Your body feels supple and smooth. Your skin is glowing. Your busy brain is at rest.

The Zen-tastic feeling you get when you leave the spa is like nothing else. If you’re like me, you feel rested, relaxed – and ready to take on the world in a calm, self-assured way.

Home is Where the Spa Is

On the the reality front, frequent visits to your favorite spa can be pricey and time-consuming. As fall approaches – along with harsher climates that may dry out your skin – now is the perfect time to commit to an at-home program of sumptuous bath and beauty that delivers benefits beyond great skin.

• Add it to the Agenda: It may seem silly to add ‘take bath’ or ‘give self massage’ to your calender…but if you don’t, will it get done? Prioritize yourself the way you prioritize so many other things. You deserve it.

• Gifts from the Heart: Check out Napa Valley Bath’s gift packages and gift one to the CEO of Your Life: YOU.  The Ultimate Body Care package is a great value and includes Lavender Lotion, Lavender Sugar Scrub, Lavender Salt Scrub, and Organic Lavender with Flowers Soap. This is the starter kit you need to combine the therapeutic affects of aromatherapy with the all-natural skin care (from sloughing to soaking) your body craves.

• Light My Fire: There is a reason fabulous upscale spas are alight with flickering candles. Napa Valley Bath sells a unique Organic Lavender Soy Massage Candle that serves double duty as both massage oil (soy has a lower burn point so the oil is warm to the touch…not boiling hot like synthetic candle wax). A friend of Peggy’s swears by the soy wax as a cuticle softener!

• Lost and Sound: While silence is golden, you probably need at least some kind of soundtrack to drown out the noise of your home or the world beyond it’s doors (urban dwellers, I’m talking to you). Visit iTunes, search for “Spa Music” and download a couple of tracks for under five bucks.

• Sip to Sanity: A cup of tea (ideally rich with antioxidants) can transport you. Add a spoonful of artisinal honey and all the sweeter!

• Daily ‘Do-Nothing‘ Time: Call it meditation, checking out, me-time…whatever nomenclature you use, put 15-20 minutes aside – every day – to shut your eyes, breathe deeply and clear your mind. After all, a high end spa experience delivers solitude and peace in addition to rubs and scrubs.

If ingredients linked to allergies, cancer and other ailments deserve a one-two punch in grown-up products, they deserve an extra whammy when it comes to kids’ lotions and potions. After all, the wee ones count on us to make smart, grown-up decisions (even if they do scream over washing their hair or a smart slathering of sunscreen).

Here are some highlights of what to avoid when it comes to chemical-free kiddie care…

Shampoo & Conditioner:

Avoid these ingredients…

• DMDM Hydantoin: This allergen and irritant can form cancer-causing contaminants
• Fragrance:  As we’ve pointed out before, ‘fragrance’ is code for all kinds of funky allergens that may contain neurotoxic or hormone-disrupting chemicals
• Ceteareth & PEG Compounds: These harmful petrochemicals that may contain cancer-causing impurities are far from kid-friendly.

Body Wash & Liquid Soap

Avoid these ingredients…

• Triclosan: Like we said, try, try, try for no triclosan! It’s a potential hormone disruptor which can effect the endocrine system which regulates growth and development.
• DMDM Hydantoin: See above, and keep in mind that in Japan, DMDM Hydantoin is prohibited for use in some types of cosmetics!
• Fragrance: See above and always opt for ‘fragrance-free’

Play Make-up

Kids love to play dress-up. But when it comes to trying on mom’s make-up, keep in mind that…

• Your lipstick may contain harmful impurities that your child might swallow in trace amounts
• Most nail polish contains dibutyl phthalate and toluene, both of which are linked to hormone disruption and cancer
• Cosmetics in powder form might damage lungs when inhaled

Buy organic, keep toxins at bay for your tot, print the guide to learn more and don’t forget the ultimate in full-disclosure personal care for you and the kids – Do It Yourself (DIY!).

Your skin is more complicated than it looks. The average square inch of your skin holds:

• 650 sweat glands
• 20 blood vessels
• 60,000 melanocytes (pigment skin cells)
• 1,000+ nerve endings

All three main layers (epidermis, stratum corneum and dermis) work in harmony with one another. If any of the following are a part of your daily life, dry skin may disrupt your natural ability to moisturize:

• Exposure to excessive sun
• Excessive bathing
• Use of conventional, detergent-based soaps
• Low humidity
• Central air and heating

It’s time to get rid of pesky dry patches one and for all!

Moisturizing Madness to the Rescue!

Napa Valley Bath’s Moisturizing Madness gift set includes 3 steps to moister, smoother skin:

1. 8oz. Lavender Lotion – Certified organic herbal extracts, the highest-quality natural food-grade safflower vegetable oil, nourishing seaweed (algae) and healing aloe vera blend with four lavenders selected from around the world. Decadent, delightful…and mortal enemy of dry skin.
2. 4 oz. Body Butter - Combines the highest quality shea butter from Uganda, healing herbs, health-food-grade fresh vegetable oils, natural vegetable waxes, and soothing aromatic lavender water from the Aromatic Plant Project. A must-have for cracked, callused and parched skin.
3. Hoof Cream – This tin of rich balm revitalizes your hands and feet with a blend of olive oil, coconut oil, beeswax, tocoperol, orange essential oil, lavender essential oil and peppermint essential oil

…given the prices of typical department store brands (which are chock full of synthetic ingredients, toxic fragrance and may even be tested on animals) the Napa Valley Bath Moisturizing Madness package is a steal at $58!

In our 3-part lifestyle series, we’ve covered clothing (organic cotton, bamboo, hemp and more!) and bedding (those marvelous organic mattresses). Less fabulous – but equally fundamental – is green cleaning.

Whether you scrub up at home yourself – or hire someone to do it – you should know that when it comes to clean, you could be living the ultimate irony: spreading dirty chemicals around in the name of clean. One example: antibacterial cleaning products are actually registered with the EPA as pesticides. Does that sound like healthy clean to you?

Western cultures spend up to 90% of our time indoors, so clean indoor air really counts. A clean green home is free of dirt and germs – but also free of toxic pollution. You can use the following ingredients – many of which you may already have in your cabinets – to create powerful DIY cleaning products (great cleaning recipes are easily found using a simple google search):

• White distilled vinegar: Use white distilled vinegar with 55% acetic acid; vinegar disinfects, deodorizes, loosens dirt, removes mineral deposits and more…
• Baking soda: Look for baking soda that is “pure” or 100% sodium bicarbonate. Baking soda is abrasive enough to scrub off dirt and stains; deodorizes carpets, drains and fridges; and softens fabric in the wash cycle.
• Borax and washing soda: These alkaline minerals are stronger than baking soda so wear gloves. They brighten your wash, can be used to scrub stubborn stains from counters or bathtubs, kill mold and make toilet bowls sparkle.
• Soap and water: Experts agree that soap and water are less harmful than antibacterial products – many of which include triclosan – and are just as effective. Good old soap and water can clean everything from counter top to carpet to fabric stains. Don’t forget the basics when it comes to building your green cleaning arsenal!
• Vinegar: Kills 99% of bacteria and is not registered as a pesticide (afterall, you can cook with it too!). Use it in laundry, household filters, cutting boards…pretty much anything, safely and easily!
• Lavender Oil: Self-promotion aside, lavender is truly one of your critical green cleaning ingredients. Add it to all-purpose or glass cleaner or dilute with water to make a lovely antibacterial spray and spread aromatherapeutic love all over your home. 100% essential oil comes in dark glass containers; be sure to avoid the synthetic versions!

Let us know what all-natural, toxin free cleaner you use at home, right here!

“Chemical safety reform is not a Democratic or Republican issue, it is a common-sense issue and I look forward to building bipartisan support for this measure.”

–Senator Frank Lautenberg, one of the initiators of the Safe Chemicals Act, April 15, 2010

It’s been over 30 years of same old, same old when it comes to the safety of chemicals used in consumer products.

While red tape and over-regulation in D.C. can seem a bit much at times, chemical regulation is something that we do need – for the sake of our health and the health of our loved ones.

Enough to Throw a Toxic Tantrum!

Consider the facts about the current and outdated Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA):

• The main federal law designed to ensure the safety of chemicals used in consumer products in the United States hasn’t changed in 34 years.

• The original Toxic Substances Control Act requires testing on only about 200 out of 82,000 chemicals entering the market since 1976

• Under this outdated law, the EPA has only partially restricted five out of 80,000 chemicals on the market

• The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) – which considers the toxic topic “high risk area of government,” says that the original TSCA ‘places significant burdens on those most likely to be affected by these chemicals, requiring them to research products for themselves to determine risks, identify, and test the safety of alternatives.’

Those who manufacture safe, natural products — like Napa Valley Bath and others — are already keeping toxins out of personal care products like soap, lotions, bath products and more. But sadly, they don’t make up the broader product stream indulged in by the majority of the public.

Out with the Old, In with the New!

The new law would correct existing flaws in consumer regulation and would require safety testing of all industrial chemicals.

This testing would rightly put the burden on industry to prove that chemicals are safe in order to stay on the market. Highlights include:

• Provides EPA with sufficient information to judge a chemical’s safety.
• Requires manufacturers to develop and submit a minimum data set for each chemical they produce, while also preventing duplicative or unnecessary testing.
• Gives EPA full authority to request additional information needed to determine the safety of a chemical.
• Prioritizes chemicals based on risk.
• Calls on the EPA to categorize chemicals based on risk
• Focuses resources on evaluating those most likely to cause harm.
• Ensures safety threshold is met for all chemicals on the market.
• Places the burden of proof on chemical manufacturers to prove the safety of their chemicals.
• Ensures all uses are identified and determined as safe for the chemical to enter the market or continue to be used.
• Requires EPA to take fast action to reduce risk from chemicals that have already been proven dangerous.
• Empowers EPA Administrators to act quickly if any chemical poses an imminent hazard.
• Creates open access to reliable chemical information.
• Establishes a public database to catalog the information submitted by chemical manufacturers and the EPA’s safety determinations.
• Empowers the EPA to impose requirements to ensure the information collected is reliable.
• Promotes innovation and development of green chemistry.
• Establishes grant programs and research centers to foster the development of safe chemical alternatives, and brings some new chemicals onto the market using an expedited review process.

2 Things You Can Do Now

• Vote with your dollars – First and foremost, you can opt out of buying products made with harmful chemicals. Chose organic products that include natural ingredients like lavender, honey, aloe and check ingredient lists for bad chemical components.

• Write to Congress – Those who really know their stuff (like the folks at Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families) say that while the legislation is one huge step in the right direction, it could be improved upon. Check out their letter to congress and if you agree, send it to your senator. Tell other concerned friends and family too.

We’ll be keeping an eye on this legislation and report back as we know more. Until then, keep reading your ingredient lists and be an informed, intelligent, and chemical-free consumer!

As the temps get hotter and hotter this time of year – true of pretty much anywhere you live in the U.S. – now is a great time to tap into cold-water therapy!

The underlying premise of cold water therapy is that briefly and somewhat regularly exposing the body to certain kinds of natural stresses (like cold water) can enhance health.

Cold Shower Power

The communal DIY site, Earth Clinic Folk Remedies, recommends cold showers – but encourages you to heat the bathroom before to make exiting a cold shower more palatable. According to the site, cold-water therapy…

• Brings blood to the capillaries, therefore increasing circulation throughout the body
• Cleans the circulatory system
• Reduces blood pressure on internal organs
• Provides flushing for the organs and provides a new supply of blood
• Strengthens the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems
• Contracts the muscles to eliminate toxins and poisonous wastes
• Strengthens the mucous membranes, which help resist hay fever, allergies, colds, coughs

Note that the site also warns against cold showers for women who are menstruating.

4 Steps to Chilling Out

How to take a cold shower may seem obvious, but taking a modified approach will help you ease into cold-water therapy.  Here’s the best way to introduce a cold-water shower into your personal care routine.

1. Begin with your standard warm water shower, hopefully scrubbing up with a bar of organic soap.

2. When finished, step out of the water stream and turn off the hot water; leave the cold water running.

3. Start the cold-water therapy by wetting your feet first. Next, expose the hands and face.

4. Finally, step under the shower. Let the cold water run over your scalp, face, the front of your body, then down your back. Start with a couple of seconds and work up to 40 seconds.

Do whatever is comfortable: you can get great benefits from applying cold-water therapy to your feet, hands and face alone!

Cold Water Trivia

Cold-water therapy was first popularized by the German priest Sebastian Kneipp (1821-1897). In the winter of 1849, Kneipp successfully battled then-incurable tuberculosis by plunging several times weekly into the frigid Danube River. His 1886 book, My Water Cure, became an international best-seller.

Still committed to your languorous bath time? We support you 100%!

The chemical triclosan is found in the urine of 75 percent of the population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Yuck.

With ever-present germ paranoia – spurred on by the disease du jour (H1N1, for example) – triclosan, an antibacterial chemical, is incredibly common.

But while it boasts antibacterial power, it’s also suspected to alter hormone regulation (particularly your endocrine system, which regulates growth and development). Triclosan is also blamed for making bacteria resistant to antibiotics, a dangerous side effect.

Triclosan can be found in a host of personal care products and more. Here’s just a few places you can find it:

• liquid soaps
• toothpaste
• face wash
• hand sanitizers (although most contain alcohol, not triclosan)
• dishwashing liquids
• shaving gels
• and even socks, toothbrushes, workout clothes and toys!

Meanwhile, FDA studies have proven that good old-fashioned soap and water work equally well to keep bacteria at bay when it comes to soaps and body washes…or as they put it:

“the agency does not have evidence that triclosan in antibacterial soaps and body washes provides any benefit over washing with regular soap and water.”

Fed Up: Triclosan is a Pet Peeve for One Government Official

U.S. House of Representatives Edward J. Markey has been leading the charge against federal regulators to restrict triclosan and other chemicals.

The Washington Post reports Markey as saying in early April, 2010…

“The proliferation of triclosan in everyday consumer products is so enormous, it is literally in almost every type of product — most soaps, toothpaste, cosmetics, clothes and toys,” Markey said. “It’s in our drinking water, it’s in our rivers and as a result, it’s in our bodies. . . . I don’t think a lot of additional data has to be collected in order to make the simple decisions about children’s toys and soaps that people use. It clearly is something that creates a danger.”

While Markey is urging manufacturers like Colgate-Palmolive, Procter and Gamble, Unilever (the manufacturer of Lever, Suave and Vaseline brands) to leave the triclosan out of their products, here’s what you can do to avoid it:

• Skip the anti-bacterial soap
• Read labels and avoid any product with triclosan or its relative, triclocarban
• Avoid antibacterial products: If the packaging touts ‘keeps food fresher, longer,’ or ‘odor-fighting,’ there’s a good chance triclosan is fueling the claim.
• Opt for organic soaps and other personal care products that include organic and all-natural ingredients

Read more on the Environmental Working Group’s Guide to Triclosan.  And remember: triclosan-free is the way to be!

Step one to being a consumer of healthier products is honing your expertise at reading ingredient labels. Use these lists as a guide when buying ‘conventional’ (non-organic) bath and beauty products and get smart while you beautify!

Cleansers

It’s great to reward your face at the end of a long day with a fantastic cleanser. Go at it the green way.

Common Cleanser Ingredients to Avoid:

• Amphoteric 2, 5 or 29
• Cocamido betaine
• Cocamidopropyl betaine
• Sorbitan laurate
• Sorbitan palmitate
• Sorbitan stearate

Opt for These Ingredients in Your Cleanser:

• Alfalfa extract
• Flaxseed
• Honeysuckle oil
• Oatmeal
• Quillaya bark
• Yucca Root for Green

Moisturizers

A good moisturizer is a crucial part of your personal care repertoire.

Common Moisturizer Ingredients to Avoid:

• Mineral oil
• Petroleum jelly
• Propylene glycol

Opt for These Natural Ingredients in Your Moisturizer:

• Aloe vera
• Avocado
• Beeswax
• Bluebottle (cornflower)
• Candelilla wax
• Cocao butter
• Jojoba oil
• Macademia nut oil
• Pycnogenol from pine trees
• Rice bran oil
• Shea butter
• Sunflower oil
• Sweet almond oil
• Vitamins A, C and E

Preservatives

We need preservatives in our personal care products to stop fungi bacteria, fungi, microbes and oxidation. But chemical preservatives can be irritating – and the long-term effects of them on our health are not yet known.

Avoid these common chemical-based preservatives when buying any beauty and bath product:

• Imidazolidinyl urea and diazolidinyl urea, often disguised as Germall 115 and Germall II

All parabens, including:

• Esters
• Para-hydroxybenzoic acid
• Methylparaben
• Propylparaben
• Butylparaben
• Benzoic acid
• Isobutyl p-hydroxybenzoate
• P-methoxycarbonylphenol

In addition to buying ‘paraben-free,’ opt for safer preservatives like:

• Seed extract
• Phenozyethanol
• Potassium sorbate
• Vitamin A (retinyl or retinoic acid)
• Vitamin E (tocopherol)
• Citric acid
• Pycnogenol

These intimidating words might remind us of high school chemistry (which in my case, I didn’t fare too well at…). But the more you opt for better ingredients – and avoid the more dangerous ones – you’ll be able to craft a beauty routine you can truly trust

You can find many of these ‘good’ ingredients in Napa Valley Bath products. And as always, if you have any questions about any of them, just let us know!

Forget about the Mother’s Day gift scramble. We’ve done the work for you with our Wise Woman Gift Set. This treasure trove of treats is bound to result in big hugs, lots of kisses, and one grateful mom.

The Book
At the heart of this gift package is a striking, sepia-toned hard cover book called Wise Women: A Celebration of Their Insights, Courage, and Beauty. Author Joyce Tenneson traveled all over America to photograph and interview women from ages 65 to 100. The book contains 80 portraits, from famous luminaries like Sandra Day O’Connor and Angela Lansbury, to regular women who are no less important in the lives of their loved ones.

Each profile features a statement about aging from the remarkable ladies profiled – a veritable feast of inspiration this Mother’s Day.

The Goodies

Lavender Sea Salt Scrub 16oz.
What mom doesn’t want to slough away dry skin and restore her luminosity? Give her the tools with this amazing elixir. The combination of locally-grown extra virgin Sevillano olive oil, organic lavender, shea nut butter and dead sea salts does the trick. Throw in its aromatherapeutic benefits, and it’s a little slice of heaven.

Lavender Lotion 8oz.

It’s not easy to create the true sent of French lavender without the use of chemical constituents. Leave it to the geniuses behind Napa Valley Bath to make it happen with a proprietary blend of four distinctive lavenders to achieve this super light lotion’s delicate scent. Certified organic herbal extracts renew skin, and highest quality food-grade safflower veggie oil, nourishing seaweed (algae), and aloe vera heal and hydrate.

Organic Peppermint Oil with Mint Leaves Spa Soap
A deep breath of peppermint invigorates the mind. The active ingredient in peppermint oil, menthol, is great for skin; with its natural cooling capabilities, it nourishes dull skin and improves oily skin. A wow-worthy scent and skin-tastic, 100% organic soap? Like mom, it’s just breathtaking.

Read what Peggy O’Kelly, Napa Valley Bath founder and creator of the Wise Woman Gift Set, has to say about why this gift is so special – and place your order – here.

Last time we dished on bath soap, we focused on the yucky ingredients found in typical conventional brands.

To balance out that post, here are some super-positive factoids on why hand-crafted organic soap is better for you – and the planet.

• Low-intensity manufacturing: Organic soap is an all-natural bath and body product that boasts low impact production unlike most detergent-based shampoos, liquid gels and bubble baths.
• Skin-sensitivity: Organic soap means no additives, and that’s better for people with sensitive skin as well as allergy sufferers.
• Antibacterial-free: Organic soap doesn’t contain antibacterial agents, which can cause dry skin and eczema (not to mention the creation of ‘super bacteria’).

Bar Soap: Treat it with TLC

While liquid soaps are convenient – no watery pool or residue left in its wake – it also takes a heavy toll on the environment.  Think about the plastic – recycled or not – for every bottle you throw away after use.

Invest in a good soap dish; it will keep your tub tidy and protect your nurturing bar of organic soap from degrading prematurely.