Health problems behind acne & blackheads

If you have too many pimples and blackheads and you couldn't cure it with any facial products, good to know those things below, before you run to a Physician. Acnes don't appear out of the blue with no reason. Oily skin and blocked pores are not the main reasons, because something had to trigger them. Dermatologists usually don't care about your lifestyle, diet or any health issues behind your acne problem and they just cover the problems with hormonal pills (ie. birth control pills) which is deffinately not the solution.

Possible health problems and triggers behind acne:

• Stress
• Hormonal problems or changes in your hormone levels: ie. before a menstrual period or pregnancy, female endocrine disorder (PCOS) etc.
• Some medications: androgens, lithium barbiturates, etc.
• Digestion problems
• Intestine problems
• Disturbances of liver function
• Renal/Kidney failure
• Disorders of water balance
• Circulation problems
• Bad teeth
• Tonsil problems
• Facial products with harsh chemicals
• Hair products: especially if you have acne or blackheads usually on your forehead
• Eating unhealthy foods like fast, processed, semi-finished, GMO foods
• Milk
• Sugar
• Toxins in the body
• Inflammation
• Absorption problems
• Problem with the gut flora

The texture of the blackheads tells a lot to a professional. She/he can take a conclusion about what kind of internal problem there is in the background.

These companies test on animals

It's a quick, useful information about companies who either test on animals or pay a laboratory to conduct tests on animals. Please make sure that you avoid their products. (They also use dangerous chemicals.)

According to Journal of the American Medical Association and the British Medical Journal it is concluded that because of the fundamental biological differences among species, animal tests do not reliably predict outcomes in humans.

However Frankie Trull, president of the non-profit Foundation for Biomedical Research (a promoter of responsible animal testing), explains that "over the past 60 years, scientists have figured out what works best in what models."

It means that they found those animals that are closely mimics of a human. "Scientists really do try to go that extra mile to find the species that will most accurately mimic how the compound would work in a human" says Frankie Trull.

This is terrible because there are other alternatives to test without animals. You can read about here: Peta.org

Certified Logos in skin care

If you want to buy real organic, natural, vegan or cruelty free skin care products, then you should look for these logos.

1. USDA Organic:

If you see this logo on a product you can be sure it contains at least 95% organic ingredients. Products made with a minimum 70% and under 95% organic ingredients, may display "made with organic ingredients," but cannot display the USDA organic label. Synthetic fertilizers, sewage sludge, irradiation, and genetic engineering may not be used.

2. NaTrue:

It is a non-profit organization formed by natural cosmetic manufacturers in Europe.

They certify to three levels:

• Natural Cosmetics: Ingredients must be natural but they do not have to be organic. This is when the logo comes with 1 star (from organic cultivation)
• Natural Cosmetics With Organic Portion: Natural cosmetics containing ingredients of organic origin at least 70% of natural ingredients must stem from controlled organic production and/or controlled wild collection. This is when the logo comes with 2 stars
• Organic Cosmetics: At least 95 % of natural ingredients must come from controlled organic cultivation and/or controlled wild collection. In addition, minimum levels for natural ingredients are even higher than for the second grade. This is when the logo comes with 3 stars

Beauty Basics : How to Wash Your Face Properly, for Clear & Beautiful Skin

Face wash

The very first thing is to find a proper facial cleanser which fits to your skin type. I made a post about organic skin care brands here and here . Simple hand soaps are not good for wash the face, because their pH level usually around 8-10., a strong alkaline and the skin pH level on our face is between 4-5.6 if it's balanced. An oily skin's pH is around 5.7-6.8. A dry skin is 7.3 to 7.4. You can see hand soaps are not made for face. Use facial soaps

I like to use my fingers instead of a washcloth, but it's your decision. I use facial cleansing sponges for my guest which I think is better than washcloth.

We have to wash our face twice a day, but mainly before bed to remove dirt (and makeup too, but I prefer makeup remover for this). I don't wash my face with a cleanser in the morning (just with water), because I don't need it; my skin is not dirty and if I used a cream before bed then I like the feeling of my skin -moisturized- in the morning. So I just use simple water.

Here is my advice for how to wash face properly:

1. Wet your face with lukewarm water
2. Squeeze a little amount of cleanser into your palm and rub them together, so it will dissolve
3. Use your fingertips (middle fingers and ring fingers) to apply the cleanser on your face and start a gentle circulation motions
4. On the cheeks always start from the outside and proceed inwards while you are doing the circulation motions, around your lips too, then come up to your nose. On your forehead you can do the motions in both directions, it's more like a spiral motion than a circular
5. Slow down around the eye area and here also use the outside from inside circulation method
6. When you are done, you can do 2 things: splashing your face with water or use a wet cotton pad or facial cleansing sponge and wipe your face with that until it's clean
7. Use a toner for your skin type, because sometimes even the best cleanser is not enough to get rid of all the dirt

Chemical hair dyes and their effect to our health

We are responsible for the condition of our hair. There are certain factors that effect the health of our hair. These are:

• Mechanical factors: combing, retaliate, etc.
• Chemical factors: dying, perm
• Heat and light: sun, hair drying, flat iron, curling iron, etc.
• Physiological factors like stress, smoking, diet, etc.
• The environment: smog, wind, weather and ozone

Almost everyone dyes their hair. I remember I was 16 when I started to dye my hair, back then I was red. Then I became black and slowly blond. It's been 2 years now that I don't dye my hair since I know how bad it is for our health.

Guest Post - How do we raise healthy kids in an unhealthy world?

When few weeks ago I wrote a guest post for Kelly, Savvy Suburban, I knew right away that I want a post from her too! She is a lovely mom of 2 boys and her blog is about health, eco friendly living, beauty, fitness and fashion. She writes for various magazines and websites as well. I love her blog, it's very informative, well researched and we can learn a lot from her. She also gives lifestyle tips & trends, matters on health, being green, important information and items that make life a little easier and more fun. So I asked her to write for us a post about how can she manage healthy living with children? She was so kind and came up with this amazing guest post for Be Beauty Smart! I hope you guys will enjoy as much as I do! Thank you so much Kelly!

How do we raise healthy kids in an unhealthy world?

by Kelly at Savvy Suburban

When raising kids, it's not easy finding balance between healthy, eco-friendly living and convenient, care free living. Kids are bombarded by commercials for processed food, exposed to a bevy of junk food at parties, play dates, games and school. I face many struggles in this arena. It’s not easy, but it’s not a losing battle.

I am passionate about living a healthy chemical free life and eating nutritious whole food. This became exponentially more important to me after I became a mom. It seems the minute we enter motherhood we become hyper aware of the anxiety inducing prevalence of BPA, phthalates, pesticides, GMOs, endocrine disrupters, toxic toys… the list goes on and on. We just want to protect our kids and keep them safe and healthy.

My kids, especially my 9 year old, give me grief about buying toothpaste without fluoride, 'fake' oreo cookies from Whole Foods, wearing pajamas that don’t have flame retardant chemicals, etc. They see their friends eating a bunch of junk food and using ‘regular’ chemical laden sunscreen, so I often hear, “all my friends get to!” Or he’ll retort with comments like, “other people drink out of plastic water bottles and use regular sunscreen spray, etc. and they’re fine.” I explain that poor health is achieved over years of not properly caring for your body. It’s not an immediate response, it’s prolonged use over a period of time that will cumulatively cause disease so it’s important to make healthy choices over the course of one’s life.

Product review - Nexxus Pro-Mend shampoo and conditioner

I have a very dry hair with split ends. I dyed my hair back then (I was blond) and it damaged it very badly. I know the diet plays a big role too, but while I am working on it, I wanted to use something for my hair which also gives a moisture boost for it.

I remember for the big hype about Nexxus. I even saw it in many beauty magazines how amazing it is, and it has a new technology that really works. So I said I have to give it a try.

This new technology called PEC (polyelectrolyte complex). I found this information about it: "PEC molecules are able to access the breach ends of hair. Because the circuitous can stick to the damaged hair protein and to added circuitous molecules, it creates little bridges beyond the accessible ends of the splits. As your hair dries, the water evaporates from the complex causing it to contract. The force of this contraction pulls the end of the split hairs back together again. Once the PECs are dry they bind the split end shut." (Source: Beauty Brains)

It also says that it mends split ends. I was so exciting to try it out, because I didn't want to cut it. I really hoped it will repair my damaged hair and split ends.

1.Nexxus Daily Shampoo Ingredients:

Water, Sodium Laureth Sulfate, Disodium Laureth Sulfosuccinate, Cocamidopropyl Betaine, Sodium Chloride, Glycol Distearate, Polyquaternium-10, Fragrance/Parfum, PEG-6 Caprylic/Capric Glycerides, Cocamide MEA, Disodium EDTA, Hexyl Cinnamal, Sodium Hydroxide, Sodium Hydroxide, Limonene, Polyquaternium-28, PVM/MA, Methylchloroisothiazolinone, Methylisothiazolinone, Cocos Nucifera, Keratin Amino Acids, Propylene Glycol, Jasminum Officinale, Citric Acid

As you can see the ingredients are synthetic. Barely has any beneficial and effective agents in it. Some of them are very harmful and toxic as well.

Product review - Nourish Wild Berries Organic Body Butter

Another amazing product from Nourish.

This product review actually comes along with my other Nourish product review here.

My experience with this body butter:

I use this Body Butter after every shower and I just love it. If you have a very dry skin, this is the product to buy. Honestly, I don't use it just on my body, but on my face too and it's just working very well. The first ingredient is shea butter which makes this product greasy, so you have to wait a little bit before you put clothes on. The smell is very nice, not too strong. You can actually smell the wild berry, but it's not overwhelming. I like it.

The texture is very thick and kind of solid when you touch it (like every other body butter which based on shea butter), but if you put it in a warm place, especially when it's summer time (room temperature), or as soon as you applied to your body, then it spreads easily. Shea butter melts at body temperature anyways.

Blog award!

This was such a surprise for me! I got these blog awards from Dana of Mother Nature's Snuggery! And not just one award, but 2! Thank you Dana!

One is the One Lovely Blogger award and the other one is the Versatile Blogger Award.