A Slice of Pai

I have wonderful friends. They are thoughtful and caring and good at keeping in touch (important as they live all over the world). One such friend (who thankfully does not live all over the world) recently bought me a beautiful present to say thank you for a small favour I did, and I was thus introduced to skin care brand “Pai” via a beautifully packaged bath and body oil set. The box of locally produced, sustainably sourced materials opens like a flower to reveal two golden vials of liquid aromatherapy. A light citrus floral smell wafts up as the contents of the first vial drizzle into the bath, honey flowing into the warm water. Skin is newly soft as the bather steps out of the water, and the oil from vial number two glides on, moisturizing and soaking in to any winter-worn areas in need of extra attention. Tranquillity is the name of the collection; it provides tranquillity, bliss and so much more.

The slogan on the package is “Be a natural beauty, with Pai”, which led me to look at the ingredients. I have been duped many times by “natural”, “organic”, etc, etc, only to find that the product that bills itself as “healthy” and “free from chemicals”, actually has many hidden nasties. It was with great surprise and excitement that I read the ingredients of this set and discovered (with a little help from EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Database) that they appear to be as natural as the packaging claims:

Ingredient List (Jasmine and May Chang Relaxing Bath Oil)	Hazard Score* (0-10)
Glycerin	0
Helianthus Annuss Oil (Sunflower Oil)	0
Simmondsia Chinensis Seed Oil (Jojoba Seed Oil)	0
Prunus Amygdalus Dulcis Oil (Sweet Almond Oil)	0
Sucrose Laurate (mix of sucrose esters of lauric acid – acts a a skin conditioning agent)	0
Citrus Aurantium Dulcis Flower Water (Orange Flower Water)	0
Mauritia Flexuosa Fruit Oil (from the Moriche Palm Tree)	0
Litsea Cubeba Oil (May Chang Oil)	1
Jasminum Grandiflorum Oil (Jasmine Oil)	0
Prunus Amygdalus Amara Oil (Bitter Almond Kernel Oil)	0
Citrus Reticulata Oil (Mandarin Orange Oil)	0
Natural Mixed Tocopherols (basically Vitamin E)	0-1

*For more information, please see the EWG Skin DeepCosmetics Database website 

As I have recently been on a quest to eat, live and (I daresay) even breathe more naturally, it was with great excitement that I explored the rest of the website and learned about this company. Started in 2007 by Sarah Brown (not the one married to Gordon!), her aim was “to create the cleanest plant-based skin care on the market, with a range of products formulated for people with very sensitive skin.”

As a long time sufferer of Rosacea, I was particularly excited when I discovered the section of skin care for Rosacea sufferers. After eight years of redness and seemingly uncontrollable "spots", a recent trip to the dermatologist suggested that my only course of action was to either spend three months on low-dose antibiotics or to completely avoid hot weather, cold weather, alcohol, caffeine, spicy foods, dairy products, vigorous exercise and of course, stress. Neither of these options felt quite right; I worry about the short and long term side effects of being on antibiotics for that long (“No side-effects!” proclaims the dermatologist to a dubious me), and completely avoiding everything on that list is neither fun or realistic – no more occasional red curry, never again a glass of wine, and forgoing all future beach holidays? No way! My philosophy is to try a bit of everything ... in moderation of course - life is for living, after all! Sidenote – when I asked the dermatologist if there were any particular skincare products that she recommended, she suggested the Garnier line (and despite the lime coloured branding and leafy logos, these products are neither glamorous nor green – EWG lists the brand with a hazard score of 2-7 – that’s a pass from me, thanks!).

So as I mentioned, it was with great excitement that I read about the natural anti-inflammatory, azulene (which not only cools and calms skin flushing, but is “packed full of essential skin nutrients including omega 3 and 6). The other interesting fact I learned is that ethyl alcohols and some synthetic chemicals can also trigger Rosacea; I’d given up red wine when perhaps all it took was giving up ethyl alcohol instead?

But enough about my condition ... do the products work? I purchased the trial size sample pack which includes 5mls each of four different creams, a cleanser and a facial scrub and used them for almost a week (a little goes a long way). The results were incredible. A patch of rosacea above my eyebrow which had happily (and stubbornly) existed for the better part of three weeks despite twice daily application of dermatologist recommended antibiotic cream, was gone in about two days. Several glasses of red wine over Christmas were not enough to create a reaction. A spicy red curry was enjoyed with no ill after-effects displayed on my face. And not only that, my skin looked incredible! I can’t remember when it was last so smooth, bright and clear of redness. I felt like a natural beauty indeed. And I haven’t even mentioned the smell. Roses ... lemons ... happiness ... heaven! The creams and cleansers smell clean and feminine, yet natural and gentle. The fragrance is subtle, not overpowering. And although the products are competitively priced, they smell expensive; green meets glamour in a tiny pot of bliss.

After a few days of these amazing effects, I was sold - I went online to buy the larger size version of my tiny pots of heaven. I debated for a couple of days, because although I was thoroughly impressed with the initial results, most cosmetic gurus will tell you that it takes about 4-6 weeks for skin to adapt to any product and for you to see all of the benefits/detriments. I ended up purchasing from Pai with confidence because of Pai’s 30 day guarantee - if you are not happy within 30 days of using the product, they will refund your money, including any shipping costs, no questions asked.

Really.

This takes the guess-work out of buying skincare products, because unlike that well-cut Armani blazer, you can’t tell if skin cream will work after one try. Lucky for us, they are so confident in their products (and after trying them, I can see why), that you can safely try without worrying about wasting money on one more cosmetic product that doesn’t work.

I am very excited about discovering this amazing company, and hope that I can do a part to help it continue to grow. It takes time and a bit of hard work to find products that are both natural and effective, and I am excited to have found a company that takes the guesswork out of natural skin care, and proves that you don’t have to be dreadlocked and hemp-clad to be green! Glamour and green are not mutually exclusive. I am anxiously awaiting my delivery and looking forward to being more natural, more green, and more glamorously me! Join me in being “a natural beauty, with Pai”.

GG Rating - Good for Spelt Supporters

The Next Bright Idea ...

How many eco-enthusiasts does it take to change a light bulb? Only one, if it’s energy efficient! And the “bright side” of changing that ordinary bulb is that you won’t have to hear any more jokes, because the new light bulbs last for what seems like forever. 

We switched ours a few years ago, and I’ve never looked back. They’re brighter, produce a cooler colour light (no one wants to have a jaundiced yellow tinge anyway), and they seem to rarely need changing. On top of that, according to the US Department of Energy, “Rapid adoption of LED lighting in the US over the next 20 years could:

   

                     Deliver energy savings of about $265 billion.

                     Avoid the need to build 40 new power plants. 

                                          Reduce electricity demand for lighting by 33% in 2027."

On top of those awesome facts, energy efficient lighting typically uses 25%-80% less energy and can last 3-25 times longer. Not only can you reduce your carbon footprint, you can reduce your actual footprint by shopping less. So here’s a bright idea ... if you haven’t already done so, swap your lights as the old ones burn out ... your wallet, your children and the world will thank you – one bulb at a time.

For more info, click here.

GG Rating: Good for Spelt Supporters.

Scents or Sense?

“Wherever I go, there you are; my luck, my fate, my fortune. Chanel No. 5 ... inevitable.”

Put “mis” in front of fortune and replace “Chanel No. 5”with “cancer”, and you have the harsh reality of fragrance today. I’m by no means an expert (choosing to spend my time reading Vogue rather than medical reports), but cancer is everywhere, and perfumes with synthetic ingredients (which include most commercial perfumes these days) are notoriously dangerous, leading to many serious illnesses and terminal diseases. One of the problems is that manufacturers are not required to list the specific “ingredients” (read, chemicals) that make up the aroma or smell, needing only to cite “fragrance”. There could be rat poison in there for all we know! (For a more “researched” article about this issue, click here).

This all led me to try DIY perfume. I’ve always been a bit of a DIY-er; one Christmas I asked for a set of power-tools ... strange for a 19 year old fashion fanatic, right? Well, I’m also a perfectionist so I prefer to do things myself to ensure they are ... well ... perfect! DIY perfume was sadly not one of these things. Perhaps there is something to be said for the price and composition of cancer-inducing candy-coloured bottles with expensive and sometimes just plain weird advertising campaigns (yes, Brad, I’m talking about you).

I started by Googling some DIY perfume recipes. Most recommended using the basic composition of “real” perfume, i.e. unscented base oil, scented essential oils for the top, mid and base notes of the fragrance, alcohol (such as vodka) to help the product evaporate, and water to dilute the oil. I spent hours in my local organic shop sniffing and smelling all the essential oils. I couldn’t tell if I was in the store or a hobbit house, so earthy and organic were some of the aromas. Eventually I came back to my fragrance stalwarts – the citrus family. I’ve always been a citrus kind of girl, and I was keen to try something with lemon, but for creativity and originality’s sake, I thought I had better include some base and mid notes (lemon and citruses typically being top notes). Sandalwood was quite nice, but also quite dear (5x the price of the other oils), so I opted for its close cousin, Cedarwood. My first batch of perfume smelled like an alcoholic hamster-raising hippie (thanks to the vodka, and the woody “freshness” of the cedarwood).

The oil/alcohol/water balance was difficult to get right, and I can’t say I ever mastered it. Too much oil and you’re left with a not-so-pleasant residue on skin or clothes; too much alcohol and people start to wonder ... too much water and the three of them won’t mix – much like Brangelina and Jennifer Aniston circa 2005. I also had to use up far too much of each tiny bottle of essential oil to get a fragrance beyond what only dogs could smell. The whole process was neither easy nor economical.

On the second batch, I left out the Cedarwood, opting only for Lemon and Mandarin, and it smelled less like hippie, more like a lemon martini (I added more vodka, thinking that it might dilute the base oil and create less residue, but sadly only added to the party girl vibe) ... not really a professional smell for anyone other than a bartender/shot girl – not the sophisticated-fashionista-meets-healthy-happy-girl-about-town fragrance I was going for. As well, because the citrus oils are so light in their fragrance, the lemony goodness soon wore off, not having the lasting power of my favourite cancer causing friends (perfumes, that is ... not actual friends). 

I mixed up the oils for the third batch (lemon with lavender), with less base oil and less vodka, and ended up with a generic grandma scent – lavender water and lemon candies. Throw in some mothballs, a bit of crocheted patchwork and I might have pulled it off ... if I was closer to 92 than to 29. Similar to the first two, the fragrance had no lasting power. I added that one to the pile of “linen sprays”.

The only fragrance that really worked was just plain lemon essential oil, diluted with a small amount of water – I suppose I’m a bit of a purist and don’t like to overcomplicate the scents. Nature usually gives us what we need and by mixing and mashing we destroy the simple beauty that has existed before us and will continue to exist long after we are gone.

DIY perfume has, for now, been put on the back burner, and I’ve opted to forgo perfume altogether in favour of trying to avoid cancer and other such unpleasant illnesses. I’ve decided too, that on days when I get out of my pj's and into the shower, I can smell pretty sweet just being me.

GG Rating -  Good for Hardcore Hippies, if anyone at all.

Crazy for Coconuts

Red, yellow and blue. Primary colours, or chemically composed sports drinks? I understand the need for athletes and the athletically-inclined general public to drink these drinks, but do you really want to be putting “brilliant blue” or red “E122” into your body? Surely there is a more natural way!

Bring on the glorious coconut. Compare the 15 ingredients in a bottle of Powerade, to the 3 simple ingredients in a bottle of VitaCoco; coconut water, vitamin C and less than 1% natural fruit sugar. I know which one I’ll be choosing in my quest for all things green.

I started drinking coconut water about a year ago, around the same time I tried Bikram Yoga. After 90 minutes in a room as hot as a Thai beach resort and sweating like Romney awaiting the Ohio results, I needed some rehydration, and fast. Coconut water has 13% of your daily potassium requirement (according to the VitaCoco label), preventing cramps and the like with a few quick gulps; more potassium than two bananas, apparently. It doesn’t have added sugars, it’s fat free, and is, as far as I can tell, a natural product – no processing, added ingredients or weird food colourings here. And it has the hydrating benefits of water, but with those extra minerals to balance the electrolytes lost from profuse sweating (thanks Mitt).  

The first time I tried coconut water, I tried the pineapple flavour, expecting something sweet and creamy like the pineapple/coconut drinks I’d sipped in the Caribbean. Be warned - this is not a pina colada, nor is it even close; I almost spit out my VitaCoco in the street! This is not the drink mixed by a tall dark and handsome stranger who knows all the words to “I Shot the Sherriff”. This is cracking open a coconut and sucking out the insides (actually the best way to have it, although not readily available in the Western world); it’s watery, not overly sweet, and it sometimes can have a slight oily quality - which is not as horrible as it sounds (probably some leftover coconut oil which, incidentally, is also really good for you). It is also thoroughly refreshing and rejuvenating, and has the power to uplift and revive when nothing else can. It steeps the body in moisture without coating your inner organs in flavours and colours created in a lab. You can be sure that “red E122”, “mixed carotenes orange”, and “brilliant blue” can’t be found in nature, and one can only guess what kinds of dangerous chemicals are needed to create those colours and flavours. 

Like Powerade and other sports drinks, coconut water comes in lots of different flavours and there are many different producers. VitaCoco and Zico Pure Coconut Water are the main producers/distributers in the UK, and thanks to celebrity endorsements from health fanatics like Madonna and Rihanna, coconut water is becoming more readily available (even at Tesco); trips to specialty stores with exorbitant prices are no longer necessary. And if you’re in Asia, it is often possible to get a fresh coconut – complete with requisite coconut water - on the side of the street. Side note – make sure you’re thirsty; carrying around a giant, half-finished coconut can be slightly perturbing, albeit helpful for improving bicep and tricep strength.  

So the next time you’re running or working out, take a detour down to your local coconut dealer (or supermarket) and ask him to crack you open a fresh one. Just remember to stop at one ... along with their hydrating properties, coconuts are also known for being excellent laxatives.  

GG Rating - Good for Flaxseed Fanatics (but not Jimmy Buffett) - if you like pina coladas, you might get caught in the rain...