Newsletter #3

Newsletter #3

December 19, 2008

Newsletter #3

In this newsletter:
Update on current orders!
~How to find Balance in Skincare~
New products!!
Our current specials (see bottom of newsletter!!)

Update on Current orders!

We are working diligently to get these out as soon as we possibly can. As many of you may know, I am nearly 29 weeks pregnant and have been having some pregnancy related health issues that have been slowing us down because I am the chief formulator :D I cannot stand as long as I used to be able to, So I have been trying to pace myself. I’m also having sugar related issues and so unfortunately I have been getting dizzy a lot. So we just ask for your patience and know we will not only get your order to you as soon as possible but we also will be putting lil xtras in your packages to thank you for your patience and understanding :) If you have any questions about your orders please email us!

How to find Balance in Skincare

This is such an important subject, and one I truly hope I can explain in a way that it is down to earth and makes sense! :)

One of the keys to having healthy skin is to have a balance in your routine, in the products that you put in your skin.

This is a balance between Cleansing/Toning/Exfoliation/Hydration/Emollience

Alot of times when our skin is upset (breakouts, excessive oiliness, dryness, dehydration, etc) it is because one of the areas of the skincare is out of balance.

A tip about dryness vs dehydration - Dry is when your skin is lacking oil, and Dehydation is when your skin is lacking water. When your skin is super oily, this is usually either because the skin is being stripped of its natural oils (cleansers/soaps that are drying, chemical skincare, chlorine in your water, etc) Or if its not that, it is usually hormonal.

To have this balance in skincare you need ..

v Non stripping cleanser (liquid or bar) – Overstripping Dry skin will of course only make it more dry. But overstripping oily skin can actually make it more oily. This is because the natural oils in the skin will start pumping out more to keep it protected. Stripping the skin in dry and oily skin though can cause it to be irritated.

v Tone with a good toner but one that does not strip skin. Try to avoid toners with bad alcohol in them. I say bad alcohol because there is good alcohols like grape, or grain. Corn (sd40, isopropyl) is NOT good. You can even make your own toner, if you really wished! It is easy (but I will save that for another newsletter :P

v Hydration [Hydra = Water] (hydrosols and water based serums) For skin to be healthy it needs water. Our bodies are made up of 80% water (which ironically is about how much water is on the earth too!)

v Emollience [Emoil = Oil] (Biological carrier oils or oil serums) For our skin to be healthy it also needs oil. Oil helps keep the lipid barrier in balance which helps to keep the skin protected from outside invaders (bacteria, molds, infections, etc) Using biological oils can actually help re-balance the oil in your skin by tricking it into not over producing oils) The key here though is to find the oils that your skin really likes (you end up using only 1-4 drops at the most) Every oil has a different makeup, some are light, some are heavy, and each has a different makeup of various fatty acids. Often times if one oil does not work, you just need to find one that does. Alot of gals also mix it with their hydrating serum to help everything sink in better.

v Exfoliation – Under normal circumstances our skin naturally exfoliates every 28 – 36 days but as we get older, because of the build up of toxins, chemicals, etc in our skin, that turnover rate slows down. When our skin does not turnover, we get a build up of skin which can either cause fine lines and wrinkles or in acne prone skin can cause cystic acne. Surface exfoliation is key here for both types of skin. In aging skin, it helps to make the lines become less noticeable and in acneic skin it helps to uncover the surface of the pore which is blocked. If the pore "head" is blocked, NOTHING is going to come out (gunk, toxins, extra oils etc)
But you also don't want to over exfoliate either [I rec only exfoliating 2-3 x per week] Over exfoliating causes our skin to stop exfoliating naturally and can also irritate your skin. Irritation can cause acne and dryness and also in oily skin can cause it to get more oily. I truly believe you can re-teach your skin to naturally exfoliate again by giving it antioxidants (to detox the skin) and vitamins and minerals to help give it the building blocks to repair it. (will talk more about antioxidants, vitamins and minerals in another newsletter)

v Masking (do this about 2-3 x per week, on the day after you exfoliate. You don’t really want to do this on the same day as you exfoliate as this is too much irritation for the skin. This will help pull the gunk out of the skin) Usually you will mask with clays, as these have drawing power to help pull toxins, gunk etc out of the skin.
v Moisturizer (Creams and Moisturizers have both water base and oil base in them (emulsified in some way to bind them together) Dry/Dehydrated skin usually needs hydration/emollience AND a moisturizer because the moisturizer helps to seal in the hydration and emollience. But oily skin does not always need both. Some ladies like to use hydration/oils and others like to just use a simple moisturizer. Some do use both, you just have to figure out what works best for you. Combination skin usually likes to use both to help combat the dryness.

If one of these areas is out of balance, your skin will continue to not be happy. If you're unsure if your routine is out of balance feel free to email and I’ll see if we can figure out where your skin is at and what may be missing or if you are overdoing it in some area.

New Products

Camellia Rose Facial Elixir – We have carefully blended our two favorite Camellia Oils (Sinensis and Oleifera, which are the same oils that green tea comes from!) and we have added extra green tea extract (say that 10 x fast! LOL) and also Seabuckthorn berry co2 for its skin nourishing abilities. Both Camellia Oils are high in antioxidants and Seabuckthorn Berry oil has been shown to be healing to the skin while also acting as a wonderful antioxidant and anti inflammatory. Seabuckthorn Berry is high in antioxidants, Vit C, Vit E and Caretenoids. Seabuckthorn and Green tea have both been shown to have anti rosacea activity as well!

Vera Moist Serum – This is our newest, unique creation! A moisturizer, with NO waxes! Starting with Aloe and adding skin loving oils such as chardonnay grapeseed, sunflower, Rice Bran and pomegranate seed, we then added in Vitamins A, C and E, Tremella Mushroom, a natural hydrator, antioxidant COQ10 and calming Allantoin (from Comfrey!)

We still have many new, exciting products to come so keep a watch! (Toners, Hydrating Serums and more to come!) We may be releasing more this week and if we do we will announce them through a newsletter.

Current Specials/Sales

v Season of Giving Discount - 12% off all orders over $10 :) Enter code seasonofgiving at checkout!

v This does not apply to orders already made, and if you forget to put the code in we cannot go back and edit your order. So please be careful while putting your order through. Please make sure your order is over $10 please :)

AND..

v ALL orders over $75 will receive a special mini size of one of our new products : ) We usually let you choose, but it depends on availability.

Please note, as I want to mention this ahead of time, we are still catching up from the last sale and we estimate to be running about 3 weeks turnover time, so please keep this in mind when ordering okay?

We will be having many more specials soon so keep tuned!

Blessings to all!

Jen