Your Skin Is Alive?: Natural Products To Keep Your Skin & Body Safe

(Don't forget about our Facbeook page! You get tons of extra recipes, info, and exciting news from us!)

Healthy living is more than just grabbing healthy, natural food.  While we LOVE eating well, healthy living is about making better choices in eating, exercising, hygiene, and everything else you do & use.

The skin is a tissue that absorbs anything it comes in contact with.  It is a living, breathing organism. Just as your body absorbs chemicals & nutrients from the food you put directly in your body, your body can absorb chemicals from products you put on your body.  The more toxins that we get rid of, whether it be from food or hygiene products, the better chances we have of sustaining a healthy and happy body.

All of these products have been personally used by me, purchased with my own money, and been stamped with the natural, healthy Strawberries & Tea approval.

Hair Care:
1. Yes To Carrots
     I am obsessed with this line.  I discovered it at Rite-Aid and have fallen in love with everything they sell since.  Their Yes To Carrots shampoo and conditioner has surprisingly done an effective job on not drying out my hair but not overdoing it with the conditioner (I can't tell you how many conditioners I've tried that leave me feeling like I've just dumped olive oil on my hair. Sooooo oily).  You'll get Beta-Carotene naturally and love that you're not loading your follicles with parabens (which are linked to skin aging, cancers, weight gain & is an endocrine disrupter).

2. Trader Joe's Tea Tree Tingle
     This shampoo & conditioner (only shampoo shown) has become my new favorite. I love the minty smell and the conditioner is the best!  Trader Joe's does a great job of limiting their ingredients to just a few!

Body Wash:
1. Pure & Natural
    If you have sensitive skin like I do, P&N is wonderful as it is Hypo-allergenic.  This has been my go-to body wash for the last year.  The rosemary & mint smell is super relaxing!

2. Burt's Bees Exfoliating Body Wash
    This product gently exfoliates and leaves my skin extremely conditioned.

3. Burt's Bees Buttermilk Soap (bar)
    Come on, who doesn't love the thought of a lathery buttermilk soap making your shower smell AWESOME? Exactly.

Teeth Care:
1. Burt's Bees Natural Toothpaste
    I was a bit nervous about this and what it may taste like but it tastes just like a normal toothpaste.  This product includes plaque-fighting cranberry extract and is 99.2% natural.

2. Tom's of Maine

    I've used their 'Wicked Fresh!' toothpaste and it has a great minty flavor. Some natural toothpastes are just a bit on the weird side for me when it comes to aftertaste.  Definitely love Tom's!

Lip Balm:
1. Evolution of Smooth Smooth Sphere
    This is my favorite chap stick/lip balm next to Burt's Bees.  It's smooth, 100% natural, and super fun looking.  They have 5 'flavors', Summer Fruit being my favorite.  Also, their Lemon Drop 'flavor' has an SPF of 15 if you're looking for sun protection.  This company (EOS) also has a ton of other awesome products from lotions to shaving cream.

2. Burt's Bees Beeswax Lip Balm
     I think everyone knows why this stuff is so popular.  From getting extremely smooth lips to that fun little tingly feeling you get after putting it on, you just can't resist a tin or stick of this lip balm.

Face Wash:
1. St. Ives Apricot Scrub
   I think everyone knows about this scrub, but did you know that it uses 100% natural extracts? If you use this already, keep on doing so! If not, buy it a.s.a.p. and you will love it forever.

2. Yes To Cucumbers Facial Towelettes
     Every night, before I go to bed, I use these towelettes to clean my face.  They are super refreshing and truly do a great job of getting make-up off (which is sometimes hard to find)!  Ingredients? Organic cucumber, aloe vera, and dead sea minerals.

Face Masks:

I make them myself! From olive oil, avocado, oatmeal, cucumber, to pumpkin, there are hundreds of different masks you can prepare yourself and 1. There are no chemicals within the product (as long as you buy organic) and 2. You can have a blast doing it.  When Mom visited me, we put together an avocado oatmeal mask that was so easy to make.

Throw all the ingredients in a food processor.

Store in an airtight container to use again!

Deodorants:
This is one of the most dangerous items you can put on your body.  I don't think it's much of a secret that the amount of Aluminum in deodorants is causing some pretty unhealthy side-effects (Alzheimer's, breast cancer, and is especially terrible for those with Kidney Disease). My solution: MAKE IT YOURSELF. Seriously.  Save the money and the chemicals and just take the few minutes to make your own homemade version.  Check out that link for some more information on deodorants and the recipe on how to put it together.

Lotions:
1. Aveeno Active Naturals Daily Moisturizing Body Lotion
     Not my favorite, but it gets the job done. Definitely a great product.

2. St. Ives Otameal & Shea Butter (Paraben & Phthalate free)
    This is my absolute favorite lotion ever ever ever.  It may be a bit more difficult to find, but I use the heck out of this stuff (hence the abnormally large bottle).

Sunblock:
1.  Burt's Bees Chemical Free Sunscreen SPF 30

2.  Actually, you can also make your own sunblock which uses zinc oxide to protect your skin (a natural blocking agent that is completely safe, as opposed to titanium oxide).  This recipe is good for 6 months.  So, make it in March and you'll be good through September.

Makeup:
This is one area I haven't been able to test out but there is an incredible make-up mother/daughter duo, both professional celebrity make-up artists, who specialize is using chemical free/all natural make-up products.  Their website, www.naturesknockout.com "Where you can be a knockout naturally" is full of information on harmful ingredients & how they affect our bodies.  They also do a wonderful job of recommending & rating particular products and lines of make-up, doing all the research for you! This is one area I would like to improve since I have yet to get rid of all my AWFUL, chemical ridden make-up products.  Baby steps, Lacey, baby steps.  I can't do it all at once, but I'm trying.

So, some basic companies I could recommend that are easily available and much better than most brands?
St. Ives
Aveeno Active Naturals
Yes To
Burt's Bees
Most Trader Joe's Products

I highly recommend doing your research on parabens and other chemicals that can really be harming your body for the sake of beauty.  It's easy to overlook, but if you're going to live a 'healthy lifestyle', you can't simply chose 1 aspect to change (food) and not be concerned about all the other ways your body is affected by the chemicals in product lines.  95% of these products are easily available in most stores. If you know of any products that you've personally loved and want the world to know about, comment and I'll add it to the list!  Remember, it takes time to undo all of the things we've been taught!  Be patient.

Here's to to healthy skin!