Coconut oil

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Ayurvedic medicine loves coconut oil. It's one of the most important oils in this ancient science (sesame oil might take first place, though). Coconut oil is known to speed up skin regeneration after wounds and helps prevent sagging skin and wrinkles. Here is some of the science behind it. It's really very interesting to see how our body uses the lauric acid found in coconut oil to prevent diseases.

It's also excellent for hair, making it shiny and adding necessary proteins. It even helps prevent hair loss! I have yet to try it on my hair (treatment post coming soon) but I did trade in my sesame oil for coconut oil as a skin moisturizer for a few weeks. I must admit, I wasn't thrilled with the direct application on my skin. It felt wonderfully silky going on my face, but I noticed that my complexion was a bit red and it didn't help my blemishes at all. I know of people that adore coconut oil for their skin, but sesame oil works better for me. I think it's because my dosha is primarily Vata, and sesame oil is the most calming to that airy element (to find your dosha, take the quiz). Coconut oil is known to help balance Vata and Pitta doshas, but I think for me it's best to stick to ingesting it instead of direct application.

What have your experiences with coconut oil been like? Do you prefer a direct application or ingesting it?

so sweet

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Apis mellifera

Breaking news (at least for me): SEPTEMBER IS NATIONAL HONEY MONTH!

I had no idea that my most favorite of sweet things in the entire world has an entire month dedicated to it. I'm so happy!

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Making honey, yum!

So. Honey. It's sweet, natural, anti-bacterial, and even contains trace amounts of essential nutrients the human body needs. There are, of course, a ton of other reasons why honey is, quite literally, the bees knees. Here is a fun post I found about the many, many uses of honey, including some awesome tips for DIY projects (fruit preserves, hair care, and skin care, to name a few!)

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Laden with pollen

Since it's National Honey month I'd like to express my concerns about the perilous state the honeybee is in now. Did you know honeybees pollinate $15 billion of produce every year, and that the almond blossom can only be pollinated by the honeybee? It's true. Life as we know it would cease to exist without the help from these noble, beautiful little creatures. Colony Collapse Disorder is real, and if people don't start wising up, pretty soon we'll be facing enormous health and agricultural issues. Please, please, please support local beekeepers, plant flowers that attract honeybees, preserve spots where wildflowers grow in your community, and for the love of almonds don't kill them! A little bit of research will show that there a lot of ways people can help save the honeybee. I mean, we sort of owe it to them to make sure they don't die, since they've been ensuring delicious produce for humans for centuries. You can start here, at the Save the Honeybee Foundation.

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Honeybee pollinating an almond blossom

indulge without fear

Lately I've been obsessed with what goes on my skin; I don't trust chemicals. I reserve make up for "special occasions" and I use it maybe once a month, usually less. This slight obsession has also seeped into my use of body lotion. There are some really scary, and unnecessary, things in conventional lotions. I've dabbled in research to find product brands that promote healthy cosmetic formulas. There aren't many. Today I found this short article on one of my favorite websites that addresses some of my concerns. It's basically a list of the 12 most toxic, common ingredients in cosmetic products. It's definitely worth checking labels before you buy anything to make sure the product is free of these vile ingredients.

But I'm not perfect and didn't check before I bought a new lotion from Whole Foods yesterday. I figured they would have the best selection of healthy/natural beauty products without having to spend hours on the internet, and then waiting, waiting, waiting for the product to arrive. So I scoured the isles and picked out one that I felt was worthy. I checked the label with the article today and, to my utter joy, the lotion I picked up checks out on the "Dirty Dozen" list! Yes! I am so happy.

This pomegranate sunflower (smells awesome, by the way) lotion from Nature's Gate is paraben free, phthalate free, mineral oil free, petrolatum free, PEG free, and butylene glycol free, and free of the other ingredients on the list. Plus it has extracts from sunflower seeds, safflower, pomegranate, sweet almond, apricot, jojoba, shea, vitamin E, soybean, aloe, pansy, marshmallow, calendula, sage, milk thistle, grape, red tea, oat, and horsetail! Nature's Gate also has products for hair and sun. Definitely worth checking out!