Entries from May 2008 ↓

Every winter when the weather gets dry my skin gets dry along with it. It has been particularly bad since I’ve been in Toronto. I think because I shocked my body from going to a hot Fiji and Hawaii to a freezing Canada, AND the central air in the places I’ve been staying in are even more drying to the skin.

I’ve recorded a video on my personal favorite hand creams and a couple of extra things I do to keep my hands hydrated during the dry months:

And here are the products I referred to in my video.

1. Garnier Hand Cocoon

You know, after recording this video I realized that Garnier was in fact a Canadian brand. Duh! So of course the best range of Garnier products is going to be here. That’s cool.

So hand cocoon has kind of changed its look in some countries since I’ve used it (so look for either name), so it may be called Hand Repair Intensive Restoring Hand Cream. I’ve done some research and I’ve checked up on MUA and both products seem to be the same. Great, I can’t wait to buy some because my hands are really old lady like right now, even with the application of hand moisturizer throughout the day. I need it bad.

2. Crabtree & Evelyn Rosewater Hand Therapy

I have to thank my friends Sarah and Will for this beautiful product. It’s not as good as the Garnier but I love, love, love the smell. If you’re like me and you don’t like wearing perfume, then this is a great option - wear a moisturizing hand cream that not only helps keep your hands hydrated, but also makes you smell like you’re wearing a beautiful perfume. That’s awesome.

If you want to go to the website, click on the image.

3. Australian Bush Flower Essences Travel Essences Cream

If you can find this line of products in your local health food store then they’re definitely worth trying. They’re amazing because while they’re hydrating and moisturizing your skin, they’re also looking after your emotional care and well being. Wow, trippy but I love that.

Here is what the website says about this product:

This combination particularly addresses the problems encountered with jet travel. It enables a person to arrive at their destination feeling balanced and ready to go. The use of this Essence is beneficial for all forms of travel.

Here is their website link if you want to learn more about Australian bush flowers.

Fran

I was in an organic grocery store the other day and found this really awesome (yet super expensive) product that I just had to buy. It’s sprouted ground flax (flax meal) with blueberries. This is a fantastic product for the skin. If you’re not taking flax seed oil or eating flax seeds, well you should be!

Essential Fatty Acids and the acne connection

Flax comes under the category of ‘essential fatty acids’, or EFAs. For everyone that has acne due to a hormonal imbalance (that’s probably about 90% of you), then increasing the amount of EFAs in your diet will help a lot.

Generally, we don’t have enough EFAs in our diet. This is bad because EFAs can in fact help reduce the production of the sex hormone androgen’s …which is the very same hormone that causes excess sebum production in the skin and gives us acne. Continue reading →

I thought I’d better post an official announcement about the High on Health forum, because it is a little hidden away so there may be some of you that haven’t noticed yet

So …High on Health has a forum!

The forum started with just an acne treatment questions thread which was a way for me to discuss questions with you publicly so it can benefit others.

I also want to encourage all of you to please add your replies to questions too if you have any answers, because you may have something better to say, or a little more experience on a particular topic than me.

Today I added a new section called ‘General Skin Care Questions‘ in case you have any non-acne related questions to ask, whether it be about anti-aging, wrinkles, eczema, rosacea, dark eye circles, sunblock, makeup, facials …or any question about skin care really. My good friend Clara from face-natural will be lurking around that forum ready to answer your questions. Clara runs an awesome natural skin care blog and even has her own line of products, so she’s a great person to ask all of those skin care questions that you’ve got.

Please note: You do not need to register as a user to start posting to the forums, you can just jump straight in there and start posting.

Although it is great when you register because you can put a picture up (it doesn’t have to be of you) and create a little profile.

If you want to start posting in the forum, here is the direct link: http://www.highonhealth.org/forums/index.php

Have fun posting!

Fran

I realize I may be leaving myself open to a lot of debate with this topic, but it’s been on my mind for a while so I just had to post something.

There’s no doubt, absolutely no doubt at all that natural skin care products are better for you, your body and your skin. But do they work as well as cosmetic products?

Among the many things that I have to thank my mother for, one of them is a learned awareness of chemicals in foods and body products, and how they really should be avoided as much as possible. My mother caught onto all of this when my sisters and I were still quite young, so we grew up in a household full of whole foods and natural products.

My mum had read in the paper that chemicals in foods were really bad for you, so she cut out and laminated the then small list of artificial chemicals listed in the paper, and carried it in her handbag every time she went to the grocery store. I am forever grateful to my mother for doing this, and love how I now do the same, but with my more extended handbag sized ‘The Chemical Maze’.

My point is, I’ve been avoiding chemicals for many years …and my avoidance of chemicals in foods transferred to an avoidance of chemicals in my moisturizer, then cleanser, shampoo, deodorant, makeup and eventually toothpaste. I was so proud of the fact that not a chemical would pass my lips or sit on my skin. I hunted for new beauty products in health stores and on mail order catalogues made out of unbleached recycled paper. Everything was wholesome and ethical and it all just felt so right. I was known among my friends and family to be very disciplined when it came to the products I used, and they even came to me for advice on natural product recommendations.

That is, until the day my skin decided to throw a hissy fit and I got acne. Continue reading →

I’m embarrassed to admit this. Okay, here goes …I bought a Readers Digest. To my defence, I was sick and I picked up anything that looked trashy in the drugstore that I could read it bed

So I was reading the digest and I came across this article that I never thought I’d find in a Readers Digest of all places. It was about how drinking out of plastic bottles is really bad for you, and how leaving the bottle in the car to heat up and morph out of shape [and then drinking out of it again] is even worse. Why was this so amazing to read? Because this information has been circulating the natural therapy books and magazines for years, and I was so incredibly happy to find that it has reached mainstream media.

So what does all of this have to do with our skin and acne? Well, a lot actually. Because drinking 6-8 glasses of filtered water each and every day is a great way to keep acne away (hey that rhymes). It’s not going to be the miraculous cure to get rid of your severe cystic acne, but it will make a significant difference if you’re not drinking enough water right now. AND, there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind, like is your water filtered and what are you drinking out of.

Check out my video on water and acne to find out more:

Fran