Earth Rated Products

Its that time again… time to think about how you’re going to survive Thursday, and manage to start the new year on a positive, cheerful, and maybe even productive note. First on the list, get rid of the nasty hangover you’ll acquire after bidding adios to 2008 in grand style.

In the spirit of starting 2009 the right way, I’m going to share my top secret list of eco-friendly, yet very effective, cures. I’ve worked very hard over the years to compile this list, so I hope it brings you as much relief as its brought me. (more…)

Sometimes I get lazy. I’m bad. I tend to just believe the labels, the marketing, the hype. If you tell me my soap/shampoo/lotion/body wash/cosmetic product is natural, I think it is made of natural ingredients. I assume there are no “bad” chemicals, nothing that can be considered harmful much less cancerous. Unfortunately, too many times I’m wrong. Luckily for me I recently came across a really handy database that rates the safety of products.

The Environmental Working Group’s Cosmetic Safety Database covers it all: Makeup, Skin Care, Hair Care, Eye Care, Nail Care, Baby Care, Oral Care, and Fragrance. In addition to a rating between 0-10, the database helpfully tells you whether ingredients in the product are linked to: (more…)

Wow. Wow. Wow.

I’ve been getting acupuncture for YEARS, but somehow managed to miss this little gem…

Seems that instead of many the topical laser burn-treatments, nasty invasive chemicals (”naturally” derived or not), or even nastier invasive surgical procedures there is a much healthier, and probably much more affordable, solution to improve many of the inevitable issues associated to being over 30! Happy Day!

Much like acupuncture for other issues, the premise of an acupuncture facial is that the acupuncturist will treat your issues from the inside out by restoring the balance and flow of Qi (energy) - the blockage or stagnation of which is why you’re getting those nasty wrinkles, sags and bags. Physically, the treatment is carried out by using very thin needles in and around the problem spots to stimulate circulation, boost collagen production and plump fine lines.

I saw this procedure in action just yesterday when watching an episode of “10 Years Younger” on TLC. It was a really nice surprise too, since I think the show usually jumps too fast to using surgery as a solution. In this particular episode, the pre-aged lady had some serious double chin and eye baggage that was very drastically improved after acupuncture treatment. In fact, had I not seen the fact that they used acupuncture, I would have assumed they took their usual surgery route to achieve the results. While they didn’t mention how many sessions were required to achieve the results, it really can’t have been too many since I’m sure the show is filmed over the course of days rather than weeks or months.

Of course, detractors in the medical community scoff at the possibility that a bunch of tiny needles can be as effective as a nice fat injection of botox. In fact, there are even detractors within the acupuncture community who don’t agree with the facial-only treatments since they don’t treat the whole body - a key principle or Oriental medicine.

For me, after the amazing success I’ve had with acupuncture (longer post on that subject later), I’m willing to give it a try! I’m aiming for some time this summer, when I’m sure my face reflects the extreme sleep deprivation associated with the first few weeks after bringing Baby home! Gotta email my acupuncturist now to get his thoughts on some sessions….