The Beauty of Nature

Josh Rosebrooks all-natural, organic beauty line is not only a healthy approach to anti-aging, but also amongst the growing number of authentic products making an impact on a market rife with body-disruptive chemicals.

How did your beauty journey begin?
I was fascinated with taking care of my skin since I was about 18. I loved the fact that if I did a few things every day, over time, I would always look younger. I began reading the ingredients on the skin care products, researching and testing them on myself. I was always finding ingredients and products that I thought were working and researching to understand why. I have always been fascinated with plants and herbs. It is so amazing to me that these botanical extracts and essential oils contain such mind blowing properties for health and anti aging. All the bases are covered in nature and it is absolutely complete with the highest forms of all vitamins, minerals, amino acids, fatty acids, enzymes, proteins and nutrients…

The Future of Plastics

More than 40 years after the well-known one-liner, “Just One Word: Plastics” from Mike Nichols classic movie The Graduate, the presence of plastics in society has evolved from a manufacturing wonder material to a hazardous consumer concern.

A Natural Beauty Transition

If you’ve never really understood the mineral makeup trend, and held on tight to your traditional creams and liquids, there’s another natural alternative thanks to Christopher Drummond, a former model turned celebrity makeup artist.

A Green Halloween

Trick or treating has a frightening impact on the environment. According to the National Retail Federation, Americans spend upwards of $5 billion on the spooky celebration annually – and that adds up to a lot of plastic masks, candy wrappers and fake tombstones.

Jodi Helmer, author of The Green Year: 365 Small Things You Can Do to Make a Big Difference offers some tips for making the black and orange holiday a little more green.

Green the goodies: Think of all the candy wrappers that one little goblin throws in the trash – then multiply that number by the millions of trick-or-treaters who are happily gobbling up their stash. Offer organic apples from the farmers market or buy treats in bulk to minimize packaging waste.

Come up with a new costume: Skip the racks of colorful costumes at the mall (most of them are made of non-renewable materials like plastic) and come up with a creative idea for a homemade costume. Add a bandana to a pair of jeans and a denim shirt for an instant cowboy costume or put on your wedding dress and go as the Bride of Frankenstein. Or, host a costume swap with the neighbors. The costumes their kids have outgrown might be the perfect fit for your little one.

Choose natural decorations: Bails of straw, colorful mums and a handful of gourds are great seasonal decorations that can be composted on November 1st. If scary witches hanging from the oak tree and plastic pumpkins on the front step are a must-have, scour secondhand stores.

Meanwhile, eco-expert Kim Carlson suggests these handy green Halloween to-dos:

DIY Trick-or-Treat Tote. Make a trick-or-treat container out of an old empty and washed out non-toxic brand paint can. Cover with construction paper or a collage of bats, pumpkins and witches. Or you can sew a Halloween motif fabric onto a re-useable cloth grocery store bag. Either of these can be used year after year.

Earth Inspired Costumes. This Halloween, try making your childs costume instead of buying a one-time use. Try creating a nature inspired costume like a caterpillar from a matching green sweatpants and a hoodie with pipe cleaner antennae. Or make wings from old scarves stitched together and attached to the underarms and side of brown or black hoodie.

Non-Toxic Face Paint and Pencils. Instead of a plastic or rubber mask try a non-toxic brand of face decorating, Nova Naturals Face Pencils. Made from plant oils they are easy to apply, wash off and you can use them over and over. Or make your own face paints with plain yogurt and a few drops of food coloring. It will dry shiny with some texture.

Party and Home Decorations. Use LED candles in pumpkins rather than candles. They burn cool and you can use them for other things throughout the year. Corn stalks and hay from decorative hay bales can be dismantled and spread on garden beds to help protect plants and shrubs from snow and ice.

Pumpkins. Use up every part of the pumpkin that you can – make salted and roasted seeds. Keep the meat of the cut outs for soup or roasting like squash. If you do have pumpkin leftovers from jack-o-lanterns that are past their prime, compost them in your backyard. It will turn into nice black nutrition rich dirt for your spring gardens.

7 WAYS … TO LET GO OF FEAR

1. Identify it for what it really is: False Evidence Appearing Real.

As human beings, we are essentially controlled by two emotions: love and fear. We act out of one or the other. The beautiful thing? We have the ability to choose the thoughts we think and the emotion we attach to them. While fear is pre-programmed into us as an instinctual response to potential danger, much of the every day stuff we fear isnt dangerous at all. We have simply convinced ourselves what were fearing is real.

Website for Natural Mamas to Be

Natural-health-for-fertility.com has launched its newest website to educate future parents about how to achieve and support a healthy pregnancy with alternative medicine. The site offers a large selection of articles on natural fertility, pregnancy, postpartum and baby care.

CLEAN BODY, THE HUMBLE ART OF ZEN-CLEANSING YOURSELF by Michael DeJong

Why its great: Rather than harping on about how our toxic household cleaning and beauty products are slowly killing us, Michael DeJong offers solutions that are right there in your kitchen. Using just five pure, natural ingredients-baking soda, lemon, olive oil, salt and white vinegar-he shows you how to wash, scrub and rinse with complete peace of mind, all while saving dollars and the environment. Not a bad deal, eh?

Whos reading it: Those who are discovering their allergies are directly caused by harsh chemicals that lurk in most mainstream cleaning and beauty products. It’s also a favorite of parents who want to give their littlies the most pure start to life, and of those who understand that what goes onto the skin gets absorbed into the body.

What youll learn: How to mix baking soda in varying amounts to use as a shampoo, facial scrub and foot scrub; why olive oil is a superb make-up remover and moisturizer; how lemon will get you salon-perfect streaks and why salt is great for scrubbing away dead skin on elbows and knees.

Want to know more? Head to www.zencleansing.com but not before disposing thoughtfully of all those hazardous products in your cupboards.

Getting Real: Holistic Healthcare

As more Westerners begin to embrace the life-enhancing (and life-saving) benefits of natural therapies, understanding what treatment works best for what condition can cause a headache itself.