Eczema has plagued many members of my family and unfortunately many of my friends as well.  Eczema is an inflammatory, painful itching disease of the skin, acute or chronic in nature, with dry or moist lesions.  Attractive right?  Fortunately as I have grown older, my eczema has dramatically decreased and now only affects my legs during the season changes.  I get it right at the back of my knees and have found ways to keep it under control by doing what I do best: testing out and trying all the products you can think of until I find the ones that work for me.

Well just a couple months ago, I came across an article in Allure Magazine that discussed a study done on eczema patients using coconut oil and olive oil.  I’ve mentioned before here on BCB the wonders that olive oil can do for your skin, but surprisingly not coconut oil.  I know I’ve mentioned before how much I love anything and everything coconut so I was surprised that I never thought of writing about this benefit of coconut oil before.  In fact, my boyfriend uses coconut oil as his body moisturizer every day and his skin is perfect!  So there’s gotta be something to it.

Well in this study Allure refers to, 52 patients applied either coconut oil or olive oil twice a day for four weeks.  The study found that although both significantly alleviated skin dryness, coconut oil had a stronger antibacterial effect- “clearing 95 percent of skin infections involving Staphylococcus aureus bacterium, which is believed to exacerbate eczema.”  Because coconut oil is absorbed into the skin more quickly than olive oil, it doesn’t feel as greasy on the skin either.  Try them together with this detoxifying firming scrub I wrote about earlier on BCB.

So after reading this article, and stealing some of my boyfriend’s Health Support Raw Organic Coconut Oil, I did a test patch on my skin and found it to work wonders!  It immediately alleviated the itching, instantly moisturized the dry cracks I was experiencing, and seemed to clear up my eczema breakouts much more effectively than the ointments I had been using my entire life.  It was amazing! There’s nothing better than finding a product that works for you. And I always say there’s nothing better than using a natural source free of chemicals on your skin.

So what natural skin remedies do you guys use?  Share with us and leave a comment! 

Until next time friends…  xoxo

The FDA does not require approval of cosmetics before their manufacture and sale.  The FDA regulates cosmetics only in the areas of safety, labeling, and the claims made for a product.  Ingredients must be listed in descending order of predominance, starting with the ingredient having the highest concentration and ending with the ingredient having the lowest concentration.  Ingredients with a concentration of less than 1 percent may be listed in any order.  This is why it is so important to match the marketing claims made by a company with the ingredients listed on the back.

For example, yesterday I told you that I’ve tried several anti-cellulite treatments.  St. Ives has always been one of my favorite drugstore body moisturizers, so when they came out with St. Ives Cellulite Shield Advanced Body Moisturizer, I was very excited to try it.  However, my results were not as apparent as they were with Caudalie’s.  These are the ingredients St. Ives advertises as their main innovative ingredients in this anti-cellulite moisturizer:

• Green Tea- Known for attacking free radicals
• Caffeine- Known to stimulate the skin’s circulation, targeting “imprisoned fat”
• Citrus Extract- Known to rejuvenate and energize the skin
• Menthol- to invigorate tired, sluggish skin as it cools
• Glacial Water and Botanicals- Known to moisturize and hydrate the skin

Now although their claims about these ingredients have been proven to be true, to be highly effective, these ingredients must be listed toward the beginning of the ingredients list.  Without being in a high enough concentration, the potency of these ingredients becomes diminished. So I took a look at the ingredients list and checked to see just how much of these wonderful ingredients are actually in this anti-cellulite treatment.  Here is what I found out:

• Green Tea- Listed at ingredient number 45 out of 52
• Caffeine- Listed at ingredient number 12 out of 52
• Citrus Extract- Listed at ingredient number 50 and 51 out of 52
• Menthol- Listed at ingredient number 29 out of 52
• Glacial Water and Botanicals- No specific evidence of “glacial” water and botanicals listed all throughout the lower half of the list

So I took this information and now understood why this product might not have worked as well as I had originally thought it would.  It still acted as a great moisturizer and I still love St. Ives lotion just because of the experiences I’ve had with it before, but I’ll be more careful now before I jump on the bandwagon.  It was obvious that although St. Ives Cellulite Shield Advanced Body Moisturizer did contain these active ingredients, they were not in a high enough concentration to be effective in the way they had intended.

So next time you run out to your nearest store just because you saw a great ad or commercial on some new innovative product, make sure you do your research first.  And since its beneficial for you to have one, I recommend purchasing Milady’s Skin Care and Cosmetic Ingredients Dictionary. It’ll help you understand why certain things are in your product, what those chemicals listed really do, and translate all the latin names for you.  It’s a great little thing to take with you on your next trip to the department store.

Until next time ladies…  xoxo

“From coal tar in hair dyes to formaldehyde in nail varnishes, the average woman is exposed to as many as 175 chemicals from her beauty products every day that can cause conditions as mild as skin irritation or as serious as cancer.  It’s not just the toxins in beauty products that are bad for the health either; synthetic chemicals from these products find their way from your home into waterways and soil, contaminating food and water supplies for all living things.”

Now most people don’t really think about these things when getting ready every morning.  So I am here to bring it to your attention so that we can all be conscious of how our actions affect the world inside and around us.  It’s interesting to see how in many ways taking care of our own health helps out the environment as well.  I definitely recommend checking out this book as it’s a total eye opener to not only all the harmful chemicals in many of our products, but to how much making just a simple eco-beauty purchase can positively affect our environment.

So Are You a Green Beauty?  Take this quiz to find out!  Its amazing to see how many of these answers can be found in our Little Green Book!  Stay tuned to BCB Eco-Fridays, as I will be discussing many of the topics that come up in this quiz.  And of course, if any of you have any questions about how you can be more beautifully green, leave me a comment!

Until next time ladies…  xoxo

I’d love to share with you one of my favorite recipes from the book.  I am such a huge fan of coconut and pretty much love anything that has a tropical fragrance.  So if that’s you too, you’ll enjoy this recipe that comes from Thailand:

Tropical Body Polish

½ cup of ground rice

½ cup of coconut milk

1 tablespoon of turmeric

½ cup of fresh grated coconut

Mix ingredients together to form a thick scrub.

Using circular scrubbing motion, apply the mixture all over your body.

Rinse and follow with your favorite moisturizer.

I find this treatment especially helpful during the winter months, as my skin tends to be a little drier.  With the extra need for exfoliation, and a definite desire to want to feel like I’m somewhere other than the freezing streets of New York, I love this home recipe!

Some other great SUMMER tips that come from our South American beauties can also be found in Passport to Beauty: Secrets and Tips from Around the World for Becoming a Global Goddess.  One that I thought was quite interesting was that Brazilian beauties munch on carrots for weeks prior to hitting the beach.  They believe that because carrot juice can cause a slight yellowing of the skin, it can deepen the bronze of their tans.  But like Shalini mentions, “Too much of a good thing is just that – too much.”  Carrots do have a high content of Vitamin A, which in large amounts, can be toxic.  So what I like to do is just have a glass of carrot juice after my beach day to help maintain the color I’ve already gotten.  Its refreshing, totally healthy, and definitely safe – unless you’re allergic to carrots of course!

And I just have to throw this one in there because you know I love you…  If you’re spending a day at the beach don’t forget your SPF!!!

Until next time ladies…  xoxo