Summer Skin Part 4: Harmful Chemicals in Cosmetics

Spending lots of time outside in nature is one of the best parts of summer. But summertime also has lots of dangers for your skin. Good thing Hawaiian Organic Noni is here to help! Here’s another way that our Noni lotions can keep your skin healthy this summer.

Many people use cosmetics, especially shaving cream and antiperspirants, frequently in the summer to feel fresh, clean, and well-groomed in the heat. But shaving cream and antiperspirants are oftenfull of harmful chemicals that can cause serious health problems.

Here are some facts you might not know about these everyday cosmetics. We’ll also share how you can use our nourishing Noni Lavender Lotion as a toxin-free, organic alternative.

Why Do Chemicals in Cosmetics Matter?

Your skin is your largest organ, and the most vulnerable. While it is waterproof, it allows for the absorption of many other things, good and bad. This means that it is very important that we watch what we put on our skin, and make sure our cosmetics are free from harmful chemicals.

Shaving cream and antiperspirant are two of the biggest culprits, and they are the best at penetrating into the skin, bloodstream, and endocrine system to do serious damage.

You apply shaving cream to warm, moist skin, so your pores are fully open. As you shave, you exfoliate away the top layer of skin, leaving fresh new skin exposed to the harsh chemicals. You’re also likely to get micro-cuts in your skin, where chemicals can enter your bloodstream.

Antiperspirant is especially dangerous because you apply it to an area with two major lymph glandsunder the skin. Chemicals can easily enter the bloodstream and interfere with hormonal functioning.

What’s in Shaving Cream and Antiperspirant?

What toxins are threatening you from the depths of your shaving cream can? What side effects could your daily application of antiperspirant cause? Have you ever actually looked at the label for yourself?

Shaving Cream

Although pressurized shaving cream no longer contains chlorofluorocarbons, most formulas still include plenty of chemicals which can negatively impact your health.

Here are just a few examples:

• Ethanoalamines (TEA, DEA, MEA): These foaming agents, which can be readily absorbed into the skin, may disrupt hormones, and can form cancer-causing nitrates and nitrosamines. They are also known skin and respiratory irritants.
• Sodium Lauryl/Laureth Sulfate: This chemical is an inexpensive and effective foaming agent. Itirritates the skin, is toxic to your organs, and is linked to cell mutation leading to cancer.
• Butylated Hydroxytoluene (BHT): This preservative was rated the 37th most toxic chemicalby the Federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry in 1992. It can cause skin, eye and lung irritation, hormone disruption, and is potentially carcinogenic.

Antiperspirant

The toxic ingredients in most antiperspirant formulas can have a big impact on the body. Here are some of the most harmful chemicals in antiperspirants:

• Aluminum: You’ve no doubt heard of the dangers of aluminum in antiperspirants. There is significant evidence linking this heavy metal to Alzheimers and breast cancer.
• Triclosan: This antimicrobial chemical is a skin irritant, may disrupt thyroid function, and has been shown to affect other critical hormone systems. The American Medical Association advises that triclosan products not be used in the home, yet triclosan is still in many antiperspirants.
• Talc: This soft mineral is used as an absorbent and color additive. If talc contains asbestiform fibers, it is highly carcinogenic. Brands are not required to say whether these fibers are present in the cosmetic grade talc they use, and cosmetic talc is totally unregulated.

Other Harmful Chemicals

Both antiperspirant and shaving cream often contain:

• Parabens: Preservatives linked to breast cancer in women.
• Glycols: Moisturizers that irritate the skin and may contribute to blood and kidney disease.
• Parfum (Fragrances): Many of the chemicals used to make fragrances are untested, either in isolation or in combination. A few are associated with neurotoxicity and cancer.

It’s frightening what you can find in your bathroom cabinet! Why take the risk when there are safer alternatives readily available?

Keeping Safe from Harmful Chemicals in Cosmetics

The only way to keep yourself and your family safe from the toxins in cosmetics is to be vigilant about reading labels. Wherever you can, look for clean, nontoxic alternatives to products.

Finding replacements for antiperspirants and shaving cream should be a top priority, because they are both applied to sensitive skin and can easily enter the bloodstream.

There are lots of natural, organic brands that sell nontoxic, natural cosmetics, including deodorant and shaving cream, but don’t trust health claims that can’t be backed up.

• Check ingredient labels yourself
• Research brands’ philosophies, practices, and histories
• Look for reputable third-party certifications

The more you educate yourself, the easier it will be to eliminate toxic cosmetics and other products. You’ll be able to look for products that aren’t just “not harmful,” but which truly promote the health of you and your family.

How to Use Noni Lavender Lotion as a Replacement:

My family has devoted itself to cultivating and sharing the power of Noni fruit, and we’re constantly amazed at the countless ways it can be used.

We recently found, from our family of customers and our own experimentation, that our Noni Lavender Lotion can be used as both an antiperspirant and a shaving lotion. Not only is it a chemical-free, organic replacement, but it actually nourishes the skin, soothes irritation and permanently improves its quality over time. As an added benefit research has shown noni pulp to contain collagen which is also anti-wrinkling.

Here’s how to use Noni Lavender Lotion:

As a Shaving Lotion

1. Apply a liberal coat of Noni Lavender Lotion to the skin to be shaved
2. Shave the skin as normal
3. Experience the smooth lubrication of the razor and the all-natural scent—who needs foam?
4. Rinse the area, apply a second coat of lotion, and let it dry or keep rubbing to exfoliate
5. Enjoy total freedom from post-shave stinging or razor burn

As an Antiperspirant

1. Apply a coat of Noni Lavender Lotion to the armpits
2. Let it dry, and enjoy all-natural relief from excessive sweating and odor

You can rest assured that the main ingredient noni is grown, processed, and shipped from our small, organic family farm. You can also look for yourself and see a short list of identifiable ingredients: Noni pulp, grapefruit seed extract, Lavender and water. The grapefruit seed extract is from a steamed extraction process not a chemical extraction process and the Lavender is a true organic French Lavender of the finest quality.

Click Here to Learn About the Benefits of Using Noni

Have you used Noni Lavender Lotion as a shaving lotion or antiperspirant? Let us know how it worked!

Summer Skin Part 3: Treating Bug Bites with Noni

Spending lots of time outside in nature is one of the best parts of summer. But summertime also has lots of dangers for your skin. Good thing Hawaiian Organic Noni is here to help! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing all kinds of ways that our Noni lotions and Noni Fruit Leather can keep your skin healthy this summer.

This time, we’re discussing one of the most annoying summer skin problems: insect bites. These irritating, painful bumps go away on their own, but we’ll share how to help them heal faster, andsoothe the skin in the meantime.

What Happens When You Get a Bug Bite?

Bug bites are irritating and painful not so much because of the bite or sting itself, but because of your immune system’s response to the saliva or venom they leave behind.

Mosquitoes, flies, and ticks bite so that they can drink your blood. Though we have the blood to spare, they sometimes leave behind parasites or diseases, and they always leave behind an itchy, annoying bite mark. This is because most flies and mosquitoes inject their saliva when they bite you, in order to numb you to the pain of the bite and keep your blood vessels open.

Bees, wasps, and spiders inject you with venom rather than saliva. The venom is meant to discourage predators from harming their hives, and bees on their own away from the hive will only sting if very provoked.

Whether from a sting or a bite, the venom or saliva injected into the wound causes an immune response to happen in your skin. Everyone’s immune system is different, and some people are more sensitive to certain bug bites or stings than others, but here are the basic symptoms for the most common types of bug bites.

Symptoms:

• Fly and Mosquito Bites: Small raised bumps, which are very itchy and will turn red if you’ve been itching them. The time it takes them to go away depends on your immune system, and how you treat the bite.
• Tick Bites: You may see the body of the tick, or just a red rash that looks like a bulls eye.
• Spider Bites: There’s a wide variety of different types of bite marks. Most spider bites are harmless (and indeed, most bites people assume are spider bites are not!), but if you experience other symptoms like cramping, excessive sweating, growing pain, or if your skin starts turning dark red, see a doctor.
• Bee and Wasp Stings: While most bees and wasps (though not all) sting instead of bite, they leave very similar marks on the skin. Usually they’re a hole surrounded by a tiny bump, which may burn and itch. You’ll only need a doctor or medication if you’re severely allergic.

Most bug bites or stings will only be bothersome for a few days at the maximum, unless you are very allergic. But they can be very annoying during that time! That’s why we recommend using Noni to soothe the itching and pain.

Read the Full Version and Learn What to Do if You Get Bitten or Stung

How to Use Noni to Heal Bug Bites

For any type of bug bite or sting, Noni can speed up the healing process and make things more bearable in the meantime.

You can use either our Noni Lavender Lotion or our Instant Noni Aloe BioBandage on bug bites. We don’t recommend either of the Icy Heat formulas for bug bites, as it could cause a sting.

Using Noni Lavender Lotion

Simply apply a small amount of lotion to the bite or bites, and to the surrounding itchy area. You can apply this several times a day for maximum effectiveness. The noni and lavender in this formula helps soothe the skin and reduce itching and inflammation.

Click here to learn more about Noni Lavender Lotion.

Using Instant Noni Aloe BioBandage

Apply the BioBandage formula to the bug bite or bites, where it will adhere gently to the skin. While it’s on your skin, it will continue to heal and soothe. This formula contains aloe, which can cool inflammation, as well as rosemary oil, which is often used for pain relief. Noni is the best anti-inflammatory and pain reliever.

Click here to learn more about Instant Noni Aloe BioBandage.

Why Does Noni Help?

Noni contains beneficial compounds that can penetrate into the skin to heal at the source. It prevents infection, reduces swelling, relieves pain, and speeds healing.

In particular, the compound scopoletin, found in Noni, is being actively researched for its pain-relieving, anti-inflammatory properties. It can also act as an antibacterial agent.

Overall, Noni should leave your bites or stings feeling less itchy, less hot, and less inflamed, all of which hopefully means less scratching. Minimizing scratching helps your bumps heal faster, itch less, and reduces the risk of them scarring.

From our experience on our organic family farm, with 45 bee hives and millions of bees, we do get accidentally stung occasionally. We immediately apply the Noni Lavender Lotion to take the sting away and reduce any swelling- works great!

Bug bites and stings are rarely dangerous, but they are annoying. Keep Noni on hand to soothe you and your family’s skin this summer. Everyone will thank you for this natural, soothing remedy.

Summer Skin Part 2: Treating Sunburn and Preventing Sun Damage

Spending lots of time outside in nature is one of the best parts of summer. But summertime also has lots of dangers for your skin. Good thing Hawaiian Organic Noni is here to help! Over the next few weeks, we’ll be sharing all kinds of ways that our Noni lotions and Noni Fruit Leather.  Noni lotion can keep your skin healthy this summer.

This time, we’re covering the most common type of summer skin damage: the sunburn. Here are some facts you might not know about sunburn, and how to use noni to heal and protect your skin from sun damage. The results? Healthy, youthful skin, for many years to come.

What is a Sunburn?

Sunlight is made up of radiation and heat coming from the sun in the form of electromagnetic waves. It is a combination of mostly infrared, visible, and ultraviolet (UV) light. These waves bring us light and heat, which we need to survive on Earth. A lot of the sun’s most intense rays are blocked by Earth’s atmosphere, but plenty of all three kinds of light get through.

Being exposed to sunlight is good and bad for the body. Exposure to UV light from the sun helps the body make its own Vitamin D, but it also damages the DNA of skin cells, resulting in sunburn.

Sunburn can occur in less than 15 minutes of sun exposure, but you’re unlikely to see the signs right away.

Symptoms can include:

• Pink or red skin that is hot to the touch
• Pain in varying degrees
• Peeling as the skin heals
• Very severe sunburns involve blistering, nausea, fever, and worse

Normally, sunburns appear 2-6 hours after exposure to the sun, with the worst pain during the 6-48 hours after the burn. Peeling, itching, and lesser degrees of pain can last for several weeks.

Learn about the Long-Term Effects of Sun Damage here

Preventing Sunburn

Because of the severe damage the sun can do to your skin, preventing sunburn is very important.

Immediately Before Sun Exposure

• Wear sunscreen! Particularly on your face, but anywhere skin is exposed
• Cover your skin with clothing as much as possible while staying comfortable
• Put on a hat with a brim to protect your face and the back of your neck
• Put on sunglasses—your eyeballs can get sunburned too!

While in the Sun

• Seek shade as much as possible
• Reapply sunscreen 15-30 minutes into sun exposure
• Reapply if you sweat, swim, or might have rubbed sunscreen off

When to be Extra Cautious

• Between 11am and 3pm, the sun’s rays are most direct
• In the summer, the sun is also more direct
• At high altitude, there is less atmosphere to protect your skin
• If you have been sunburned recently

Long-Term Sun Protection

There is evidence to show that a diet high in certain dietary antioxidants, including Vitamins C, E, and A, can protect against some degree of UV exposure. This only works when these antioxidants are a part of your diet over a period of time.

Hawaiian Organic Noni Fruit Leather is extremely high in antioxidants. Eating just a small piece ofNoni Fruit Leather each day can repair and protect against sun damage, fine lines, discoloration, and other common forms of damage from UV rays.

Note: Noni is NOT a sunscreen replacement!

What to Do If You Get a Sunburn

No matter how careful you are, pretty much everyone gets too much sun sometimes. If you notice your skin starting to turn pink, or if you’ve been out in the sun unprotected, taking action quickly can help minimize the sunburn.

First, get out of the sun, right away! Drink plenty of water, as you may become dehydrated.

Cold compresses or a cool bath can help reduce inflammation. Avoid greasy lotions, as these can actually slow down the healing by trapping heat close to the skin.

Water-based lotions, like our Noni Lavender Lotion, won’t slow the healing. They hydrate the skinwithout trapping heat. Noni Lotions also help relieve the pain of the sunburn and reduce the long-term sun damage.

In Lavender Noni Lotion

• Scopoletin: Pain relief, anti-inflammatory
• Vitamin C: Erases age spots, prevents future sun damage
• Antioxidants: Reduce breakdown of collagen and fats in skin, free radicals
• Collagen: Reduce wrinkles and

Click here to learn more about Noni Lavender Lotion.

In IcyHeat Noni Lotion

• All the same benefits of Noni Lavender Lotion
• Plus cooling from added camphor oil and menthol crystals

Click here to learn more about IcyHeat Noni Lotion.

Here’s another tip: if you “missed a spot” with sunscreen and have one small area that’s burned pretty badly, try putting Noni BioBandage on it! The formula stays on your skin, to deliver pain relief and healing more intensely for a longer period of time.

Click here to learn more about Noni BioBandage.

Testimonials

We have countless testimonials of awesome healing from sunburns and sun damage through Noni.

Here’s a testimonial we’ve had on our site for a long time, from Dana Baca.

"I was told about the Noni Fruit Leather. Of course, I bought a pack, but wanted to store for our trip home. Since we have been home, and taking 'one inch piece' each and every day, the results have been amazing. Not only for his knee, but his skin. His skin has a lot of Sun damage, (real bad BLACK sun damage Spots). Now the Sun spots are turning WHITE and disappearing. Thank you, Thank you for God's Gift to this earth and making a pure product."

“Gubby Loves The Noni Lavender Lotion” on her Horses and Herself

“Hi, this is Gubby, and I live on Kauia.  I just wanted to mention how that the Noni Lavender Lotion and the Noni BioBandage have been used on my horse and the horses stabled here on the island.  We’ve had great results using them on wounds, or if the horses have any saddle sores or fly bites.  We put that BioBandange on and, boy or boy, that stuff lasts for a day or two, easily, and it’s very healing.  The skin grows back, the hair grows back and the horses aren’t bothered by flies during the healing process.  I’ve use it on my horses feet a great deal.  He had a cut to the bulb of his frog, and it’s healing beautifully, and it’s all I used.  I didn’t have to use any antibiotics.  The other thing that I love about the Noni products is that they are not, in any way, shape, or from harmful to the environment.  I can put it on my hands.  If I ate it, it wouldn’t harm me.  As far as the Noni Lavender Lotion, I have had fantastic results.  I have people ask me about my skin.  I have lived in the sun all of my life, and the Noni Lavender Lotion is working beautifully on helping my skin.  Even takes some of the dark spots out!!”

Gubby from Kauai, Hawaii

If you’d like to hear more success stories, you can visit our website or contact us. People all over the world have benefitted from Noni’s ability to protect and heal the skin from sun damage, and they have been since the ancient Polynesians began using it as a topical skin treatment.

Keep some Noni Lavender Lotion on hand this summer in case you’re exposed to too much sun, and keep checking back for other ways Noni can protect your skin this summer!

Have you ever used Noni to heal from sun damage? What were your results? Let us know in the comments!