Let Me Introduce Myself…

This is my first blog post ever so I will give a background about myself and what has brought me to WordPress. I have a background in engineering and have worked in the medical device and pharmaceutical industries. After dealing with toxic company cultures and temporary positions with no benefits, I found myself to be unemployed while expecting my first child. Since I knew that getting hired while visibly pregnant was a long shot, I decided to look for work from home options. I discovered an online company which manufactures over 400 health and wellness products. These products vary from laundry and cleaning products, to food and diet supplements to makeup and hair care. These products are non toxic and offer a healthier alternative to typical store bought brands which are loaded with toxic ingredients. I was very grateful for the opportunity to not only start a home business, but to eliminate a lot of toxic household products from my home as well. After becoming a preferred customer and trying a few of these products myself, I decided to start a blog to share the benefits of these products with others, as well as other health and wellness knowledge I have learned along the way.

This is a recent picture of me at 5 months pregnant.

If you are interested in any of the products mentioned on this site or are interested in a work from home business opportunity, please fill out a contact form and I will get in touch with you.

Getting Ready for Summer!

Over the last week I had noticed that a row of irises which I had planted last year was finally starting to blossom.

We also have a porch swing which was set up last fall but had to be taken down during the winter and was stored unassembled on our porch. Though the cushions are made of waterproof material, they were exposed to some pretty harsh elements during the winter months and required a serious cleaning before anybody could sit on them. Rather than resorting to the same toxic cleaning products (which almost make me suffocate), I decided to use my new “tough and tender” non-toxic biodegradable cleaner to clean the cushions. My husband had his doubts about how strong these non-toxic green products could possibly be but was thoroughly impressed with the job that this cleaner did. Check out the before and after below.

This is the “before” picture when I just started to clean.

This is the “after” picture taken the next day, after the cushion had time to dry. I think the difference is pretty impressive!

If you are interested in any of the products discussed in my posts, fill out a contact form and I will get in touch with you.

Natural Insect Repellent Made from Essential Oils

With summer coming, I decided to order a bottle of natural insect repellent as part of my May order. This product is made from natural essential oils and is DEET free. I didn’t know too much about DEET
(diethyltoluamide) so I decided to do some research on exactly how toxic of a substance this is. This is apparently the most common ingredient used in the great majority of insect repellents and has been linked to health issues such as skin irritation, headaches, dizziness and even seizures or slurred speech. Many popular insect repellents also contain a chemical called Permethrin, a known carcinogen and neurotoxin as outlined in the image below.

Bottle of insect repellent that I purchased from the wellness company. 99% effective, DEET free and made with natural essential oils.

If you are interested in any of the products mentioned on this site or are interested in a work from home business opportunity for this company, please fill out a contact form and I will get in touch with you.

Non-Toxic Heavy Duty Household Cleaner

As I mentioned in a previous post, many popular household cleaners have been linked to an increased risk of several different types of cancers in addition to exacerbating pre-existing health conditions such as asthma. I received my monthly order today and decided to try my new 12x concentrated heavy duty cleaner. I decided to use it to see how well it would clean the rack in my toaster oven (which was starting to look really gross and had been very hard to clean in the past). Since the solution is so concentrated, I poured a small amount into a cup and mixed it with water. I applied the solution to the oven rack and was actually surprised at how quickly and effectively this product worked. I was a bit skeptical initially since many people tend to assume that non toxic products are somehow weaker or less effective. After 5-10 minutes, months worth of grease and burnt food had been removed and the rack looked practically new. As you can see from the label below, the product contains no chlorine bleach, ammonia, formaldehyde, pthalates or toxic chemicals. The 12x concentrated formula is also very economical, likely to last longer than typical household cleaners.

Showing a picture of my new heavy duty cleaner and newly cleaned oven rack.

In addition to the heavy duty cleaner, I purchased a “bathroom savings pack.” which contains toilet bowl cleaner, a tub and tile cleaner, shower cleaner and glass cleaner. I decided to experiment with the tub and tile cleaner since there had been some stains in my tub which despite our best cleaning efforts, were hard to remove. While I haven’t finished cleaning my tub, I can already see that this new formula is actually more effective than a lot of popular brands, since I noticed stains being removed within minutes of applying the formula to the surface. The photo below shows my partially cleaned bathtub, with a notable difference between the parts of the tub where I had applied the cleaner and the parts that I still had left to clean.

A recent photo of my bathtub showing the difference between clean (top) and not yet clean (bottom) parts of the photo. Note that some of this is due to a shadow, my tub wasn’t THAT gross to begin with 🙂

If you are interested in any of the products mentioned on this site or are interested in a work from home business opportunity for this company, please fill out a contact form and I will get in touch with you.

Pregnancy Update – 6 Months

For today’s post I decided I would take a break from posting about health and wellness products and update readers on the progress of my pregnancy. I am currently about six months pregnant and will be entering my third trimester this week. As of my last doctor’s appointment, the baby’s heartbeat was perfect and I was measuring perfectly for gestational age (although I do feel like a bit of a blimp with the recent weight gain). Oh and if I haven’t mentioned it, I’m having a boy. My husband and I are starting to get the nursery together and have just assembled a rocking chair and crib. If feels crazy that it is only three months away.

Non Toxic Household Cleaners as an Alternative to Cancer Causing Products

One of the main selling points which led me to sign up with my current company was the wide assortment of non toxic household cleaning products that they offered. During a company presentation, it was mentioned that there are so many toxic ingredients in most name brand cleaners that using these products on a daily basis is equivalent to smoking a pack of cigarettes a day! This is now suspected to be partially responsible for the increase in lung cancer rates among non-smokers in recent years. They are also a hazard to those with asthma.

Some other disturbing statistics that I learned are:

Women who work at home have an ~50% higher cancer risk compared to those who work outside of the home. This is largely due to the toxicity of many popular household cleaning and disinfectant products.

Women who clean houses for a living are at an 80% increased risk.

Toxic chemicals in household cleaners are three times more likely to cause cancer than air pollution.

Within 26 seconds after exposure to chemicals such as those found in cleaning products, traces of these chemicals can be found in every organ of the body.

These above mentioned statistics are not simply false claims made up by the company to sell products. This information is readily available from multiple online sources.

For my April order, I purchased an all purpose cleaner, disinfectant, and an air freshener to replace some of the older products I had in my home. These products are economical as well since they are very concentrated, sometimes up to 12x. I especially like the new air freshener since it is a “tropical sorbet” fragrance. It is also available in Tuscan Orange and Sea Salt and Vanilla varieties. As you can see from the labels, the cleaners contain no chlorine bleach, ammonia, toxic chemicals, formaldehyde or phthalates. These substances are also known to have harmful effects on the body, as noted above.

If you are interested in any of the products mentioned on this site or are interested in a work from home business opportunity, please fill out a contact form and I will get in touch with you.

Eco Friendly Laundry Detergent

As part of my recent monthly order, I ordered the company laundry detergent which is scent free and 99% biodegradable. It is also 6X concentrated, meaning only a small amount of detergent is needed to be effective, saving the buyer money over the long run. There are no scents or toxic chemicals which makes this great for sensitive skin. My husband has had issues with name brand detergents in the past with his skin being irritated by artificial dyes and perfumes. This has not been an issue with this product which has eliminated these additives. In fact, I am due to give birth in three months and have recently washed a set of baby clothes using this detergent since it is gentle on skin and not abrasive in any way.

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  This is the laundry detergent container showing that it is 99% biodegradable and contains no chlorine bleach, formaldehyde, phthalates or toxic chemicals.

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  My new baby clothes which have been washed with the detergent on the left. Ready to be worn when my little bundle of joy arrives!

If you are interested in any of the products mentioned on this site or are interested in a work from home business opportunity, please fill out a contact form and I will get in touch with you.

Natural and Organic Snack Foods

In addition to a wide variety of household and beauty products, this company also offers several delicious snack foods made from natural and organic ingredients. One of my husband’s favorite snack foods is store bought popcorn, which is unfortunately known to be one of the most toxic snack foods out there due to the high amount of chemicals and preservatives. This is why when I saw that this company had it’s own organic popcorn, I had to order it and give it a try. This product is organic, made with natural butter, contains no artificial flavors or preservatives and judging from the disappearing bags in my pantry, my husband loves this just as much as the common store bought brands 🙂

As you can see from the packaging, this product contains all natural and organic ingredients, with no trans fat or cholesterol.

Another snack food which I have recently tried that I really like is their crave blocker bars. These come in two flavors, sweet and salty nut and chocolate peanut butter. I have tried the sweet and salty nut and really love them! Each bar contains 10 grams of protein and 5 grams of fiber, designed to keep you fuller longer. Having tried these myself, these definitely keep you full for longer than expected and live up to the “crave blocker” name, which is definitely a bonus for those looking to lose weight! The fiber and protein in these bars are also a good thing for me since I am sometimes prone to episodes of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar) or blood sugar “crashes” at various points throughout the day. The fiber and protein in these bars definitely help to reduce those mid-morning blood sugar slumps as well as eliminate cravings for unnecessary carbs.

Similar to the popcorn above, this product contains no artificial flavors, colors or sweeteners.

If you are interested in any of the products mentioned on this site or are interested in a work from home business opportunity, please fill out a contact form and I will get in touch with you.

Natural Moisturizer and Clay Facial Mask

Having just reached my mid 30’s, I spent a lot of my teens and 20’s neglecting my skin. I would always do the bare minimum as far as skin care, such as washing and cleansing and maybe once every so often, exfoliate or use a facial mask. I was lucky having not been prone to acne and being frequently told I looked “young” for my age so I figured this “less is more” approach to my skin care was working quite well! Well, when I got a few years into my 30’s and noticed a couple of lines around my eyes, I figured that this may be a good time to start using moisturizer on a regular basis, especially during the winter and summer months when my skin is sometimes drier than normal due to either cold temperatures or extremely strong sun. I decided to try some of the facial and skin care products offered by this new company out of curiosity to see what the effects would be on my skin. I used the clay mask, which is said to “cleanse, smooth, tighten and exfoliate,” applied this to my face for about 10 minutes and then rinsed. I took a photo of my face afterwards to better observe the effects on my face after using the mask and moisturizer. I am not wearing makeup here so sorry if it’s scary. Lol.

I really like the way my skin appears here after using the cleansing mask. There are no blemishes, my skin looks very even, smooth and tight. I would say that this definitely lives up to the description on the tube. My skin is definitely cleansed, exfoliated, smooth and tight!

If you are interested in any of the products mentioned on this site or are interested in a work from home business opportunity, please fill out a contact form and I will get in touch with you.

Shampoo and Conditioner Made From Natural Ingredients

One of the first products I decided to try from this company was their shampoo and conditioner since mine had run out. These products contain natural ingredients such as coconut, avocado and seed oils. Some problems I have noticed with a few of the popular store bought brands is that they would often leave a slight film on my hair, making it appear greasy and altering the color slightly. Also, overtime, if I had my hair colored or highlighted the color would fade within the first couple of months and end up looking nothing like the original color. This would often result in my hair color looking much lighter and more yellow based than the original highlights, which was not an attractive look for me. I started using shampoo and conditioner from this new company I discovered and noticed immediately that my hair looked healthier. There was no film or residue left and my hair looked shiny and healthy. Also, after using these products for several weeks, the highlights in my hair are retaining their original color. This is an added bonus since I am currently pregnant and haven’t had my hair colored in months! These products also contain UV blockage and anti-breakage formulas.

This was a photograph that I took after using my new eco-friendly shampoo. My hair appears healthy with volume and shine (no residue) and highlights are enhanced without being stripped of color.

If you are interested in any of the products mentioned on this site or are interested in a work from home business opportunity, please fill out a contact form and I will get in touch with you.