I (Lisa) am certified as a holistic nutritionist. Essentially, the practice of holistic nutrition acknowledges, as the old song reminds us, that the knee-bone is connected to the ankle bone.
I studied the impact of diet not just on weight management and digestive problems (which is what most people think of when they consider the word “nutrition”) but also on symptoms seemingly unrelated to food, like headache, joint pain and skin conditions.
In fact, by using what I learned when studying holistic nutrition, I was able to make changes to my diet that helped me heal from a life-long relationship with eczema.
And as I was coming to see how all the different parts of my body connects with all the other parts, and how a problem in one area indicates potential problems somewhere else, I realized the importance of treating my skin with gentle, loving kindness.
You see, your skin absorbs everything you put on it. Everything.
And this can have dire consequences for your health. Here’s why: When you eat something questionable, that food travels the length of your digestive tract through enzymes in your mouth that break it down, through your very acidic stomach, and through your detoxifying liver and kidneysyou’re your bowel. Along the way, one of 3 things happen:
- The food makes you sick and you expel from one end or another;
- Your body is able to detoxify it and then eliminate it on your next bathroom visit; or
- Your body has no idea what to do with it and wraps it in a layer of protective fat so it can’t get at you. You might be sitting on some of it right now as you read this.
But when potentially nasty things are rubbed onto your skin, there is very little protection. Problematic ingredients by-pass all of our built-in detoxification systems and land swiftly in the blood stream. They float wherever they want and potentially wreak a lot of havoc along the way.
Worse, some of the chemicals used in personal care products actually encourage this to happen. Fast-absorbing, indeed.
So about 20 years ago I stopped buying drug-store personal care and embraced natural products. (Some of these aren’t as “natural” as you’ve been led to believe. Hang around here a little bit, and you’ll learn all about it.)
In fact, I became a natural personal care/beauty expert. I wrote a book about it called Living Beauty. It’s out of print now, but still fun to tell people about!
I have written dozens of “natural and holistic” beauty articles in magazines throughout North America in the past 20 years. A few of them are linked on this site. (Check out the Media page to read some of them.)
And while Jane wasn’t writing articles, she was very busy scoping out research and keeping up-to-date on topics like green-washing, organic certification, processing methods, simple body care practices like dry-brushing, and new ways to use “old” reliable ingredients.
Then, one day, we decided to make our own.
This blog is dedicated to our journey. We’re so glad you’ve decided to join us!
Until next time,
Lisa and Jane