Witch Hazel & Ethyl Alcohol ~ What's the Difference?

Hamamelis virginiana tree

Hamamelis x. intermedia

 +Bloomfield Bath uses two alternatives to alcohol in the making of their skincare products, Witch Hazel and Cetearyl Alcohol. The cetearyl alcohol is used in the lotions, creams, butters, and conditioners to prevent the product from separating. The witch hazel extract is used in the Floral Water Skin Toner to help cleanse and moisturize your face, gently. This blog is going to address effects of witch hazel, cetearyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol on the skin and is only for informational purposes only. Please consult your dermatologist regarding your skincare needs.
  If you are wondering, "What is Witch Hazel?"It is a small tree found in the damp woods through out North America and Asia. There are 3 species in North America and one each in Japan and China. The extract is made from the bark, flowers and leaves. The colors of the petals can be yellow/pale, orange or red. The fruit has two parts each with a black, glossy seed. Eight months after the tree has flowered, the seed explodes from the fruit, flying up to 33 ft away from the tree. Most of the species of the Witch Hazel Tree blooms between January and March, except for the Virginian species. This species blooms between September and November. The branch of a witch hazel tree was once used to find water, now this tree is used as a natural herb for cleansing, moisturizing and toning the skin.

the buds on the witch hazel tree

The bark, leaves and twigs of the witch hazel tree has high amounts of tannins, which when used on your skin, will tighten pores, reduce/soothe aching, inflamed varicose veins and remove excess oils. All this without drying out or breaking down your skin cells. The properties of this tree causes the body tissues to contract which helps with reducing blood flow in minor bruises. There are many uses for witch hazel, most being external, and it is an ingredient used in many healthcare products. In addition to being able to tighten the skin and remove excess oils, witch hazel can be used as a natural remedy for psoriasis, eczema, cracked or blistering skin, poison ivy and even treating insect bites. Witch Hazel is a powerful antioxidant and it also contains procyanadins, resin, and flovonoids. These antioxidants contributes to the removal of damaging impurities. Witch Hazel will even treat sunburn and it will disinfect minor cuts. Many tattoo artists use witch hazel in the after care of doing a tattoo.

Home Remedy uses for Witch Hazel

Why shouldn't we use rubbing alcohol on insect bites, cuts and bruises? Ethyl Alcohol (also known as rubbing alcohol) is a flammable chemical made of a specialized methylated spirit (also known as Denatured), ethanol alcohol and water. (Denaturing makes the solution undrinkable when mixed without altering the chemical makeup.) Rubbing alcohol breaks down your skin's barriers preventing the skin from naturally protecting the body. Witch Hazel, on the other hand, nurtures the skin by moisturizing and preventing it from drying out. When you use witch hazel instead of rubbing alcohol, your skin will continue to doing what it is made to do, defend your body against harmful dirt and grim.

long term alcohol use on the skin prevents your skin from doing its job.

Alcohol can be mixed with any ingredient easily and some skin and hair care companies add this to their products, to increase the ability of their ingredients penetrating through the skin. Some of the ingredients may be good for the body, but there are some ingredients that could be damaging. The more you use alcohol on the skin, the more damage you are doing to your skin cells making it more difficult for them to be repaired. Some with oily skin may think that using ethyl alcohol to wipe away excess oils is helping, but this is not good practice. The alcohol will not only dry up the skin, but it will also cause your pores to produce additional oils as a response to the dry skin. Thus, causing you to use more alcohol. This is not a chain reaction you would want to repeat. The more you apply the alcohol to your skin to more it will tear down your skins barriers. Making you more susceptible to the invasion of impurities. There are natural options available to help keep your skin soft, beautiful and protected. Bloomfield Bath offers a Beautiful Face Set that comes with a cleanser, a toner (alcohol free) and a moisturizer. The beauty in the set is you do not have to use all ingredients at once for the product to work. If you use the cleanser in the morning, there is no need to use the toner. If you choose to use the toner that night, no need for the cleanser. You may want to use the face cream to add moisture, but the key here is minimum works best. There are three floral water options: jasmine, lavender, and rose. This is not a scent choice, it is more of a type of flower you would prefer to receive floral water from. 

Another way to draw out impurities and gently exfoliate your face is using the Facial Mask. The mask contains natural fruit extracts and are beneficial to your body's care as well.

The 2nd alternative to alcohol that Bloomfield Bath uses to keep your skin protected is a natural vegan alcohol, Cetearyl Alcohol. Cetearyl Alcohol is a mix of  cetyl and stearyl alcohol and it is found in plants. Cetearyl Alcohol works as a foaming agent in addition to be a stabilizer. This alcohol helps binds ingredients together, naturally. The added bonus of Cetearyl Alcohol is the calming properties that maintains the skins smoothness and softness. Your skin's barriers is the protection your body requires. So Use alcohol free products and say "Bye-Bye" to ethyl alcohol for your skincare needs. 

Bloomfield Bath

Lavender Love

This month, +Bloomfield Bath's Charity Soap of the Month is Lavender Love. In lieu of this month's charity soap, I will be talking about the effects of lavender on your skin. If your wondering what type of flower lavender is, well, it's actually an herb. Lavender can be used for many things, such as, consumption in baking products and teas, or as a fragrance for your home. Bloomfield Bath uses lavender in our body products. Lavender is native to northern Africa and the mountainous regions of the Mediterranean and it can come in a variety colors like yellow, green or white. The Latin version of Lavender is "lavare", which means, to wash. This herb has a nice refreshing smell. Lavender has many uses, one being a great aromatherapy agent. When dried you can place inside pillows or sleeping masks and this will help you to sleep, naturally. It is thought that lavender slows down your nervous system. *Do not use Lavender with any additional sleeping aids*  You can dry lavender flowers, place inside cloth bags, and use as dryer sheets. Thus, giving your linen a cool, refreshing, natural scent straight from the dryer. The natural scent of lavender can keep bugs away. Yes, no more buying those "chemical" bug sprays, when you apply the lavender essential oil you shouldn't have to worry about bug bites. Lavender is effective against most bugs like mosquitoes and moths. If you were to get bitten by a bug, all you would have to do is apply lavender essential oil to reduce skin irritation and pain. Not only is the lavender essential oil a great anti-inflammatory, it can help with skin acne and provide minor burn relief. When added topically, the essential oil of lavender can help hinder bacteria growth by reducing scarring when the acne begin to heal. Also Lavender relieves the pain of minor burns when applied to the skin. 

I have only spoke of a few of lavender's properties, but there are many other qualities that lavender posses in addition to relaxing the mind, soothing minor burns, and/or bug bites. Scientist are researching the effects of lavender and finding more and more great advantages of it's use. For example, researchers from the University of Coimbra in Portugal found that Lavender oil is lethal to an array of skin pathogenic strains. Another study completed by The Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database says that, "...lavender can promote hair growth..." WOW, "hair growth". When I read that, I wanted to know more. This was then backed up by a Scottish study report. The, "[l]avender oil increases blood circulation..." when rubbed on your scalp regularly. They reported that patients with alopecia showed 40% more hair growth when using lavender essential oils on their scalp. 

Lavender is a great herb with healing and soothing properties. Bloomfield Bath adds lavender to our soaps, creams, lotions, butters, and polishes. When you've had a stressful day, why not take a bath with our Lavender Love homemade soap bar, then moisturize your skin with the cream. Now watch all your stress go away. The bonus in using Bloomfield Bath's lavender soap bar is knowing that we truly use all natural, unrefined lavender essential oils. Get soothed today with our Lavender Love Signature Scent. 

Lavender Love - a blend of lavender & lemon

Lavender Love

Let the SUN shine on your skin.

                                                   

Your body needs vitamin D and the sun is a great natural way to get that vitamin D. Sun therapy was used in ancient Greek times. The sun was thought of as a natural healing property for the body. Today, we seem to bath in sunblock not realizing we are putting ourselves at risk for Vitamin D deficiency among other health risk. Many people believe that to much sun can be dangerous, but the sun is needed and provides a key vitamin for our bones. In America, 24% of our citizens have Vitamin D Deficiency. It is commonly thought that by using sunblock, we are preventing cancer and anti-aging effects, but knowing the right balance of sun exposure, however, can have healing benefits for you too.  Not only is sunlight a key component in bone health, but it can also boost your immune system, strengthen your teeth, and oddly enough it can help prevent depression. Have you ever notice when you go out into the sun, you automatically smile. The sun light is the, "illumination of nature". 

The UV light from the sun can not be seen by the naked eye. This makes it hard to justify how much sun you are getting and when to say, "enough is enough". In addition to that, there are 3 different types of UV light, ultraviolet A, ultraviolet B, and ultraviolet C. UVB (ultraviolet B) are the rays that help your body with the production of vitamin D. Just remember you only need 15 minutes of sun on your unprotected skin a day to get the proper amount of vitamin D. Once you get that 15 minutes, put on some protection, either with clothes or a natural moisturizer like shea butter for example. The best time for your skin to get the UVB rays need is when the sun is 50° from the horizon. Who knows when the sun is 50° from the horizon? I don't, but you can find this out using Google Earth. Or you could use the UV Index. The UV Index gives values to the UVA and UVB rays ranging from 0 to 17. 

Use the shadow rule when exposing your skin to the sun. If your shadow is taller than you, then the UV levels are going to be low. If your shadow is shorter than you, then the UV levels are high.

Now that you know how much sun your skin should be exposed to, here are some ways to protect your skin from to much exposure. One way is by covering unprotected areas of the skin with clothes or getting into the shade of a tree or an umbrella. Another natural way of protection, is using a natural moisturizer like shea butter. The use of Shea Butter has great healing and prevention properties. The best bonus of using shea butter, is it can help with prevention and it can heal sun burnt skin. +Bloomfield Bath uses shea butter in all of it's products and it can be purchased in it's rawest form. Shea butter is extremely rich in Vitamins A,D,E,F, and K and is great for soothing skin irritations, like sunburns, making it a remarkable moisturizer. Bloomfield Bath offers two types of Shea Butter. We have the Shea Butter from the Karite Tree and Shea Nilotica, from a sub-species of the Karite Tree.  Shea Nilotica is produced in Uganda and Sudan. It is softer, has a high absorption rate, and has a softer smell than the Shea Butter of Ghana. Learn how much sun your body can handle and let us appreciate the sun and all of the amazing benefits it gives us.  

Organic Shea Nilotica

     

Organic Shea Butter (unrefined)

Cocoa Shea Butter

Bloomfield Bath

Orange Goodness

+Bloomfield Bath is introducing a new scent for the summer, it is called "Orange You Glad".  You can have that scent, or any of Bloomfield Bath's other signature scents, applied to any of our signature soap bars or body products. Today I am going to talk about the advantages oranges provides for your skin. Most people understands that oranges are a great source of calcium and folic acid and this is a great aid for your health in general. Did you know that the orange also produces ingredients that aid in great skin care? Even the peel of the orange will help protect and care for your skin. Let's talk about the orange peel. 

   

The orange peel has more Vitamin C than the pulp of the orange, it helps reduce aging and oiliness of your skin, and it can aid in the cleaning out of excess dirt and bacteria that could clog your pores. Orange peels can even lighten dark spots and give your skin that shine everyone strive to get. Since the orange peel have more Vitamin C than the orange itself, it will protect your skin again premature ageing. You can use the orange peel by drying it, then grind it into a powder to be use as a body scrub or by placing the powder in milk or milk cream to be applied to your face.(Please dilute the paste because of the high content of citric acid) When the orange peels are added to the upper layer of your skin it will meet 16% of your daily dietary supplements for calcium. Which is also great for bone strength. Over time, the orange peel paste will reduce any blemishes and dark spot and provide your skin with a natural glow. Topical application of oranges peels on your skin removes dirt and dead skin cells keeping your skin moist and toned. It also defends your skin against harmful UV rays. The Vitamin C and calcium antioxidants maintains the oils in your skin reversing dry skin helping your skin look and feel healthy.

Not only are oranges good for your skin but they, also, boost your hair health. Oranges stimulates hair growth, treats dandruff, and is the perfect conditioner for your hair and scalp. In addition to vitamin C, the orange contains vitamin B and insonitol, which helps avoids hair loss and stimulates hair growth. When applied to the scalp or used as a cleanser or rinse, the orange, naturally can rid your scalp of dandruff leaving your hair clean and shiny. Now you can add the orange to your list of natural products usable for great skin health.

Orange You Glad