Burt’s Bees have been busy reformulating their hair care line – and making it prettier with new packaging and labelling as well. If you’re already familiar with their range, you’ll be pleased to know that it hasn’t changed. Sulfate-free shampoos and matching conditioners are still available as Super Shiny, Very Volumizing or More Moisture.
Natural Hair Care
New in store: A’kin and Al’chemy
We’re very excited to announce A’kin skincare and Al’chemy shampoos, conditioners and treatments have joined our ever-growing Natural Beauty catalogue. A’kin and Al’chemy products are formulated with 100% natural active ingredients and finest quality botanical extracts to nurture, nourish and balance all skin and hair types. All products from A’kin, Al’chemy, A’kin pureBaby and A’kin pureMan are suitable for vegans, certified Cruelty-Free and free from toxic additives, harsh preservatives or synthetic fragrances. In other words, award-winning natural products that deliver healthier, more radiant skin and hair!
Wellbeing Wednesday
It’s Wednesday! Why the excitement? Because we’ve got another edition of our regular wellbeing picks for you – we’ve mixed it up this week with some face and hair pampering, two delicious and easy recipes, and the hidden superpowers of some foods – revealed! We love this week’s links and we hope you will too.
Multi-tasking hero: 10 ideas on how to use aloe vera
We like to use single, pure ingredients in our skin care routine: it makes sense to go straight to the source and feed your skin with as many beneficial nutrients as possible, no?
And one of these pure ingredients is none other than organic aloe vera gel. It’s a non-negotiable part of our routine and we couldn’t be without it. It turns out, we’re not the only ones who love aloe: the lovely ladies at ‘No More Dirty Looks‘ feel the same way about it (how great is this quote: ‘[…] every beauty biff under the sun could be ameliorated with a little aloe*.’)
Lavender: the multi-purpose essential oil
Lavender oil is best known for its calming and relaxing effect. Although it does a brilliant job at helping us relax and unwind (and even reduce anxiety if we are inclined to fidget), it’s somewhat short-changing this amazing oil not to mention its other powers.
The benefits of lavender are many and include analgesic, antiseptic, anti-inflammatory, anxiolytic and decongestant properties (amongst others) – it is truly an all-purpose oil that should be a staple in every home. It can be used for pain relief, to treat small burns and insect bites, it works a charm as a mosquito repellent, it’s especially wonderful as a treatment for dry, sensitive or oily skin, it can soothe bronchial cough and improve sleep quality. Not bad!
Avoiding chemical additives in skin care products
If you are one of the million + viewers of The Story of Cosmetics, you no doubt were a little disconcerted to find out so many synthetic and chemical additives make their way into common skin care products.
Some of the worst offenders are preservatives like parabens or formaldehyde derivatives – they prolong the shelf life of products but can accumulate in our bodies and reach potentially harmful levels. Other ingredients such as mineral oil, petrolatum and fillers don’t in fact hydrate the skin all that much – but act more like cling film that clogs pores and can lead to breakouts or irritation. Not to mention harsh surfactants disrupt skin’s pH and strip its protective acid mantle…
So what can we do to reduce the 100 or more different synthetic chemicals in our daily skin care routine?
Olive oil for the skin
We are big fans of olive oil and going by the amount we consume daily, we should be virtually free of bad cholesterol and enjoy a long cardiovascular disease-free life. And another reason our bottle of olive oil never lasts long is because we sneak it in some of our weekly skin pampering as well…
The art of soap dodging
Could you use less soap and skip your morning shower? We’re not talking about bad hygiene, but a movement affectionately named ‘Soap Dodging’. Soap dodging favours fewer showers or baths per week – with dodgers having a quick sink wash on their off-shower days. One of the reasons for the dodging is to avoid over-processing our skin and hair, which disrupts our natural oil and moisture balance. Unless we work up quite a sweat, we generally don’t really need to wash our skin daily – and sometimes even a simple rinse is enough to dislodge the accumulated grime.
Do you speak INCI?
Do you turn the bottle/jar/tube around to look at the ingredients when pondering the purchase of a new skin care product? With most ingredients list looking like a bunch of gibberish, even if you do read through how many ingredients will ring a bell and be readily identifiable? Continue reading
Our Autumn picks for soft skin and plentiful energy
It’s cold out there! The change of season can take a toll on our skin, hair, and energy levels. We’ve put together some quick picks below – favourite of ours to make sure that we ease into winter with skin still glowing, hair still shining, and energy still up and up. Continue reading
The Echolife Blog 
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