Posts Tagged ‘organic’

Posted on March 9, 2010 - by Leslie Billera

Read Your Palm Responsibly

From soaps, candles and bath and beauty products to ice cream and bread…palm oil is used in products we consume every day.

But the back story of palm oil tells an ugly environmental tale.  Life-giving tropical rainforests are being burned and cleared for expanding palm plantations. Just one more reason why it’s super important to know where the ingredients in the products you buy actually come from.

We turned to the World Wildlife Foundation, one of the fiercest advocates for sustainable palm oil, to learn more about large scale palm oil production:

• The world’s most biodiverse tropical rainforests are found in Malaysia and Indonesia, where the land is being devastated every day to create oil palm plantations.
• Clearing these forests creates inhospitable habitats for the region’s wildlife, including tigers, rhinoceros, elephants, and orangutans, the most threatened animals.
• Oil plantations erode the land and use fertilizers and pesticides that pollute the air, soil and water.

Buyer Beware

Don’t let irresponsibly grown palm oil ooze into your green beauty care routine.  You can do two things when it comes to taking a stand against it:

1. Avoid personal care brands that include palm oil in their products and opt for responsibly sourced products from full disclosure beauty and bath companies like Napa Valley Bath.

2. Write to your favorite retailers and manufacturers (with online access, it’s easy) and ask them to use Certified Sustainable Palm Oil (CSPO) in their products.

Scroll down this list to see brands and products that source palm oil responsibly including The Body Shop and LUSH soaps. Kudos to these types of caring companies who join Napa Valley Bath and St. Helena Olive Oil Co. in sustainable, responsible, and earth-friendly agricultural practices!

Posted on March 3, 2010 - by Leslie Billera

3 Easy Tips to Try Aromatherapy At Home

We’ve touched on what aromatherapy can do for your body.  So let’s look at what amazing aromatherapy can do for your home.

Aromatherapy is the use of pure essential oils to enhance our physical and mental well-being. Essential oils are highly concentrated distilled essences of plants that smell truly delightful. They are diluted either by water or with a ‘carrier oil,’ depending on the intended use of the essential oil.

Organic lavender essential oil – our personal fave – has the ability to evoke and increase the release of serotonin, thus producing a calming effect.¹

Try these simple at-home tips and bring the soothing power of aromatherapy to your abode!

1. Create a Simmering Scent

To freshen air inside your home, drip some of our favorite scent into a pot of water and simmer mixture on the stove top for several hours.

2. Try Tug-Worthy Toilet Paper

To ensure there’s always a fresh scent in the bathroom, add a few drops of essential oil onto the cardboard roll that holds the toilet paper. The fragrance will release with each pull. Remember to repeat with each new roll you hang.

3. Reinvent the Room Deodorizer

Conventional so-called room deodorizers are just chemical-filled band-aids used to mask odors. Make your own with ease: add 25 drops of your favorite essential oil to 16 ounces of water, put in a spray bottle, and voila – fresh, pure, natural smelling indoor air!

And don’t forget about hydrosol - it’s less concentrated than essential oil, but equally aromatherapeutic!

Our sense of smell impacts our daily perceptions and our reactions to what’s going on around us – physically, emotionally and mentally. Infusing your home with healing scents is a great way to boost your mood and keep you centered.  Now take one big beautiful breath, and enjoy!

1Perscription for or Nutritional Healing, Phyllis A. Balch, CNC

Posted on March 1, 2010 - by Leslie Billera

A Sea of Bodily Love: Sponges & Loofahs

We hope by now you’re treating yourself to at least one relaxing, aromatherapeutic bath a week that’s:

• Good for the earth: the non-toxic ingredients in organic bath and beauty products don’t wind up in our water streams.
• Great for your body: by making smart choices about the products you put on your skin, you’re investing your health.

Now it’s time to think about transporting all the nutrient-rich soaps, sea salts, scrubs and more available from Napa Valley Bath in the most eco-conscious way…

Sea and Be Seen

Opt for sea sponges versus synthetic sponges, which are typically made from petrochemicals.

For thousands of years, people have been cleansing themselves with multi-celled sea sponges. Sea sponges live in almost every aquatic environment, filtering nutrients from the water through their pores.

Real sea sponges:

• Are a non-endangered species, so they are greener alternative to synthetic sponges
• Regenerate, so there’s no worries about over-harvesting
• Hold a greater amount of water
• Biodegrade, so there’s no waste

So ditch that pink, plasticized pouf hanging in your shower – your green bath is truly sea sponge-worthy!

Love Your Loofah

Did you know that a loofah is a dried plant related to the squash family?  Loofah sponges can be used every day to:

• Give a boost to your circulatory system
• Cleanse and exfoliate your skin
• Help prevent cellulite build-up

Make sure that any loofah you buy is organically-grown and unbleached. In a DIY mood? Harvest your own!

Posted on February 20, 2010 - by Leslie Billera

Teens and Personal Care: A Cautionary Tale

The average woman uses 12 personal care products a day…and the ever-enthusiastic teenage girl? More like 17.

As we’ve shared with you, many conventional personal care products carry a heavy chemical load for all of us.  But teenagers are especially at risk: they’re at a period of accelerated development, physically, that makes them particularly vulnerable.

A 2008 Environmental Research Group study backed up these concerns.

The study took samples from 20 teen girls, age 14-19. Harrowing highlights include:

• They found 16 chemicals from 4 chemical families – phthalates, triclosan, parabens, and musks – in blood and urine samples in the 20 girls tested.

• Studies link these chemicals to potential health effects including cancer and hormone disruption.

• These tests feature first-ever exposure data for parabens, a common cosmetic preservative.  It indicated that young women are widely exposed to parabens, with 2 parabens – methylparaben and propylparaben – detected in every single girl tested.

Purchasing non-toxic personal care products is step one to a lower chemical count for teens. Turning teens on to what their peers are doing to make healthier, greener choices is another step.  Check out Teens Turning Green, a national program of engaged kids working towards a more non-toxic world, from personal care to school to lobbying Washington.  Yucky pink hand soap loaded with suspected carcinogen Cocamide DEA, a suspected carcinogen? Not in a Teens Turning Green School!

You can also turn your teen on to Skin Deep, the Environmental Working Group’s amazing database of thousands of personal care products, and help them take control of the buying choices they make as they grow.

Last but not least, why not surprise them with a treat from Napa Valley Bath: all of our products are non-toxic, all-natural, pure and mostly organic.

Posted on January 14, 2010 - by Leslie Billera

Shop ‘til You Drop, Green and Guilt-Free!

The ever-inspiring Green America has just issued their annual must-have catalog. This amazing shopping guide lets you juice up your shopping with a hardy dose of eco-consciousness. From clothing to housewares to green gifts and much more, the Green America National Green Pages is a great resource that covers every aspect of your life.

Before I go any further, you should know that you can get a copy of the amazing Green America National Green Pages – FREE – at your local Whole Foods. I saw it in a Whole Foods in Paramus, NJ: if you don’t see it in your local Whole Foods, ask a manager!

Another way you can get it is to simply join Green America with membership options as low as $20. As a member, you’ll get resources for green living, purchasing, and investing AND become part of the growing movement for a just and sustainable future.

Right there, you’ve got a good deal going.

Vote with Your Dollars

Just a taste of the type of discounts you’ll get in the Green America National Green Pages:

• 15% off sweatshop-free, bamboo-fiber baby clothing
• 10% off at a green bed and breakfast
• 10% off Fair Trade chocolate
• 5% off a solar water heater
• 15% off recycled paper stationery, invitations, and holiday cards

You can also take advantage of these type of green deals and many more – for free – online.

As a Napa Valley Bath and St. Helena Olive Oil Co. customer, you love the health benefits of organic, truly all-natural bath and beauty products.  With the Green America National Green Pages, you can extend that goodness to all areas of your life.  Enjoy!

Posted on November 13, 2009 - by Leslie Billera

Discover the Duality of Lavender Essential Oil!

Our amazing lavender suppliers, The Kahns, boast 14,800 lavender plants, 2000 olive trees and 1/1/2 acres of petite syrah grapes on their truly spectacular property.

Their luxurious fields of purple splendor reap certified organic lavenders including English Munstead and Hidcote as well as French Grosso and Provence. This bounty of lavender is capable of producing 6-700 gallons of hydrosol and about 40 quarts of essential oil annually.

Essential oil is the very life essence of a plant, an aromatic pure oil extract that provides a deeply positive impact on both mind and body.  Unlike ‘fragrance,’ which is pretty much a dressed up word for the toxic chemical phthalates, an essential oil is a truly natural scent with myriad, often miraculous uses.

Lavender is one of the most popular essential oils. With its soothing scent, it relaxes and calms. And with its analgesic, antiviral, antiseptic and antibacterial properties, it’s good to go for practical uses like cleaning and wound-care.

Here’s just a whiff of its range:

Lovely Lavender Liquid Body Wash

Materials Needed:

• One bottle of unscented shampoo
• 1 tsp xanthan gum (optional)
• 15 drops of lavender essential oil
• 5 drops of peppermint essential oil
• 5 drops of rosemary essential oil
• 5 drops of tea tree oil

How To:

1. Take a large, glass mixing bowl and pour in one and a half cups of shampoo. It doesn’t need to be expensive, it just needs to be unscented.
2. If you’re someone who likes your body wash to be extra thick, add in a thickening ingredient such as Xanthan gum and mix well.
3. Next, add in all 30 drops of essential oils to the bowl and blend well. Feel free to choose whatever oils you like best. This combination works because the lavender is calming, the tea tree oil works as an antibacterial (and it smells great), and the peppermint and rosemary are invigorating.

Source: Bella Sugar

DIY Lavender Dishwashing Liquid

Materials Needed:

• One recycled 25 oz. plastic dishwashing liquid bottle
• Liquid organic castile soap
• 3 tablespoons of distilled white vinegar
• 15 drops of organic lavender essential oil
• 5 drops of eucalyptus essential oil
• 4 drops of lemon essential oil

How To:

Fill plastic dishwashing liquid bottle with castile soap. Add essential oils and vinegar and shake to blend. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons of liquid to water and wash dishes as usual. Shake bottle before each use.

Source: Laura Klein’s Green Club

Posted on October 22, 2009 - by Leslie Billera

Sweet Exfoliation: A Users Guide

Removing dead skin cells using exfoliation promises healthier looking skin that feels less congested.

When you use an all-natural exfoliating ingredient like sugar, you protect your skin from the following toxins. These ‘ingredients’ are often used in the products doled out by spas and high-end skin care clinics in deep-cleansing treatments:

• petrochemicals
• synthetic preservatives
• penetration enhancers
• sodium laureth/lauryl sulfates
• artificial fragrances and dyes

Why slough off dead skin cells with toxins when healthy, organic options abound? After all, our skin is our largest organ, a conduit to our circulatory system and our other organs.  In fact, what you put on your body is just as important as what you eat!

Sugar Love

Sugar is super sweet on the skin and a fantastic, all-natural exfoliator.  Sugar is…

• alpha-hydroxy rich, which amounts to a great glow
• safe: no harsh side effects
• great for all skin types
• an effective lymph fluid stimulator and circulator
• a skin hydrator – a natural humectant, sugar scrubs draw moisture to the skin

Healthy How To

To delight in the natural decadence of organic sugar exfoliating, simply follow these steps:

1. Apply sugar scrubs before you shave during a shower or warm bath

2. Apply the sugar scrub with small onward and outward movements; roll and press on your skin versus rubbing the scrub into it.

3. Focus on dry and scaly patches – but don’t press too hard!

4. Leave on longer to make your sugar scrub work as a mask

5. Rinse off with tepid water.

Check out all of our bath and body products and find the one that appeals to you!

Posted on October 15, 2009 - by Leslie Billera

Keep Truly Clean with 100% Organic

Last time, we profiled several synthetic ingredients found in ‘conventional’ bar and liquid soap including 1,4 Dioxane, Diethanolamine (DEA), Parabens: this is the stuff that’s supposed to keep us clean?

Maybe you’re thinking, ‘Not me! I use ‘organic’ beauty care products!’

It’s time to face the myth of organic when it comes to personal care products thanks to an unfortunate technique known as ‘greenwashing.’

Greenwashing is Just Plain Dirty

Slapping the word ‘organic’ onto a product is an addiction for big beauty manufacturers.

The sad truth is, it’s misused, abused and often completely wrong. The abuse is so egregious that the researchers the Environmental Working have created a special database to help consumers get a grip on what’s really green and healthy – and what’s not.

Using one drop of organic essential oil in a beauty product is one of the most common greenwashing techniques in the cosmetic industry.  Companies regularly get away with declaring their products organic as a whole, when in truth, only a small percentage is.

Other popular greenwashing terms that often come in tandem with ‘natural’ style packaging – include:

• Made with organic essential oils
• Contains organic ingredients
• Made with nontoxic ingredients
• 100% natural
• Essentially nontoxic
• Earth-friendly
• Environmentally Safer

Look closely at the ingredients list, be a vigilant shopper, and treat yourself to organic products that you can trust.

What is Organic, Really?

We know – it gets confusing. Here’s a simplified guide:

• The farmer or producer must avoid synthetic chemical additives, including fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, genetically modified organisms and sewage sludge

• Farmland must be free of chemicals for more than three years, depending on the country

• All the production stages must be transparent, open for audit and take part in frequent inspections

Next time we’ll give you an amazing recipe for a nutrient rich hair butter using two of our favorite organic ingredients: organic virgin olive oil and organic lavender essential oil!  After all, if you make it yourself, there’s no doubt what’s in it!

Posted on October 14, 2009 - by Leslie Billera

Beyond Luxury: Why Organic Soap is Just Plain Healthier

Your skin is an organ – your body’s largest one in fact.

Skin ingests pretty much everything you put on it. Ingredients travel straight into your bloodstream, which then carries them to your organs. In fact, research shows that skin can absorb as much as 60% of whatever is applied on it.

Soap, a skincare product you use every single day, typically hosts chemical culprits that lurk behind pleasantly packaged bars and bottles. Consider these ‘conventional’ soap ingredients…

1,4-Dioxane

This petrochemical is considered a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. In spite of its toxicity, you won’t find 1,4 Dioxane on ingredient lists since it’s actually a byproduct caused by the manufacturing of other ingredients. If a product has ingredients with an ‘eth’ in their name – sodium laureth sulphate, polyethylene glycol, oleth, myreth, ceneareth – most likely, the product will test positive for 1,4 Dioxane.

Diethanolamine

DEA is a surfactant that helps to stabilize foams and is a potential carcinogen. It is readily absorbed through the skin and has been linked with stomach, esophagus, liver and bladder cancers according to the Cancer Prevention Coalition. Beware of synthetic, “natural” ingredients like cocamide DEA

Parabens

A known endocrine disruptor, parabens interfere with the body’s natural hormones. According to the Environmental Working Group and many other sources, parabens are also linked to cancer. On labels, they can be found as methylparaben, ethylparaben, butylparaben and propylparaben.

There’s many more, but you get the point…it turns out that getting clean can be a dirty business. That’s why organic soap isn’t just a luxury…when it comes to your health, it’s a necessity.

Posted on October 6, 2009 - by Leslie Billera

Hairway to Heaven: Two DIY Recipes

Your hair is the accessory you wear every day. So treat it right.

Forget pricey concoctions that contain chemical-laden fragrance, irritant-inducing parabens and endocrine disrupting octoxynol-9. Opt instead for ingredients you may already have in your kitchen cabinet.

Extra-virgin olive oil is very similar in composition to our sebum, which is our body’s natural oil. It absorbs readily, locking in moisture, and is especially effective for dry skin or hair. Plus, it’s rich in antioxidants.

Here are two DIY recipes: one is super quick, and the other a bit more complex. Use a combination of both and discover the power of your luxurious green locks!

Quick Hot Oil Treatment for Dry Hair

1. Put one-half cup of extra-virgin olive oil in a glass jar.

2. Run the closed jar under hot water for 30-60 seconds to heat the oil.

3. Open the jar and place a little olive oil on your palms and fingers

4. Massage gently through dry hair, paying special attention to your ends and any bristle portions.

5. Wrap your hair in plastic wrap or wear a shower cap for 15-30 minutes (or overnight for a more intense treatment)

6. Rinse out thoroughly in the shower with a gentle shampoo

Source: style, naturally, by Summer Rayne Oakes

Hair Butter Mask

Use daily before shampooing for maximum results. The below will last for one week of daily treatments.

3 tablespoons organic virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons avocado oil

2 tablespoons whole-wheat flour

1 teaspoon organic spirulina extract

10,000 IU vitamin E

2 drops lavender essential oil

2 drops bergamot essential oil

2 drops chamomile essential oil

1. Blend all ingredients in a small bowl, making sure the essential oils spread evenly.

2. Massage one tablespoon of the treatment into wet hair and scalp, concentrating on split ends and areas of itchiness. Leave on for ten minutes for intensive conditioning.

3. Rinse thoroughly and shampoo as usual.

Source: The Green Beauty Guide, by Julie Gabriel

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Jargon Alert:Extra Virgin Olive Oil

When olive oil is extra virgin, it means that the olives are only pressed once, oleic acid (a monostaturated fatty acid) content is under .8%, and there are no defects found in the taste of the oil.

Learn more about olive oil from our sister company St. Helena Olive Oil Co.