The blog contest for the natural skin care prize pack is now closed with an amazing amount of submissions, so thank you to everyone that wrote a comment.
There were 246 submissions, and the winner (that was randomly selected) is #206, Emily. The winner will be notified via the email address they submitted with their entry.
As it turns out, the contest has created a wonderful resource of natural skin care products and ingredients that I’ve enjoyed sifting through. Thanks to you, we now have a list of fantastic products that I’m looking forward to trialling soon.
I’ve always liked Giovanni’s organic hair care range, but my liked turned to love when I tried their body lotions.
Giovanni’s shampoo has traveled around with me since I left Brisbane (we go way back). I thought the line was Australian because of the addition of Tea Tree Oil in my fav shampoo of theirs (actually, the product comes from California), so I was super happy when I found Giovanni shampoos and conditioners on the shelves in Canadian health food stores and organic markets.
In the past I’ve used both natural and “top of the range” non-natural shampoos (Redkin for example) and honestly I’ve found most natural, organic brands to be just as good, if not better than anything else I’ve used – with Giovanni being my favorite.
I’ve skim read Arthur Giovanni’s bio – the Californian hair stylist and founder of Giovanni cosmetics. It’s worth a read if you want to know the background about the products and their founder. I like how they describe their hair products as “positively charged Magnetic line of hair care”. I don’t know what this really means but it sounds good, and hmm …maybe that’s why the product works so well!
I’m very excited to be running my first blog competition!
The Prize – A natural skin care pack including:
Juice Beauty SPF 30 Mineral Light Moisturizer
Biovera Aloe Vera Moisturizing Cream (all organic!)
EG Waterproof Mosquito Repellent Bracelets (natural and safe to wear)
Peach flavored lip balm in a funky little round jar
Dr.Hauschka Rose Day Cream
Plus samples of Live-Live Bee Yummy Skinfood, Korres Olive and Rye Day Cream and Korres Milk Proteins 3 in 1 Cleansing, Toning and Eye Make-Up Remover. And an EyeRevive Cloth Eye Treatment Mask.
How do you win this pack?
It’s simple – all you have to do is write a comment in the box below about your favorite natural skin care product. Or if you don’t have a favorite, write what natural product you’re looking for.
The competition closes on Tuesday 14th October so get your entries in before then! I’ll choose a random winner and announce the lucky guy or girl the next day.
On a recent weekend away I ran out of my cleanser so had to quickly find a replacement. I picked up the most natural looking product in Walmart, but when I flipped it over to read the ingredients on the back, it sounded like some kind of chemistry experiment.
Just because something has fancy packaging that looks natural, or they’ve used clever words on the front of the bottle, it doesn’t mean that it IS natural. There are many products out there trying to trick us into believing they’re natural when really they’re not. I guess they’re just following the current fad.
It makes me wonder why they don’t just make a real natural product anyway considering they’ve obviously realized that’s what people want.
Here’s the excerpt I read out from the Wholefoods leaflet (which is actually a leaflet from Lavera cosmetics) -
The US government cannot mandate safety studies of cosmetics, and only 11 percent of the 10,500 ingredients FDA has documented in products have been assessed for safety by the cosmetic industry’s review panel. There is no regulation currently that requires cosmetics manufacturers in the US to fully list ingredients on their products. In Europe in contrast, this is required by law.
In a statement from February, 1999 FDA explains: “FDA cannot require companies to do safety testing of their cosmetic products before marketing.”
If you’re worried about acne or acne-prone skin, please know that you can find natural skin care products that do not contain dangerous chemicals that will also help heal your acne and not cause a breakout. It is possible.
It may take a little while to find the right one but you don’t have to apply chemical products to your skin if you don’t want to.
When I pick up a chocolate product and read the ingredients list, I’m usually just checking to see what sweetener has been used. So when a friend of mine asked what soy lecithin is (because it’s in just about every bar of chocolate), I shrugged and said I had no idea.
But now I can’t stop noticing it. Soy lecithin really is in a lot of chocolate products. And when last night when I was in Loblaws (Coles for you Aussies), I actually found a bottle of soy lecithin in the health food section!
So it got me wondering what soy lecithin actually is, and what it’s doing in my chocolate.
What is soy lecithin?
In the early 1900’s, the yet to be named ’soy lecithin’ was just a waste product produced during the “degumming” process of soybean oil. By 1908 the soy bean crushing and soy oil refining companies had expanded and they were having trouble disposing of the large amounts of foul smelling, fermenting waste product. Soy plants in Germany decided to name this waste product ’soy lecithin’ and looked for ways to utilize it. By 1939 scientists had found more than 1,000 different ways to use soy lecithin.
Why soy lecithin is in Chocolate
I may have found soy lecithin in the health food section but unfortunately it’s not added to chocolate to give you any nutritional value. Soy lecithin is an emulsifier, so it’s added to chocolate to keep the cocoa and the cocoa butter together.
And it’s added to bakery goods to make the dough less sticky and easier to rise.
Is soy lecithin bad for you?
Yes and no. First, it’s important to note that solvents are used during the “degumming” process of soybean oil, so soy lecithin itself is likely to contain chemical solvents.
You also need to consider the quality of the soybeans used to product soy lecithin. If the soybeans are not organic, then the soy lecithin will contain herbicides and pesticides. And soybeans are often genetically modified which is an additional concern.
Soybeans and hormones
My personal concern with consuming soy products is the high levels of phytoestrogens they contain, because phytoestrogens can elevate your estrogen levels if eaten in high doses.
I have a genetic problem with estrogen dominance, so I don’t like to eat a lot of soy products. It’s beginning to concern me that soy is in so many foods. Being vegetarian, in the past I’ve relied heavily on soy products for protein but now I’m considering cutting out soy altogether.
I’m also allergic to soy so I guess that’s another reason to void soy and it’s by-products.
But lecithin itself is a very healthy food!
Really, the questionable part of ’soy lecithin’ is just the ’soy’. Lecithin itself (without the soy) is actually a very healthy food, most famously know for its high choline content.
You can even buy lecithin as a supplement, although personally I’d stick with the natural sources – the best being egg yolks and bee pollen. Vegans, you can get your lecithin from peanuts, wheat and oatmeal.
So next time you pick up that chocolate bar, have a look for ’soy lecithin’ in the ingredients list. This time you’ll know exactly what it is!
The blog contest for the natural skin care prize pack is now closed with an amazing amount of submissions, so thank you to everyone that wrote a comment. 
Just because something has fancy packaging that looks natural, or they’ve used clever words on the front of the bottle, it doesn’t mean that it IS natural. There are many products out there trying to trick us into believing they’re natural when really they’re not. I guess they’re just following the current fad.
When I pick up a chocolate product and read the ingredients list, I’m usually just checking to see what sweetener has been used. So when a friend of mine asked what soy lecithin is (because it’s in just about every bar of chocolate), I shrugged and said I had no idea.
Yes and no. First, it’s important to note that solvents are used during the “degumming” process of soybean oil, so soy lecithin itself is likely to contain chemical solvents. 
