by Wendy Polisi on July 21, 2010
I am always on the lookout for great new hair products. The problem is that finding good hair products that are also organic can be very challenging. It doesn’t help that my hair is fine and tends to get frizzy when it is humid. Oh, and I’m going gray which is making my hair drier than ever. (Yet somehow my scalp can still get oily.)
That is why when I ran across Modern Organic Products, I knew I had to give them a try.
Modern Organic Products are a line of beauty products owned my American Crew, Inc. They may organic shampoo, conditioner, detangler’s and styling products. MOP hair even has products for toddlers. (Ok, I don’t exactly need that because no matter how hard I try my four year old has officially left his toddler years.)
According to their website they are striving to maintain a high standard and provide salon quality products that still respect the earth. The idea behind MOP hair products is that you should feed your hair in the same way that you feed your body. They don’t do animal testing and they promote recycling.
I decided to try the MOP C System, and here is my experience.
Mop C System Hydrating Shampoo
The Modern Organic Products hydrating shampoo is sulfate free, color safe and PH balanced. It offers antioxidants and a rich blend of vitamins. I am a sucker for things that smell good and the smell is simply divine! It is a citrus scent comes from essential oils and is not at all overpowering. I color my hair and I found that my hair color stayed great when I used this product. If your hair is like mine – fine, frizzy, dry at the ends, oily at the scalp – this is the right product for you. My hair was very manageable!
Since it is sulfate free, it doesn’t lather like all shampoos. To me, this is a small sacrifice for my health. It also means that if your hair is dry this shampoo will not strip your scalp like many others. The glycerin in this shampoo left my hair shiny.
MOP C System Hydrating Conditioner
This is Modern Organic Products best selling conditioner. Because I have such a weird combination of an oily scalp and dry frizzy ends, I have a really hard time finding a conditioner that I like. This one was great! Oh- and it smells great too!
MOP C System Firm Finish Hair Spray
My husband actually stole this hair spray from me. I had to buy another one because I got tired of searching for MY hair spray every time I needed it. He even used in on our preschool boys, who didn’t even complain. Not only does it smell great, the hold is fabulous. This is my favorite MOP hair product.
Modern Organic Products Leave In Conditioner
Because I blow dry my hair every time I wash, I like to alternative using a regular conditioner one day and a leave in conditioner next. This conditioner has Certified organic carrot puree (which surprised me) as well as Echinacea and Dandelion. Surprisingly, it left me frizz free and my hair was not weighted down. I actually like it better than the Aveda leave in conditioner that I have been using.
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Popularity: 7% [?]
by Claire Addison on July 1, 2010
Blending essential oils has been a major part in soap and cosmetic making. Not only can blending essential oils take years to learn adequately, it often remains a trial and error process, which, for some, means a little frustration. Major companies usually spend millions on their scents, developing and improving them, usually involving many different people with expert knowledge of these oils and their properties. While this has made these companies a lot of money, it is not necessary to be an expert to blend essential oils. It is important that you use caution and follow all safety and dosage requirements.
Safety is critical when using essential oils, as many can cause unwanted side effects if used incorrectly. A list of best practices when using each type of oil is usually readily available from your manufacturer when you request, or buy a product from them, and much of this information is now available on the manufacturer’s websites as well. It is important that you read all these instructions for each oil and follow them correctly.
While the above may scare you off from essential oils at first, once you start using these oils you will find it’s not hard, and can be quite fun to make unique blends of your own to use in any of your natural beauty products.
The process of blending essential oils can be broken down for beginners by using different categories for each oil. These categories consist of resin, earthy, spicy, medicinal, floral, and herbaceous. Each oil will fall into one of these categories and by using general rules you can easily start blending your natural beauty concoctions. For instance, floral oils are typically the easiest to start with because they usually blend well together and with many of the other categories, in particular citrus, woodsy, and spicy essential oils. Woodsy oils are also easy to work with, and blend well with most categories. Citrus and Earthy essential oils are also good to blend with. Medicinal oils shouldn’t be mixed into any concoction too heavily, as they are pretty strong. In addition, using too much spicy oils and citrus oils together will not result in very favorable scents either.
In addition to these aroma categories, essential oils can be put into 3 different “note” categories. Top, Middle, Bottom/Base Notes. When using these notes you can start by using them in ratios. 1/3 for the Top Notes, about 1/2 for the Middle Notes, and 1/4 for the Bottom or Base Notes.
The last thing you should know before starting to blend essential oils is that you will always needs to use a carrier oil. The desired ratio of each essential oil can vary, but a general rule of thumb is 2 to 5 drops of essential oil for each tablespoon of carrier oil.
You should know have the resources you need to start blending. Just remember to be patient, and blend using small amounts to avoid waste. It also may be helpful to take detailed notes while blending so you can remember what you have done and how each blend worked (or didn’t work).
Popularity: 10% [?]
by Wendy Polisi on May 6, 2010
As I have gotten older, keeping my weight in check has gotten more and more difficult. Although I generally enjoy healthy organic food, my tastes to tend to run towards the gourmet. To make matters worse, my children are so busy I find that I am eating on the run all too often.
I hate feeling deprived when I am trying to drop weight and because of this, I am always looking for ways to make it easier. So, when I read that green tea could help you lose weight I decided to give it a try.
Is Green Tea Weight Loss Just a Myth?
Now, I am all for anything natural that can help me control my weight. But the truth is that I am pretty skeptical about anything having to do with weight loss. There is so much hype out there and it can be difficult to determine if it is for real or just another scam. Still, green tea taste good and is not all that expensive, so I decided it was worth a shot! So, I got online and placed an order for some Loose Leaf Green Tea .
Read on for my experience with green tea and weight loss!
My Story
When the green tea arrived, I initially tried to drink 4 or 5 cups of hot green tea a day. I found this a little hard to get down, so I brewed the tea normally and then turned it into iced tea. Since I normally drink iced tea all day long, simply switching to green tea was no big deal. It tasted great and the only change I noticed is that I seemed to have a little more energy. Nothing major mind you – just enough to help me work out a little harder and get a little more house work done. (Hubby was happy 
)
My results were subtle, but they were there. I didn’t have a serious diet plan, but I did make an effort to eat more healthy. I also started working out with the WiiFit at least three times a week. Over the course of the next two months, I dropped around 12 pounds. Because my weight had been steady for the prior two years, I was really excited! Obviously there was something to using green tea for weight loss.
The Science Behind Green Tea and Weight Loss
Once I had my own success, I was determined to figure out what it was about drinking green tea that helped me drop the pounds. I thought it was probably just the caffeine but this didn’t really make since since I drink plenty of coffee and that has never helped me shed weight. (Sadly…) So, off to Google to study green tea extract weight loss research.
As it turns out, it is the presence of Catechins in green tea are responsible for blocking fat absorption and buring calories This is the key to how green tea benefits weight loss.
Catechins account for 30% of green tea, and they have been clinically shown to help with weight loss. They decrease the absorption of fat and increase thermogensis. It is estimated that drinking green tea helps the average person burn about an additional 80 calories a day. (So, it wasn’t enough to account for all of my weight loss.)
I think while the extra 80 calories was great, I was also able to eat less while maintaining my energy levels. Still, 80 calories a day could account for an 8 pound difference over a years time. (I’ll take 8 pounds a year! It’s amazing to me that their aren’t more Green Tea Weight Loss programs out there!)
Green Tea Weight Loss: Can Green Tea Really Help You Lose “Inches a Week”?
If you are searching for green tea on the web, you may have read something that said that you could lose inches a week just by drinking green tea. I wish I could tell you that this was the case (I wish I could tell myself that this was the case!) but the truth is that it is not. Yes, green tea does help you lose weight more quickly, but it must be used in conjunction with a healthy diet and preferably exercise to see results.
The worse part about these sites that make ridiculous claims is that they lure you in and then offer you an inferior product. To see results, you need to make sure that you purchase your green tea from a reputable source. One of my favorites is the Emerald Spring Blend at Adagio Teas
, which is a blend of three quality green teas. Try it today and have your own success with green tea weight loss!
Popularity: 21% [?]
