08.05.2010
Vegan Gift Ideas
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Even though we’ve still got quite a few months before we start our holiday shopping, its never too early to start thinking about gift ideas.  As a matter of fact, many of us buy a few gifts from time to time at least several times a year. Birthdays, Valentine’s Day,  Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, and Graduation are usually the occasions in which we give and receive gifts. Of  course this may create a slight problem for those of us who are searching for that vegan friendly gift but it also gives us the opportunity to be a little creative. So here are some smart tips and ideas!
Vegan Beauty Products: Your friends will thank you when you send them luxurious bath sets, skincare regimen kits, and scentsational fragrances. As a bonus, wrap up your gifts  in pretty recycled wrapping paper.
Make Your Own Soaps: If you’ve got serious soap making skills then why not make your own soaps and give them as gifts? As for the rest of us, there are online stores where you can buy products you can trust. Lush is a beauty retailer that specializes in handmade vegan soaps. Lush also sells a wide variety of vegan skin care products, fragrances, and cosmetics. Foreue is a natural and vegan skin care retailer that specializes in handmade vegan soaps and many other products that clean, hydrate and relieve skin problems well.
Vegan Gifts For The Home: Who wouldn’t love a vegan candle? These make great small gifts for anyone you want to express your appreciation to! You’ll find a wide range of vegan candles on Etsy.
Other Gift Ideas: If none of the above ideas sound appealing enough, you might look at other options like a gift certificate to a spa that specializes in vegan skincare or holistic methods of beauty and relaxation. You can find a list of these spas at the Green Earth Travel website. For other smart vegan gift ideas, think recycled stationary, bamboo sheets, or canvas tote bags. There are lots of great options, so check these out and keep on looking for more.
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07.30.2010
Water, A Healing & Natural Skin Care Treatment
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In addition to normal personal hygiene, taking a cool or warm shower is a wonderful way to cool down on an uncomfortable hot day and soothe and relax tired stressed nerves. When you stand under the shower spout and feel all that healing cleansing water soothing your skin and washing away all your woes, it’s just thrilling. Water cleansing your face and skin is a magical feeling that will help you feel alive, renewed, and young.  The key is to use water that is not hot, not drying, but is working therapeutically for you.

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07.29.2010
Wildcrafting For Herbal Remedies & Survival
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One of the best things you can do to improve your health and your relationship with Mother Nature is to become a knowledgeable herbalist and get to know the natural  world around you. Edible herbs and plants have many medicinal, health, and beauty purposes.  Nature provides a wonderful bounty of edible herbs and plants, and it’s very important to learn how to identify them and develop a strong healthy relationship with them.

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07.28.2010
Vitamin and Mineral Skin Care Tips
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Vitamins and minerals are a crucial component when it comes to good health both inside and out. They help aid the process of healthy skin cell turnover and renewal, build strong bones, and promote good vision. Vitamins and minerals also offer many aesthetic benefits like treating  common skin problems such as acne and aging. Moreover, some vitamins also fight free radicals, which are known for disrupting the balance of good health.
Read your labels carefully to ensure that the SOURCE OF YOUR VITAMINS is from whole FOOD or is plant based.  Synthetic vitamins are vitamins indeed, but the body can use very very little of their contents. Check your products online or on the label and put them back on the shelf if they do not offer optimum support for your health.
Next, ask these questions about your vitamins:
Are they whole food based?
Is it vegetarian? (vegan is even better for health)?
Are they all natural?
Are they additive free?
Do they contain binders?
Are they allergen free?  (No soy, wheat, dairy)
Now, find out which vitamins are the most important in vegan skin care and why you should take them.
Vitamin A is commonly found in a lot of vegan skin care products, and for good reason! This vitamin contains retinol , a compound that is used to treat severe acne disorders. Retinol is used as a remedy for psoriasis.
Vitamin C is good for fighting the effects of aging and long term sun exposure(both of which often go hand in hand).
Vitamin B is an important vitamin when it comes to alleviating severely dried skin and a lack of this vitamin can cause hair loss.
Zinc is a good mineral that helps slow down your skin’s natural oil production which in thus halts moderate to severe acne problems.
Copper has a more complex purpose as it develops and strengthens your skin’s natural elasticity.
The five vitamins and minerals listed above are important when it comes to a healthy vegan skin care routine. Some will be found in your vegan skin care products and some won’t. To cover all bases, you can take a daily supplement vitamin to complete your adequate nutrition needs. Or you can avoid fast food, prepared foods, processed foods and substitute whole foods, lots of green leafy veggies, plant-based protein, fruits nuts and seeds to get your nutrition from food itself. You may have to change some old habits and relearn how to cook given a new ingredients list but, you can do it.  The food is both nutritious and delicious.
If in doubt, check with your doctor or nutritionalist.
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07.27.2010
Ask the 5 “W”s about Vegan & Organic Skin Care
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“An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” Benjamin Franklin had said. This was actually advice for fire protection against economic loss due to house fires. Wisdom here can also be applied to our health by choosing vegan and organic foods plus a healthy lifestyle.

Undoubtedly, organic foods cost a little more than the average. At the same time, think about what vegan and organic nutrition  gives to your health: no pesticides, no chemicals, no preservatives, no GMO (genetically-modified organisms). Over time, the investment is worth the abundant return. Think organic in it’s wholistic offerings: food, clothing, makeup, beauty skin care products and even cookcare.

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07.23.2010
The Best Vegan Luxury Soaps
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The words luxury and vegan are not contradicting terms. Although it can be somewhat of a hard search, you will find out that vegan luxury soaps and skin care products do exist.  You don’t have to buy silky smooth body creams and lotions that are loaded with parabens to achieve beautiful skin, nor do you have to limit yourself to cleansing bars that contain some interesting natural ingredients but are also laced with the traditional chemicals and preservatives.  By the way, it is important to realize that when very good soap is handmade, attention is placed on making smaller quantities at a time, with more attention on quality.  I will show you where to search for the best of vegan luxury soaps, so read further.

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07.22.2010
Tips For Vegan Beauty While Traveling
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Summer is the most common time for traveling, but don’t let that vacation cause you to neglect your vegan skincare and beauty routines. While it completely impossible to bring your entire routine of products with you on the airplane, it is possible to replace a few products with smaller sized versions and learn to adjust to the temporary changes. Before you start packing for your journey, check out this pre-travel vegan beauty list for tips and products you can use!
Stock Up On Travel Essentials: What are your favorite vegan skincare products? Can you find travel-sized versions? If not, then buy a few travel sized containers and fill them up with your favorite products.
Don’t Pack A Lot: A vacation is a vacation, and you don’t need to stuff your luggage with a bunch of bottles are just going to spill out and get all over your clothes and other personal belongings. Pack the minimal and keep it light.
Keep A Separate Bag of Cosmetics: Keep the same minimalist approach when selecting items for your cosmetics case. Bring the basics(mineral foundation, lip balm, moisturizer with SPF, natural vegan soap) and add some extras(lip gloss, mascara).
Prepare For Climate and Environmental Changes: This is crucial especially if you’re traveling far away from home. Check the weather at least a few days in advance so you can prepare accordingly. Traveling to an exotic island? Bring a natural sun-block product and hat!
Drink Plenty of Water: And no, cocktails don’t count! Try to drink at least 8 glasses of water a day just like you do at home.
Maintain A Health Diet: If you want to come home feeling happy and healthy, then please don’t neglect your healthy food habits during the vacation.
Relax and Enjoy Yourself: This is the whole purpose of the vacation.
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07.19.2010
Step by Step Guide to Natural Foot Care
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Foot problems are relatively common as most people depend on their feet, continuously. All that standing, walking, and running on a daily basis can really wear down your feet. That is why it is so important to spend an hour every week to massage, exfoliate and pamper your feet.  The best way and most vegan friendly way  is to begin by cleaning your feet well. Here is a step-by-step guide on how to effectively soak, scrub, and pamper your feet.
1- Soak Your Feet
Buy a small plastic tub that is large enough to soak your feet in. Fill it up with luke warm water and soak your feet in the tub for 10 to 15 minutes.
2- Exfoliate With The Pumice Stone
After you have soaked your feet in the tub for 15 minutes, take your feet out of the tub and start exfoliating. Using gentle force, exfoliate in downward motions while keeping your feet near the tub so the dead skin cells fall into the tub(which you will wash out later).
3- Smooth Down Calluses and Corns
Once you’re done removing the dead skin, wash your pumice stone with soap and water, then pat it dry in a clean towel. Next up, use the pumice stone to soften up the rough spots on your feet.
4- Rinse Your Feet
Step into the big tub and rinse off your feet with lukewarm water. Keep the water warm but not hot because that tends to dry out your skin. Step out of the tub and dry your feet with the towel.
5- Give yourself a quick round of reflexology
Even if you don’t know the precise acupressure points, you can still benefit by applying pressure to the bottom of your feet, from one spot to the next until you have covered the entire surface of both feet.  Don’t be shy, you can do it.
6- Moisturize and Pamper Your Feet
After reflexology, now you can use a vegan body lotion to moisturize your feet or something like foreue lavender butter cream that has lots of shea butter, etc. to hydrate and soften. If its before bedtime, throw on a pair of soaks over your freshly moisturized feet to keep the moisture locked in for 6 to 8 hours. When you wake up in the morning you can take off the socks and enjoy your super soft feet!
Natural foot care in your own home spa is worth all the time and effort.  Your feet will look good and feel even better!
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07.16.2010
Vegan Skin Care: Shea Butter vs Olive Oil
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Two of the most commonly known natural moisturizers are shea butter and olive oil. Both shea butter and olive oil have been around for centuries, they are both safe to use and vegan friendly. You can use either product in pure form, in soaps, or other skin care products.  But with all the similarities, one is left to wonder what are the differences between shea butter and olive oil.
Shea butter is a natural fat that is used to moisturize skin, fade unsightly scars and stretch marks, diminish wrinkles, and more.  You can even eat shea butter as sometimes its used in chocolate based products. What is more amazing is that this multi-purpose beauty and health remedy is actually derived from the seeds of the African shea tree.  To produce the butter, The flesh of the karite nut is removed and the seed or nut is dried, roasted, pounded into a paste, mixed with water and then customarily kneaded by hand. The thick mass is boiled to separate the natural oils that later yield beige or yellow shea butter in various qualities.  Note: Unrefined shea has the real natural healing and moisturizing properties. Refined shea is bleached (white) , deordorized and heated to over 400 degrees.
Olive oil is derived from the olive plant.  Making this is a rather complex process as the oil is extracted after the olives are milled  until a paste is formed . Then it goes into a press that separates the liquid from the paste.   Like shea butter, olive oil has many useful purposes in beauty, skin care, and food preparation. There are many different types and grades of olive oil.   Extra virgin olive oil has the highest quality, therefore in food consumption, of course it is  best to choose extra virgin olive oil and organic when you can. For beauty needs also use the best quality olive oil that you can find when formulating your own skincare recipes. Olive oil can be use as a moisturizer, bath oil, lip balm, or for treatment of  minor skin wounds.
In the end it is important to know that both shea butter and olive oil based products have a place in your vegan skin care routine. Both are natural based moisturizing remedies that have worked for ages, so you know that they work. There are even a few vegan beauty products on the market that contain both ingredients, so if you decide to give them a try in your own formula try them together  to get the benefits of both all natural carrier oils.
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07.15.2010
Water, A Natural Skin Care Basic at Every Age (Part 2 of 2)
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Doesn’t it takes approximately 3 weeks to change a habit?  I think so.  And if that is right then the simplicity of drinking enough water daily, can be a habit we can all aspire to, as it is one of the most beneficial health habits we can have.

When we or our children are thirsty, we can offer everyone, water first.  Afterward, we can drink juice, lemonade, herbal iced teas, health smoothies, etc. becuase we have already quenched our thirst with water.  And maybe we won’t even want as much of the other sweet liquids, which might cut some unneeded calories.

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07.14.2010
Beauty Tools using Natural Soaps & Natural Solutions
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A brush, a comb, a curler, oh my! What other goodies do we use every day, sometimes several times a day, to keep us looking orderly and beautiful? How many times in the past month have we stopped to clean and care for our beauty and make-up tools? Read on for a few simple tools.

Tool #1   Organic soap and water

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07.08.2010
6 Essential Oils You Should Own
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Essential oils should be a part of your life. Aromatherapy is for some a surprising method of holistic healing as it uses your senses to offer relief in of physical and physiological benefits. There are hundreds of essential oils and even more essential oil blends to discover and try.  Many essential oils clear up skin conditions, alleviate symptoms of health problems, and brighten up your outlook on life.
Whether you are new to aromatherapy or you’re an essential oil pro, here is a list of the essential oils you should have in your personal collection. Remember if you have any questions or would like to find out if a specific essential oil will work for you, visit a professional aromatherapist who will guide you and advise safety precautions.
Eucalyptus Essential Oil has many medicinal benefits due to its antiseptic and anti-bacterial properties. This essential oil is often used to alleviate the symptoms of the common cold virus, cold sores, flu, and sinusitis. Its also ideal for curing arthritis and other pain issues.
Ginger Essential Oil also offers medicinal benefits, but this is the preferred oil for pain management. This essential oil works to aid muscle pain, headaches and arthritis.
Jasmine Essential Oil offers both physiology and aesthetic benefits. This essential oil alleviates moderate depression and anxiety disorders, it also helps people clear up skin problems such as acne.
Grapefruit Essential Oil is a commonly used remedy for toning and detoxifying your skin, making this crucial for your vegan skin care regimen.
Patchouli Essential Oil remedies various skin care issues like eczema, dermatitis, overly oily skin, and dried chapped skin.
Tea Tree Essential Oil is a smart remedy for acne and other skin care related issues. And because of  tea tree essential oil’s anti-bacterial properties, its also a terrific remedy for fungal infections that effect the skin and scalp.
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