I've been using a facial scrub for years, and just happened to actually look at the ingredients the other day. I will now be using an organic facial scrub because I do not like to use ones that are not good for me or my skin. I don't know why I wasn't aware of these things but I am sure glad I have gotten an education from organicskincareonline.ca/ so I know what is best for me.

Here are some of the ones I have tried and just love. Somehow my body knows when I am using quality organic skin care products. It lets me know by making me feel good about what I am doing and it feel great too. Then treat your skin to a organic day cream or a luxury night cream.

1. Pure Anada Fruit Enzyme Exfoliating Cleanser

2. Olive Oil Salt Scrub

Calendula oil is great for maintaining healthy and glowing skin. Aside from using products that contain this ingredient, you can also make your own quite easily! Just follow this recipe:

1/2 cup dried calendula petals
2 cups olive oil
glass jar with lid
cheese cloth

Place the petals and oil in the jar, and stir until the petals are completely coated with the oil. Cover the jar with the cheese cloth, not the lid, for a few hours. After a few hours, take off the cloth and put the lid on. Place the jar near a sunny window for 2 weeks. After 2 weeks, strain the oil using the cheese cloth and put back in the jar.

This oil has anti-fungal and anti-inflammatory properties, which make it wonderful to use as a massage oil, as a salve for cuts and scrapes, to repair sun damaged skin, to soothe the scalp, and to moisturize skin.

Apple cider vinegar has been used for years by people looking for a natural way to cure ailments and other pesky issues. Read on for 5 reasons to incorporate this product into your life:

1. Joint Health - apple cider vinegar can relieve the pain caused by arthritis. It is able to do this because the cider contains malic acid which combats bacterial infections and dissolves deposits of uric acid which can form around the joints and cause pain.
2. Weight Loss - No one is really sure why the cider aids weight loss, but it has been used as an effective supplement for years. It is thought that it boosts your metabolism and causes your body to burn a great deal of calories after eating. Simply take 2 tsp of cider before every meal.
3. Diabetes - apple cider vinegar controls glucose levels in your body. 
4. Hair Rinse - apple cider vinegar eliminates residual buildup in your hair when combined with water and applied topically. It can also control your scalp's PH levels and get rid of dandruff.
5. Acne - the vinegar contains alpha-hydroxy acids which eliminate fatty deposits left on the skin and scaly skin conditions. To cure acne, simply pat apple cider vinegar on your face before bedtime and wake up to glowing skin in just a few days.

With summer approaching, there are a lot of things to keep in mind: pool parties, sunscreen, beach time, sunny Saturdays at the lake...

Keep your skin refreshed from the intense summer heat with this rejuvenating face mask. All you need is 5 ingredients!

1. 4 cucumber slices
2. 1 tbsp orange juice
3. 1 strawberry
4. 1 tsp honey
5. 1 tbsp fresh cream (substitute with yogurt if you have acne prone skin)

Combine all of the ingredients in a blender and make a smooth paste. Apply to face and let sit for 20 minutes, then rinse with cold water. The cucumber, orange, and strawberry freshen the skin, while the cream and honey moisturize. Use this mask once a week to keep your skin glowing and healthy through the summer season.

Essential fatty acids work wonders on your skin. Good skin comes not only from topical application but from eating a balanced diet as well. By incorporating these omega acids into your routine, you can create great skin from the inside out. 

Omega fatty acids are called essential because your body does not produce them - they must be ingested. Also known as Omega3's and Omega6's, these acids have been proven to:

• moisturize skin from the inside out - making it smoother and healthier
• have an anti-inflammatory effect on the skin
• boost concentration and learning
• help relieve premenstrual and menopausal symptoms in women, as well as help with mood swings

You can see that these fatty acids have physical and mental benefits for your body. Find high doses of Omega3 in oily fish, like mackerel and tuna, and dark green, leafy vegetables and flax seed oils. Other sources rich in Omega6 are evening primrose oil, borage oil and blackcurrent seed oil.

Taking fish oil is one of the best things you can do for your health and the bonus is that is really helps your skin too.

Ok. By now I'm sure you're thinking I'm a bit obsessed with coconut oil. Well, you wouldn't be too far from the truth. I'm completely consumed by this amazing elixir! After my second post, I went out and bought a jar (glass, of course) and have already started cooking with it. I can't wait to see a change in my health and well-being as I incorporate this wonderful oil into my life.

I promise this is my last "benefits of" post about this oil!

1. Great for kidneys: coconut oil not only dissolves kidney stones, but also helps prevent kidney and gallbladder diseases.

2. Keeps diabetes under control: coconut oil controls blood sugar and improves the secretion of insulin.

3. Strengthens bones: coconut oil aids in the absorption of magnesium and calcium, proving to be especially useful to older women suffering from osteoporosis.

4. Improves teeth: again, because coconut oil facilitates calcium absorption, it leads to stronger teeth and enamel. It also prevents tooth decay.

5. Resists HIV and cancer: it is believed that coconunt oil has properties that aid in reducing viral susceptibility to HIV and cancer

Please, go get yourself some coconut oil and watch in amazement as your quality of health improves!

As I promised, here are more coconut oil benefits!

1. Aids in premature aging AND degenerative diseases because of its antioxidant properties
2. Aids in weight loss - cha ching! It contains fatty acids that work to reduce weight while aiding digestion. The reason it works so well with weight loss is because it increases the metabolism by taking stress off of the pancreas, which enables people to drop excess weight by burning out more energy. It also helps keep your thyroid and enzymes functioning at healthy levels. You can really see how this develops with people who live in tropical climates and cook with coconut oil on a daily basis. They are rarely sick or obese because of the daily use of the oil.
3. Coconut oil is useful in treating pancreatitis, which is inflammation or infection of the pancreas.
4. Aids digestion and helps prevent other gastrointestinal issues like irritable bowel syndrome. The fats in the oil contain anti microbial properties which combat the bacteria and parasites that hinder digestion.

How can one bottle of oil have so many uses and benefits to the body?!

https://organicskincareonline.ca/

I wrote a couple of blogs in February citing the incredible uses of grapeseed oil and tea tree oil for your skin. Grapeseed oil is incredibly moisturizing while providing anti oxidant benefits, while tea tree oil battles the blemishes and red spots with a punch, yet naturally.

My skin is incredibly dry. You know that tight feeling you get right after you wash your face? Well, mine usually feels like that even after moisturizing, and at various times throughout the day. It is ALWAYS dry. I don't have serious acne, but I do have lingering red spots and bumps that never seem to disappear. And it's really frustrating. So after I wrote those blogs, what do you think I did? I popped on over my local health food store and got a bottle of grapeseed oil and some Tea Tree essential oil.

Every night, I would add a few drops of grapeseed oil to my face cream for added moisture. Every other night, I would dab Tea Tree oil on my bumps and red spots. It's been three weeks, and I can already see a SIGNIFICANT difference. It makes me so excited! My face is softer and more moisture balanced than it has ever been before, and the red spots and bumps are disappearing! I can't believe how great my skin looks.

If you suffer from the same issues as me, I urge you to try these same ingredients. Keep in mind that plant-based ingredients take longer to reveal results, but it is so worth it!!! Good luck!

My skin is uneven. Horribly uneven actually. And I spend a lot of time correcting that issue. You know that there are mineral foundations. But did you know that you can also find skin correctors that are organic as well? It's nice to know that there are mineral ORGANIC cosmetics out there that can help me fix this problem without harming my body or my skin. Check out the ingredients:

Mica, Titanium Dioxide, Zinc Oxide, Silica, Boron Nitride, Iron Oxides, Ultramarines

That's it! Safety is in the labels my friends, so always read your labels!!

Shea butter comes from the nut of the Karite tree found growing only in Africa. This butter is a natural wonder - it is the only natural substance that can increase the elasticity of your skin. We lose elasticity as we age, get skin damage, or lose weight.

It is also a great way to add moisture to skin by making it part of your nighttime skin cleansing routine. Makeup dissolves quite easily with this butter. Simply rub a dollop onto your skin, and your body heat will melt the butter. Tissue off the makeup. Massage a bit more butter onto your face then press a warm, moistened washcloth to your skin. The heat activates the anti-microbial properties and infuses into your skin! What a cool, multi-purpose product.

Other uses:

-condidtion lips
-treat scars
-treat eczema, rashes, and burns
-skin moisturizer after shower

So many purposes in one little tin! 

Acne, whether mild or severe, plagues every woman. I know that every time I look in the mirror I wish those red spots would disapper and that the scars would diminish. But what's a girl to do? Since I don't want to buy a chemically-infused cream at the drugstore, I explored what other options there are. And thus discovered tea tree oil. This site specialized in Equine supplements but the tea tree oil is a good price and is of course 100% pure.

Tea tree oil seems to be quite the glorious little essential oil. It has antiseptic and antifungal properties that are great weapons against acne. Because of this bacteria-killing power, it reduces your chance of acne reoccuring as well. Use a Q-tip to apply on old scars directly, mix 2-3 drops with Vitamin E oil to combat redness, or apply directly to spots on the skin before going to bed.

Be consistent with this as it will take up to a few weeks to see any results. Let me know how it goes for you!

I'm sure almost everyone has heard of parabens at one time or another. They have been used for years by the beauty industry as a preservative for their products. In fact, as far back as the 1950's is when parabens were starting to be used to prevent bacteria growth.

Nowadays, as people are becoming more organically aware, they are demanding that unnatural substances such as parabens be removed from the products they use. We still have a long way to go - parabens are in around 85% of cosmetics. In it's place, companies are starting to incorporate darker bottles, grapefruit seed extract and oil-based formulas to curtail bacteria in an organic manner.

What's the problem with parabens? A study was conducted in the 1990's that proved them to be xenoestrogens - which means that the chemical acts as an estrogen imitator in your body. Excesses of estrogen have been linked to breast cancer, tumors and reproductive failures. The opposing side of the argument says that parabens have very little effect on overall health and have weak estrogenic effects. But one side effect of parabens can be contact dermatitis as in this picture. People would just think they are breaking out and not even realize that the creams they are using are causing this problem.

So where does this leave us, the consumer? We have one side saying yes; the other saying no. It may be impossible to avoid parabens completely, but the best way to start would be with your body cream. Since body lotions cover the widest area of skin, absorption levels are very high. We don't know what the solid truth is yet, but at least modifying your body cream should make you rest a bit easier.

Click here for a great reference of organic products.

With so many products out there, it's easy to get lost in the sea of options available. Use this cream BEFORE makeup, use this product only AFTER makeup, use this cream mid-day, etc... Why don't we just talk about the basics?

Night cream is essential for several reasons. Your skin repairs itself during your sleep from the harmful substances it was exposed to during the day. The right night cream gives your skin the help it needs in order to do this. It is important for your face to be clean and pores open so your night cream can work to its fullest power with your face.

It's best to find a cream with regenerative oils that coax your skin back to its more youthful look. Other bonuses to these kinds of creams are that it provides a protective barrier while you sleep and prevents water loss from your skin. Night creams improve the quality of your skin by fortifying it with the nutrients lost throughout the day. It is especially important as you age, since skin loses elasticity and moisture.

For best results, look for organic night creams with avocado and almond oils. Anything with aromatherapy (rosemary/lavender) is just an added bonus!

Mineral cosmetics are recommended by Cosmetologists and beauty experts because minerals don't block the skin pores. On the contrary they benefit the skin and give the user a natural healthy glow. The skin needs to breathe just like we do and when studying Chinese Medicine I realized how the skin is an extension of the lungs therefore keeping the skin free of debris and toxins become an issue of health, as well as beauty.

Mineral makeup, eye shadow and foundation are the mainstay of my cosmetic bag.  Minerals do not fade, crease, and can handle moisture like rain or perspiration. They are the best choice for all day use and for those special occasions where you don’t want to have to do touch ups. You can trust minerals to stay put. I suspect that when I see great looking skin on actors and TV personalities that they are using minerals because their cosmeticians understand the benefits of lighter, easy to remove makeup that works great under the lights and heat these personalities must endure, day after day.

You will find when researching drug store cosmetics and body care products that mineral oil and petroleum are the key ingredients of many lotions, soaps, baby oil, Vaseline, and many of the baby skin care items. Mineral oil is not beneficial to the skin or body because it is fossil fuel that can block pores, stop the skin from breathing and releasing debris. In addition these oils are absorbed by the skin, passed down the intestinal tract and absorb fat soluble vitamins from the body. Note that we are not talking about mineral oil when we talk about mineral cosmetics. Dry powder foundation, eye shadow and blush are in fact beneficial to the skin and body.

Nature has a bounty of beneficial herbs, botanicals and oils that can be used to benefit the skin and body. There has never been a better time to use organic products as we watch our bodies and environment struggle against the toxic load we are heaping on ourselves and our earth. We are a microcosm of our earth and we all know the changes the earth is displaying as a signal to let us know something must change. She can no longer endure this seeming endless on slot of abuse we heap on her. Also we are seeing more incidences of disorders caused by toxins we ingest. Now is the time to look after your skin and body to gain or sustain your health, as well as, our mother earths.

Why Use Mineral Makeup?
• 100% pure mineral base makeup is beneficial for your skin.
• Oil free so skin can breathe, prevents potential bacteria.
• Talc free prevents use of known carcinogens.
• Chemical preservatives free of paraben or synthetic fragrances, fillers, or chemical dyes which irritate the skin.
• Natural light reflector mica gives the skin a youthful and healthy glow.
• Organic ingredients reduce the chance of allergy risk.
• Organic sun screen SPF 30 contains zinc oxide which is a natural sun screen.
• Broad color choices for every wardrobe and occasion – get creative.
• Highly water resistant because titanium dioxide and zinc oxide repels water!
• No Animal Testing
• Recommended by plastic surgeons and dermatologists, they can be applied after laser or peel. The titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are anti-inflammatories that sooth the skin.

Sandie Hardman

Natural Health Consultant