Natural Health Food Store Haul + My first Homemade Body Butter

A couple of weekends ago I went to my natural health food store to stock up on my tea obsession as well as pick up a new essential oil I have been meaning to get for the longest.

As of late I have been drinking white tea. It’s such a sweet and light tasting tea that I was hooked for weeks. Then recently I decided to switch it up a bit and try Oolong tea which turned out to be just as good.

I’ve been on a tea high since this past fall and have been very happy I have finally discovered and given tea a chance. Now I know why tea lovers are so picky about their stuff…. Oolong tea, like white tea is sweet but with a light earthy tone to it. The after taste is just right for me and not too overbearing.

Oolong tea is semi fermented and lies between green and black tea, containing moderate amounts of caffeine. Oolong tea is known to stimulate the digestive system and like most teas helps maintain a clearer mind.

Tea has a cleansing effect helping those who deal with constipation maintain a regular schedule which helps rid the body of toxins more efficiently. I like how light and refreshed I feel after having tea and not to mention all the health benefits I get from a cup of tea everyday.

My morning tea ritual consists of 1-2 cups when I wake up and another cup when I get to work.

Some health benefits of Oolong Tea:

Antioxidant: Protects against Free Radicals

Cleanses the body of toxins

Aids Digestion and Cholesterol levels

Helps clear mind of mental stress and fog

————————————

Vanilla Oil has been on my wish list since forever and I finally got my hands on it. I mostly wanted this oil for my essential oil burner but have been using it for all sorts of things such as my body butters, body sugar scrubs and shampoo mixes. The scent of vanilla is amazing. Since getting this oil I have not stopped using it and sometimes I catch myself just running to the bottle to take a sniff of it. SMH lol

I have been burning this oil non stop and recently I have been adding a few sprinkles of ground cinnamon which leaves my house smelling like a bakery. The aroma is so soft and sweet you you can’t help but smile every time you smell it. Burning vanilla for aromatherapy purposes helps relax your mind as well as ease tension, stress and headaches.

——————————-

My skin in the past year has been a complete BRAT! I’ve been dealing with some annoying pimples, scars and just plain annoying skin. My skin is not only oily but sensitive too so I have been eliminating a lot of ingredients in my skin care regimen because of it. So far I have eliminated Tinted Moisturizers entirely. Right now bronzers are the only thing from keeping me looking like a corpse.

So I have been cleansing with this all natural Desert Essence face wash…….got it on sale for $6…. So far I like that it washes away mascara…..We shall see how well it really works soon.

——————————

At last but not least I have been experimenting with making my own body butters usuing shea butter and Coconut Oil. Shea butter has been doing wonders for my skin since I started using it last year. I’m not much of a lotion person but since trying out shea butter and coconut oil my skin has been soaking it up.

These are my first two batches. The one on the left only conatins a 50/50 mix of shea butter and coconut oil. The one on the right contains Vanilla Oil, Vitamin E Oil, Coconut Oil and Shea Butter.

I have yet to perfect this concoction but so far I’m loving body butters. Not only can you use it on your skin but hair as well which is my ultimate goal with this shea butter and coconut oil mix. Soon as I get a hold of what I’m doing I will post a tutorial on how I do my body butters. In the mean time check out this tutorial by Glamazini, I’ve been working with.

So stay tuned for that and a lot more recipes I’ve been working with.

Read Full Post »

What Kind of E are you on?

So what kind of “E” are you on??? Vitamin E that is. Vitamin E has been known to be a great antioxidant fighting off those pesky free radicals trying to latch on to whatever good cells you may have to ultimately destroy them.

However like many other supplements on the market, your Vitamin E may be a fake or rather a synthetic form of Vitamin E. I have been doing a little research on Vitamin E oil since I bought these Vitamin E  capsules at Walmart about a month ago. I bought the capsules because I have been reading about how great Vitamin E oil works for dark spots left by blemishes on your skin. Despite trying it on my skin for the last month I been meaning to drink a few capsules but decided to read more into Vitamin E in capsule form and how it compares to just eating a diet rich in Vitamin E.

So I have and want you to ask yourself how do you know if you are purchasing all natural Vitamin E or not? In the scientific world Vitamin E is know as Alpha-Tocopherol. Along with Alpha tocopherol other natural forms exist such as Beta, Gamma, and Delta tocopherol. These are the kinds of natural existing Vitamin E that our bodies uses more efficiently.

On the other hand synthetic versions of Vitamin E oil are also available but not used as efficiently by our bodies. The synthetic version is known as DL- Alpha tocopherol (derived from petroleum).

When you are reading the label for anything claiming to contain Vitamin E you have to look out for the D and DL which tells you it’s chemical composition, natural or synthetic.

Natural= d alpha tocopherol

Synthetic= dl alpha tocopherol

As opposed to the natural Vitamin E which you can find in beta, gamma, delta, the synthetic version can only be found in the the alpha form.

So after I felt I had the information I needed to decipher between the two forms I picked up my Vitamin e oil bottle I have in capsules and read the label. In the front it says natural Vitamin e oil 1,000 d alpha made by spring valley. However when you turn it over it says d alpha TOCOPHERYL ACETATE. As opposed to tocopherol. Immediately I researched tocopheryl acetate.

What I learned was that in order for the natural raw Vitamin E to be stored in capsules a carrier must be added such as acetate. So long as the d is present in front (opposed to dl) and when taken orally it breaks down it is still considered natural. However tocopheryl acetate has been linked with cancer and other toxins.

So I guess after all this running around trying to figure out the best way for my skin and nerves to benefit  from Vitamin E I came up with the best conclusion for myself. Just consume the real deal of  Vitamin E which is in basically most of the foods I love.

Avocadoes, peaches, tomatoes, olive oil, safflower oil, nectarines, grapes, salmon, whole grains, nuts and I’m sure the list goes on.

I’ll be doing a review soon on the Vitamin E oil capsules I bought and how I use it for my skin and whether or not it has helped fade dark spots since using it.

Read Full Post »