Nature & Beauty

If you truly love Nature, you will find beauty everywhere

~ Vincent Van Gogh ~

This is a photo of a blue bottle I took on a beach near where I live.  

I love it because it is beautiful even though it's poisonous to touch.  

I thought Vicent's quote was appropriate for such a photo.

New project

It started like this

While I realise this has very little to do with natural products, it does has everything to do with being handcrafted by me.

I recently learnt how to crochet thanks to my friend Stephanie of Moobear and OverIt and my mother. I've been working on my crocheting for a few weeks now but as I'm one of those people who really hates to see waste I needed to find something that was useful and that was going to be loved.  So I decided I need a project, but what?

  

Well, I have two girls and they are pre-teens so I was surprised to find that they thought me crochet was pretty cool, OK OK after they had a little giggle.  Anyway while practicing my chains, trebles and clusters, I found that I could make flowers and they didn't look too bad but what was I going to do with them, then it came to me add them to a headband.  Now, by putting these on to a headband, I had a win and the girls had a win.  The girls got something that their friends don't have, which they think is cool and it keeps the hair out of their eyes (which is where I win). 

I forgot to mention, my 22 month old son loved the headbands so much I wasn't sure if the girls would get them at all. 

Modeling the black

Modeling the pink

I love learning new things!

How Natural Products Protect the Earth

We hear a lot about products being environmentally friendly these days, but what does it really mean?

An environmentally friendly product is one that causes little or no damage to the earth either during its production, its use or once it is finished. Realistically, anything we make or do has some impact on the environment but an environmentally friendly product is one that makes the least impact of all.

Bath and body products can do a lot of damage to our earth. They often contain synthetic materials and chemicals which artificially provide fragrance or some supposed benefit to our skins. We don’t really know what the long term effect is on the human body but we can already see what effect they have on the world around us. We won’t even talk about the testing on animals…..

Did you know that talc comes from great big open mines? Some of them have even been located inside National Parks. Not only are they digging this out of the earth, they then turn the products including talcum powder which has been linked to cancer.

Mineral oil sounds nice and gentle, doesn’t it? Sadly, mineral oil is poorly named because it is actually derived from petroleum. This is the same product that we know as baby oil and for generations it has been plastered all over our skins. Not only does it stop our skin from breathing but it as it passes through the body it interferes with the elimination of toxins. We damage the earth by mining petroleum, which is not a sustainable product, only to damage ourselves by using it.

You have probably seen reports on how phosphates are feeding the algae in our waterways and causing our fish to die and our water to be polluted. Phosphates are found in laundry and dishwasher products. SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulphate) is another chemical that is in most of the soaps and hair products we use. Although they say it is ‘derived from coconut’ SLS is actually quite corrosive and can cause skin damage. It is also used on animals when manufacturers test for skin reactions. Can you imagine what happens when a chemical cocktail of our household cleaners and cosmetics is flushed into our waterways?

Natural products are made from plants and products that occur naturally in the environment. They are environmentally friendly because they do not interfere with the earth or with plant and animal life. The materials are sustainable so that balance is maintained. Natural products are not processed with chemicals so they have no poisons to seep into the earth nor are they tested on animals. Natural, environmentally friendly products have no side-effects on us or on the Earth. The waterways stay clean and the micro-organisms that are the basis of our food chain stay healthy.

Look around your home and read the labels on the products you are using. How natural are they? Try eliminating chemical products from your home. Why not start by replacing your harmful bath and body products with our natural range? Every step towards natural products is a step towards a healthier life for your family and for the planet.

Beauty Tips from Audrey Hepburn

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness

For lovely eyes seek out the good in people

For a good figure, share your food with the hungry

For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through once a day

For poise, walk with the knowledge you will never walk alone

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; never throw out anybody.

Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, you will find one at the end of your arm.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure she carries, or the way she combs her hair.

Coconut Oil is good for you

Coconut Oil is different from most other oils because it is solid at room temperature. I remember years ago buying my first bottle of coconut oil and expecting it to be a fragrant, liquid oil. I thought I had a faulty product when I opened it and saw a solid white mass like wax instead of oil.

Coconut Oil has many benefits for the skin which is why it is a favourite ingredient for soap makers. Coconut oil provides a protective barrier on the skin, protecting it from daily damage. It is an oil that really helps to give your skin a more youthful appearance as it is absorbed into the cells of your skin, helping to keep them strong and healthy. Coconut Oil contains anti-oxidants which are known to help fight off the free radicals which cause such damage to your skin.

Virgin Coconut Oil is pure and has not been damaged by vigorous refining processes. It has antioxidant, antifungal, and antibacterial properties. In fact, it has health benefits far beyond skin care. Scientists have found that by cooking with coconut oil it has a positive effect on heart disease, blood pressure, cholesterol and much more.

There is no real fragrance from Coconut Oil. It has a very light scent to it but certainly does not smell of coconuts!

Soap and skin care makers love to use Coconut Oil because of its wonderful health and skin protection benefits. It is easy to use, taking only a gentle heating to melt, but it also stays stable during the production process. That means that it will produce a quality product each time.

If you look at our lovely range of soaps (http://www.purelynaturaliving.com/TheSoap.html) you will notice that they all list Coconut Oil as an ingredient. Now you know why. When you use our soaps you know that you are doing the best that you can do to keep your skin healthy and gorgeous.