Month: January 2012

A Few of my favourite Winter Essentials

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The temperature has suddenly dropped and so I thought it would be the perfect time to share a few of my favourite winter essentials with you.

We’ve also hit mid January which is always a difficult time for keeping on track with our New Years’ Resolutions – so I’ve also included a few products which will help you with a mid January boost!

Ruby Red cosmetics Organic Honey & Vanilla lip balm

As a therapist so many clients and friends ask me what is the best lip balm on the market and I must say I find this one of the best. Most lip balms just sit on the surface and are quite thick in texture so it may give you the feeling that it is moisturizing but it is actually doing opposite and making the problem worse.

The Ruby Red Honey & Vanilla lip balm is full of active plant ingredients organically certified olive oil and shea butter leaving the lip smooth and hydrated

Suitable for vegetarians and vegans

Company : Ruby Red cosmetics
For more info Honey&Vanillalipbalm

      Neal’s Yard Wild rose balm

This is my winter rescuer! And a must have! It makes your skin look great and smells amazing. This product is a 3 in 1 product which is an added bonus.  It is designed as a cleanser, mask and treatment for lips, elbows and dry areas.  It is great for all skin types including dry and sensitive.

I love to use this product as a mask. You simply use a small amount all over face and neck and when you wake up you skin looks lovely and hydrated and glowing. It also helps with scarring.  It is a great product to have around winter as it give you more moisturizing properties than your usual cream

Company: Neal’sYard                                                                                                     You can buy this from any Neal’s yard retail store

Trilogy Gentle Exfoliating Scrub 

This is one of my favourite facial scrubs. You can use this all year round but it is especially great for these cold months as our skin tends to become more dry, sensitive and flakey. The Trilogy scrub will remove the layer of dead skin without leaving your skin more sensitive. Best to scrub once a week and will make you skin glowing and hydrated. Also by removing a layer of dead skin it makes your moisturiser more effective as you can’t moisturise dead skin.

Company:Trilogy

 Environ Hydrating Oil capsules

It is exactly what it says on the package, this gives the skin extra hydration especially in winter.  It is great for those who fly a lot and for those of you who are hitting the ski slopes – they are easy to travel with as they come in individual capsules. It contains anti-oxidents and vitamin A which will also protect your skin from the environment and improves cell regeneration. You just apply overnight under your moisturizer and wake up to super hydrated skin.

Company: Environ  you can retail only from environ stockist’s (I am a stockist so please contact me if you wish to place an order)

Detox!  My next best winter product is this great   Healthy Starter Pack

This 10 day Healthy start pack is great to help remove all those toxins we have consumed over the past couple of months either from alcohol or rich foods. It is always great to do a body cleanse every 3 months if not at least once a year and January is a great way to start.

You won’t drop a dress size straight away but by removing the toxins which grab onto fat and by clearing your internal system it will put you on the right track. No special diet is required but results are enhanced if you avoid alcohol, caffeine and red meat.

* You cant use when pregnant or on certain medication

Company: Natures sunshine

Lemon and Ginger Tea

For me Lemon and Ginger tea is a must have in winter as this delicious tea will helps fight off the Flu and colds. It is also great for all ages and has been used as a  natural remedy for centuries (Do we really know what they put in our cold and flu medicines nowadays?)  It is better if you are able to make this at home from the raw ingredients and adding honey but as most of us have a busy lifestyle it is always good to have a packet of this tea in your cupboard There are many Tea brands on the market but I really like QI tea’s as they are registered with the organic soil association so you know you are getting great ingredients.

Company: Qi

Chemicals to avoid which are lurking in your Face and Body Creams

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Chemicals to avoid which are lurking in your Face and Body Creamsby moniquehbeauty

Common Chemicals to avoid

Each year we spend thousands/millions of pounds on beauty products. We buy them with good intentions thinking they’ll do us the world of good – but think again.…….

The main culprits are: 

Butyl, Ethyl, Methyl & Propyl Paraben

  • These are preservatives used as inhibitors of microbial growth, basically their sole purpose is to extend shelf life of products and they are of no benefit to your beautiful skin.
  • They are widely used in cleansers and moisturisers.
  • They can cause gastric irritation, numbing of the mouth and many allergic reactions and skin rashes. They particularly affect asthma sufferers.

Isopropyl Alcohol

  • This is a very drying and irritating solvent that strips your skins moisture and natural immune barrier, causing premature ageing of skin and brown spots.

DEA MEA & TE

  • These are hormone – disrupting chemicals that can form cancer-causing nitrates and nitrosamines.

Diazolidinyl Urea & Imidazolidinyl Urea:    

  • These are the most commonly used preservatives after the parabens
  • They are used in cleansers, toners, moisturisers.
  • These chemicals may cause joint pain, skin reactions, allergies, depression, headaches, chest pains, ear infections, chronic fatigue, dizziness, and loss of sleep.

Fragrances

  • These are mostly synthetic. Their ingredients can indicate the presence of up to four thousand separate ingredients, many of which are toxic or carcinogenic.
  • It has been clinically proven that these fragrances can affect the central nervous system, causing depression, hyperactivity, irritability, in ability to cope and other behavioural changes.

Mineral oil, liquid paraffin:

Cell delevopment resulting in premature ageing used in many products because it is cheap- baby oil is 100% mineral oil.

Petrolatum & petroleum jelly

  • Mineral oil jelly, interferes with the body’s own natural moisturising mechanism, leading to dry skin and chapping.
  • This appears in lip gloss, lipstick, lip balm.
  • Unbelievably we are being sold products that actually create the very conditions they claim to alleviate!

Polyethylene Glycol (PEG)

  • This is a potentially carcinogenic petroleum ingredient that can alter and reduce the skins natural moisture factor. It can increase the appearance of aging and leave you more vulnerable to bacteria.
  • It is used in cleansers to dissolve oil and grease.
  • It is also used in caustic spray-on oven cleaners. So clearly must be tough on grease!

Propylene Glycol (PG) & Butylene Glycol; 

  • These are gaseous hydrocarbons which in a liquid form act as “surfactants” (wetting agents and solvents). They easily penetrate the skin and can weaken protein and cellular structure.
  • They are commonly used in cleansers moisturisers, body lotions  and foundations.
  • They are also used in industrial anti-freeze and hydraulic brake fluid, PG is strong enough to remove barnacles from boats.

It doesnt matter how cheap or expensive the products its all to do with the ingredients so as long as they dont have these nasty chemicals in you are on the right track.