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Healthy Sunscreen

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Time to think about sunscreen!

Spring is here and summer is rolling in quickly. Whether you are in the sunshine to play in the surf and sand or cheer on your favorite soccer player you might want to think about a few things.

Toxic Sunscreens

Environmental Working Group (EWG) rates sunscreens every year for safety. Sadly, two-thirds of the sunscreens analyzed did not work well or contained potentially hazardous ingredients. Isn’t it sad we’ve slathered on sunscreens thinking we were protecting ourselves when in truth we make ourselves a melanoma magnet? Thank goodness for research and options. A little self education goes a long way to making safer choices.

Three Biggies to Avoid

• Oxybenzone – used to absorb ultraviolet light. Acts like estrogen in the body so it disrupts our normal flow of hormones.
• Retinyl Palmitate (aka: Vitamin A palmitate) – May actually speed up the development of malignant cells when exposed to the sun. Yikes!
• Fragrance – catch phrase for several potentially toxic chemicals. Two examples are parabens which are known to disrupt our normal hormone production and phthalates, a carcinogenic preservative, linked to liver and kidney damage as well as reproductive issues.

How to Choose Healthy Sunscreen

I like to think of my healthy sunscreen as a physical barrier to the sun not a chemical cesspool. Look for sunscreens that are broad spectrum protectors – meaning they will block UVB rays and some UVA. Ingredients like zinc oxide and titanium oxide are physical barriers that fit the bill. However, you want to steer clear of “micronized” or “nano” particle formulas to keep the reefs and oceans safe.

An inconvenient fact is that lotions are safer for you than the handy-dandy spray on sunscreens. I don’t like it either, but it is what it is. As I like to remind myself as I rub my sunscreen on – there’s a cost for everything and if I have to spend a little extra time rubbing in healthy sunscreen so be it!

Healthy Sunscreen Choices

I love Lemongrass Spa’s line of healthy sunscreens. I trust the label – no monkey business with semantics in labeling with this company. They have three great products to fit my family’s needs.

HealthySunscreenChoices
Lemongrass Spa has healthy sunscreen options for you and your family.

Sunscreen Sport Lotion – SPF 30 broad spectrum UVB/UVA protection. Natural mineral formula contains 22.5% non-nano particle Zinc Oxide. Gluten-free, Vegan and biodegradable. No PEGs, GMOs, fragrance, parabens or synthetic color.

Sunscreen Sport Stick – 100% all-natural ingredients with non-nano titanium dioxide (14.8%) and zinc oxide (7.4%). Convenient 1 oz clear push-up stick. Great for kids and adults for summer or winter outdoor sports. Comes in a tinted version too!

Sheer Minerals BB Crème – Powerhouse foundation containing moisturizing and anti-aging ingredients as well as SPF 15. The healing and repairing properties of avocado oil and fine line plumping effects of peptides are combined in the skin brightening “Beauty Balm” formula. Love it!

Safe Sunning Tips

The sun is not our enemy. Our lack of planning is. We need the sun to synthesize vitamin D so a daily dose of sunshine is healthy. But for those times when we’re beaching it – or soccer fielding it – for the day we need to have healthy, natural solutions to turn to. Consider my tips:

• Get your daily dose of vitamin D! It doesn’t take long, but it does a body good.
• If you know you’ll be out for longer periods of time cover up with clothing, hats or sun umbrellas or safe healthy sunscreen.
• Always protect your face. Our skin is thin here and easily damaged by the sun – think wrinkles!
• Load up on fresh veggies that are full of antioxidants. Yes, you can help avoid sun damage from the inside out!

The bottom line here is to enjoy the sun safely and with a little knowledge and pre-planning you will be ‘golden’ – pun intended!

Sexier Summer Skin

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5 Natural Ways to Diminish Dry Skin

You can’t hide that dry flaky skin behind the winter wardrobe any longer. Summer is here and that means more skin showing and hopefully glowing. Good news is  – there are simple solutions hiding in your kitchen to help you say bye-bye to dry, scaly, itchy skin. Ready?

1. First things first. Ditch the lotions with petroleum based or mineral oils. Seriously, in the trash with any personal care product with carcinogenic potential. Our skin is our largest organ and needs to be treated with TLC.

2. Exfoliate regularly. You should include dry brushing into your normal daily hygiene routine. In addition, find a wonderful sugar or salt based body scrub enriched with moisturizing oils and fabulous essential oils that leave you feeling smooth and silky. Here’s a tip: It is a near orgasmic experience to feel your skin after using a body scrub to shave!

3. Turn down the heat. I know hot showers feel good on tired aching muscles, but it is best to take cooler showers if you are battling dry skin. Cold water helps “close” pores. This keeps your skin looking smooth and healthy while not drying your skin out as hot water showers can do. The cold water helps keep your hair shiny and your skin soft, rather than itchy, ashy and dried out. Here’s a tip: Always end your shower with cold water. There are countless studies which show that cold exposure improves immunity!

coconut oil and skin
Say goodbye to dry skin!

4. Consider coconut oil. It is versatile. I cook with it and use it on my skin and hair! Coconut oil is said to help exfoliate the outer layer of dead skin cells, making your skin smoother. Here’s a tip: if you have someone opposed to slathering their dry, flaky skin due to the girlish nature of lotion (aka: The Mr.) fill a jar with coconut oil and they will use it!  And if the skin is itchy, add a few drops of lavender essential oil. Works wonders! Speaking from experience here.

5. Feed your skin from the inside out. Make sure you are getting enough omega-3 fats from a quality source. Due to their anti-inflammatory properties, omega-3s help calm irritated skin as well as aiding in the prevention of cellular dehydration. Speaking of cellular hydration, make sure you are drinking enough clean filtered water every day and eating lots of organic fresh vegetables.

Start implementing these loving changes and I can guarantee your skin will love you right back! Do you have any tips to share with us?

6 Reasons for Dry Brushing Your Skin

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Did you realize that our skin is our largest organ? Think about that for a minute. How well do you protect and give it the loving attention it needs? Our skin takes fabulous care of us! It functions as both protection and a mode of elimination. Dry brushing is a method of daily hygiene that has many benefits – below you find just a few!

Dry Brushing Benefits
  1. Removes dried, dead cells that block the pores. Daily brushing allows the skin to breathe easier and increases its ability to eliminate the waste products of your metabolism.
  2. Increases circulation of the blood and lymph vessels that lie close to the surface of the skin. The blood, fluid, and its contents are returned to the heart for redistribution or elimination.
  3. Increases the nutrients to the skin. By clearing out stagnant materials, there is an increased oxygen/carbon dioxide exchange, and other nutrients, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, etc… are brought to the area.
  4. Removes waste products of cellular metabolism through blood vessels.
  5. Decreases the workload on the rest of the body.
  6. Warms the skin.

Convinced you should add this to the daily regimen?

dry brushing tools
Always opt for natural bristled brushes.
Tips to get started dry brushing:
  •  Always use a natural bristled brush. (Just say NO to synthetic!)
  • Use a firm upward stroke. (Brushing toward your heart facilitates better blood and lymph circulation through the body, which doctors agree is important for better health.)
  • Start at your feet and work up the entire body front and back. (Concentrate on areas where lymph nodes are prominent; back of knees, inner thighs, under arms. Avoid brushing the more sensitive skin around your breast!)

Once you make this a habit, you will be rewarded with softer skin and better functioning lymph system.

Happy Brushing!

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