It's a bit of a weird friday forte posting today - my head is with the memories of seven years ago (I would have been asleep back in 2003, epidural in place and catching up on some rest before the grand arrival). In the next room the Wee Guy is fighting sleep right now as he's too excited about tomorrow - seven seems to be a really exciting and aware age.
The picture above, our blissful lack of awareness tinged with uncertainty about the future as we spend one of our last evenings alone together in a pre-parental existence seems hard to recollect.
What exactly was life like before we had a family of our own?
I myself feel that the last seven years has been a time of incredible growth for me, where I've truly become the adult who realises there's still a lot of growing up to do.
Life has changed so much for me that it's hard to remember a time before ... before I had a near-constant little shadow around me all the time. As someone who relishes her personal space and frequently seeks solitude, motherhood has been a huge voyage of discovery for me. Within limits, I've found that I really do enjoy my son's company and that he does add value to my daily life. He's taught me what it is to share life, living with another person rather than just sharing living space. He's as much the teacher as I am. I will admit though that it's all been a necessary change, not optional but imperative, for survival as a mother/child unit. I don't think we do too badly (thinks back to cupcakes at the mall this afternoon!).
As for the other sitters in the photograph; well, sadly Mauz the cat (furry bum on the right) had to be euthanased three months after the Wee guy came home to us. He had thyroid disease and kidney failure, but before he left us he truly welcomed our new addition. I have some lovely pics of the two together.
And the human, the soon-to-be new dad? How has he fared? He's come up trumps with the new responsibilities thrust on him as sole breadwinner and co-parent. As I talk to other (younger) mums I realise how much more he does in terms of spreading the load at home and how lucky I am. He's as fully capable of taking charge of the childcare for an entire weekend as he is of cleaning the bathrooms or planning the meals (which he does every weekend). He doesn't expect to disappear taking "time off" on Saturdays and Sundays for "working all week" which some dads do (what the f*ck do you think your child(ren)'s mother has been doing then?) and he doesn't see staying at home in the evening as babysitting. Although I don't think he's done as much growing up as I have and, rather irritatingly, he still views childcare arrangements as totally my responsibility, I am still impressed at how involved a father he actually is day-to-day. ......... and at how much more hair he's lost in the process :)
Friday, April 30, 2010
Friday forte: seven years ago .....
Thursday, April 29, 2010
seven years ago today ......
our first view of the Wee Guy
OK - so you've all heard (!) about how I went deaf ...... now do you want to hear about the time I went blind?
Well, it goes something like this ....
only seven days to go .....
Seven years ago I was pregnant, and more than just pregnant but approaching my due date. Life had slowed down considerably and I weighed more than my almost 6-foot husband. One morning I woke up feeling crap. My neck ache from the day before was worse, my head ached and I felt sick. Bleh! So I took it easy for the morning in between preparing the crib (which we never used) for the baby and typing up my birth plan (ho ho ho!).
the day before (testing out the new camera) .....
I was too sicky to eat much (in fact I had thrown up regularly throughout the pregnancy so upchucking was not something new) and spent much of the rest of the day on the sofa. As I lay there contemplating and wondering, which is pretty much all you can do being the size of a house and waiting for labour, I realised that half the room had disappeared.
Hmmmm ....
beached whale position on the sofa (still not comfortable)
As I 'watched' more of the room vanished in front of me, leaving a pale greyness in its place.
Now, even in my sicky, tired, nauseous state I realised that something was not quite right. And then I realised that if I didn't call someone soon I might not be able to see the numbers let alone find the phone. So I dialed the doc, and to cut a long story short, was ordered straight into BC Womens where, due to the whole weird freaky nature of my condition, I ended up being induced, C-sectioned and delivering a giddy 34 hours later.
PS: I got my sight back. It turned out to be a migraine.
PPS: So much for typing out a touchy, feely birth plan!
Pain Free Through Yoga
Not Growing Old Gracefully
Since last summer up until this past February, my body had been doing things that I was none too happy with. Being an athlete most of my life and having an "A" type personality which contributed to my being highly competitive, I felt there was nothing I couldn't do or accomplish. I came at exercise with an attitude of "just do it" and "never die".
Weight lifting was such a pleasure for me. It made me feel strong and physical, a tactile experience....grabbing those weights, lifting those weights, creating a force inside me that was powerful.
Then one day in August, that experience came crashing down around me. All of a sudden I could no longer lift weights over my head, out to the side or do anything that required pressing backwards such as tricep kickbacks or overhead with tricep extensions. My left shoulder had shooting pain around the rotator cuff.
Thinking I had injured it, and that my Bursa sac was probably the issue, I decided to let it rest....and then I learned it needed more rest and then I realized it wasn't getting any better. I iced it....I applied heat, I took anti-inflammatories until my ears rang. I was headed into having a frozen shoulder in my minds eye.
My range of motion was all but gone. I couldn't clasp my bra, I couldn't curl my hair without pain, I couldn't reach behind my back, no higher than the top of my bum.....I couldn't reach over my head to grab a dish out of the cabinet.....sudden shifts in my arm such as pushing up off the floor, pulling or pushing a car door open, or getting out of a chair became a crippling experience. I was all but immobilized on my left side. Reaching forward began to be painful as well as the tendons began to shorten and pull at the back side of my arm up to my shoulder.....needless to say depression set in. I was beginning to fear joint issues since I also was hearing a clicking sound in my shoulder and it would pop every so often.
Is This What Getting Old Is?
After 4 months of trying to cure myself through rest and easy lifting, I only continued to re-injure my shoulder over and over. I told you I am an "A" type, never die or quit...even though I was killing myself....I am one of those that says, "work through the pain". I simply refused to accept my age and that this was what older meant. My body becoming incapacitated in some way and just learning to live with it....I refused....somehow I am going to find my way back.
Visit To The Doctor
Finally, I went to my doctor whom also provides naturopathic medicine with traditional methods to see what she could do for me. After several tests of range of motion, she felt it was all Bursa sac related and that frozen shoulder could be prevented. Fortunately no joint issues were involved and the popping and clicking was caused by how the tendons were pulling over the muscles when I would move a certain way. Also I was experiencing tendinitis from lack of movement since they had been initially strained and then began to shorten.
Then the great news came....are you ready?....She told me that at my age....."NOOOO"......I had to take it easier and come at lifting weights not so aggressively. Once a woman turns 50......"WHAT?"....she begins to age faster and needs to adjust her workout routine to accommodate her changing body.
Those dreaded words hung in the air like doom. No, not this gal....I'm not going to grow old! No sirree! I mean as we get older we have to work harder at staving off gaining weight especially after menopause...how can this be happening? I shut my ears like a little kid refusing to listen.
Apparently, according to her, doing shoulder presses with such heavy weights is probably what began my painful syndrome in my shoulders and that an imbalance occurred when lifting, causing the left arm to compensate more than the right, whereby injuring it and causing the spiral downward to no longer being able to do what I normally could do.
When did this happen?.... When did I get old according to my body's ability to perform in the same way?..... When did it decide it no longer wanted to lift weights that I had been lifting for years?
I had to stop all weight lifting and push-ups in my upper body and rest and rejuvenate....now I was really feeling sub par with what I was used to doing in my daily life. So I rested the shoulder and kept up with anti-inflammatories and my body weakened and began to gain weight.
Can you say "feeling old?" Was this what my future holds?....losing muscle mass and have it be replaced with fat mass? The saving grace of that conversation was my shoulder was not frozen and there was hope of restoring full range of motion. Even if I could no longer lift weights, there wasn't anything I wouldn't do to get my shoulder restored to full movement with no pain.
And I was going to find a way to fight my middle aged spread no matter what!
Daily activities were brutal. Simple things like brushing my hair or even sleeping on my left side brought about excruciating pain. I needed assistance with putting on my bra....MY BRA..... and pulling a sweater over my head created a sweaty experience....WTH! Even the pulling upward motion would cause the tendons to flare so that backward upward pull to position my bra just right was eye watering.
God love my hubby!
I also literally had to sleep a certain way to avoid injury or further pain....this was fun!...waking up moaning and groaning unable to move my arm as now it was paralyzed. Freaked me out!
Furthermore my psyche was becoming damaged because my quality of life was diminishing and I was watching my body get soft and flabby, that is, until I refused to allow it go further. I decided to fight back at my own body that was now betraying me.
Fighting My Way Back
Once I got the Holidays over with and saw myself and the weight I had gained on my home video I made at Thanksgiving, I decided to do some research on my situation. I was determined to learn as much as I could about how to stop living with immobility and get back on track with little to zero pain.
Like all things on the internet, a ton of information was available, and most of it good but also confusing.
Rediscovered Yoga And Partook In Massage Therapy
One consistent method throughout my search was the healing benefit of yoga exercise. I had done yoga years ago but always felt like it was a wimpy girl workout. So I didn't pursue it on any real serious level. I learned the basics and did it mostly for stretching exercises after a weight
lifting workout.
I began with the basics once again in January....taking it easy and I couldn't believe how out of shape I had become. Plus any overhead movement was mind numbing. Downward facing dog was brutal as was
wisdom pose. My upper arms and shoulders were so tight by this point....but I pressed on doing only what I could do with limited pain....and interlacing my arms behind me....well forget about it!
I also researched massage therapy....now not the kind of massages for muscle relief and relaxation but true therapy for what is called Myofascial Release. This requires a therapist to be knowledgeable in this type of treatment who truly works with incapacitated patients and those that deal with sports injuries....this is not your beauty massage.
I actually located a good one through Facebook of all places, putting my feelers out and doing my research on line. For those that live in the Treasure Valley, Boise, Idaho area, the one I highly recommend is Body Epiphanies with Brandon Trean. This young man is excellent and well educated in every aspect of massage therapy. He is the consummate professional always and the beauty of what he offered was he also would come to your home. This was the best part! Due to my busy schedule of running Sterling Minerals Cosmetics and ONATI Skin Care, this made my life that much easier especially dealing with the pain since even driving my car had its challenges. Holding my arm in any type of upward position caused more pain.
Brandon began with coming once per week, and literally with the first treatment, I had regained 30% more range of motion, being able to reach higher on my back without the pain. I was amazed. It still tweaked but he had really worked that arm for an entire hour....and it wasn't necessarily pleasant. This was true physical therapy so not much about it was relaxing. He never pushed passed what one could stand in terms of pain, but he does have to work in there pretty deep in order for there to be really any benefit. So one must endure some discomfort to gain any mobility and again, I had that "do or die" attitude of suffering through to fight my way back!
I continued with my yoga between visits, until I was able to reduce the treatments to every other week. Each week my arm was a little better.
Dealing With Setbacks
After doing this now for a couple of months, something shifted, and now my right shoulder was taking on the same symptoms as my left. One shoulder improves while the other grows painful. This was enough to make me call it quits....I was losing my mind with frustration. So instead of working on the left arm now Brandon was working on the right as well. Once we got that back in shape then I had a piriformis muscle spasm that literally brought me to my knees and caused intense bouts of crying....I mean I could not walk for days without having my right leg buckle underneath me. The piriformis muscle lies deep beneath the gluteus maximus, and apparently I had overstretched it in pigeon pose!
Now I am thinking I can't even do Yoga....what's next a wheelchair? My attitude by this time was terrible and I became hell to live with.....dealing with menopause was cake compared to this.
So again, Brandon spent an entire session working deeply into that connective tissue in my bum until the piriformis muscle released.
The picture here shows Brandon at work with his myofacial technique for working this area. After that I just felt bruised, but could walk with a bit of a limp and mobility was getting better. Needless to say I removed pigeon pose from my yoga workout since my body doesn't like it....or silly me I came at it too aggressively.....typical!
The beauty of Yoga is you can adjust it to the level your body can handle. There are no hard fast rules. Any portion of the pose will work wonders for regaining flexibility and strength....you don't have to become a pretzel to reap the benefits of yoga. Patience is also key in learning anything new....yoga poses cannot be rushed! Take it slow and steady and the poses will become easier over time. People that can get into some of those pretzel positions have been doing yoga for years and most their entire life. So don't compare yourself to them, something I had to overcome due to that competitive streak in me.
Yoga Will Help You Lose Weight, Build Strength Along With Endurance
Now I have to say that anyone who thinks that yoga is a wimpy girl workout, me included, has not experienced yoga to its fullest potential. I have changed my whole mindset of this fact.
If you are doing Hatha yoga then you may think this because this is more for relaxation and simple stretching through basic poses, and what I used to do way back when.
I have since incorporated Vinyasa Flow into my daily workouts and I can tell you that it gets me sweating, heart rate up, and is building muscle endurance beautifully. Plus the stretching benefits are incredible and it is so gentle on the body....it is like receiving a massage all over. And the best part is it puts power back into my upper body! Think this looks easy, give side plank a try and see how long you can last holding this pose and tell me this will not strengthen the arms. Plank pose and Chataranga Dandasana which is lowering down in a reverse push-up from plank very slowly with elbows close to the ribcage is another great exercise for strength. I still have to do this on my knees at times. A real tricep and shoulder builder. Your core will also become equally powerful since it is from the center of our body we draw our strength and balance.
If Vinyasa isn't enough workout for you then there is Bikram and power yoga if you are wanting to engage in something more powerful, but I decided this was more strain and too long of an intense workout for me to sustain. But you will lose weight and build lean muscle like never before with these routines.
Vinyasa incorporates a flow that is soothing, relaxing, invigorating, energizing, fat burning, muscle building and creates incredible flexibility. Yoga is whipping my aging body back into
shape...no wimpy girl workout here. And if this is what it takes to adjust to my workouts like my doctor said then this I can deal with because I have gained a whole new appreciation for my daily yoga. You even learn to breathe correctly since most of us are shallow breathers in our day to day lives, and I look forward to regaining full flexibility in my arms. Wow..... now that is flexible and something I used to be able to do 10 years ago.
If you are still skeptical about the ability to change your body through yoga practice then check this out from CNN about a man who loses 365 pound doing Yoga. Read about it or watch the video.....Truly inspirational!
Keeping It Going And A Workout Tip
Once I regained my full mobility which took until this April, eight months after the onset of my shoulder problems, I decided to step up my yoga with some stretch band workouts and light weights for building my biceps. One thing yoga will not do is work this area for building this muscle. It will strengthen every other muscle in the body, but the bicep is ignored except for lengthening it.
I was finally able to say goodbye to Brandon after several months of therapy and I owe him a debt of gratitude for helping me achieve a better quality of life once again. But I will call on him again when and if I should need his services.
I am continuing to get stronger and my body is getting leaner, and the best part is, my shoulders are completely pain free....whoop! I did nothing else except yoga throughout the winter months and now I am incorporating walking and bike riding with the nicer weather when we can get it.
In fact just the other morning I woke up after sleeping on my left shoulder and suddenly realized I had no pain from laying on it. No stiffness or soreness, just pure bliss of being able to enjoy the simple task of sleeping in my bed. I laid there for a moment, shifted, snuggled down and clutched my pillow and basked in the simple pleasure of just "being".....life was good! It is amazing the little things we take for granted....like clasping a bra....something we do out of habit or unconsciously, suddenly became a snap again to my amazement.
Yoga Becomes A Lifestyle Must
During my journey of regaining mobility and overcoming the depression the lack of it caused, I learned that yoga cannot be a hit or miss thing. When I would go just a couple of days without doing my yoga, mild pain would creep back into my shoulders and my mind, body and soul would feel less energized throughout my day. Once I did the workout, even performing it through a bit of stiffness, all things were right again and the pain was knocked back, and I would regain flexibility and my mind would become alive once again. I also noticed that I eat differently...better....healthier since doing yoga. It is as though my body doesn't want certain foods.
The beauty of yoga is you can do it everyday unlike weight lifting...muscles need a "rest" day to recoup. In fact you are better off doing 20 to 30 minutes of yoga everyday than a longer session 3 days a week...the body responds better. I discovered if I went much past 30 minutes I would lose interest and would poop out.
A Strong Recommendation Of Yoga DVD's
My favorite teacher on DVD for Vinyasa flow is Shiva Rea. She is truly remarkable and her teachings are excellent. She works with beginners to advanced and the music and locations add to the relaxation of the flows. I can't explain it, but the vinyasa flow creates such a calm and peace inside of me, and my body feels like putty when I am done. So relaxed, yet energized at the same time.
The two DVD's which are my favorites of hers are:
Shiva Rea Daily Energy Flow (my most recent purchase). Her latest production just this past December of '09. This offers 7 daily 20 minute routines with additional workouts for abs, relaxation, energizing, meditation and forward bends. This DVD is my favorite of them all due to the customizing I can do each day to pick the workout I want. It is designed to work with a Matrix so you can pick and choose your routine. Make them as long or as short as you need. I am never bored with this DVD yoga program.
Yoga Shakti filmed on location at the Maldive Islands was my first DVD I purchased of hers and it is also beautifully done. You can go from basic to highly advanced and this DVD also provides a Matrix in order for you to choose what different poses you wish to perfect or to pick your length of workout. I love this one for the scenery, sounds of the ocean and her voice never fails to motivate with a soft touch.
You will develop strength, flexibility, balance, better breathing and a capability of dealing with day to day stresses. Yoga has been recommended for those with arthritis, chronic ailments, fibromyalgia and any other sports injury one may have incurred. I am a true believer after going through what I went through. Without my yoga, I don't know where I would be today in terms of mental well being and pain in my body. All I know now is life is improved, I am happier and my body is performing to its fullest potential despite my age.
You can get both of these at Barnes and Noble or through Amazon. There are of course many other DVD's available and I have invested in quite of few, from the Yoga Zone workouts to Rodney Yee, and Crunch Yoga Series. But Shiva Rea is by far my favorite teacher.
Thanks for sharing in a day in my life and I hope what I shared with you today will help someone else who may be experiencing something similar to what I endured....
Don't give up or quit because it isn't over until it's over. I can only speak from personal experience, but yoga, like all things when taken slow, can and will bring a person back to living a normal life once again. In fact, in my humble opinion, everyone should discover and explore the healing art of yoga for themselves....Namaste!
Peace and Love! ;~)
Since last summer up until this past February, my body had been doing things that I was none too happy with. Being an athlete most of my life and having an "A" type personality which contributed to my being highly competitive, I felt there was nothing I couldn't do or accomplish. I came at exercise with an attitude of "just do it" and "never die".
Weight lifting was such a pleasure for me. It made me feel strong and physical, a tactile experience....grabbing those weights, lifting those weights, creating a force inside me that was powerful.
Then one day in August, that experience came crashing down around me. All of a sudden I could no longer lift weights over my head, out to the side or do anything that required pressing backwards such as tricep kickbacks or overhead with tricep extensions. My left shoulder had shooting pain around the rotator cuff.Thinking I had injured it, and that my Bursa sac was probably the issue, I decided to let it rest....and then I learned it needed more rest and then I realized it wasn't getting any better. I iced it....I applied heat, I took anti-inflammatories until my ears rang. I was headed into having a frozen shoulder in my minds eye.
My range of motion was all but gone. I couldn't clasp my bra, I couldn't curl my hair without pain, I couldn't reach behind my back, no higher than the top of my bum.....I couldn't reach over my head to grab a dish out of the cabinet.....sudden shifts in my arm such as pushing up off the floor, pulling or pushing a car door open, or getting out of a chair became a crippling experience. I was all but immobilized on my left side. Reaching forward began to be painful as well as the tendons began to shorten and pull at the back side of my arm up to my shoulder.....needless to say depression set in. I was beginning to fear joint issues since I also was hearing a clicking sound in my shoulder and it would pop every so often.
Is This What Getting Old Is?
After 4 months of trying to cure myself through rest and easy lifting, I only continued to re-injure my shoulder over and over. I told you I am an "A" type, never die or quit...even though I was killing myself....I am one of those that says, "work through the pain". I simply refused to accept my age and that this was what older meant. My body becoming incapacitated in some way and just learning to live with it....I refused....somehow I am going to find my way back.
Visit To The Doctor
Finally, I went to my doctor whom also provides naturopathic medicine with traditional methods to see what she could do for me. After several tests of range of motion, she felt it was all Bursa sac related and that frozen shoulder could be prevented. Fortunately no joint issues were involved and the popping and clicking was caused by how the tendons were pulling over the muscles when I would move a certain way. Also I was experiencing tendinitis from lack of movement since they had been initially strained and then began to shorten.
Then the great news came....are you ready?....She told me that at my age....."NOOOO"......I had to take it easier and come at lifting weights not so aggressively. Once a woman turns 50......"WHAT?"....she begins to age faster and needs to adjust her workout routine to accommodate her changing body.
Those dreaded words hung in the air like doom. No, not this gal....I'm not going to grow old! No sirree! I mean as we get older we have to work harder at staving off gaining weight especially after menopause...how can this be happening? I shut my ears like a little kid refusing to listen.
Apparently, according to her, doing shoulder presses with such heavy weights is probably what began my painful syndrome in my shoulders and that an imbalance occurred when lifting, causing the left arm to compensate more than the right, whereby injuring it and causing the spiral downward to no longer being able to do what I normally could do.
When did this happen?.... When did I get old according to my body's ability to perform in the same way?..... When did it decide it no longer wanted to lift weights that I had been lifting for years?
I had to stop all weight lifting and push-ups in my upper body and rest and rejuvenate....now I was really feeling sub par with what I was used to doing in my daily life. So I rested the shoulder and kept up with anti-inflammatories and my body weakened and began to gain weight.
Can you say "feeling old?" Was this what my future holds?....losing muscle mass and have it be replaced with fat mass? The saving grace of that conversation was my shoulder was not frozen and there was hope of restoring full range of motion. Even if I could no longer lift weights, there wasn't anything I wouldn't do to get my shoulder restored to full movement with no pain.
And I was going to find a way to fight my middle aged spread no matter what!Daily activities were brutal. Simple things like brushing my hair or even sleeping on my left side brought about excruciating pain. I needed assistance with putting on my bra....MY BRA..... and pulling a sweater over my head created a sweaty experience....WTH! Even the pulling upward motion would cause the tendons to flare so that backward upward pull to position my bra just right was eye watering.
God love my hubby!
I also literally had to sleep a certain way to avoid injury or further pain....this was fun!...waking up moaning and groaning unable to move my arm as now it was paralyzed. Freaked me out!
Furthermore my psyche was becoming damaged because my quality of life was diminishing and I was watching my body get soft and flabby, that is, until I refused to allow it go further. I decided to fight back at my own body that was now betraying me.
Fighting My Way Back
Once I got the Holidays over with and saw myself and the weight I had gained on my home video I made at Thanksgiving, I decided to do some research on my situation. I was determined to learn as much as I could about how to stop living with immobility and get back on track with little to zero pain.
Like all things on the internet, a ton of information was available, and most of it good but also confusing.
Rediscovered Yoga And Partook In Massage Therapy
One consistent method throughout my search was the healing benefit of yoga exercise. I had done yoga years ago but always felt like it was a wimpy girl workout. So I didn't pursue it on any real serious level. I learned the basics and did it mostly for stretching exercises after a weight
lifting workout.I began with the basics once again in January....taking it easy and I couldn't believe how out of shape I had become. Plus any overhead movement was mind numbing. Downward facing dog was brutal as was
wisdom pose. My upper arms and shoulders were so tight by this point....but I pressed on doing only what I could do with limited pain....and interlacing my arms behind me....well forget about it!I also researched massage therapy....now not the kind of massages for muscle relief and relaxation but true therapy for what is called Myofascial Release. This requires a therapist to be knowledgeable in this type of treatment who truly works with incapacitated patients and those that deal with sports injuries....this is not your beauty massage.
I actually located a good one through Facebook of all places, putting my feelers out and doing my research on line. For those that live in the Treasure Valley, Boise, Idaho area, the one I highly recommend is Body Epiphanies with Brandon Trean. This young man is excellent and well educated in every aspect of massage therapy. He is the consummate professional always and the beauty of what he offered was he also would come to your home. This was the best part! Due to my busy schedule of running Sterling Minerals Cosmetics and ONATI Skin Care, this made my life that much easier especially dealing with the pain since even driving my car had its challenges. Holding my arm in any type of upward position caused more pain.
Brandon began with coming once per week, and literally with the first treatment, I had regained 30% more range of motion, being able to reach higher on my back without the pain. I was amazed. It still tweaked but he had really worked that arm for an entire hour....and it wasn't necessarily pleasant. This was true physical therapy so not much about it was relaxing. He never pushed passed what one could stand in terms of pain, but he does have to work in there pretty deep in order for there to be really any benefit. So one must endure some discomfort to gain any mobility and again, I had that "do or die" attitude of suffering through to fight my way back!
I continued with my yoga between visits, until I was able to reduce the treatments to every other week. Each week my arm was a little better.
Dealing With Setbacks
After doing this now for a couple of months, something shifted, and now my right shoulder was taking on the same symptoms as my left. One shoulder improves while the other grows painful. This was enough to make me call it quits....I was losing my mind with frustration. So instead of working on the left arm now Brandon was working on the right as well. Once we got that back in shape then I had a piriformis muscle spasm that literally brought me to my knees and caused intense bouts of crying....I mean I could not walk for days without having my right leg buckle underneath me. The piriformis muscle lies deep beneath the gluteus maximus, and apparently I had overstretched it in pigeon pose!
Now I am thinking I can't even do Yoga....what's next a wheelchair? My attitude by this time was terrible and I became hell to live with.....dealing with menopause was cake compared to this.
So again, Brandon spent an entire session working deeply into that connective tissue in my bum until the piriformis muscle released.
The picture here shows Brandon at work with his myofacial technique for working this area. After that I just felt bruised, but could walk with a bit of a limp and mobility was getting better. Needless to say I removed pigeon pose from my yoga workout since my body doesn't like it....or silly me I came at it too aggressively.....typical!
The beauty of Yoga is you can adjust it to the level your body can handle. There are no hard fast rules. Any portion of the pose will work wonders for regaining flexibility and strength....you don't have to become a pretzel to reap the benefits of yoga. Patience is also key in learning anything new....yoga poses cannot be rushed! Take it slow and steady and the poses will become easier over time. People that can get into some of those pretzel positions have been doing yoga for years and most their entire life. So don't compare yourself to them, something I had to overcome due to that competitive streak in me.
Yoga Will Help You Lose Weight, Build Strength Along With Endurance
Now I have to say that anyone who thinks that yoga is a wimpy girl workout, me included, has not experienced yoga to its fullest potential. I have changed my whole mindset of this fact.
If you are doing Hatha yoga then you may think this because this is more for relaxation and simple stretching through basic poses, and what I used to do way back when.
I have since incorporated Vinyasa Flow into my daily workouts and I can tell you that it gets me sweating, heart rate up, and is building muscle endurance beautifully. Plus the stretching benefits are incredible and it is so gentle on the body....it is like receiving a massage all over. And the best part is it puts power back into my upper body! Think this looks easy, give side plank a try and see how long you can last holding this pose and tell me this will not strengthen the arms. Plank pose and Chataranga Dandasana which is lowering down in a reverse push-up from plank very slowly with elbows close to the ribcage is another great exercise for strength. I still have to do this on my knees at times. A real tricep and shoulder builder. Your core will also become equally powerful since it is from the center of our body we draw our strength and balance.If Vinyasa isn't enough workout for you then there is Bikram and power yoga if you are wanting to engage in something more powerful, but I decided this was more strain and too long of an intense workout for me to sustain. But you will lose weight and build lean muscle like never before with these routines.
Vinyasa incorporates a flow that is soothing, relaxing, invigorating, energizing, fat burning, muscle building and creates incredible flexibility. Yoga is whipping my aging body back into
shape...no wimpy girl workout here. And if this is what it takes to adjust to my workouts like my doctor said then this I can deal with because I have gained a whole new appreciation for my daily yoga. You even learn to breathe correctly since most of us are shallow breathers in our day to day lives, and I look forward to regaining full flexibility in my arms. Wow..... now that is flexible and something I used to be able to do 10 years ago.If you are still skeptical about the ability to change your body through yoga practice then check this out from CNN about a man who loses 365 pound doing Yoga. Read about it or watch the video.....Truly inspirational!
Keeping It Going And A Workout Tip
Once I regained my full mobility which took until this April, eight months after the onset of my shoulder problems, I decided to step up my yoga with some stretch band workouts and light weights for building my biceps. One thing yoga will not do is work this area for building this muscle. It will strengthen every other muscle in the body, but the bicep is ignored except for lengthening it.I was finally able to say goodbye to Brandon after several months of therapy and I owe him a debt of gratitude for helping me achieve a better quality of life once again. But I will call on him again when and if I should need his services.
I am continuing to get stronger and my body is getting leaner, and the best part is, my shoulders are completely pain free....whoop! I did nothing else except yoga throughout the winter months and now I am incorporating walking and bike riding with the nicer weather when we can get it.
In fact just the other morning I woke up after sleeping on my left shoulder and suddenly realized I had no pain from laying on it. No stiffness or soreness, just pure bliss of being able to enjoy the simple task of sleeping in my bed. I laid there for a moment, shifted, snuggled down and clutched my pillow and basked in the simple pleasure of just "being".....life was good! It is amazing the little things we take for granted....like clasping a bra....something we do out of habit or unconsciously, suddenly became a snap again to my amazement.
Yoga Becomes A Lifestyle Must
During my journey of regaining mobility and overcoming the depression the lack of it caused, I learned that yoga cannot be a hit or miss thing. When I would go just a couple of days without doing my yoga, mild pain would creep back into my shoulders and my mind, body and soul would feel less energized throughout my day. Once I did the workout, even performing it through a bit of stiffness, all things were right again and the pain was knocked back, and I would regain flexibility and my mind would become alive once again. I also noticed that I eat differently...better....healthier since doing yoga. It is as though my body doesn't want certain foods.
The beauty of yoga is you can do it everyday unlike weight lifting...muscles need a "rest" day to recoup. In fact you are better off doing 20 to 30 minutes of yoga everyday than a longer session 3 days a week...the body responds better. I discovered if I went much past 30 minutes I would lose interest and would poop out.
A Strong Recommendation Of Yoga DVD's
My favorite teacher on DVD for Vinyasa flow is Shiva Rea. She is truly remarkable and her teachings are excellent. She works with beginners to advanced and the music and locations add to the relaxation of the flows. I can't explain it, but the vinyasa flow creates such a calm and peace inside of me, and my body feels like putty when I am done. So relaxed, yet energized at the same time.
The two DVD's which are my favorites of hers are:
Shiva Rea Daily Energy Flow (my most recent purchase). Her latest production just this past December of '09. This offers 7 daily 20 minute routines with additional workouts for abs, relaxation, energizing, meditation and forward bends. This DVD is my favorite of them all due to the customizing I can do each day to pick the workout I want. It is designed to work with a Matrix so you can pick and choose your routine. Make them as long or as short as you need. I am never bored with this DVD yoga program.
Yoga Shakti filmed on location at the Maldive Islands was my first DVD I purchased of hers and it is also beautifully done. You can go from basic to highly advanced and this DVD also provides a Matrix in order for you to choose what different poses you wish to perfect or to pick your length of workout. I love this one for the scenery, sounds of the ocean and her voice never fails to motivate with a soft touch.You will develop strength, flexibility, balance, better breathing and a capability of dealing with day to day stresses. Yoga has been recommended for those with arthritis, chronic ailments, fibromyalgia and any other sports injury one may have incurred. I am a true believer after going through what I went through. Without my yoga, I don't know where I would be today in terms of mental well being and pain in my body. All I know now is life is improved, I am happier and my body is performing to its fullest potential despite my age.
You can get both of these at Barnes and Noble or through Amazon. There are of course many other DVD's available and I have invested in quite of few, from the Yoga Zone workouts to Rodney Yee, and Crunch Yoga Series. But Shiva Rea is by far my favorite teacher.
Thanks for sharing in a day in my life and I hope what I shared with you today will help someone else who may be experiencing something similar to what I endured....
Don't give up or quit because it isn't over until it's over. I can only speak from personal experience, but yoga, like all things when taken slow, can and will bring a person back to living a normal life once again. In fact, in my humble opinion, everyone should discover and explore the healing art of yoga for themselves....Namaste!
Peace and Love! ;~)
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
How to Live Well- The Smile Experiment
One great perk I’ve noticed about being pregnant is that everyone is nice to you. I mean everyone. Friends, family, strangers. Walking down the street I have gotten more smiles and pleasant glances than I have in my entire lifetime. More offers of assistance, more polite conversations… and, I must say, it is very pleasant to be on the receiving end of all of this.
So I decided to conduct an experiment. For one whole week I was going to be really nice to everyone I encountered. I’m generally nice anyway but I mean really nice- you know smiling at strangers (provided I’m on the right side of town), giving out compliments (heartfelt ones only, of course), and just generally emitting happiness.
I decided to start small with smiling at the people I pass by on the street. I walk a lot in Santa Monica. I walk Gatsby in my neighborhood, to the beach and amongst the shops on Montana Avenue. I decided to give everyone I passed on these walks a very bright smile and possibly even the occasional “hello” or “good morning”.
At first I was shy with it. People are generally reserved in Santa Monica. The majority of people keep to themselves and the most you’ll get is a tight lipped smile and a furtive once-over behind large designer sunglasses. So my smiles and ‘good mornings’ were tentative at first. But I started to see that even these feeble attempts at niceness really affected the other party. At first the strangers looked at me in a slightly suspicious manner. Some people even looked behind them to make sure I wasn’t smiling at some one else. But as my greetings became more confident, smiles were returned and for one unguarded moment, I began to share the refreshing feeling of goodwill amongst strangers.
Now I am a pro at smiling. I even smiled at Meg Ryan when I spotted her lunching at R+D Kitchen on Montana Avenue (she probably thought I was just a crazy fan, but that is beside the point). And I must say, it feels good. We are so used to rushing about our day, stuck in our heads, thinking about the future, that we forget the beauty of the present moment. And something as small as sharing a smile with a passerby can correct all of that, jolt you back into the moment and really feel quite exhilarating…
When was the last time you smiled at a stranger?
Pictured above are a casual bouquet of tulips on my dining room table... enough to make any tulip lover smile.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
we should meet ....
... up close and personal!
Got Craft? Spring Fair on Sunday, May 2nd at Legion Hall on Commercial in Vancouver (@ E6th).
See here for details.
detail from mermaid multi strand necklace in copper
Monday, April 26, 2010
my weekend (how was yours?)
This was my view for most of the weekend - another view! Painted by artists Vicki Allesia, this panel shows the view from her summer cabin on Indian Arm.
Vicki and I shared a venue for the Port Moody ArtWalk and struggled to keep up with the visitor count. We averaged around 20 visitors per hour but I'm sure our counts were missing a few during heavy traffic. It was delightful to meet so many locals, friends (hi's to Amber, Betty and Lucy) and chat with them about what I was working on (yes, messy table above was my portable crafting studio). I even made some sales! (thank you!) and, as for the painting in the pic above, it sold early on Sunday morning.
Way to go, Vicki!
If you want to see more of her work head on over to her portfolio.
Friday, April 23, 2010
friday forte: the random thought generator
wire and fibre ring: you'll have someone's eye out with that my dear
Taking a lead from the amazing Amber (again - one day she'll write my blog posts I hope and then I can retire) today's friday forte will be a series of random jottings and observations.
#1: I listened to an interview with a Canadian doctor who spent 370 days including a winter-over in Antarctica. He described the kind of sensory deprivation that comes about from being isolated in such an environment with a limited amount of company for interaction with, and how he suspected it altered neural pathways in the brain. When he then moved on to how it felt to be released into the real world again I experienced a flash of de ja vu - it's very similar to what a lot of mothers describe during their 'at home' years with the kids. The kind of emotions and experiences, especially of interacting with others, encountering busy spaces, being bewildered by choice, are all emotions I've run through as I emerge from the SAHM-cocoon. Mummy brain - it's not just for pregnancy?
#2: Mums who are older than the norm, have differing experiences of being SAHM. It might be a generational thing but my sympathy lies with younger mums who are themselves still growing up as they raise their kids. They seem less confident in themselves about their own needs and requirements, and how to get them met. Or maybe I'm just feistier?
#3: I think I know what I want to do but I'm having to take a pause for a little while before stepping out on that road (she says mysteriously ....).
#4: This week's accomplishment = getting Wee Guy's dad to book Wee Guy's birthday party. I have also given Wee Guy's Dad a list of presents which Wee Guy wants, implying that it's up to Dad to buy them. This will be a radical break from tradition in which Dad usually does nothing more than turn up to the gift opening and coo over the presents. OK, he did get Wee Guy and Starbucks mug for Christmas (which the Wee Guy wanted I hasten to add).
#5: I am practising gratitude this week despite last week's friday forte rant. By practising I mean the gratitudinous bits are being written down in my sparkly new journal. I am also practising postive thinking - each night I squeeze a positive thought about my husband out of the quagmire of my disturbed neural pathways into aformentioned journal. I have a buddy who is squeezing positive thoughts (not necessarily about her other half) out in the morning. This scheduling should keep the world in balance and no sudden plagues will descend on Lower Mainland (I hope).
#6: I haven't managed to go snowboarding again, I have been out every night this week, I'm super-excited to be taking part in the Port Moody ArtWalk (I'll be at Tealicious on Clarke Street) and that I got accepted as a vendor for Fab Fair in June!!
#7 ..... and accepted for the New Westminster farmers market this summer. Woot! Had a lovely time with the jury panel too, what a great end to Tuesday it was!
.... more friday forte here.
Olive Oil Acne Face Wash
"Hum, olive oil acne?" The look of confusion was priceless, as he mustered up the courage to continue. "I'm sorry Ms. Tuesday. But, I just don't see how adding more oil to my face is going to help me get rid of my blackheads? You just said oil was the cause of my acne."
Yep, that was the response from my adorable anonymous high school teen acne author who "volunteered" for the previous post. Bless his heart. He's the spitting image of Zac Efron only better looking. Bangs over his forehead, flawless complexion and an ever present skull cap under a hoodie that I guess makes a seventeen year old boy "fit in" nowadays. Anyway when he came by after school and dropped off my teen acne request. We made some small talk (I was dying to see what he had written. But it was sealed in an envelope so I left well enough alone figuring he would have been embarrassed by me to read it in front of him) and while I thanked him as we walked to the door, he drew back his hoodie, removed his skull cap and whispered "how do you get rid of a blackhead" as he brushed back his hair.
What stood before me was a child with a porcelain complexion from the temples down and a forehead that resembled a pair of dice rolled box cars on a Las Vegas craps felt, there were so many blackheads. Fortunately, the cause of his forehead acne was a classic example of self induced hair acne aggravated by a skin hugging skull cap. I explained to my young friend that he was walking around with a pimple Petri dish for a forehead. The bacteria, grease and oil from his hair was fermenting under the dark, unventilated cover of his form fitting cap.
But not to worry because there was a quick acne fix for his self induced environmental condition. First, he needed to always make sure his hair was squeaky clean. If it wasn't, then get it off the forehead until it was. Next, he needs to stop sleeping in the skull cap. Like any other part of the body. The skin needs good old oxygen, air, it needs to breath. Trapping the toxins and holding them against the skin by way of a skull cap and hoodie was a zit train wreck in the making. The cause of his blackhead problem was really as simple as that. I didn't need to spend 4 years at the University of Acne, Pimples and Blackheads to see the solution to his problem. And if he simply pays attention to these two factors he would virtually do away with the growth of any new blackheads. Now, all we need to do is to get rid of the blackheads that are there now.
Enter the olive oil acne face wash. Once my Zac Efron look-a-like heard those words in the same sentence he responded in the manner in which I opened this post, "hum, olive oil acne". I have to admit, I was not totally surprised. I fully understand the stigma that is attached to using olive oil to get rid of acne. We have been conditioned to think that some things are just downright nutty. It seems perfectly logical to think that if one of the cause of acne is the over production of oil by your sebaceous glands, then how in the world is adding more oil to your face (and olive oil at that) going to help? Of course your natural response to an olive oil acne face wash is going to be "don’t be ridiculous! That’s almost as stoopid (sic) as using chocolate to get rid of acne".
Yet open your eyes and look around. There are thousands of commercial skin care products that are made from and promoted because they contain the oil of olives. Everything from soaps to creams to facial regiments and they charge an outrageous price to boot. Why olive oil helps particularly with the removal of black heads is beyond me. I heard the theories that like most things in the natural world "like things attract". When viewed in that light it makes perfect sense. This would also explain why the first time I ever used olive oil; my blackheads were literally drawn to the surface of my skin right before my eyes.
There are many ways to apply olive oil. But the one that has always worked best for me and the one I relayed to my young acne patient was simply this. Pour about a quarter sized portion of olive oil in the palm of one hand. Dip two fingers from the other and apply to the face in a circular motion. Don't be afraid to use as much oil as you feel is necessary. It's great at removing dirt, grime and even make up. If your face was fairly clean to start with you can leave it on for a half hour or so and enjoy the benefit of an olive oil acne face mask. Or simply rinse with plenty of warm water and pat dry with a clean towel. If your skin still feels oily repeat the rinse. That's all there is to it. No need to spend big money on some fancy high priced commercial products. Chances are you have some olive oil in your kitchen right now. If you feel wrong using such an inexpensive acne product, splurge and buy (EVOO) Extra Virgin Olive Oil. It really won't make a difference when it comes to your acne. But your salads and other dishes will taste better.
That's pretty much my olive oil acne face wash. And that's pretty much how I explained it to my teenage acne student.
That night my phone rang and low and behold before I could say hello, it was “Ms. T, Ms. T, that's the best acne advice anyone has ever given me. When I was applying the olive oil to my forehead it felt gritty as the blackheads started pop n to the surface. Thank you, Thank you and oh yeah I am going to do the other things you told me about too"!
God, life sure is great when enthusiasm comes back at you like that.
Guess there is nothing else to say about that but - Tah-dah another acne problem solved, this time with a whole lot of common sense and the tried and true acne olive oil trick. Next!
Thursday, April 22, 2010
The Ladies Luncheon at Madame Sportif’s
This past Monday I attended a ladies luncheon at Madame Sportif’s home. I was quite thrilled to accept the invitation because there is nothing I love more than a ladies lunch and I love to meet new people. Also, having viewed the guest list prior to coming I discerned that several of these women were of French and/or international descent- thus adding to my repertoire of fabulous ladies from which to draw inspiration from.
I wore my silk, flowy Rebecca Taylor blouse in graphite (about the only nice article of clothing I have left that still fits me at 6 months pregnant), leggings and my favorite black satin ballet flats with gold trim.
There were six of us in total. Two French ladies, one Dutch lady who had lived in France for 13 years, a Chinese lady, an Iranian lady and me. All of the women were gorgeous- we were like the United Nations of Santa Monica!
Madame Sportif immediately provided us with a refreshment upon arrival- an almond drink comprised of almond syrup, ice and mineral water. It was light and refreshing. Then we all gathered around the table and ate our starter course: baked prunes wrapped in bacon. The main course consisted of lamb chops with ratatouille, followed by a salad with a selection of three cheeses: camembert, brie and Roquefort. And for dessert- a chocolate mousse with strawberries.
I must admit I was slightly nervous to attend the luncheon… after all Madame Sportif was the only lady I actually knew- but they were all very warm and welcoming towards me. We spent nearly three hours at that table, eating the delicious courses provided for us and chatting and talking about the differences between our cultures.
Various topics of conversation included the sacredness of language- where in France it is guarded with lock and key and where in America it is blatantly misused with frequent rapidity; the friendliness of our cultures (they all said how friendly Americans are- how laid back, how familiar), the remarkable fact that the lady from Holland was 6’1’’, with blond hair and the body of a supermodel and ate loads of bread everyday! The French ladies chimed in that they too eat bread on a regular basis (I have always known that bread is not evil- they happily proved me right), and various amusing observations about our husbands (for example, the Iranian lady suspects that her husband pretends to be clueless at cooking so that he never has to do it and can enjoy her culinary endeavors instead).
I had a lovely time. We laughed a lot and I have to say it was marvelous to meet such a diverse group of beautiful, intelligent women.
Madame Sportif and I have already made arrangements for our next social outing. Next time she will come over to my house for another cooking session… which, of course, I will share with you in minute detail…
Pictured above are my beloved ballet flats by London Sole in black satin with gold trim... perfect footwear for a casual ladies lunch!
Skin Deep Database Used To Spread Bad Science
An Introduction
This week I wanted to share with you an article written by a Scientist, Dene Godfrey, whom I have become acquainted with these past few months at LinkedIn. This is where myself and other professionals in the cosmetic industry meet informally to discuss and debate certain issues as they relate to cosmetics formulations and the beauty industry.
I met Dene through several groups we are mutually involved with, and I have come to respect his opinions and knowledge for which he has earned through many years in research and development. He has contributed a great deal to the discussions at LinkedIn and has done much to dispel the rumors that fly about at these forums where some companies are using scare tactics to promote their products.
One catch phrase in particular with an article attached which is being flaunted at several beauty and cosmetic forums, is by company reps selling Arbonne which is quite eye catching and can appear to be quite alarming: Toxic Burden: Women Put 515 Chemicals on Their Faces Every Day!
To say the least this is reprehensible and irresponsible, and is utterly recycled bad science, and for all the apparent reasons for which I stand against, I will not attach its' link here. Furthermore, it does not require any chemical science background to sell Arbonne products, so it is pretty much promoted on face value of how the company educates their reps for getting as many of their products as they can into the hands of customers....and unfortunately, it is those which are less or ill-informed that disseminate this type of information with little regard to what they are actually selling to consumers.
I personally could not believe that a cosmetic and skin care company would condone or use this ploy to try to relate to consumers through scare mongering instead of promoting on the merits of the products. Plus there is hypocrisy afoot since many of their products possess chemicals and preservatives, the very ingredients they lambaste through use of this unscientific article for promotional purposes.
And lest we forget, that all things in life are comprised of a chemical component including "natural"....water and air are also chemicals! So this incessant need to tout chemicals as being the poison in our coffee, is bordering on tiresome. Unfortunately though, it has become easier to state chemical and natural as being mutually exclusive (as I have also been guilty of this in my explanations of ingredients) when in reality "chemical" should be clarified as synthetic versus natural....such as synthetically or naturally derived.
All we can do as responsible formulators, is band together to continue to defuse this rhetoric, make clarifications when possible, and this is where my professional relationship began with Dene.
Dene Godfrey is President at the Society of Cosmetic Scientists in the United Kingdom and has over 28 years experience of preservation of personal care products in technical and commercial roles, including NPD (New Product Development).
Dealing With Bad Science
There have been many interesting topics addressed lately, most of which currently are centered around the Environmental Working Group, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the Skin Deep Database as a resource for cosmetic ingredients ...... Which the EWG is also used as the source of the 515 Chemicals article.
So today I wish to share a scientific viewpoint with you and provide an article written by Dene Godfrey. It was also shared with others in my industry to assist with correcting this bad science and hopefully begin to hamper most of which consumers are being led to believe as truth and fact as being put out there by the entities above.
It is an in depth piece so I hope you will take the time to read it and to also pass it along to anyone you know that uses personal care products and cosmetics, especially if you are also tired of the disinformation being spread across the net.
SKIN DEEP: Scratching Below The Surface
From the EWG web site:
“The mission of the Environmental Working Group (EWG) is to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment. EWG is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded in 1993 by Ken Cook and Richard Wiles.
In 2002, we founded the EWG Action Fund, a 501(c)(4) organization that advocates on Capitol Hill for health-protective and subsidy-shifting policies.
EWG specializes in providing useful resources (like Skin Deep and the Shoppers' Guide to Pesticides in Produce) to consumers while simultaneously pushing for national policy change.”
From the Skin Deep home page:
“In 2004 we launched Skin Deep, an online safety guide for cosmetics and personal care products. Our aim was to fill in where companies and the government leave off: companies are allowed to use almost any ingredient they wish, and our government doesn't require companies to test products for safety before they're sold. EWG's scientists built Skin Deep to be a one-of-a-kind resource, integrating our in-house collection of personal care product ingredient listings with more than 50 toxicity and regulatory databases.
Now in its fourth year and third major update, our Skin Deep database provides you with easy-to-navigate safety ratings for nearly a quarter of all products on the market — 54,866 products with 8,983 ingredients. At about one million page views per month, Skin Deep is the world's largest and most popular product safety guide”
The aims of both the EWG and their Skin Deep database are laudable – who could disagree that cosmetics should be safe? I doubt that any responsible manufacturer would ever knowingly put their customers at risk by placing products on the market that are not safe for their intended use. EWG insist that there is virtually no regulation of cosmetics in the USA, but this is not the case. The FDA requires that manufacturers do not place products on the market that are unsafe to human health and, whilst there may not be the same level of regulation as in , for example, the European Union, it is not true to say that cosmetics are unregulated. The EWG/Skin Deep promote themselves as the champions of safety (in cosmetics, for the purposes of this paper), but this is not actually what they achieve.
The database uses an impressive array of numbers (of products and data sources) and an impressive-looking amount of detailed explanation as to how their system of classification works, including some complicated-looking formulae. For the fine detail, click on
Skin Deep Product and Ingredient Databases Information
The mainstays of this system are the following:
Hazard (concern) rating. We developed a hazard rating that represents a synthesis of known and suspected hazards associated with ingredients and products. Hazard ratings within Skin Deep are shown as low, moderate, or higher concern categories, with numeric rankings spanning those categories that range from 0 (low concern) to 10 (higher concern).
Data gap rating. We developed a data gap rating within Skin Deep, primarily to describe the extent to which low hazard scores associated with some ingredients or products are based on definitive data demonstrating safety or, at the other extreme, on a near absence of data either demonstrating or disproving hazard. Data gap ratings are represented within Skin Deep by a numeric percentage ranging from 100% (complete absence of safety data) to 0% (comprehensive safety data).
Already, several concerns creep in:
This week I wanted to share with you an article written by a Scientist, Dene Godfrey, whom I have become acquainted with these past few months at LinkedIn. This is where myself and other professionals in the cosmetic industry meet informally to discuss and debate certain issues as they relate to cosmetics formulations and the beauty industry.I met Dene through several groups we are mutually involved with, and I have come to respect his opinions and knowledge for which he has earned through many years in research and development. He has contributed a great deal to the discussions at LinkedIn and has done much to dispel the rumors that fly about at these forums where some companies are using scare tactics to promote their products.
One catch phrase in particular with an article attached which is being flaunted at several beauty and cosmetic forums, is by company reps selling Arbonne which is quite eye catching and can appear to be quite alarming: Toxic Burden: Women Put 515 Chemicals on Their Faces Every Day!
To say the least this is reprehensible and irresponsible, and is utterly recycled bad science, and for all the apparent reasons for which I stand against, I will not attach its' link here. Furthermore, it does not require any chemical science background to sell Arbonne products, so it is pretty much promoted on face value of how the company educates their reps for getting as many of their products as they can into the hands of customers....and unfortunately, it is those which are less or ill-informed that disseminate this type of information with little regard to what they are actually selling to consumers.
I personally could not believe that a cosmetic and skin care company would condone or use this ploy to try to relate to consumers through scare mongering instead of promoting on the merits of the products. Plus there is hypocrisy afoot since many of their products possess chemicals and preservatives, the very ingredients they lambaste through use of this unscientific article for promotional purposes.
And lest we forget, that all things in life are comprised of a chemical component including "natural"....water and air are also chemicals! So this incessant need to tout chemicals as being the poison in our coffee, is bordering on tiresome. Unfortunately though, it has become easier to state chemical and natural as being mutually exclusive (as I have also been guilty of this in my explanations of ingredients) when in reality "chemical" should be clarified as synthetic versus natural....such as synthetically or naturally derived.
All we can do as responsible formulators, is band together to continue to defuse this rhetoric, make clarifications when possible, and this is where my professional relationship began with Dene.
Dene Godfrey is President at the Society of Cosmetic Scientists in the United Kingdom and has over 28 years experience of preservation of personal care products in technical and commercial roles, including NPD (New Product Development).
Dealing With Bad Science
There have been many interesting topics addressed lately, most of which currently are centered around the Environmental Working Group, Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the Skin Deep Database as a resource for cosmetic ingredients ...... Which the EWG is also used as the source of the 515 Chemicals article.
So today I wish to share a scientific viewpoint with you and provide an article written by Dene Godfrey. It was also shared with others in my industry to assist with correcting this bad science and hopefully begin to hamper most of which consumers are being led to believe as truth and fact as being put out there by the entities above.
It is an in depth piece so I hope you will take the time to read it and to also pass it along to anyone you know that uses personal care products and cosmetics, especially if you are also tired of the disinformation being spread across the net.
SKIN DEEP: Scratching Below The Surface
From the EWG web site:
“The mission of the Environmental Working Group (EWG) is to use the power of public information to protect public health and the environment. EWG is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, founded in 1993 by Ken Cook and Richard Wiles.
In 2002, we founded the EWG Action Fund, a 501(c)(4) organization that advocates on Capitol Hill for health-protective and subsidy-shifting policies.
EWG specializes in providing useful resources (like Skin Deep and the Shoppers' Guide to Pesticides in Produce) to consumers while simultaneously pushing for national policy change.”
From the Skin Deep home page:
“In 2004 we launched Skin Deep, an online safety guide for cosmetics and personal care products. Our aim was to fill in where companies and the government leave off: companies are allowed to use almost any ingredient they wish, and our government doesn't require companies to test products for safety before they're sold. EWG's scientists built Skin Deep to be a one-of-a-kind resource, integrating our in-house collection of personal care product ingredient listings with more than 50 toxicity and regulatory databases.
Now in its fourth year and third major update, our Skin Deep database provides you with easy-to-navigate safety ratings for nearly a quarter of all products on the market — 54,866 products with 8,983 ingredients. At about one million page views per month, Skin Deep is the world's largest and most popular product safety guide”
The aims of both the EWG and their Skin Deep database are laudable – who could disagree that cosmetics should be safe? I doubt that any responsible manufacturer would ever knowingly put their customers at risk by placing products on the market that are not safe for their intended use. EWG insist that there is virtually no regulation of cosmetics in the USA, but this is not the case. The FDA requires that manufacturers do not place products on the market that are unsafe to human health and, whilst there may not be the same level of regulation as in , for example, the European Union, it is not true to say that cosmetics are unregulated. The EWG/Skin Deep promote themselves as the champions of safety (in cosmetics, for the purposes of this paper), but this is not actually what they achieve.
The database uses an impressive array of numbers (of products and data sources) and an impressive-looking amount of detailed explanation as to how their system of classification works, including some complicated-looking formulae. For the fine detail, click on
Skin Deep Product and Ingredient Databases Information
The mainstays of this system are the following:
Hazard (concern) rating. We developed a hazard rating that represents a synthesis of known and suspected hazards associated with ingredients and products. Hazard ratings within Skin Deep are shown as low, moderate, or higher concern categories, with numeric rankings spanning those categories that range from 0 (low concern) to 10 (higher concern).
Data gap rating. We developed a data gap rating within Skin Deep, primarily to describe the extent to which low hazard scores associated with some ingredients or products are based on definitive data demonstrating safety or, at the other extreme, on a near absence of data either demonstrating or disproving hazard. Data gap ratings are represented within Skin Deep by a numeric percentage ranging from 100% (complete absence of safety data) to 0% (comprehensive safety data).
Already, several concerns creep in:
- It is not possible (at least, not without a high degree of subjectivity) to assign a numerical value to a hazard. A hazard is a hazard. It is not logical to compare something that is highly corrosive to something that is toxic by ingestion – it is the same as comparing apples with pears.
- On whose authority is the “suspected” hazard determined. Again, this is highly subjective. If there are no data, how is it possible to suspect a hazard?
- How is it possible to rate a data gap so empirically? The impact of any data gap is wholly dependent upon the nature of the data that are missing.
- They make the statement – “A hazard rating of "low concern" (shown as a green circle in Skin Deep) might be rated in that category because of definitive data proving its safety, or because of a near absence of any safety studies that would illuminate hazards.” How can absence (or near absence) of data ever be shown to illuminate hazards?
- They claim to offer “safety ratings” – they do not – they only offer hazard ratings.
On looking more closely into the database and, specifically, at various products and their hazard scores, there are many obvious issues. There is a group of closely-related compounds that are assigned hazard scores entirely the opposite of their true relative hazardous nature. There are examples of the same chemical being listed under two different names with different hazard scores.
One word that has arisen many times in this discussion, and on the Skin Deep database is “hazard”, and therein lies the basic issue with Skin Deep. It is entirely based on hazard, with no attempt whatsoever to evaluate risk. It is not possible to evaluate safety of the basis of hazard alone. If a chemical was in existence that required only a single molecule to kill a human, that would be described as extremely hazardous. However, if only one molecule of that chemical actually existed, then the chance of human exposure is insignificant, and the risk to human health is also insignificant. I use an extreme example to better explain the relationship between hazard and risk, which may be summarised as follows:
RISK = HAZARD x EXPOSURE
Because the database only highlights the hazard of the ingredient, there is no possible way the consumer can know the actual risk involved in its presence in a cosmetic product. In our daily lives we constantly assess risk, albeit mostly subconsciously. If we avoided every hazard without ever considering risk, we would never cross a road, and we would never stay in our homes (as the majority of accidents occur in the home, so there is a definite hazard associated with being at home). As it is nonsense to live our lives with assessing risk, it is equally nonsense to avoid any particular chemical without assessing the risk. It may even be the case that high exposure to a product classified by Skin Deep as zero is less safe than low exposure to a product classified as 10 on this database. Therefore, the database offers no useful information on the safety of cosmetic products, and is misleading to consumers.
Regarding hazard, it is possible, given the correct dose and route of administration to establish a hazard for EVERY chemical in existence, be it natural or synthetic. If anyone decided to carry out an inhalation study using any chemical either in vapour, mist or powder form, it would result in death. The only substance that would not have this effect is air (although the individual components of air would cause death), and even inhalation of too much air too quickly can result in dizziness and unconsciousness. Therefore every chemical is hazardous.
For a little light relief, I suggest that you investigate the extreme hazards posed by dihydrogen monoxide by clicking on the link below:
Snopes on Dihydrogen Monoxide
The treatment of data gaps is of particular concern. This is, again, highly subjective. Some ingredients with 100% data gaps are assigned zero, but others are assigned 3, or higher. How is it possible to assign a hazard rating when there are no data? It is entirely possible that many companies, appreciative of the marketing benefits of being able to claim a zero hazard rating on Skin Deep, are designing products specifically using ingredients with a zero hazard rating. There is certainly at least one company using this tactic. This means that products are being manufactured using ingredients with no safety data! Given that the EWG make great play of their claim that the USA do not regulate cosmetics, is it wise of them to encourage this practise, albeit tacitly?
The use of hazard classification alone enables Skin Deep to provoke concern amongst consumers. Without this concern, they would get little in the way of donations.
Another quote from the EWG site:
"Under federal law, companies can put virtually anything they wish into personal care products, and many of them do. Mercury, lead, and placenta extract — all of these and many other hazardous materials are in products that millions of Americans, including children, use every day," said Jane Houlihan, Vice President of Research at EWG.
This strongly implies that mercury and lead are deliberately added into cosmetic products which (apart from a few mercury-based products used as skin-whiteners) is simply not true. Again, the comment focuses on hazard only. I am not going to comment on placenta extract as I don't know why anyone would want to use that in the first place, and I am not sure of the potential risks involved in its use, but this is more evidence of manipulation of information in order to scare consumers in a misleading manner.
At the 2010 Expo West (which, for the benefit of those not based in the US, is the largest natural products show in the country) the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Safety Review Group's booth reportedly had a banner which read "If you can't pronounce it, it can't be safe"!
Following this logic it must be the case that if you CAN pronounce it, it must be safe. Try pronouncing “hydrogen cyanide”.
Two final quotes from the Skin Deep web site:
“This scoring system does not account for individual sensitivities or differences between the severities of different health endpoints within a particular category.”
And at the head of every product’s hazard rating:
“Given the incomplete information made available by companies and the government, EWG provides additional information on personal care product ingredients from the published scientific literature. The chart below indicates that research studies have found that exposure to one or more ingredients in this product -- not the product itself -- caused the indicated health effect(s) in the studies reviewed by Skin Deep researchers. Actual health risks, if any, will vary based on the level of exposure to the ingredient and individual susceptibility -- information not available in Skin Deep.” (My bold type; not Skin Deep’s)
Does the average consumer looking at the database even read these disclaimers, never mind understand that they are saying that their ratings refer to the individual ingredients and that information on the ACTUAL health risks of the product in question is not available in Skin Deep?
In summary, the Skin Deep database does not offer any insight into the true safety in use of any cosmetic product. Indeed, by encouraging the use of ingredients with no supporting toxicity data, they are risking the health of the very consumers they purport to be seeking to protect. This database should be radically amended (and corrected) to better reflect it’s true worth, or closed down.
Dene Godfrey, 20 April 2010
Keeping It Real....Always!
The clickable link to the Snopes article above is particularly telling.... as it pretty much shows how we can be duped by those who seem to possess knowledge by coming from a position of power and authority such as EWG....only to finally learn it has all been smoke and mirrors for a greater purpose other than what we are being led to believe....what that is? Time will only tell!
Thank you for taking the time to read this and again, please pass this article along to everyone you know that uses skincare and cosmetic products. I truly hope this article has shed more light on the manipulating factors used by EWG and CFSC through the Skin Deep Database tool to create undue paranoia among consumers. Let's hope level heads will prevail in this battle for seeking the true science behind ingredient creation and its' usage.
And my many thanks to Dene for taking time out of his hectic schedule to put together this piece for many of us who stand for truth based knowledge. Kudos Dene! I look forward to many other conversations with you at LinkedIn in the near future.
By the way, Dene has expressed to me that if you have questions for him, he would be happy to answer them through this blog. So, you can either email me and I'll post your question or leave a comment at this blog by clicking on the blog title to take you to the actual live article.
Have a great weekend!
One word that has arisen many times in this discussion, and on the Skin Deep database is “hazard”, and therein lies the basic issue with Skin Deep. It is entirely based on hazard, with no attempt whatsoever to evaluate risk. It is not possible to evaluate safety of the basis of hazard alone. If a chemical was in existence that required only a single molecule to kill a human, that would be described as extremely hazardous. However, if only one molecule of that chemical actually existed, then the chance of human exposure is insignificant, and the risk to human health is also insignificant. I use an extreme example to better explain the relationship between hazard and risk, which may be summarised as follows:
RISK = HAZARD x EXPOSURE
Because the database only highlights the hazard of the ingredient, there is no possible way the consumer can know the actual risk involved in its presence in a cosmetic product. In our daily lives we constantly assess risk, albeit mostly subconsciously. If we avoided every hazard without ever considering risk, we would never cross a road, and we would never stay in our homes (as the majority of accidents occur in the home, so there is a definite hazard associated with being at home). As it is nonsense to live our lives with assessing risk, it is equally nonsense to avoid any particular chemical without assessing the risk. It may even be the case that high exposure to a product classified by Skin Deep as zero is less safe than low exposure to a product classified as 10 on this database. Therefore, the database offers no useful information on the safety of cosmetic products, and is misleading to consumers.
Regarding hazard, it is possible, given the correct dose and route of administration to establish a hazard for EVERY chemical in existence, be it natural or synthetic. If anyone decided to carry out an inhalation study using any chemical either in vapour, mist or powder form, it would result in death. The only substance that would not have this effect is air (although the individual components of air would cause death), and even inhalation of too much air too quickly can result in dizziness and unconsciousness. Therefore every chemical is hazardous.
For a little light relief, I suggest that you investigate the extreme hazards posed by dihydrogen monoxide by clicking on the link below:
Snopes on Dihydrogen Monoxide
The treatment of data gaps is of particular concern. This is, again, highly subjective. Some ingredients with 100% data gaps are assigned zero, but others are assigned 3, or higher. How is it possible to assign a hazard rating when there are no data? It is entirely possible that many companies, appreciative of the marketing benefits of being able to claim a zero hazard rating on Skin Deep, are designing products specifically using ingredients with a zero hazard rating. There is certainly at least one company using this tactic. This means that products are being manufactured using ingredients with no safety data! Given that the EWG make great play of their claim that the USA do not regulate cosmetics, is it wise of them to encourage this practise, albeit tacitly?
The use of hazard classification alone enables Skin Deep to provoke concern amongst consumers. Without this concern, they would get little in the way of donations.
Another quote from the EWG site:
"Under federal law, companies can put virtually anything they wish into personal care products, and many of them do. Mercury, lead, and placenta extract — all of these and many other hazardous materials are in products that millions of Americans, including children, use every day," said Jane Houlihan, Vice President of Research at EWG.
This strongly implies that mercury and lead are deliberately added into cosmetic products which (apart from a few mercury-based products used as skin-whiteners) is simply not true. Again, the comment focuses on hazard only. I am not going to comment on placenta extract as I don't know why anyone would want to use that in the first place, and I am not sure of the potential risks involved in its use, but this is more evidence of manipulation of information in order to scare consumers in a misleading manner.
At the 2010 Expo West (which, for the benefit of those not based in the US, is the largest natural products show in the country) the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Safety Review Group's booth reportedly had a banner which read "If you can't pronounce it, it can't be safe"!
Following this logic it must be the case that if you CAN pronounce it, it must be safe. Try pronouncing “hydrogen cyanide”.
Two final quotes from the Skin Deep web site:
“This scoring system does not account for individual sensitivities or differences between the severities of different health endpoints within a particular category.”
And at the head of every product’s hazard rating:
“Given the incomplete information made available by companies and the government, EWG provides additional information on personal care product ingredients from the published scientific literature. The chart below indicates that research studies have found that exposure to one or more ingredients in this product -- not the product itself -- caused the indicated health effect(s) in the studies reviewed by Skin Deep researchers. Actual health risks, if any, will vary based on the level of exposure to the ingredient and individual susceptibility -- information not available in Skin Deep.” (My bold type; not Skin Deep’s)
Does the average consumer looking at the database even read these disclaimers, never mind understand that they are saying that their ratings refer to the individual ingredients and that information on the ACTUAL health risks of the product in question is not available in Skin Deep?
In summary, the Skin Deep database does not offer any insight into the true safety in use of any cosmetic product. Indeed, by encouraging the use of ingredients with no supporting toxicity data, they are risking the health of the very consumers they purport to be seeking to protect. This database should be radically amended (and corrected) to better reflect it’s true worth, or closed down.
Dene Godfrey, 20 April 2010
Keeping It Real....Always!
The clickable link to the Snopes article above is particularly telling.... as it pretty much shows how we can be duped by those who seem to possess knowledge by coming from a position of power and authority such as EWG....only to finally learn it has all been smoke and mirrors for a greater purpose other than what we are being led to believe....what that is? Time will only tell!
Thank you for taking the time to read this and again, please pass this article along to everyone you know that uses skincare and cosmetic products. I truly hope this article has shed more light on the manipulating factors used by EWG and CFSC through the Skin Deep Database tool to create undue paranoia among consumers. Let's hope level heads will prevail in this battle for seeking the true science behind ingredient creation and its' usage.
And my many thanks to Dene for taking time out of his hectic schedule to put together this piece for many of us who stand for truth based knowledge. Kudos Dene! I look forward to many other conversations with you at LinkedIn in the near future.
By the way, Dene has expressed to me that if you have questions for him, he would be happy to answer them through this blog. So, you can either email me and I'll post your question or leave a comment at this blog by clicking on the blog title to take you to the actual live article.
Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
ArtWalk studio tour - sipping tea on the porch!
click on image to enlarge
(if you didn't already know) I'm taking part in the annual ArtsConnect Port Moody ArtWalk studio tour this weekend.If it's sunny weather I'll be sitting sipping tea on the porch of the Tealicious Tea Company at 2224 Clarke Street, and if it's a bit nippy we'll be inside.
The ArtWalk is a great way for artists and the community to connect. Artists will be demonstrating their art, showing their work, and it will be a great opportunity to select that special Mother's or Father's Day gift!
PS: the Blackberry Gift Shop at Port Moody Arts Centre is holding a 20% sale on certain items too!
Sunday, April 18, 2010
How to Live Well- The Home Office
Some time ago I watched a documentary on Princess Diana where they showed her living quarters at Kensington Palace. Of course she lived in beautifully appointed rooms, but I will never forget the sight of her desk- which was kept (and still is, I believe) in the same condition- the majority of its contents untouched- after her untimely death.
The primary thing I observed about her desk was that it was completely in order. It was tidy and organized displaying only a few nice writing pens, a pad of paper, a picture of her boys and a various writing boxes.
Now if I were ever to leave the world in an untimely manner I would shudder to think what people would think of my desk. Yes, my desk (and entire home office for that matter) is my Achilles heel. While the rest of my home is relatively in order, my home office is a nightmare. So I am not really one to give advice on this subject. I can, however, tell you what I’d like to see happen:
An easy, fail proof system, whereby mail and bills are sorted, paid and filed in a timely matter (this has more to do with me and less to do with my office).
A display of only the books that interest me in that moment- books I’m currently reading or referencing (I have a tremendous amount of book clutter- so much so I’m thinking of getting a kindle).
All electronic clutter banished! I detest electronic clutter. My husband says, “Where do you want it to go? This is the office- this is where it belongs!” I don’t really have a response to that.
An inbox on my desk with only active, relevant paperwork.
A filing system (which I have) that gets used on a weekly basis to file away all stray and important papers (which is where I go astray… it’s more on a monthly basis for me… this is one of the Sisyphean tasks I abhor).
A rule that says the home office cannot be a dumping ground for ‘stuff’. Everyone has one room in their home where they sneak miscellaneous things in. You know- bags of clothes to be donated, boxes of books to be stored, old TVs etc… trouble is I never get around to taking care of these things. These things should be placed by the front door and dealt with ASAP.
There you go. Even though my desk is actually a folding table from Costco (we have yet to properly furnish our home office) there is no excuse why it can’t look as beautiful and efficient as Princess Diana’s…
Please tell me I am not the only one who struggles with this…
One of the great merits of my home office is that it has this magnificent window (pictured above).
Saturday, April 17, 2010
the weekend
It's the weekend so I did a little gardening.
Tried to find space on my bench to make stuff.
Laundry (yes, yes - I know this you've seen this pic before so it effectively emphasizes the frickin' monotony of housework. live with it!).
Eventually made stuff .....
... and set up some new projects!
Man, I was a woman on fire (creatively) today! Nothing like a few deadlines to pep up the productivity :)
Friday, April 16, 2010
friday forte: dreams and expectations
dream: i will be the best parent/mother ever
expectation: i will be as good as possible and not screw up the Wee Guy overmuch
reality: i stumble, i'm not perfect, i try really hard but sometimes i'm too tired or drained to give my best
dream: i will establish a wonderful career working in, around and in spite of my family which will swell the family finances without disrupting the Wee Guy's development, schooling and social life
expectation: somehow i will be able to craft some kind of fulfilling and rewarding employment opportunity
reality: the working world isn't really geared around combining raising a family and giving career fulfillment to mothers, it will be extremely hard work to carve out this little niche for myself and my family
dream: one day i will find true happiness, contentment, peace of mind and support in what i hope to achieve
expectation: it's not going to fall easily into my lap but it's not impossible!!
reality: we're both too busy and exhausted to do anything but parent and keep a roof over our heads, our relationship needs are falling by the wayside, support and contentment is in short supply ...
.... and so on ....
I really do have a great life, but I also have a lot that I still strive for (see above). I'm not a great one for stagnating; IMO there are always improvements and tweaks that can be made to improve. Right now I need to increase my job satisfaction levels! .... and as usual it's a WIP.
As a mother/woman/non-salaried wife-at-home it's too easy to bury dreams and expectations under the family good, to downplay them as not important or even feel guilty for 'wanting more'.
Oh I've had so much well-intentioned advice on this subject over the years.
FWIW
I do count my blessings and don't need reminding.
I am grateful for all that is done for me and mine.
I understand that there are those who would willingly swap places at the drop of the hat.
However I still want to change, and this should benefit my family. Just because I have a child/education/husband/my own teeth/no need to work outside the home/freckles doesn't automatically give me the express lift to happy happy land. Have you considered it might actually be worse!
I have my own negative inner dialogue to dual with, it doesn't need assistance thank you very much so please don't expect me to be content with what I have.
Dreaming and seeking improvement are very human - don't dehumanise me.
kthnxbai
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Sterling Minerals Important Company News and Updates!
Hi Everyone,
We are very excited about a new feature we have added to our website. So this week I
just wanted to share some things that we are doing of late and invite you to join in at any opportunity. Plus to let you know what is happening with several of our products.
Beauty News & Events
We have added a new page within the website for keeping our customers up to date on a daily basis or as things happen in that day.
It is our New Beauty News & Events. This will grow daily throughout the week within categories that we have created and when you visit the page you can subscribe to the feed either through email subscription or just click the orange RSS feed button.
The Skin Care Guide will continue with its informative weekly articles but the Beauty News & Events will be more spontaneous, address many things that the typical blog cannot answer and will be an excellent tool for a one stop shop when looking for something that interests you. Only two categories are showing right now since we just launched it on Monday. Take a peek by clicking on one of the hypertexted titled links, and the recent post explains in further detail what you can expect from this new integrated portion of our site. We are also welcoming feedback or suggestions on what you may wish to have us address and we will be glad to consider all ideas as they may be helpful to our customers.
Articles such as this one will no longer be issued through the Skin Care Guide and will be reserved for Beauty News & Events. So any product issues will be located in this new section of our website along with Special Offers and many other things. I personally felt that waiting for this time of the week to role around before updating you, my customers, on certain elements of the business was not conducive to your needs or with us keeping it timely. On occasion we may add a supplement to the weekly skin care guide article if we posted something on our site we feel you shouldn't miss out on such as one of our special offers like Grecian Secret Body Souffle we announced in the Sarva Soap Review.
I sincerely hope you will enjoy this feature as much as I am excited about bringing it to you and how much faster we can respond to your needs through this new business tool.
You will notice that our side menu bar has been reduced and is less busy with the new update when you enter into our mineral makeup website now. We have also removed the twitter box and replaced it with an updated article piece for quick overview of what is new or the latest question which may have been asked by one of our customers, etc, etc.
Lip Colors
Our Plum Fairy and Peony Pink Lipsticks are back in stock after a brief delay in getting these freshly batched. For those that have been waiting, they are ready to go.
Mineral Makeup Brushes
We have been having some issues with getting a pieces part for construction of these wonderful cosmetics brushes. For the most part we have access to most of the line with more on the way next week.
The brushes we are currently waiting on are Chubby Blender, Large Buki, and Small Rounded Face (2 left in stock). We are hoping we will see a resolve by the end of the month. The Jumbo Buffer and Small Pointed Face Brush will be back in stock middle of next week.
Your Opinion Matters
Write to us and let us know what you think or share your suggestions....it is all important to us in keeping things working for you. After all it is you and your input that keeps our creative juices flowing.
Sharing Latest Article On FDA, And Clearly Cosmetics Are Not The Only One's Under Attack
Thought I would share this Article with you about natural healthy foods we eat,
and let it speak for itself. I will say this, Walnuts and Cherries have had numerous medical articles written about their many health benefits ...... there is hypocrisy "a brewin" with lobbyists for huge pharma drug companies, and they are having a "say so" in what we are putting in our bodies since health supplements and healthy dietary foods are seriously a threat to prescription drugs' bottom line. Doctors everywhere are promoting the healthier side of the foods we should be eating to stave off disease and illness with much of the findings being written up in medical journals.
Furthermore, there are no more perks allowed to be given to doctors to promote a certain drug, therefore doctors are waking up and smelling the coffee in terms of providing thorough research on what a person should be doing to eat right to keep ourselves healthy and out of the doctors' office.
Besides where would that favorite cocktail be without the glorious cherry or your special cake with the cherry on top? Just a little perk for the special indulgence one may partake in!
Senator John McCain proposed a bill to stop the sale of health supplements by making it illegal in this country to do so. You will find a link to that Article here. You will also see the outcome of what consumers wanted and the outpouring of support against this type of control. This is the followup Article here, with the latest as of 2 days ago as this is presented in FDA Food Modernization Act (S. 510)
This website is an outstanding resource for keeping you up to date on many issues surrounding healthy and natural living. You may wish to bookmark it or sign up for their newsletter to keep you informed since they are keeping in the loop as events happen.
What say you? Is this good or bad for the consumer and / or is it more anti-small business legislation? How do you feel about choice versus government interference with your healthy choices?
This battle was very similar to what they were proposing in the Colorado Personal Care Products Safety Act. Our voices were heard and it was similarly defeated. If you can, show your support when you are in favor of defeating any of this type of legislation that simply put, removes your freedom to choose, then stand up and make your voice heard. We still can make a difference!
Well that's it for me this week and I hope you'll join us at our Beauty News & Events.
Have a great weekend and we are finally going to be enjoying some warmer weather this weekend....can't wait!
We are very excited about a new feature we have added to our website. So this week I
just wanted to share some things that we are doing of late and invite you to join in at any opportunity. Plus to let you know what is happening with several of our products.Beauty News & Events
We have added a new page within the website for keeping our customers up to date on a daily basis or as things happen in that day.
It is our New Beauty News & Events. This will grow daily throughout the week within categories that we have created and when you visit the page you can subscribe to the feed either through email subscription or just click the orange RSS feed button.
The Skin Care Guide will continue with its informative weekly articles but the Beauty News & Events will be more spontaneous, address many things that the typical blog cannot answer and will be an excellent tool for a one stop shop when looking for something that interests you. Only two categories are showing right now since we just launched it on Monday. Take a peek by clicking on one of the hypertexted titled links, and the recent post explains in further detail what you can expect from this new integrated portion of our site. We are also welcoming feedback or suggestions on what you may wish to have us address and we will be glad to consider all ideas as they may be helpful to our customers.
Articles such as this one will no longer be issued through the Skin Care Guide and will be reserved for Beauty News & Events. So any product issues will be located in this new section of our website along with Special Offers and many other things. I personally felt that waiting for this time of the week to role around before updating you, my customers, on certain elements of the business was not conducive to your needs or with us keeping it timely. On occasion we may add a supplement to the weekly skin care guide article if we posted something on our site we feel you shouldn't miss out on such as one of our special offers like Grecian Secret Body Souffle we announced in the Sarva Soap Review.
I sincerely hope you will enjoy this feature as much as I am excited about bringing it to you and how much faster we can respond to your needs through this new business tool.
You will notice that our side menu bar has been reduced and is less busy with the new update when you enter into our mineral makeup website now. We have also removed the twitter box and replaced it with an updated article piece for quick overview of what is new or the latest question which may have been asked by one of our customers, etc, etc.
Lip Colors
Our Plum Fairy and Peony Pink Lipsticks are back in stock after a brief delay in getting these freshly batched. For those that have been waiting, they are ready to go.
Mineral Makeup Brushes
We have been having some issues with getting a pieces part for construction of these wonderful cosmetics brushes. For the most part we have access to most of the line with more on the way next week.The brushes we are currently waiting on are Chubby Blender, Large Buki, and Small Rounded Face (2 left in stock). We are hoping we will see a resolve by the end of the month. The Jumbo Buffer and Small Pointed Face Brush will be back in stock middle of next week.
Your Opinion Matters
Write to us and let us know what you think or share your suggestions....it is all important to us in keeping things working for you. After all it is you and your input that keeps our creative juices flowing.
Sharing Latest Article On FDA, And Clearly Cosmetics Are Not The Only One's Under Attack
Thought I would share this Article with you about natural healthy foods we eat,
and let it speak for itself. I will say this, Walnuts and Cherries have had numerous medical articles written about their many health benefits ...... there is hypocrisy "a brewin" with lobbyists for huge pharma drug companies, and they are having a "say so" in what we are putting in our bodies since health supplements and healthy dietary foods are seriously a threat to prescription drugs' bottom line. Doctors everywhere are promoting the healthier side of the foods we should be eating to stave off disease and illness with much of the findings being written up in medical journals.Furthermore, there are no more perks allowed to be given to doctors to promote a certain drug, therefore doctors are waking up and smelling the coffee in terms of providing thorough research on what a person should be doing to eat right to keep ourselves healthy and out of the doctors' office.
Besides where would that favorite cocktail be without the glorious cherry or your special cake with the cherry on top? Just a little perk for the special indulgence one may partake in!Senator John McCain proposed a bill to stop the sale of health supplements by making it illegal in this country to do so. You will find a link to that Article here. You will also see the outcome of what consumers wanted and the outpouring of support against this type of control. This is the followup Article here, with the latest as of 2 days ago as this is presented in FDA Food Modernization Act (S. 510)
This website is an outstanding resource for keeping you up to date on many issues surrounding healthy and natural living. You may wish to bookmark it or sign up for their newsletter to keep you informed since they are keeping in the loop as events happen.
What say you? Is this good or bad for the consumer and / or is it more anti-small business legislation? How do you feel about choice versus government interference with your healthy choices?
This battle was very similar to what they were proposing in the Colorado Personal Care Products Safety Act. Our voices were heard and it was similarly defeated. If you can, show your support when you are in favor of defeating any of this type of legislation that simply put, removes your freedom to choose, then stand up and make your voice heard. We still can make a difference!
Well that's it for me this week and I hope you'll join us at our Beauty News & Events.
Have a great weekend and we are finally going to be enjoying some warmer weather this weekend....can't wait!
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Recent Beauty Finds
I am happy to report that I am in my third trimester and am growing, growing, growing! And since fashion really isn’t in the cards for me right now (I basically wear a tunic with leggings every single day) all I have is beauty. And thankfully my recent trip to Sephora was not only fruitful but very successful. Here are my recent beauty finds:
The Clarisonic
I seriously do not know how I lived without this invention. This is hands down the single best beauty item I’ve ever purchased in my entire life (and I promise to stop using hyperbole after this sentence). The Clarisonic is a gentle cleansing system that uses sonic technology in the form of a rotating brush to cleanse and exfoliate your skin. I’ve been using mine (I purchased the travel friendly Clarisonic Mia in pink) for the past two and a half weeks and my skin has never looked better! People keep complimenting me on my pregnancy ‘glow’ and I don’t have the heart to tell them it is all due to my beloved Clarisonic Mia. Thank you to all of my readers that recommended it to me…
Bare Escentuals Buxom Big and Healthy Lip Balm in Portofino
I have been searching high and low for a beautiful, sheer lip balm that adds a bit of color and moisturizes and I am happy to report that my search is over. Bare Escentuals (one of my favorite beauty brands- I use several of their products) has just put out a series of lip balms in pretty sheer colors that meet all of my criteria. This handy little lip balm (there is a mirror in the lid allowing you to discreetly check your application!) has beautiful color that lasts, keeps my lips hydrated and isn’t sticky in the slightest. I love it…
Clinique Quick Eyes Cream Shadow in Rock Violet
I have always regarded cream eyeshadows with suspicion. I like the idea of them but have had too many bad experiences with creasing and fading throughout the day. I can happily report that Clinique’s Quick Eyes Cream Shadow is the first cream eyeshadow that actually lasts all day long (I did use an eyeshadow primer underneath- Urban Decay’s Primer Potion). I am honestly so impressed I am already planning on purchasing other colors! This eyeshadow is easy to apply and provides beautiful, sheer color- perfect for summer.
L’Occitane Ultra Rich Face Cream
This is an old school face cream in the sense that it doesn’t do 15 things at once (i.e. sun protection, anti-aging, etc.) but that is what I like about it. I have been looking for a rich moisture cream that I can wear at night that will simply hydrate and soften my skin and so far I am loving this one. Primarily composed of Shea butter, the Ultra Rich Face Cream leaves my skin luxuriously moisturized and supple…
I would love to know your recent beauty finds…
The Clarisonic Mia is $149. Bare Escentuals Buxom Lip Balm is $15, Clinique Quick Eyes Cream Shadow is $15 and L’Occitane Ultra Rich Face Cream is $38. All products can be purchased at www.sephora.com.
The Clarisonic
I seriously do not know how I lived without this invention. This is hands down the single best beauty item I’ve ever purchased in my entire life (and I promise to stop using hyperbole after this sentence). The Clarisonic is a gentle cleansing system that uses sonic technology in the form of a rotating brush to cleanse and exfoliate your skin. I’ve been using mine (I purchased the travel friendly Clarisonic Mia in pink) for the past two and a half weeks and my skin has never looked better! People keep complimenting me on my pregnancy ‘glow’ and I don’t have the heart to tell them it is all due to my beloved Clarisonic Mia. Thank you to all of my readers that recommended it to me…
Bare Escentuals Buxom Big and Healthy Lip Balm in Portofino
I have been searching high and low for a beautiful, sheer lip balm that adds a bit of color and moisturizes and I am happy to report that my search is over. Bare Escentuals (one of my favorite beauty brands- I use several of their products) has just put out a series of lip balms in pretty sheer colors that meet all of my criteria. This handy little lip balm (there is a mirror in the lid allowing you to discreetly check your application!) has beautiful color that lasts, keeps my lips hydrated and isn’t sticky in the slightest. I love it…
Clinique Quick Eyes Cream Shadow in Rock Violet
I have always regarded cream eyeshadows with suspicion. I like the idea of them but have had too many bad experiences with creasing and fading throughout the day. I can happily report that Clinique’s Quick Eyes Cream Shadow is the first cream eyeshadow that actually lasts all day long (I did use an eyeshadow primer underneath- Urban Decay’s Primer Potion). I am honestly so impressed I am already planning on purchasing other colors! This eyeshadow is easy to apply and provides beautiful, sheer color- perfect for summer.
L’Occitane Ultra Rich Face Cream
This is an old school face cream in the sense that it doesn’t do 15 things at once (i.e. sun protection, anti-aging, etc.) but that is what I like about it. I have been looking for a rich moisture cream that I can wear at night that will simply hydrate and soften my skin and so far I am loving this one. Primarily composed of Shea butter, the Ultra Rich Face Cream leaves my skin luxuriously moisturized and supple…
I would love to know your recent beauty finds…
The Clarisonic Mia is $149. Bare Escentuals Buxom Lip Balm is $15, Clinique Quick Eyes Cream Shadow is $15 and L’Occitane Ultra Rich Face Cream is $38. All products can be purchased at www.sephora.com.