Aloe Vera Juice

Here is a short video with some great uses for Aloe Vera juice


Do It Gorgeously - Aloe Vera from Gorgeously Green on Vimeo.

Ecostore Review and Giveaway

Ecostore has been in business in New Zealand for 20 years. They offer baby care products, bath & body care, hair care products, household cleaners, and pet care items. According to their website http://www.ecostoreusa.com/ all of their products are made from plant and mineral based ingredients and free of toxic chemicals. Their slogan is "No Nasty Chemicals."Their products are available on-line and at Meijer stores, if one happens to be in your area. Ecostore USA always offers free shipping on orders of $25 and more.

I was contacted by Ecostore USA to try a couple of their products and write a review. I decided to try the Rosemary Orange shampoo and Lemongrass soap. I was eager for the package to arrive and to try the products. The packaging used for shipping the items were even environmentally friendly: the packaging peanuts made from soy, the news print, packing tape, packing slip, and box all made from recyclable paper.

Lemongrass soap
I loved the shape of the bar of soap. A 2.7 oz bar sells for $4.00. The sides were rounded and it fit easily in my hands. I loved the lemony smell. It didn't dry my skin like some soaps do. The ingredients of the Lemongrass soap are:
Sodium Palmate (palm oil)
Sodium Cocoate (coconut oil)
Sodium chloride (salt)
Vegetable Glycerine
Tetra Sodium Etidronate and Tetra Sodium EDTA (antioxidants used to preserve the stability of vegetable oils in soap base. Derived from vinegar. Safe for skin)
Lemongrass oil
Titanium Dioxide

Rosemary Orange Shampoo
The shampoo cleaned my hair well without drying it or leaving residue. it left my hair soft. When I first saw the price for the shampoo $11 for 6.8 fl oz, I thought that was expensive (being the thrifty person that I am.) Ecostore's products are super concentrated, so a little goes a long way. I've been using it for about 2 weeks and I still have nearly 3/4 of the bottle left. The ingredients of the Rosemary Orange Shampoo are:
Water
Lauryl-glucoside (from glucose)
Derivatives from coconut and palm oil - olefin sulphonate
Laureth-2
Polyol Coconut Fatty Acid Ester
Sodium Hydroxymethyl Glycinate (from natural amino acid)
Citric Acid
Certified Organic Cider Vinegar
Essential oils of Rosemary Cineol, Orange Sweet Organic, Pine Scotch, Sage and Cypress.

Now for the giveaway -I'm so happy to hold my first blog giveaway! To enter (US residents only, please) do any or all of the following for each separate entry. Leave a separate comment for each entry:

• Check out the items for sale at http://www.ecostoreusa.com/ & leave a comment about which 2 items you would like to try if you win.
• Sign up for the NO NASTY CHEMICALS newsletter at blog (http://blog.ecostoreusa.com/) & leave a comment here saying that you did.
• Follow Ecostore USA on Twitter @ecostoreusa & tweet about this giveaway
• become a fan of Ecostore USA on Facebook.
• subscribe to or follow this blog
• blog about this give away & post the link here in you comment

Contest ends at midnight Monday, November 2nd. Winner will have 72 hours to reply to my winner notification email.

Update - Winner is Nycole at knycks1@aol.com - Thank-you to all who entered.

"If I make one tiny positive change today, I consider myself green. It can be as simple as flicking off a light switch or buying an organic
apple. My motto is one change makes a difference, and if you can make
tow, that's even better!" Sophie Uliano, Gorgeously Green 8 Simple steps to an Earth-Friendly Life.

The above quote is from a book that I just started reading. I'm so excited! So far I've only read the introduction, but the book looks like an informative and awesome read. The books offers eco-friendly tips in the areas of beauty, home, fitness, style, food, travel, and gardening. So I eagerly await finishing the book and being able to blog about the results.

Natural Hair Color

I've colored my hair on and off since I was 15. My hair was a dirty-dishwater color that I couldn't stand, so I lightened it. Then about 8 years ago I decided to try red. I liked red; it looked good with my skin tone. It made me feel good too, more vibrant.

I made the decision about 2 years ago to use natural products in my hair and stay away from synthetic chemicals as much as I can. After showering there seemed to be tons of hair left in the tub and lots of hair left in my comb after combing my hair. I was getting concerned. I'd seen the older women with thin hair and bald patches. I didn't want that to be me. I switched to a more natural, organic shampoo. (I'd also seen the doctor and had a full blood work-up to rule out thyroid problems or some other medical condition.)

I started using henna on my hair. I loved henna. At first I was turned off by the smell, but I've since gotten used to it. The color is rich and beautiful, plus there's no roots to worry about. I also learned there are more options than just red. There's shades of brown, mahogany, chestnut, sable, and blond. Blond henna doesn't lighten hair, just brings out highlights.

Recently I decided to expand my horizons. I was at the health food store and saw some other "natural" hair care products. I decided to try Naturclolor hair color. I stopped using the henna for a few months. I put some yogurt with lactobacillus like their website suggests to remove the henna.

I opened the container, and "whew!" I smelled a pungent, unnatural aroma. This product is supposed to be natural, but it certainly smelled like chemicals. It may be more natural than the products available at the drugstore and be the "lesser of two evils." I got a shade of color from the "N" series, which is supposed to cover the grey better, but it didn't have any affect on the grey hairs. The hair color made my hair feel dry and straw like. The echinacea hair rinse that was enclosed made my hair feel silky.

After using Naturcolor I decided to stick with henna. It covers the grey, is very economical, natural, and gives my hair more body. It is fun experimenting and trying some of the recipes that are out there on the Internet to make it smell good and enhance the color. 2 of my favorite brands are Light Mountain Natural and Rainbow Henna.