Natural Body Care Week! Wahoozle gazoozles! Lots of posts coming up this week and be sure to get your copy of the new tutorial when it is available on Wednesday. Fun times!
The weekend is my time off from writing so instead you get an interview with me, written by someone else 
Are Natural Beauty Products the Best for Your Bod?
by Sarah Treleaven Mar 18th 2010 2:00PM
We spend so much time thinking about what we put into our mouth, but what about the stuff we smear across our body? Nutritionist and holistic lifestyle consultant Meghan Telpner, who is hosting an upcoming workshop on natural beauty products, explains why we should use natural beauty items and offers a few of her favourite recipes.
Q: Why do you recommend natural body products?
A: What we put on the outside our body will end up inside our body. There is not much sense in spending so much time being concerned with what we are eating if we fail to also take into account what we are absorbing through our skin. There are loads of toxins in our environment that we can’t control, so why not be a little more careful about the things we can control?
We have a layer of fat that surrounds our body, just below the skin’s surface. These fat cells serve to insulate us and lend a little padding and protection for our internal organs. Toxins collect and store in the fat cells. When products absorb through our skin, those fat cells are the first places the toxins will land and that will ultimately affect the appearance of health on our skin’s surface over time.
Q: How can making our own body products at home improve our health?
A: Simply put, the less toxins we have in our body, the better our health will be, the more efficiently our organs of elimination will work and the stronger our immune system will be. Additionally, toxins, whether they are from the air that we breathe, excessive sun exposure, poor food choices, stress, lack of sleep or cosmetic products, produce free radicals in our body. Free radical damage that shows up internally will absolutely make it’s way to the surface of our skin, making us look older and reducing the elasticity and recovery ability of our skin’s surface, hair, nails and even the brightness of our eyes. Making products at home is an easy way to reduce the toxic load that we carry (and save money too!).
Q: Is it difficult or expensive to make your own body products?
A: No and no! It is so easy and so much fun. You can get deep into it, melting cocoa butter and beeswax, dropping in essential oils, mixing and grinding seeds and grains to make exfoliants, or you can keep it incredibly simple. I am a big fan of the single-ingredient cosmetic routine. I use diluted cider vinegar (one part vinegar to 10 parts water) as a toner, as well as a hair rinse. It is great at balancing pH.
Coconut oil with a little lemon juice makes an amazing deodorant, as it is naturally anti-bacterial and anti-fungal. Baking soda or ground oats, mixed with a little water to make a paste makes a fantastic face scrub.
Jajoba oil is a sweet little moisturizing facial cleanser, just adding a drop or two to a damp cloth and running over the face does the trick. Coconut oil is also my go-to as an eye make-up remover. Castor oil, from the castor plant, is thick enough to function as a moisturizing lip balm.
Q: Can you share one of your favourite recipes?
A: Toothpaste for sure! How cool is it to make toothpaste at home? I use one part vegetable glycerine to one-and-a-half parts baking soda (you made need a little more glycerine over time). I’ll add a little peppermint essential oil, mix it together and voila! All-natural toothpaste.
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