Go Green for Fall! Update your Fall Makeup Collection!
La Bella Donna goes green!
La Bella Donna's "MONTAGA" simple green eye palette is a easy way to update a rich fall color into your makeup routine!
We are inspired forest green eye shadow called Montaga. It can be worn dry as an all over lid or crease color, or it can be used wet as a sultry eyeliner. Paired with a brown mascara, this is a wonderful way to create an earthy-looking eye.
And here's a little fun fact for you. Women who love green are meticulous about details and are seekers of balance and harmony. Do you love green—and if so, do you fit this description?
Schedule a 30 minute makeup lesson to refresh your Fall makeup collection today! 612.824.7611
Deodorant..Aluminum..it's in the pits! Must Read!
At Kasia Organic Salon, we were first surprised to see that our Pure-oderant was the second best selling item. We know it is clean, fresh, and non-toxic - but as we listened to our guests and mail deodorant across the U.S. the reason reveals itself through frustration of trying all the deodorants on the market that ...just don't work.
Many guests surf the local health food store shelves and find "crystal" deodorants as a alternative to try, but they again...just don't work. Not only that, but crystal deodorants contain Ionic aluminum, which have been found to create oxidative stress on skin and breast tissue. Most people don't realize that they're slathering on aluminum when they use these crystals. Manufacturers will say that it doesn't contain "harmful aluminums." Aluminum is aluminum. It has no benefit or place in the human body, and only creates a state of toxicity within.
What is aluminum?
Aluminum is the world's most abundant metal in the earth's crust. It is a versatile metal that is lightweight, relatively soft, and durable. It is a fairly reactive element that combines with negatively charged ions or elements to form compounds such as aluminum oxide or aluminum sulfate.
How does aluminum enter the body?
We're exposed to aluminum in many ways:
- Trace amounts in drinking water
- Baked goods that contain alum-containing baking powder
- Foods with artificial colorants (aluminum lakes, example: yellow 5 aluminum lake)
- Cooking acidic foods in aluminum cookware (the acidity causes the aluminum to leach)
- Over-the-counter medicines such as Maylox and Mylanta
- Vaccines
- Topical products such as deodorants or anti-perspirants
How does aluminum affect our health?
Unlike some other metals such as potassium, sodium, or magnesium, aluminum has no benefit or function in the body.
- Aluminum creates oxidative stress on cells throughout the body, causing damage to DNA and aging on cells. (Source)
- Aluminum-containing anti-perspirants keep the body from sweating and properly releasing hormones out of the body. This is a suspected cause of breast and prostate cancer. (Source)
- Aluminum accumulates in bone tissue, thus weakening it. (Source) It is a suspected cause of osteoporosis.
- "Once absorbed, Al accumulates in bone, brain, liver and kidney, with bone as the major site for Al deposition in humans." (Source)
- Aluminum robs the body of magnesium, calcium and iron, and accumulates in the brain. "Trace aluminum levels cross the blood-brain barrier and progressively accumulate in large pyramidal neurons of the hippocampus, cortex, and other brain regions vulnerable in Alzheimer's disease. More aluminum enters the brain than leaves, resulting in a net increase in intraneuronal aluminum with advancing age. Aluminum is responsible for two main types of toxic damage in cells. As a pro-oxidant, aluminum causes oxidative damage both on its own and in synergy with iron. Aluminum also competes with, and substitutes for, essential metals-primarily Mg2+, iron and Ca2+ ions-in or on proteins and their co-factors." (Source)
- Aluminum has been found to cause granulomas. (Source)
- Aluminum is toxic to skin and creates oxidative stress (Source)
- Aluminum is absorbed highly by abraided or irritated skin. (Source)
- This study found that ionic aluminum created oxidative stress in breast tissue. (Source)
Informed Beauty -- stay FRESH with Kasia Pure-oderant!
Certified Organic
Made with a pure blend of hemp oil, aloe vera and mineral salts that softens skin and eliminates odor-causing bacteria for up to 24 hours!
NO aluminum, alcohol, parabens or proplyene glycol — NO residue.
Scented with organic essential oils.
- Effective using hemp oil and mineral salts that eliminate odor-causing bacteria
- Soothing and healing aloe vera to softens the skin
- No aluminum chlorhydrate and no alcohol
- No tingly irritation and no staining
- We’re sure – it leaves no white residue
- Hypoallergenic
- No harmful propellants, pit and ozone friendly
- No animal testing, just on hunks
- None pore clogging, breathe!
"Beauty sleep" and stress. More important than you think.
As you probably already know -- stress is bad for our health, and many of us are affected differently. Frustration can create havoc on your skin and as a matter of fact too much stress triggers your skin to start the aging process prematurely leading to wrinkles and fine lines before you want to have them. Stress can actually age you as far out as three to six years!
Stress causes our hormones to operate ineffectively, run down the wrong pathways and to become unbalanced. Radiant skin comes from great skin care routines, protection from environmental damage and UV rays, good nutrition, adequate hydration, and getting plenty of sleep.
Dermatologist have come to agree that during hours of sleep, cortisol and insulin production inversely peak so that collagen production is accelerated. Collagen production firms the dermal layers so evaporation is reduced and water retention is maximized.
Resting Tips for “Beautiful Health” Skin
Surroundings:
While you slumber, your skin produces more collagen, which gives it the support to counteract the forces of gravity. If you have a radiant heater or air conditioner running, this can result in evaporation in your skin and water loss. This contributes to dry skin, especially if you don’t use a high quality facial cream/serum, or do not replenish intake of water hydration through your day.
Bio-chemical Requirement
As the body enters the deepest stage of rest (Delta Sleep), our growth hormones peak and turn on cell and tissue repair. When there is restless or limited sleep, we cut ourselves short of this crucial restorative process.
In order to give your skin beautiful health it deserves in repairing, rejuvenating, and producing collagen with minimum natural moisture loss, you need a good 6 – 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep each night.
Additional science on how stress can affect your skin include the following:
* Cortisol degrades collagen and directly leads to the formation of wrinkles in the skin. When you live in a chronic state of stress your body finds it harder and harder to repair itself naturally and so you develop more wrinkles and fine lines.
* The stress hormone CRH can fuel inflammation in the skin and that in turn can cause acne. Since acne is an inflammatory disease all it takes is in increase in inflammation in the body to cause more acne. And if you are stressed you are more likely to pick at your breakouts which could lead to even more breakouts.
* Stress hormones can cause your body to release histamines, which can cause a range of skin conditions like dermatitis, irritation, hives, or inflammation or aggravate existing skin conditions like psoriasis.
* Stress can make your hair fall our and make your nails brittle
* Stress makes your eyes look tired. This could be because you are not getting enough sleep since you are stressed out. A chronic lack of sleep could lead to fluid stagnation under the eyes and then dark, puffy under-eye circles in the morning.
* Stress could cause your skin to enter mini-menopause. A chronic flow of cortisol causes a drop in estrogen, which means your skin produces less collagen and less moisture. Your skin could end up looking dull and dry as a result.
Research and hard facts.
Not just your skin…yes, your belly.
I have learned first hand the effects of too much of the stress and the ramifications of the increased hormone of cortisol. Lack of sleep and rest leads to our adrenal glands pushing out too much of this belly fat-promoting, collagen-destroying hormone. The flip side to this is that when getting enough sleep, our cortisol levels reduce. In fact, a landmark sleep study found that those who sleep between 7.5 and 8.5 hours a night secrete half as much cortisol as those only sleeping 6.5 hours or less a night. This can mean significant weight gain of 33 pounds or more!
Excess cortisol turns your once flatter stomach into fat deposit because the abdominal region contains four times more cortisol receptors than other areas in the body.
Researchers have also found that lack of sleep can cause cravings for sweet and salty foods. We end up compromising and eating foods lacking any nutritional value and lack hydration. Our waistline or our skin responds well to this kinds of lifestyle for a period of time.
Other studies have found that sleep deprivation leads to inflammation and oxidative stress. One of these studies found that women who don't get their beauty sleep experience disruptions with their skin barrier function, have more water loss in their skin and have extremely high levels of inflammatory chemicals circulating in their bodies. If we are under chronic stress, cortisol will disrupt collagen production, making skin thinner and weaker.
If you need more encouragement to turn in early every night, then keep in mind that adults who sleep five or less hours a night have a 15 percent chance of dying early from any reason you can think of. Why? Because lack of sleep ages your body.
Supplement to Sleep
Supplements like GABA and melatonin are known to have a muscle-relaxing effect and may improve sleep quality. In turn, better sleep can lead to greater skin repair capabilities, a better-looking complexion with fewer wrinkles and dark circles and less overall dullness.
GABA is a naturally occurring neurotransmitter with a proven connection to the quality and quantity of sleep we achieve. The brain chemical -- gamma-aminobutryric acid, or GABA -- is involved in regulating brain activity.
"It's the brakes of your brain," says Karl Doghramji, MD, director of the Sleep Disorders Center at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. "It stops activity."
Both sleep problems and anxiety disorders may result from problems with GABA, which helps neutralize the effects of glutamate, a brain chemical that causes excitement. When there is too little GABA, it causes those racing thoughts that characterize anxiety -- and keep you up at night.
Gaba increases the integrity of collagen and elastin and both preventing and counteracting sagging skin.
Melatonin is one of the most powerful antioxidants produced in the body. In addition, since it is both water and fat soluble, melatonin can reach almost every single cell in the body.
On the down side, however, since it cannot store in the body, it must be replenished daily. This would normally not be a problem, except when constant exposure to artificial light has significantly reduced production of melatonin in our bodies.
Mood Elevator: Nighttime melatonin levels are low in people with major depressive and panic disorders. Individuals with noticeable mood swings or who are melancholic also have depressed melatonin levels. Both seasonal affective disorder and non-seasonal cyclic depressions are related to the peaks and valleys of melatonin levels.
Contact Kassandra at Kasia Organic Salon for any questions on what supplements may be best in assisting your "Beautiful Health!"
SOURCES: American Medical Association's 22nd annual Science Reporters Conference, Philadelphia, Sept. 11-12, 2003. Karl Doghramji, MD, director, Sleep Disorders Center, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital; professor of psychiatry, Jefferson Medical College, Philadelphia.
How Do Hormones Affect the Skin in Your Teenage Years?
Intrinsic aging is determined by heredity, your genetic programming that controls the hormones responsible for aging. The skin will certainly behave differently under the influences of these hormones, but how do they affect skin during the teen years?
A prepubescent skin (age 9-12) is the skin we all would like to have – smooth, invisible pores and simply flawless. For the most part prior to the teenage years, hormones are not influencing the skin but come age 13 and beyond, this is a different story.
From ages 13-19, hormones can really start to do funny things to a teenager’s skin. The fluctuations alone can aggravate the skin and contribute toward blemishes and breakouts. Estrogen is a natural anti-inflammatory and may keep things calm, but around the time of one’s period, the drop in estrogen very often will cause the skin to flare up. Testosterone and other androgens increase oil production and the tendency towards clogging. Those with sticky sebum or weak follicular walls will experience more severe breakouts, including stubborn cystic acne.
This is because the oil gland is located in a hair follicle with a narrow opening. As a result, sticky sebum makes skin prone to more clogged pores. Additionally, a weak follicular wall causes bacteria to leak out into the surrounding areas. This is why squeezing at your blemishes once they first appear is a very bad idea.) Your immune system perceives this as an infection and fights it by causing inflammation. -Renee Reloux
Kasia reFresh Cleanser: Wash with a gentle, anti-bacterial cleanser morning and night.
Cleanse and nourish your skin instead of stripping it! reFresh Face Cleanser gently cleanses without drying, maintains moisture levels and removes makeup without irritating sensitive skin.
Refresh:
- The main ingredient, Aloe Vera, replaces lost moisture, restores radiance and contains over two hundred active compounds to stimulate cell growth and deliver potent antibacterial properties.
Cleanse:
- Mild surfactants derived from coconut gently foam up to wash away impurities without irritation
- Salicylic Acid micro-exfoliates to reveal clearer, brighter skin
Soothe:
- Natural herbs combat inflammation and Aloe Vera preserves skin’s natural moisture balance
Want Better Skin? Take a Look at What You are Eating
You've heard it before...... “You are what you eat”?
What goes into our bodies can make a difference on how we feel and how we look. A healthy diet, along with exercise and sleep, fuels a healthy body, plain and simple.
Based on the principles of beauty, wellness and education, the Kasia team is dedicated to providing clients with the opportunity to renew and nurture their natural sense of beauty through holistic experiences, mindful services and pure products.
Get Beautiful Health and improve your skin by focusing on eating a diet rich in fruits, vegetables and whole grains.
Next time you go shopping make sure foods with these eleven key nutrients are included in your grocery cart:
1. CATECHINS May reverse the effects of sun damage by neutralizing the changes that appear in sun-exposed skin. Foods include: dark chocolate, green tea, cherries, blackberries, raspberries, plums, raw apples & pears…
2. FLAVONOLS May reduce roughness in the skin and protect against sun damage. Foods include: dark chocolate, blueberries, black & kidney beans, soybeans, eggplants & tomatoes
3. LYCOPENE This phytochemical helps eliminate skin-aging free radicals caused by ultraviolet rays. Foods include: tomatoes, watermelon, pink & red grapefruits, asparagus & red cabbage
4. NIACIN (Vitamin B3) An anti-inflammatory, soothes irritated skin and red, blotchy skin. Foods include: barley, bulgur, peas, tuna, salmon, anchovies, peanuts & chicken
5. OMEGA 3 FATTY ACIDS Believed to stifle your body’s response to irritation and attract water to skin cells to plump up the skin and reduce wrinkles. Foods include: salmon, walnuts, flaxseed, tofu, shrimp, halibut & soybeans
6. RIBOFLAVIN (Vitamin B2) Involved in tissue maintenance and repair and improves skin blemishes caused by rosacea. Foods include: mackerel, trout, almonds, sesame seeds, cheese, dry roasted edamame & bran
7. SELENIUM Helps preserve elastin, a protein that keeps your skin smooth and tight. Foods include: Brazil nuts, canned tuna, turkey, low-fat cottage cheese & oysters
8. VITAMIN A Maintains and repairs skin cells, a deficiency may result in a dry flaky complexion. Fights free radical damage that can prematurely age the skin and reduces the development of skin cancer cells. Foods include: sweet potato, mango, spinach, cantaloupe, carrots & eggs
9. VITAMIN C Essential to collagen production and the more collagen you have, the less creased your skin looks. May help repair and maintain DNA, basically bolstering cells’ ability to renew. Foods Include: dark leafy greens, broccoli, peppers, strawberries & oranges
10. VITAMIN E Protects skin cells from UV Light and other environmental factors that generate cell damaging free radicals. Its rich oils help protect against skin damage and premature aging. Foods include: olive oil, 100% whole wheat, kale, almonds, papaya & kiwi
11. ZINC Contains anti-inflammatory properties and affects sebum production a deficiency that may contribute to acne. Foods include: oysters, walnuts, chickpeas, cashews, nonfat and low-fat plain yogurt & milk
Don't forget to add your sunscreen (like Kasia Sunscreen), adopting a daily skin care moisturizing regime, and start looking at what’s on your plate. I assure you, some TLC care and nutrients will help your skin look and age better!
Kassandra Kuehl is the founder of Kasia Organic Salon. Kasia Organic Salon is the pioneer of healthy beauty that delivers results to fit your lifestyle, because only Kasia is the authority in 100% natural products & services. Visit www.kasiaorganicsalon.com and become an "Informed Beauty."
Resources: http://www.reneerouleau.com/default.aspx Keri Gans, MS, RD, CDN
Underlying cause of bags and dark circles and.. what causes wrinkles?
Research suggests that the sun is what causes wrinkles and 80% of all of the signs of aging and the other 20% of the signs of aging are caused by toxins and environmental damage.
Free of artificial preservatives, parabens, or other harfmul ingredients, Kasia onCure Eye Cream takes the efficient, but safe approach to treating under-eye wrinkles and the other signs of aging.
The eye area is one of the first regions of the face to show the signs of ageing. The skin around the eyes is deprived of oil glands and is very delicate and that’s why the skin doesn’t have a protection against the environments influences and UV rays.
Other underlying cause of bags and dark circles is poorly circulating fluids due to weakening capillaries. You can improve the strength of those capillaries, with the right nutrients internally, as well as applied directly in order to quickly get rid of wrinkles, bags and circles.
To get rid of eye wrinkles, you also need to stimulate the production of collagen and elastin. Kasia onCure delivers amino acid protein peptides that have been proven scientifically to help you do just that.
Kasia OnCure Eye Cream
* Reduces dark circles, shadows and fine lines.
* Prevents puffiness and reduces eye bags.
* Reinforces firmness and tone.
Key Active Ingredients
Prunus Armeniaca (apricot) Kernel Oil
Commonly referred to as Apricot Kernel Oil, this oil is pressed from the kernels of the Apricot fruit. It is rich in essential fatty acids, which are vital components of the human organism. As a result, this nourishing oil helps to replenish and rebuild the skin.
Borago Officinalis (borage) Seed Oil
Used to prevent aging and wrinkles by fighting dehydration and the loss of skin elasticity. Borage also stimulates skin cell regeneration and rejuvenation, and is rich in minerals and linoleic acid.
Butyrospermum Parkii (shea) Butter
Kasia chooses shea butter for it’s unique fatty acid profile, which gives the ability to moisturize and retain the elasticity of the skin.
Chrysin
Chrysin is a naturally occurring flavone, extracted from the blue passion flower. It promotes the elimination of blood originating pigments from under the eyes. Chrysin eliminates the by-products of hemoglobin degradation, which aids in reducing the appearance of dark under eye circles.
Palmitoyl Tetrapeptide-3
Kasia trusts this protein will bring direct action to noticeably reduce under eye puffiness in four weeks. This product is clinically proven to help correct poor drainage by increasing the lymphatic exchange and achieving proper circulation of the extra cellular fluids. This powerful peptide counteracts skin slackening, perking up and increasing the firmness of the fragile skin area around the eye.
It also decreases irritation that could lead to puffiness.
The skin around the eyes is very delicate and sensitive, and that’s why you should use special eye creams or gels that are specifically made for the delicate eye area. Most of them contain ingredients that relax the muscles, vitamins, retinol and collagen.
Other tips for treating wrinkles
* Always apply sunscreen, especially during the summer months
* Avoid using creamy eye shadows- they may seep into your fine lines and accentuate them even more
* Get plenty of sleep
* Drink lots of water, at least 1.5 liter
* Wear hats and black sunglasses especially during the summer
* Avoid smoking – it makes you squint and deprive your skin from “air”
* Take vitamins and eat lots of vegetables and fruits
Kasia Organic Salon is the pioneer of healthy beauty that delivers results to fit your lifestyle, because only Kasia is the authority in 100% natural products & services.
Learn more about Anti-Aging, and the “Underlying causes of skin health” at www.Kasiaorganicsalon.com
Top 5 Mineral Makeup Tips .... every Informed Beaute' should know!
La Bella Donna Loose Minerals provide a naturale alternative to chemical makeup in order to insure the health of the skin as well as the body. Our skin is the largest organ and everything we put on it is filtered through the liver just like the food that we eat. We do not want to be absorbing chemicals into our bodies. La Bella Donna Minerals have so many properties for the skin that we cannot get from any other source because they are only minerals from rock and not diluted down with another ingredients.