Skin Care for Pre-teens

My 7 and 10 year-old girls are far from teenagers (although, I have a feeling it will be here faster than I know it).  However, I have noticed a random pimple here and there on their faces.  My kids don't drink dairy milk, and consume a decent amount of fruits and veggies - two major dietary pros to keeping skin clear of acne.  Given the occasional breakouts and other gradual hormonal changes I have been seeing in them, I thought maybe it was time to introduce my girls to a very simple skin care regimen that can grow with them.  It's never too early to start good skin care, right?!!  I contacted my favorite all natural skincare companies that I use on myself and got information about using their products on children.  Here's what they told me:

Anne Marie Gianni Skincare
"Since they are so young, we suggest to just keep it simple.  If they have normal/combination skin, have them wash their face morning and night with our Aloe-Herb Cleanser. If they need some extra hydration, they may follow the cleanser with our Herbal Facial Oil for Normal/Combination Skin.

If their skin is oily, have them wash their face morning and night using our Citrus Mint Cleanser and follow that with our Herbal Facial Oil for Oily/Acne Prone Skin.

For their occasional breakouts they can use our Purifying Mud Mask as a spot treatment."

The Yes To Brand
"Our Yes To Tomatoes product line is formulated for oily/combination skin types. The benefits of the product are that they encourage a balanced, clearer complexion, absorbs excess surface oils, and adds moisture to dry areas without clogging pores.  I would recommend the following products:

• Yes to Tomatoes Daily Blemish Clearing Facial Towelettes:  These facial can essentially be used anytime.  That’s the beauty of the towelettes (and why they are a topseller!). They are great as a quick way to cleanse, exfoliate and remove dirt.  The can also serve as a first cleanse before the scrub.  They are also great for on-the-go (i.e. after a workout, after a long day at work/school as a quick refresh). 

• Yes to Tomatoes Daily Balancing Moisturizer

• Yes to Tomatoes Daily Pore Scrub: MY ABSOLUTE FAVORITE:  Contains Salicylic Acid, and is a "scrub" with mango seeds and bamboo to provide exfoliation. 

Our products are 95+% natural, and our baby line is 100% natural, but would suggest you do a patch test to ensure no issues or sensitivity."

Suki Skincare

All of our products are 100% pure & synthetic free, & we think they’re great for kids…even gentle enough for babies! 

A really simple routine would be:

-cleanse with the sensitive cleansing bar,

-moisturize with the balancing day lotion

-try the transformative cleansing clay as a spot treatment for any breakouts (it can be left on overnight for stubborn spots). 

In my research, I also discovered that Dermalogica offers a teen kit called Clean Start.  I don't know much about this company, but will consider them in the mix too.  For now, I am focusing on a simple one-step cleanser with spot scrubs for their occasional breakouts.  If you have pre-teens or teens, I would love to hear what your kids use.  Please share in the comments section below.

Dry Brushing 101

I first learned about dry brushing while reading Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Diet.  She explains how great it is not only for exfoliating the skin and reducing cellulite (reason enough for me to do it!), but also for the benefits to your circulation and immune system.  It also contributes to stress relief.  Dry brushing clears out dead skin cells and gets rid of toxins, leaving your skin super soft.

This article is a great resource for all of the how-to and why on dry brushing.  Read it and then aim to dry brush at least twice week to start experiencing the benefits.  Get out that loofah!

Do It Yourself: Make Your Own Sugar Scrub

I really enjoy a good sugar scrub.  They smell delicious and really do the trick when it comes to exfoliating the skin.  Many beauty and bath companies offer a plethora to choose from, but why not make your own?  It's easy, cheap and all natural!  Here is a recipe from Wellness Mama to get your started.

All Natural Sugar Scrub

Ingredients

• White or brown sugar
• Oil (almond, olive or coconut)
• 1/2 tsp of Vitamin E oil (or the gel from a few capsules)

Directions

1. Mix 2 parts sugar to 1 part oil.  Add in the vitamin E oil.

2. Get creative and add in other ingredients like 1 tsp real vanilla extract (for a vanilla scrub - use brown sugar and almond oil); or lemon or orange essential oil (for a lemony hand scrub - use white sugar and olive oil).

Some other ideas for add-ins include oatmeal, lavender and other citrus essential oils.  Have fun and get scrubbing!

Detox Your Beauty Routine

Living the good life for me means not only detoxing my food, but also my life - filling every aspect with simple, natural goodies that bring out the natural beauty and essence of whatever facet of my life it is touching.  That may be food, spirituality, clothing, or in today's case: my beauty routine.  Beauty products are supposed to enhance the natural goddess we already have, but I question how that is possible when so many products are full of chemicals and un-natural ingredients.  I made the switch to natural products several years ago, and then went completely vegan in my beauty care routine once I started eating animal free over three years ago.  Here's a great article that Vegetarian Times recently posted during their 7-Day Total-Life Detox that focuses specifically on detoxing your beauty routine.  Check it out and then see my faves list below of just a few of my go-to beauty products.

Lavanila Deodorant: I have tried many natural deodorants and this one, by far, is my favorite.  I love the vanilla grapefruit scent (they also have lavender) and I can depend on this product to keep me smelling good all day.

SpaRitual Body Scrubs and Body Butter: If you have been following me, you know that I am a big lover of SpaRitual.  Do yourself a favor and get yourself some of their Chinese Jasmine Infinitely Loving Body Butter.  I get so many compliments on how good I smell every time I wear it!  I also really enjoy the company's sugar scrubs.







Hurraw! Coconut Lip Balm: This is a fantastic "chapstick."  It smells and tastes good!  The all natural coconut fragrance makes me feel like I am on vacation.

Skin Care: In a post a couple of months ago, I featured several of my favorite skin care products.  Click here if you missed it.








I'd love to hear about the natural beauty products in your routine.  Please share in the comments section below.

My Secret Ingredient

Ever since I started drinking apple cider vinegar (2 tablespoons in about 20 ounces of water), I have noticed a considerable decrease of cellulite on the backs of my legs.  Yes, my name is Stephanie and I have cellulite!

I read about the benefits of apple cider vinegar and weight loss a few years ago, but only started drinking it in water about six months ago.  I was very skeptical at first, but the results speak for themselves.  While I have also increased my workouts during this same time period, I am convinced that I owe some of the firmness and reduced appearance of cellulite to this tart and pungent secret ingredient.  (I actually kind of like the taste.)

Besides contribute to weight loss, apple cider vinegar can do an abundance of wonderful things.  Click here to read 14 other reasons to use apple cider vinegar every day.

What Isn't Vegan About Nail Polish?

I get asked this question a lot, usually when I am at the nail salon and bring my own nail polish for my mani/pedi.  Well, crushed beetles for one...fish and oyster scales for two.  Yes, my friends, many polish brands use those ingredients in their pigments.  And then there is the whole issue of animal testing.

To be safe, find out exactly what is in your nail polish at safecosmetics.org.  Or you can look at my "go to" list of favorite vegan brands below.  Oh and I should also note that OPI, a very popular brand in salons is vegan, as is Essie.

SpaRitual: This is my favorite line.  Meditate is their newest collection that I can't get enough of.

Priti: This is another favorite of mine.  I received my first bottle of Priti polish as a gift (thanks, cousin Sarah!) and have been in love ever since. 

Zoya: This line is fun and vibrant.  They have some really cool brights and shimmers.

LVX: This is a fairly new line with bold colors tied to high fashion.  Very glam and chic!

Meet SpaRitual Founder, Shel Pink

I am a huge fan of Spa Ritual.  I discovered their nail color line shortly after becoming vegan, searching for "good" products to put on my body that matched what I was putting inside my body.  To my delight, I learned the company offered a whole line of beauty care that fit my new lifestyle.  They had me at their nail polish, but their philosophy and business ethics made the company a favorite with me.  Then, I learned about founder, Shel Pink's Slow Beauty movement and I knew I had to get to know this amazing gal better.  Lucky for me (and you!), she agreed to answer some questions about her business, philosophy and lifestyle.  This is one lady who is doing it right in my book, living the good life out loud and proud.  Read on for inspiration and ideas!

VM: Tell us about Slow Beauty.  What does it mean and how did this idea come to you?
SP:  Slow beauty is an alternative approach to beauty in the fast world. Today, beauty is all about quick fixes like fillers, Botox and plastic surgery.  Instead slow beauty makes us beautiful from the inside out with relaxing rituals and products that are good for you and free of harsh chemicals.  It is beauty rituals that are pleasurable, rather than painful and punitive.  Slow beauty helps people slow down and nurture the mind, body and spirit therefore producing visible results.

I am very big on connecting the dots.  I saw a recurring theme for myself and friends and family that life was moving too fast, and that the technology and social media avenues available to us were beginning to tether us to an over productive lifestyle that was causing a lot of stress. At the same time I had been working in beauty for almost a decade, specifically in sustainable beauty.  I saw that a new conversation could begin, was beginning to take place and that beauty would expand to include
health and wellness.  Beauty has for so long been about quick fixes.  What if we slowed down our approach to aging instead of "racing against time"?  What would that look like?  Feel like?  These were the questions that I had.  And that's how Slow Beauty came to be.  It was a series of observations, and questions.

VM: For those interested in living slower, what 3 things do you suggest people do now to get started?
SP: I would say that meditation is a great place to begin.  I have a regular meditation practice.  It really centers me, and helps me to slow down to make better choices, and decisions about my priorities in life.  There are also studies to show that a regular meditation practice reduces stress, and the signs of aging.  People who practice meditation look years younger.

Abhyanga Massage - This is a daily self-massage practice from the Ayurvedic tradition.  The health, beauty and wellness benefits are vast.  Some of them include: increase strength and stamina, promotes a healthy night's sleep, improves vision and gives your skin a healthy glow.  Add Abhyanga massage to your daily beauty routine to elevate it to a ritual.

Seasonal Cleanses - Give your central nervous system a break.  Find a seasonal cleanse that suits your lifestyle and rid yourself of toxins of the mind, body and spirit that build up daily.  We often treat our cars better than we treat ourself.  This is our body.  Connect with it, love it, take care of it.

VM: Is Spa Ritual a part of Slow Beauty?  How does your line fit in with Slow Beauty?
SP: Slow Beauty is a movement.  SpaRitual supports and promotes that movement.  At SpaRitual we offer 4 unique states of slow beauty.  Each state is a multi-sensory experience with our products that contains a signature scent and color palette.  You can enjoy a unique state at home or go to a spa or
salon to receive a manicure, pedicure or body care service with our products.  The 4 States of Slow Beauty are:  Close Your Eyes, Look Inside, Instinctual and Infinitely Loving.  An easy way to remember the 4 states are in the mantra:  Close Your Eyes, Look Inside, find your Instinctual
self, be Infinitely Loving.  Each state has been developed to address a specific mind, body, spirit type. For Example: Close Your Eyes is for the sensitive mind, body, spirit.  The essential oil of that state and the color palette have been selected to soothe, and calm the mind, body, spirit.  

VM: How did you come up with the idea for Spa Ritual?  Was it important for the products to be vegan?  What types of ingredients go into your products?
SP: Long before people were talking about living green and eating organic food, my mom was teaching me when I was only a teenager to read the labels on food and beauty products. She thought everything you put in and on your body should be good for you.  But like every other woman she still wanted
to look beautiful and loved beauty products.  She searched for products that were better for you despite the fact that there were very few options back then.  So when I started working at Orly I wanted to bring a healthier approach to the nail care and beauty industry.

It was important for the products to be vegan, free of harsh chemicals, and as organic as possible.  For our body care line we use a high percentage of certified organic ingredients and fair trade ingredients.
For our nail color and care line we are free of DBP, toluene, formaldehyde and formaldehyde resin.  This spring we launched our color collection MEDITATE.  This collection of 6 shades contains an eco-cert certified mbamboo ingredient that strengthens the nails up to 35%.

VM: What trends do you see in beauty products today?
SP: Pastels shades with a twist are big for Spring.  Blue and Green pastels are sophisticated with a bit of an edge.  Texture in nails and more attention to texture in body care products.  How does it feel?  This is the question.

VM: What are your top 3 products?
SP: My favorite SpaRitual products are:  Infinitely Loving Body Butter, Handprint Hand Salve, and I'm really into the color Emerald City right now.  From the MEDITATE collection I love them all, however, Energy and Introspection really stand out.

VM: If someone is new to your line, what would you insist they try first?
SP: Handprint Hand Salve.  It is the best hand salve out there.

VM: I am obsessed with your nail polish.  What are your hottest colors now?  How do you come up with the names and themes for the lines?
SP: Energy and Introspection from our spring collection, Meditate.  And... When you purchase colors from that collection 20% of the profits go to benefit the David Lynch Foundation.  DLF teaches Transcendental Meditation to people who are exposed to high stress situations, like veterans of war
with PTSD, or children from high stress families.

VM: I am on a quest to live the "good" life in all aspects of the word.  What does the "good" life represent/mean to you?
SP: To me the good life means living a meaningful and connected life, to yourself, to your family, to your friends.

VM: Can you share your favorite quote?
SP: "Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light."

Thank you, Shel!  You can check out all of the fantastic SpaRitual products here, and learn more about Slow Beauty here.  Read more about Shel below.

SPARITUAL FOUNDER & LEADER IN THE SLOW BEAUTY MOVEMENT
LIFESTYLE FUTURIST

• Lifestyle futurist Shel Pink captured the attention of the spa industry when she founded and launched SpaRitual in 2004.
• With a clear idea of an enlightened consumer in mind, she called them SpaRitualists, and created a brand to honor the collective mind, body and spirit.
• Dedicated to the ancient spa tradition, SpaRitual is committed to creating multi- purpose eco-friendly products and packaging - perfectly crafted for the enlightened consumer, using vegan ingredients from around the world, that are specially sourced, certified organic and fair trade. The formulations are also naturally colored and free of synthetic dyes. 
• In addition, SpaRitual offers Nail Elixirs and Nail Lacquers, which are also vegan and free of toluene, formaldehyde and DBP.
• SpaRitual is constantly monitoring sustainability issues and strives to be on the cutting edge of environmental awareness. The SpaRitual brand philosophy encourages women to understand beauty as a holistic connection to oneself and to the environment.
• The terms “eco,” “organic” and “vegan” were Shel saw an overwhelming need for a brand that could begin the dialogue.
• Seven years later, Shel now sees the green movement transitioning towards a discussion of slow ideals in direct response to a lifestyle that has become too fast.
• SpaRitual will now help to define, promote and educate on its new, evolved platform, “Slow BeautyTM.”
• As a child, decades before a holistic lifestyle became mainstream, an organic diet, the importance of regular massage, alternative healing, and how to minimize exposure to toxins in the environment were emphasized by Shel’s mother. Continuing on this holistic path, Shel discovered yoga, meditation and Ayurveda while attending college.
• After receiving a degree in the visual arts from the University of Michigan, Shel worked at Motown Records where she conceptualized Motown on Tour, a traveling interactive exhibit chronicling the history of Motown and contributed to the Motown Café concept launch.
• She then went on to develop and implement photography campaigns, and later co- founded the clothing brand LOBA which sold to national high-end boutiques and department stores.
• From there, she joined Orly International in 2001.
• Her latest endeavor, Seeing the Future Now, a creative business building think tank, is Shel’s vision of the way consumer goods companies can execute brand design, product development and launch strategies through a collaborative team effort.
• Seeing The Future Now leads trend resourcing, ideation, market research, cross- functional strategies and business building blocks for both the Orly and SpaRitual brands. The think tank process fosters free thinking and the sharing of ideas in workshop environments. Together product development, marketing, sales, communication and education teams are inspired to originate product concepts that will meet or exceed company growth expectations.
• Shel served on the Board of Directors for Trash for Teaching (www.trashforteaching.org) and the Go Green Initiative (gogreeninitiative.org) in recent years.
• Her current endeavor as a member of the Board of Directors for her synagogue and a community leadership committee is the implementation of ‘’listening’’ campaigns in Los Angeles. The overall hope is to assist in creating positive changes on a variety of issues that are of concern to residents across the Los Angeles area.
• Shel is also a contributing expert to an on- line think tank, as a U.S. expert, for global market research firm Sturm & Drang, where she envisions future beauty scenarios, sharing her insights with non-competing, global beauty brands.
• In early 2011, Shel co-founded Bicycle Artist, a creativity troupe connecting families and students with enriching holistic creative experiences. Students are invited into the meditation of the creative process giving first hand access to artistic self-expression. The purpose: to provoke curiosity, playfulness, wonder, creativity, critical thinking, flexibility, inventiveness, spontaneity and humor in the spirit of neoteny, which is Latin for “holding youth”.
• Shel Pink currently resides in Los Angeles, with her husband Ran and their two children Alexander and Olivia.
• SpaRitual can be found online at www.sparitual.com. 

My Vegan Face - My Favorite Skincare Products

With all the attention to what I put into my body, it would be senseless not to apply that same focus to what I put on my body, specifically my face.  Going vegan gave my face an instant glow, but I still searched out skincare products to complement my vegan lifestyle that were cruelty free and made without animal parts (you'd be shocked and surprised).

I have tried several and have used a combination of products over the years (I like to mix it up).  Here are some great products that I recommend (having used them on myself with great results).  You can click on the product line below and link to their site.

Anne Marie Gianni - This line carries my current beauty potions of choice.  I am having a love affair with the Aloe-Herb Facial Cleanser, Neroli Toning Mist, and Herbal Facial Oil.  My skin has never felt more soft or supple, nor looked as clear.  It feels clean and ready to go without any makeup.  

Suki - This line was my daily cleanser and toner, as well as weekly exfoliator until I discovered Anne Marie's line last month.  This is a great line of products, including hand and body treatments too.  They make travel size products too in this cute case that you can take with you on the go.

Dr. Hauschka - I was first introduced to this line after reading Sophie Uliano's Gorgeously Green about five years ago.  You can purchase the products online or at Whole Foods.  I really enjoyed the line, and although I have moved on to other skincare products, I still use their Translucent Makeup (love, love, love it!)

Juice Beauty - I use their SPF 30 Mineral Moisturizer - Sheer every day as a sunscreen for my face.  It's natural and organic.  They have a full skin and make up line that I have not explored fully.  If the rest is as good as their moisturizer, I am in.

Yes To - I read about this company in a magazine almost a year ago and loved the company's all natural, family focused philosophy and way of doing business.  They use veggies and fruits in their products - yum!  While you don't want to eat them, they smell great and feel equally nice on the skin.  I use the Yes To Baby Carrots Bath Wash and Shampoo for my son, and both their Yes To Blueberries Eye Firming Treatment and Intensive Skin Repair Serum on my face just about every day.  I also love the Yes To Tomatoes Roller Ball Spot Stick for when I get a random blemish.  It works wonders.