Industrial vs. Organic Bath Products

Anyone who has used industrial bath products knows they often leave skin dry, flaky and itchy.  This is caused by combined action of heavy industrial foaming agents, fragrance oils, industrial preservatives and industrial surfactants. Harsh industrial foaming agents such as SLS, SLES, ASL and ASEL, make nice bubbles but they also overstrip the skin of natural oils necessary to maintain healthy skin’ balance. Heavy fragrance oils enhance product scent but cause skin irritation, chapping and leave heavy artificial fragrance on skin. Industrial preservatives such as parabens, prolong product shelf life but can interfere with organ and reproductive functions. Industrial surfactants that wetting agents that help products spread over skin, are known eye, skin, nose, and throat irritants.

In contrast, organic bath products use natural and organic foaming, scent, preservative and surfactant alternatives that are mild and skin and body friendly. Organic bath products use natural foaming agents sourced from plants. They are mild, low foaming, effectively clean skin and maintain skin’s balance and pH without risking your health. For scent organic bath products often use organic essential oils which are proven beneficial to skin care and which leave behind a natural, clean plant scent. In terms of preservatives, organic bath products rely on combination of essential and carrier oils that have natural anti-fungal and anti-microbial properties, such are rosemary and grapefruit. In terms of surfactants, organic bath products use natural and wild-crafted alternatives derived from organic certified carrier oils and butters that are mild and non-irritating.  The end result is safe, consumer ready product that will deliver peak care, minus the harmful side –effects.

For consumer the best advice is – research the product, check ingredients and ask your manufacturer for assurance that what they are using is indeed organic and natural. For manufacturer, when creating a high end product you will need to invest in quality ingredients and research – the pay off is – a great, consumer safe product that you can display on your shelf with pride and confidence and that your consumer will enjoy using.

Happy shopping from Nina Bella Collection, your local organic bath and beauty manufacturer.

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Aloe Vera in Organic Beauty Care

Aloe Vera is one of the oldest medicinal plants, going as far back as 3500 years ago in Egypt and Sumatra. It is curiously made of 96% water and 4% compounds that give it its renowned medical, anti-inflammatory, anti-fungal, healing and immune boosting properties.  Due to unique compositions and high water content Aloe Vera absorbs into skin four times faster than water, which make this little plant great natural bath and beauty product ingredient and carrier medium. Used alone of combined with other ingredients Aloe Vera is known to increase collagen production, rejuvenate skin, combat pimples, heal eczema and slow down skin ageing process.

Fairly easy to handle Aloe Vera can be used in variety of organic bath and beauty applications such as creams, shower gels, lip balms and yes even anti ageing products.

Try this simple Aloe Vera balm receipt to soothe chapped, irritated lips:

2 tablespoons organic or natural Aloe Vera gel

3 drops organic lavender essential oil

½ teaspoon organic almond oil

½ teaspoon organic glycerin

Heat almond oil, lavender essential oil and glycerin until warm and mix well. Add Aloe Vera and mix well until fully blended. Let cool off then transfer into clean glass container. Use ready lip balm on chapped lips as needed. Store remaining mix into fridge for up to four weeks.

For more great recipes, visit Nina Bella Collection weekly.

Palm Oil in Organic Skin Care

Palm oil, a popular cooking medium has been working the scene for centuries making slow but sure breakthrough in organic skin care. In equal parts affordable and beneficial, palm oil is more often than not one of the most common organic bath and beauty products ingredients.

Hailing from West Africa, palm oil has been transported to Europe and reminder of the world in 19^th century. As the name indicates, palm oil is derived from the fruits of palm trees. It is a great source of beta carotene which gives it its naturally dark orange to reddish color. Chemically, palm oil is composed of saturated and unsaturated fats in the forms of glyceryl laurate (0.1%, saturated), myristate (1%, saturated), palmitate (44%, saturated), stearate (5%, saturated), oleate (39%, monounsaturated), linoleate (10%, polyunsaturated), and alpha-linolenate (0.3%, polyunsaturated), vitamins and antioxidants. Because of high saturated fat content, palm oil is quite stable, slow to oxidize and semi-solid at room temperature.

This means that palm oil is an ideal ingredient to work with in organic skin care. From soap making, to shampoo crafting, to shower gels and bubble baths, to moisturizing lotions to body butters, palm oil seems to have almost limitless number of applications. Its ability to clarify, remove excess sebrum and dirt from hair and skin mean it is great for organic bath products. Palm oil is very easy saponify and is a great organic soap starter. Its ability to moisturize and nourish, mean making a nice moisturizer, cream of a lotion is as easy as adding good quality palm oil to your formula.

As always in organic skin care you want to make sure you use quality palm oil. So stay away from chemically extracted, perfumed and bleached oil- it has a cheaper price tag but it also has significantly lower quality. When it comes to your skin it is worth it to pay a bit more to get cold pressed hand processed palm oil. Make sure your label backups up the promise. Organic. Pure. Green. Nutritious. Honest. This is what makes organic bath and beauty manufacturing different.

For more on products that use only certified organic ingredient visit Nina Bella Organic Collection.

Organic Oils for Colored Hair

Coloring hair is a quick and great way to change your image and have fun doing it. What you will not have fun with is dryness, split ends and color fading that comes with territory. The natural inclination is to turn to more hair dying, highlights and more chemical treatments in order to cover up instead of solving the problem. Bottom line is once you color your hair you will have to follow a simple rule to keep it healthy and that is: nourish, moisturize and trim. A good trim every four weeks will keep dry and split ends at bay while maintaining your style. Use organic shampoos with gentle foaming agents will clean and hydrate colored hair, and not strip it of moisture like regular shampoos will. And finally take time to nourish your hair using simple but powerful organic ingredients – organic oils. Educated mix of organic oils will nourish the hair follicle and all three layers of your hair shaft- the top layer, called cuticle, the middle layer, called cortex and the innermost layer, called medulla. This will make your hair stronger and more resistant everyday damage.

Here is a starter organic oil nourishing treatment for colored hair:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons organic olive oil
2 tablespoons organic pomegranate seed oil
1 teaspoon organic wheat germ oil

Mix olive oil, pomegranate seed oil and wheat germ oil together. Heat the oils mix in double boiler until warm and mix for 5 minutes. Let cool off. Use general portion of ready mix to hair and let stand one hour. Rinse well, shampoo as needed and follow up with your regular hair care routing. For best results repeat every two weeks. Transfer unused mix in sterilized bottle and cap tightly. Keep refrigerated for up to four weeks.

And visit Nina Bella Collection for your organic shampoo that will help you round off your colored hair treatment. Enjoy!!

Olive Oil for Beautiful Hair

For centuries, olive oil has been Mediterranean women beauty secret. Tanned supple skin, glowing faces, and voluptuous silky hair all have one thing in common – olive oil.  Good for you not just inside but for the outside, olive oil is one of the best ways to make anyone into a bronzed healthy looking stunner. It is without a doubt one of nature most important sources of natural beauty.

If you have brittle, dull, lifeless hair you want to consider adding olive oil in your weekly hair care regiment. Olive oil is rich with vitamins and minerals that nourish your scalp and it has naturally occurring waxes that soften and moisturize skin and hair. Waxes make olive oil similar to skin and hair natural oil so it is easy to absorb and great for moisturizing skin, hair and scalp.

Here is one of our favorite easy to make olive oil hair treatments:

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup mineral water
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice

Add lemon juice to honey and mix well. Add mineral water and mi well. Mix in olive oil.  Massage ready mix into hair starting with hair ends to roots, massage into scalp, cover with stretch film and leave for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, rinse well, shampoo and wash per need. Discards left over treatment. Always prepare and use fresh. For longer hair double the ingredients measurements.

Nina Bella Collection thanks you for visiting our blog – stop by often for more great tips, great products and new solutions in organic and natural skin and hair care.

Olive Oil in Beauty Care

Olive oil, not just a great salad topping is actually good for your skin. Succulent little plant of mixed origin, olive oil has been known in Asia Minor in the 6th millennium, Turkey in the 4th millennium and Mesopotamia in the 3rd millennium. It is one of nature’s little treasures that has earned and kept its reputation for being simply a great product of great quality with great benefits.

Olive oil is extracted from ripe fruits of olive trees, by mechanical or chemical means. What makes olive oil so great is unique combination of fatty acids (oleic acid, palmitic acid, linoleic acid, stearic acid and triacylglycerols) , esters(oleocanthal and oleuropein), polyphenols (tyrosol,hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein, ligstroside, apigenin,  luteolin, coumaric acid, caffeic acid, ferulic acid,cinnamic acid and many more), hydrocarbons (squalene, carotenoids, lycopene, phenanthrene, anthracene and pyrene), sterols (phytosterol and tocosterols) and vitamins (vitamin E, vitamin K). Which basically boils down to fats, carbs, waxes, antioxidants, anti-inflammatories, antibacterials and vitamins. And voila – easy to understand formula for easy to use ingredient equally popular in kitchen and beauty care.

In beauty care, olive oil can be used in great many ways. It is rich in antioxidants which prevents skin damage, smooths out and prevent wrinkles. High vitamin content means olive oil makes skin nourished supple and toned, making it a logical if not always obvious choice for creams and body mists. Because it has natural waxes, olive oil is easily absorbed and is a great moisturizer and often used in nail care products and lotions. Olive oil is anti-inflammatory so it is safe to use even for irritated and acne prone skin and it helps skin remain hydrated while keeping pores debris free and open. Want a cheap antibacterial makeup remover? Try some olive oil on a clean cotton pad – you will love the results!

Weak nails, dry skin, wrinkles, irritations, brittle hair, chapped lips, makeup gunk, bad cuticles, dead cell build up – olive oils solves it all. And more!

Ask us about our new and upcoming organic olive oil products and our organic olive oil – Nina Bella Collection is always there for you!

Coconut Oil Dry Elbow Skin Cure

Dry, scaly chapped elbow skin. Embarrassing in summer time, painful in wintertime and always unwelcome – scaly, dry chapped elbows are a persistent problem for many. You can try countless creams, preparations, and ointments but until you turn to natural solutions, chances are you are stuck with them. Why is that so? Because most industrial dry skin preparations have preservatives and stabilizing agents are harsh compounds that damage and chap skin, which on the long run, negates the initial skin smoothing effects of other active ingredients. With natural ingredients, such as coconut oil, that naturally moisturize and nourish skin, you don’t have to risk that. So your elbows look great and you do not have to break bank to get them that way.

Here is a great coconut oil formula you can make in comfort of your own home that will blast scaly, dry, chapped elbow skin away.

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon of coconut oil

1 tablespoon of almond oil

1 tablespoon honey

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Mix coconut and almond oil together. Mix honey and lemon juice well and add to coconut and almond oil mixture. Apply ready mix to dry chapped elbows. Wrap tightly with saran wrap and let stand 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, wash gently with mild low foaming organic or natural soap and warm water and tap dry. Repeat two times a week for best results.  Store the unused mixture in fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Say goodbye to dry chapped elbows and say helps to summer clothes! Thank you for visiting Nina Bella Collection blog and website.