should be taking good care of also: my body.

Natural Beauty: Dry Skin Brushing

So when trying to rid my life of parabens, I've found there is some other nastiness that I needed to throw out, not so much because of the harmful chemicals it contained, but harmful polyethylene, or simply plastic beads.  My favorite exfoliating scrub had these little buggers in them, and that had to GO.  These plastic beads that are so great in scrubbing off dead skin cells gently are also super-pro at collecting in large garbage patches in our water systems and oceans.  YUK.

Enter dry skin brushing.  First of all, it's the cheapest exfoliating agent for the price, once you spring for the $7-10 brush (get one with natural agave or cactus fibers), you're good to go for years.  I like the Yerba Prima Botanicals Skin Brush because it has a removable handle that makes it easy to scrub my back.   Secondly, my skin has never been softer since I started using this method, and last, but definitely not least, it reported that skin brushing can help reduce the appearance of cellulite!!!  Ok, I really haven't seen any changes in the cottage-cheese department, but a girl can dream.

So all you have to do is, before hopping in the shower, start at your appendages and brush in small, short strokes towards your heart.  Dry skin brushing has been reported to stimulate your lymphatic system, so help a girl out and always brush towards your heart, since this helps with lymphatic drainage.  Don't use this brush on your face, decollete, or lady parts, since the skin is super-sensitive, duh!

It will seem super-scratchy, at first, but your skin will start getting used to this mini-massage.  It really does help wake you up!  After you're done brushing, hop in the shower to rinse off all those dead skin cells.  Be sure to wash your skin brush every week with castile soap, I like Dr. Bonner's Magic All-One Soaps, and let it dry with the bristles facing down, so water won't collect in the base of the bristles! 

See, you can get super-smooth skin with no waste and no polyethylene!  Win-win.