My housemate and I have rediscovered the luxury of having baths. We were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to house sit this gorgeous house in the inner city suburbs of Brisbane for three months. One of the best features of the house – two huge claw foot baths.
I’ve never really been a “bath person” (whatever that means). I’ve lived in houses and apartments before with baths but they’ve always been those lame bath and shower combos so it’s never really felt quite right. So I guess because this bath is the traditional free standing style it’s a little more luxurious.
The occasional once a week bath when I first moved in has now turned into more of a daily habit. I now proudly admit that I’m in that bath almost nightly. Even at times when I get home after midnight I can’t resist the urge! It seems to be the perfect way to wind down.
Last night I arrived home after 11pm and headed straight to the bathroom to get a hot bath started. Fifteen minutes later I found myself lying in the water feeling all heavenly and relaxed watching the steam rise out of the water, and then thinking …I wonder if these regular baths are healing for my body? Or are they actually bad? I mean, it must do something to your skin lying in hot water like that for a good 20 minutes.
I know my Chinese Herbalist doesn’t think much of them for us “weaker” types (thinner, more sensitive). I questioned him about saunas recently and he told me that the heat in saunas (and therefore baths too) can actually take the energy out of your body. So this is why you feel beautifully relaxed after a sauna or bath. A chunk of your energy has been taken away with that heat. He did say that they can be very healing and detoxing for more robust body types, but unfortunately that does not include me. He says the reason why I experienced a “healing crisis” after my series of far-infrared saunas and colonics recently was because my body is too weak for such strong detoxing cleanses. Hmm, definitely something to think about. Continue reading →
One of the great things about working in the natural skin care industry is the great people I meet along the way. A couple of weeks ago I made a new friend, Andrew, who works with far-infrared saunas.
Andrew is very passionate about what he does (which I now understand why after trying one of these things). But when he first told me he worked with saunas my first impressions were still “yeah whatever”, because I could vaguely remember sitting in a steam sauna with my girlfriends over ten years ago now and not liking it at all because it felt way too humid to be comfortable.
But then Andrew told me that the saunas he works with are far-infrared (FIR), there’s no steam involved AND they’re amazingly good at detoxifying the skin. So now I was interested. And of course even more interested when Andrew invited me around for a session to try it out for myself.
My far-infrared sauna experience
I was a little wary before my first FIR sauna experience because of my previous steam sessions that I didn’t particularly like. I’m a summer girl so I love the heat but steam saunas can get uncomfortably hot and very humid which is not that fun. So on the way to my FIR session I was a little more apprehensive than excited because I assumed this sauna experience would be the same as the others.
Wow was I wrong. I was lucky enough to enjoy a cabin FIR sauna for a whole 45 minutes. Sure the last ten minutes were feeling a little too hot and uncomfortable and I should’ve either opened the door or finished earlier, but the first 35 minutes were absolute bliss. Sitting in the cabin felt so beautiful, cosy and warm. Andrew gave me a few CDs to play in there (yes some cabins have CD and DVD players) and I took in a book to read figuring I’d get bored sitting in there for 45 minutes. But it was so cosy and so warm that all I wanted to do was close my eyes, relax and do nothing. Continue reading →
If you’re wondering what on earth a ‘hygiene floatation fluid spray’ is – it’s a fancy name for body deodorant.
I had a break from using baking soda as a deodorant for a few days to try out Dr. Mist, and I have to say, this product is a lot better than I thought it would be. It did everything it promised on the bottle, it was fragrance free (and made me fragrance free!), didn’t stain my clothes, was colorless on my underarms and non-oily. I used it when I went rollerblading (the hottest and sweatiest I get) and it didn’t make me smell at all. I’d even say that this product works better than both the crystal deodorants I’ve used and the baking-soda.
The active ingredients in Dr. Mist are potassium sulphate and sodium chloride. Potassium sulphate is a naturally occurring mineral salt and sodium chloride is your common table salt which a lot of people use in their food. Both substances are perfectly safe to use on the skin, especially when they’re used in such a small dose as with Dr. Mist. Continue reading →
Okay, so it’s not really my tip, I got this one from a friend of mine. But it’s a great one, and I can guarantee it will be the cheapest deodorant you will ever find. I love this tip, it works incredibly well and is awesome for anybody will allergy problems AND for people who don’t like using chemicals.
It’s really important to use a natural deodorant because a lot of toxins are released from your body through your under arms. The last thing you want to do is keep those toxins inside of you. They are going to have to come out some way!
I’ve even used this deodorant when I’ve gone rollerblading, and it’s REALLY hot in Brisbane at the moment so that definitely counts for something. If it’s passed the rollerblading test then it is something I feel confident in recommending.
What’s the secret? You’ll have to watch to find out …
If you do try this deodorant, leave me a comment and tell me how you went!
I received an email from my sister after my last post on the importance of using natural toothpastes, Toothpaste is poison! This is what she wrote:
Your blog article got me worrying about my toothpaste. I was wondering if you’ve heard any feedback about using non-fluoride toothpaste at all? I soooo don’t want to get holes in my teeth. I rang the Australian dental federation once and they told me that they can only recommend using toothpaste with fluoride to prevent cavities. Only thing is, I think ALL companies have to test on animals to gain the federation seal of approval. I know this is a fact in America and so I’m assuming it’s the same here. CCF just send me a animal testing booklet so I’m feeling horrible about using fluoride toothpaste.
I did find one company in America ‘Tom’s of Maine’ that has a natural toothpaste with fluoride and is not tested on animals. They specially petitioned the federation to get approval via test methods not using animals. Only thing is it will cost me $90 postage to get the stuff posted out. I’ve emailed Tom’s of Maine to try and get them to send it to me cheaper. I recently read Tom’s of Maine might soon be bought out by Colgate so that will rule them out soon anyway.
I’m really curious to find out whether or not we we actually need fluoride in toothpaste to adequately protect our teeth. And if it’s really okay to use natural toothpastes that do not contain fluoride.
There is no doubt that fluoride in high doses is toxic. There is also no doubt that fluoride is a chemical and putting any chemical into your body is bad for you. You only need to do a very short Google search to pull up thousands of sites, even government studies on the adverse effects of fluoridation. What I really want to find out is do we really need fluoride to properly protect our teeth from cavities. Can I feel comfortable using toothpaste without fluoride, or do I need to get a fluoride treatment from my dentist every six months?
My fluoride conclusions
I’ve done a bit of Internet research and I have to say, it’s difficult to find any conclusive studies because I don’t think any have been done. I have come up with a few conclusions from the research I’ve done.
As I’ve already stated, there is no doubt that fluoride in high doses is toxic.
We are exposed to too much fluoride. Fluoridation should be a choice. Adding it to out water is not a choice that should be made for us.
I’m still undecided about children, but I personally feel that adults do not need fluoride in their toothpaste. There are heaps of alternatives out there to keep your teeth cavity free, one being Xylitol which is a natural sweetener that is great for fighting tooth decay. I chew Xylitol gum which is one way of naturally fighting tooth decay. Spry sells a Xylitol toothpaste but I haven’t seen it at my local health food stores.
Exposure to too much fluoride in children can lead to fluorosis (mottled teeth). I actually think I have fluorosis on my teeth. I was giving fluoride tablets every day for the first ten or so years of my life, and although I’ve never had a cavity, I have very yellow teeth with a couple of brown stains and some mottled white bits. The dentist has tried to polish these stains off but the stains are all the way through the teeth. I’ve never been a smoker and don’t drink coffee so I can’t blame the yellow teeth on either of those. I was teased as a child and still get asked occasionally about my yellow teeth so to be honest, I’d much rather have a few cavities than yellow and mottled teeth.
My research has made me completely comfortable with not using toothpaste which contains fluoride. I also don’t like the fact that all fluoride toothpastes are tested on animals.
Before I have children (which is a few years yet anyway!) I’m going to do a lot of research and find out what the best options are. If you know of anyone that has had absolutely no fluoride in their toothpaste, drinking water, or trips to the dentist, write a comment because I’d really like to know what state your teeth are in. Fluoride in toothpaste was first marketed in the 1950s so I’m not that confident I’ll find anyone.
For now, no more fluoride in toothpaste for me – I’m using natural dental care only. All I have to do now is find a holistic dentist …
My housemate and I have rediscovered the luxury of having baths. We were lucky enough to be given the opportunity to house sit this gorgeous house in the inner city suburbs of Brisbane for three months. One of the best features of the house – two huge claw foot baths.
One of the great things about working in the natural skin care industry is the great people I meet along the way. A couple of weeks ago I made a new friend, Andrew, who works with 
I was a little wary before my first FIR sauna experience because of my previous steam sessions that I didn’t particularly like. I’m a summer girl so I love the heat but steam saunas can get uncomfortably hot and very humid which is not that fun. So on the way to my FIR session I was a little more apprehensive than excited because I assumed this sauna experience would be the same as the others.
Price: AU$12.95 (50 mL bottle)
Okay, so it’s not really my tip, I got this one from a friend of mine. But it’s a great one, and I can guarantee it will be the cheapest deodorant you will ever find. I love this tip, it works incredibly well and is awesome for anybody will allergy problems AND for people who don’t like using chemicals.
