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How Are You Doing?

2/20/2021

If you live in a cold and grey climate like Ohio, February can be a struggle. Here's three things I (Polly) am doing not just to survive, but to thrive during this time.

We've talked about the benefits of spending some time in nature. It seems counterintuitive, but I've been making a point to put on my coat and boots and head outside for a short walk at least once a day. Every part of me just wants to stay inside where it's warm, but I'm honestly not so fragile that I can't bear the elements for a few minutes, especially with proper gear! I try to do this right after eating lunch, because if you are trying to form a new habit, it's good to anchor it to an established habit. It's amazing how refreshed I feel after doing this. An added bonus is that it makes me very grateful for a warm home when I step inside.

I'm reading more books and listening to more podcasts than I have for a long time. I got a set of Bluetooth headphones that I use with my phone so I can listen to books or podcasts while doing other tasks. The Libby app is a free tool to access audio books from the library. It seems like one good book leads to another, and it's exciting to continue growing.
Now that the holidays are over, I'm trying to be more mindful of my eating habits. I'm not focusing on counting calories and deprivation, but rather I'm concentrating on building healthy eating habits - like getting enough protein and eating more greens.

So what are some of your strategies for getting through the winter? We'd love to hear from you. If you haven't found us on social media, you can follow us on Instagram or Facebook so we can keep in touch. (See the buttons below.) Wishing you much warmth and light this February!!!

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Babassu Oil for the Lips!

2/11/2021

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Have you heard of this one? It's a key ingredient in our lip balm. It's similar to coconut oil, but it absorbs better and is more lightweight. It comes from the nut of the babassu tree (in the palm tree family) indigenous to the forests of northeast Brazil. Here's three reasons we love using organic babassu oil for lip care.

Babassu Palm Trees (

wirestock photo attribution)

Babassu oil has similar properties to coconut oil, but it absorbs more readily and is less greasy. Since there are no sebaceous glands on the lips, adding this oil nourishes while it moisturizes.
It contains Vitamin E which makes it naturally healing and anti-aging. It combats free radicals and helps to reduce the appearance of fine lines.
It contains high levels of a fatty acid called lauric acid, making it anti-inflammatory and soothing.

Our lip balm is made with organic shea butter, organic babassu oil, and organic beeswax. The shea butter is a rich moisturizer while the babassu oil is easily absorbed by your lips. The beeswax creates a protective barrier while still allowing your lips to breathe. It also provides the firmness necessary for the balm to be in stick form.

Did you know that many lip balm manufacturers use petroleum-based ingredients? Our lip balms (and any of our products) do NOT contain any petroleum-based ingredients, like petroleum jelly, which can block pores and introduce unwanted chemicals. We also don't add any colors or dyes. We wanted to create a balm that is nourishing and full of goodness! The scent we add to our lip balms are called flavor oils, but they actually are an unsweetened scent, not a flavor at all. This is a higher-quality scent that is specifically lip-safe. If a lip balm has a taste, it often has an added sweetener that entices you to lick your lips. Although that can be fun, licking your lips actually causes a cycle of more dryness, so the added flavors and sweeteners are not helpful. In addition, these sweeteners can make the product less stable. We have a HUGE variety of lip balms here, including scents such as Iced Pineapple and Tangerine, Salted Caramel, Hazelnut Latte, and Mango Lassi. If you're looking for an all-natural scent, try our Peppermint Lip Balm, which uses peppermint essential oil. (Essential oils will have the scent and an all-natural flavor.) We also have a Menthol Eucalyptus Lip Balm with eucalyptus essential oil. We even have a Fragrance Free Lip Balm for an ultra-pure choice. To try any of our lip balms, you can use the code LIPS25 to get 25% off any of our lip balms on our website for the month of February.

Babassu Leaves (wirestock photo attribution)

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Let's Talk Lips

2/4/2021

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Cold and blustery weather paired with dry indoor air can really do a number on our lips. Take a look at this diagram of lip skin to see how different it is from the rest of our skin.

The protective layer on the epidermis (called the stratum corneum) is much thinner on lip tissue, which means it dries out more quickly. It's also more fragile.
There are no sebaceous glands (oil glands) in our lip tissue. This means that our skin's natural moisturizer (sebum) is not present in our lips. This is why we need to help them out by adding beneficial oils (not water) to the surface of the lips.
Wetting our lips with saliva actually dries out the lips even further, due to the evaporation process and enzymes present in our saliva.

What We Can Do

Here's a few things we can do to combat dry lips.

Drink plenty of water. Dry lips are often a sign of dehydration. If drinking water sounds boring, try mixing it up with fruit-infused water or add some essential oil drops to your water. I love a touch of peppermint in my water!

Always keep a lip balm handy. I like to keep a lip balm in a pocket of each coat so I'm not caught without one when I'm out and about. Remember that your lips don't have sebaceous glands, so help them out!
Be messy when applying your lip balm. Extend the balm past the lips to include the skin around the lips. Nourish the skin where those fine lines will tend to appear.
Read the ingredients in your lip balm. Be aware that many manufacturers use petroleum-based ingredients. We use organic babassu oil, shea butter, and beeswax.
Avoid stronger-scented balms such as cinnamon or peppermint if your lips are sensitive.
Consider lanolin as a lip balm substitute, especially if you struggle with cracked or severely dry lips. For more info on lanolin, check out our blog post on lanolin here.

We hope that this information can help you better take care of those lips this winter!

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