What is #veganhour? 
#veganhour is on Twitter every Tuesday 7-8pm UK time. It is an hour devoted to chat about veganism, with no specific themes other than veganism. People are free to share vegan finds and ask questions. #veganhour is for everyone: vegan, non-vegan or vegan-curious. To join in simply enter #veganhour into your search box and click on ‘latest’ to see what others are tweeting in and equally enter #veganhour in your own tweets. Follow the @veganhour account for updates. I realised there was a missing # hour on Twitter and so decided to launch #veganhour in May 2013. I wasn’t sure how it would be received but now seeing it trending virtually every week!
I wanted to write a little piece about it on our here because quite simply, I am very passionate about veganism. It is at the heart of everything I do. #veganhour is a huge success thanks to everyone who participates in it. We have major brands who join in and that is surely down to the exponential rise in veganism. They see the chance to promote their vegan products to the already converted. A win-win for everyone.
As I write, Veganuary is well underway with 160K people so far signed up. That is over triple the number who signed up last year and we’re still counting! I have so much respect for the Veganuary team. I met one of the team at vegan festival in Liverpool before Veganuary was launched a few years back. They were telling me about the concept. I thought it sounded great at the time but WOAH what they’ve turned into a reality is staggering. Of course, none of this could happen without all these incredible people making the pledge to at least try being vegan for January. A vast majority remain vegan afterwards too.
It is such an honour to feel part of a movement where we’re seeing the transition to a kinder and more peaceful world in great waves. When I first became vegan back in July 2007, veganism was still deemed as extreme but with the rapid growth in the vast volumes of people switching to a plant based lifestyle in the past few years, veganism is mainstream now!
About five years ago I’d be heard saying “in twenty years, veganism will be so much more mainstream”. That twenty years has turned into three! It is quite simply brilliant!
Click here for an article on #veganhour published in Plant Based News.
Let’s talk about zero waste.
Firstly, what does zero waste mean? Well, it is a philosophy that encourages items to be reused or repurposed in order for something NOT to be discarded and end up in landfill.
We LOVE zero waste and that is why we at Heavenly Organics offer refills in compostable bags where possible. Where this is not possible, for example with our oils, then we offer £2 off your next order for every jar or bottle that is returned to us. We trialled offering body butters in refills and well – that was a messy affair and one that we’ve since ditched!
However, zero waste is not always as squeaky clean as it may initially appear. I recently stumbled upon some zero waste products. They were toiletries and were thoughtfully wrapped in paper, where they are so often clad in plastic. ‘Great’ I thought to myself, ‘this is ground-breaking and transformative’. Then I read the ingredients. These products contained a skin irritant that is widely used in toiletries: Sodium Lauryl Sulphate. This product would inevitably end up contaminating the ground, water systems and our oceans. Yet it is a classed as zero waste product. Good for the skin and the planet? Definitely not.
I will often be heard saying that ‘it is the whole process’. For example, something may be natural, yet it’s not organic, so there has been some unnecessary damage to the earth in its production because pesticides have been used. Or indeed a product may be organic but it’s not vegan. Therefore animals have been harmed in its making. Furthermore, I have encountered people along life’s journey who will discuss the importance of eating organically yet they use chemical-laden household products to clean their homes and do very little exercise.
Of course, none of us is perfect and Heavenly Organics Skin Care has certainly made vast improvements since we started over 6 years ago. I shudder at some of the packaging we used to begin with (bad advice). When I decided we had to ditch plastic and the last plastic packaging I needed to replace was lip balm tubes, I researched and researched to find a planet-friendly lip balm tube. I could find recycled cardboard lip balm tubes but I’d have to have them shipped over from USA. I then found a manufacturer of compostable lip balm tubes. Excitement began to simmer but they were again US manufacturers so the cost of transportation from the environmental perspective ruled it out. But to put a final nail in the proverbial coffin, the tubes contained not only palm oil but casein (from cow’s milk). Despair. So lip balms in tins it is!
There is much to be considered and a holistic and open-minded approach is advisable. After all, we are all continually emerging and learning. All of us at different paces.
“Be the change you wish to see in the world” – Mahatma Gandhi
I decided as soon as I started to hear about #blackfriday sales again this year that I would not be participating in it with my business. Then I saw #NoBlackFriday – started by other small businesses and I’m wholly in agreement with this.
There is of course the fact that we cannot afford to slash our prices. This business is currently run by just me, Mary-Anne. I keep the margins low but the quality high so that customers get excellent value for money. There is no big factory and a long production line. When someone buys my products, I am overjoyed, not just because I have made them with my own fair hands but because if someone is using our products, then they aren’t using a product filled with unpronounceable ingredients clothed in plastic that are both harmful to our bodies, animals and this precious planet. After all, this is the whole reason I started Heavenly Organics Skin Care.
So yes, of course we will have sales on but not this #blackfriday. We’ll say #noblackfriday and we’d love you to do the same. I’d also encourage you to read our other blog on Minimalism.
Thank you.
Autumn has settled itself in; crispy leaves to crunch your way through on woodland walks; fresh, cold air in the mornings to waken you up for the day ahead; earlier sunsets, hastening the evenings to encourage us to snuggle on the sofa with the fire on. Christmas is beckoning us! Yes, there – I said it! We love Christmas at Heavenly Organics. We’re not religious (though I do like to call kindness my religion) but we do particularly love the anticipatory lead up. At this time of year until Christmas is our busiest time of year with events on virtually every weekend. Whilst we love events, it also means we particularly enjoy our time off at Christmas. Time to be with our loved ones, spending quality time together…….and playing Charades if I get my way (generally I’m only humoured on Christmas Day itself, after that I can forget it, no charades allowed)!
We often find that it’s this time of year that people are more aware of looking after their skin as winter can often treat skin harshly. For that extra special care, we recommend our body butters that will soothe, nourish, care and heal your skin. Made with 100% organic ingredients this is skin CARE at its best.
Following many requests, we recently launched Eye & Face creams. Once again, these are made with 100% organic ingredients. These are the ultimate in eye and face care. People often ask us “is there anything for my wrinkles?” Unlike these horrendous adverts on TV, we are honest and say “no”! But our creams are naturally packed full of vitamin E – the wonderful anti-oxidant that will help against the ageing of the skin. But there’s nothing that will get rid of wrinkles permanently other than surgery and we’ve all seen celebrities who’ve gone under the knife in attempt to make themselves look younger. Need I say more!! TV adverts say that their creams will reduce the APPEARANCE of wrinkles – clever marketing – they don’t say they’ll actually reduce wrinkles themselves. In essence, what these creams are doing is filling in the cracks. Just like how we fill in cracks in our walls at home! A temporary ‘fix’ if you can even call it that.
In my opinion, the secret to youthful skin is good quality sleep, nutritious food, a calm & stress free environment, as little exposure to pollution as possible, happiness and of course excellent skincare! Oh and let’s not forget – luck – good genes!
I love the phrase “the longer the shelf life, the shorter yours’”.
How true I believe this to be. It is said that females apply over 200 chemicals daily to their skin by using non-organic skincare products. That is a shocking statistic. Yet, sadly one that doesn’t seem to have helped the organic cause quite enough yet. An increasing number of people are turning to organic skincare (and indeed living an organic lifestyle). but we won’t be happy until everyone is living an organic lifestyle! So often, I will speak to people about the dangers of chemicals that surround us in everyday life, that in the main we can avoid. Yet, I know that, for example, some of my friends will still be using a lot chemical filled products and skincare at home, whilst at the same time agreeing with every word I say. We need to change this!
There are so many of them chemical preservatives in non-organic skincare, and sometimes even in organic skincare (be careful, always read the label). Parabens are now becoming widely known to being damaging to us. There are many different types of Parabens (Isopropyl, Ethyl, Propyl, Methyl, Benzyl, and Butyl) but there are also other preservatives which mustn’t be dismissed as okay for us. They include:
• Alcohol – very drying – just as drinking alcohol dehydrates us, applying it to our skin in a product does the same and is tough on the liver.
• Formaldehyde – this is a known carcinogen and irritant to the skin (it is also used in vaccinations but that is another topic!)
• Sodium benzoate – found naturally in some fruits in low levels but in skincare this is synthesized in a laboratory. It is known as a carcinogenic additive.
• Methylisothiazolinone- a preservative that commonly triggers irritation and allergic reactions
• Phenoxyethanol – this is being used increasingly as a replacement for parabens. It is glycol ether. Glycols are found in things like jet fuel and paint.
This list is far from exhaustive but I wanted to portray the general picture. Some would dispute this information. However, I would remind the sceptics about the use of asbestos in the 70s. It was thought then to be entirely safe but not now!
These preservatives prolong the life of products for possibly well over three years. At Heavenly Organics Skin Care, we never use any these preservatives. Nature provides us with natural preservatives. For example, our body scrubs are made with salt; therefore there is no need for an additional preservative. Many of our products contain essential oils, a lot of which are anti-bacterial and anti-microbial, which are natural preservatives. Our products have a natural shelf life of 18 -24 months from date of production, without additional preservatives. For us and our lovely customers, that is more than enough! Our customers use them up well within this time because they are packed full of natural, organic goodness and actually work! So next time you are purchasing some skincare, stop, think, read & research!
Making organic, natural & vegan skincare is a passion of mine because I believe in the importance of putting purity onto your skin. What you put on your skin gets absorbed into your blood stream so for me it is as necessary to feed your skin organically, just as much as it is to eat organic foods. You really are what you eat but also you are what you absorb. There are so many other important ways to achieve a healthy body and mind.
I have a background in health & fitness, nutrition and Information, Advice & Guidance (a combination of life coaching, careers guidance and counselling) so I appreciate the different aspects of healthy living. You could be eating well and exercising enough to keep your heart and bones strong yet the stress in your life could be such that it negatively impacts upon your health. This is why quite a few of the posts that I share on social media are not directly linked to skincare. I like to promote a healthy lifestyle.
I remember once leaving an event that I had attended and a young man started chatting to me on the stairs. He asked what my advice was for combatting bad skin with acne. My response was with one word “diet”. He immediately agreed and said knew he needed to change his eating habits, in particular by cutting out dairy. Our skincare is designed to feed your body with goodness, to nourish & cleanse it without stripping it of its natural goodness or polluting it with chemicals. However, having a good organic skincare routine is only one aspect to healthy living. If what you eat is full of hormones and chemicals, this is going to have an impact on your body’s well-being. For me, eating organic foods is a must. So many animals are pumped full of hormones & antibiotics in their short life span in order to produce food for human consumption. Dairy milk contains an allowable percentage of pus in it! I am glad to also hear the latest government push to get us to consume less meat. The sustainability of the planet is at risk with the consumption of meat at its current level. A plant-based diet can meet our needs adequately. Non-organic fruit, vegetables and crops are sprayed with chemical fertilisers and pesticides. All of the aforementioned nasties are absorbed into a person’s blood stream if they consume non-organic foods. I witness so many people who don’t consume the government recommended 5 a day of fruit and vegetables. I find this shocking; especially considering 5 is really the bare minimum we should eat. In addition to this the ratio of fruit and vegetables really should be 30% fruit and 70% vegetables. Whilst we all know we shouldn’t consume too much sugar, consuming too much fruit (high in fructose) is also not wise.
Organic living does not stop at food. So many people forget what they use around the home to clean with. Most of these high street products are laden with chemicals. The ‘irritant’ sign says enough surely! A lot of these cleaning products are inhaled as well as absorbed by the skin on contact. I have known many people who have seen a great improvement in their and their family’s health by stopping the use of chemical cleaners. All I use around the house to clean with are white vinegar, bicarbonate of soda, tea tree & lavender essential oil. Not only is it cheap, it is not harmful to health. I could write a book on the wonders of bicarbonate of soda but many people have already done that!
Drinking plenty of water is essential as well. Water (filtered or mineral is best) forms a vast percentage of our body’s composition. Water is so important to keeping the body in top health. It cannot be emphasised enough. Leave the fizzy, sugar-laden drinks alone!
So we move on to exercise! Again the government recommend 30 minutes of exercise a day. Yet it is surprising how many people don’t meet this basic need. The cells in our body need oxygen to be function properly. Exercise oxygenates our body cells. Lack of exercise makes our body sluggish. The less we exercise, the less inclined we will be to exercise! It can become a downward spiral. But it doesn’t have to be! Exercising releases feel good endorphins that will boost our mood and energise us even more! Therefore revisiting the previous point I made about stress! I will never forget one evening about 15 years ago when for some reason I was in a foul mood. I went out for my evening run. I think I ran the fastest I had ever run and I also returned in a wonderful mood! Exercise is such a beautiful way to keep your soul happy! But exercise doesn’t have to be about going to the gym or forcing yourself to go for a run. Why not get out into the countryside and walk with friends along the glorious footpaths this country has. Be at one with nature! Or why not join a local netball or football club, or go to a fun Zumba class. Cardiovascular health is key but just so is bone health. We can drastically reduce the risk of developing osteoporosis by doing free weight exercises. Again, if you’re gym-averse this can be done by doing exercises such as bicep-curling your (FILLED!) shopping bags or just before you sit down, do a few squats!
I could go into much more detail about each of the points I have made but fear not; I won’t! But to summarise, my message to living a holistically healthy lifestyle is: eat organic foods, drink plenty of water, exercise regularly, use organic skincare and household cleaning products and laugh a lot too!! Oh and….Go vegan!
I recently met a lady at an event. She told me she had very dry skin and wondered if I might know why. I asked her one simple question: “Do you think you drink enough water?” She immediately said no. Water is so vital to the health and proper functioning of our entire body & such a large percentage of our body composition is water. On average, males tend to be 60% water and females 55%. People feel thirsty when they are already 2-3% dehydrated yet it only takes for us to be 1% dehydrated for it to affect our mental and physical performance. Scary! Dehydrated cells can easily result in dry skin.
Environmental conditions can of course also dry out the skin & appropriate quality skincare will help with this. However, the best way to care for your skin and body is from within. Eating well and keeping yourself well hydrated is essential. What is also important is to consume the right types of fluids. Alcohol and caffeinated drinks are not good! They will dehydrate you. Try not to consume too many sugary drinks too – that includes fruit juices. Ultimately filtered and or mineral/spring water and herbal teas are ideal. The amount of water you need to drink will depend on your size and activity level. Drinking plenty of water will help keep your skin clear as it flushes out the toxins (via your urine) that can build up.
Toxic excess in your body can manifest in different ways but with your skin it can result in spots. Hydrated skin cells can mean more youthful looking, refreshed, clear and vibrant skin. The skin is after all the largest organ of your body and it can reflect the health of your entire body, inside and out. After all, when you tell someone that they look well, you are judging mainly by the appearance of their skin. It is important not to counter-balance drinking plenty of water by using skincare that will dehydrate you skin. Watch out for products that contain alcohol and petroleum. You may be surprised at just how many products contain these ingredients. Alcohol is well known for being dehydrating and it is just the same when applied to your skin as it is in a drink. Petroleum forms a layer on top of the skin, suffocates it, preventing it from breathing and dries it out underneath. Not good!
There can never be enough emphasis on the importance of drinking enough water. After all, if you drained our bodies of water, there wouldn’t be a huge amount of us left! So keep your body topped up to stay healthy!
I love exfoliating! Exfoliating makes me feel so good inside and out and it’s no wonder when you consider its benefits.
Our skin is the largest organ of our body and is constantly renewing itself. The skin performs a variety of functions including: protection, temperature control, excretion & production of vitamin D. In order to perform these functions properly, the skin needs to breathe. Dead skin cells are shed through the process of new skin cell generation. A fair amount of these skin cells will remain on the surface of the skin, whilst some will get washed away. These dead skin cells can clog up the pores and prevent the skin from breathing properly.
Some customers say to me they can’t exfoliate/scrub because they have dry skin but in fact, as I tell them, they most definitely need to exfoliate. There is no point layering on moisturisers if you have dry skin as all you are doing is attempting to hydrate dead skin cells. You need to remove the dead skin cells by exfoliating so you can then moisturise the fresh skin underneath!
Exfoliating helps rejuvenate & smooth the skin. The action of exfoliating helps stimulate new cell production & blood flow so it’s a healthy thing to do for your body! After exfoliating, your moisturiser will be more effective as it will penetrate deeper into the layers of your skin. By exfoliating before shaving, you will be removing all the dead skin cells and therefore will get a much closer shave. It will also help prevent in-growing hairs.
We have many customers who come to us for advice on their problem, spotty skin. Using a facial scrub will help unclog the blocked pores which can lead to blackheads and pimples, when oil becomes trapped beneath the skin surface. I have had reports back of a complete transformation in customers’ skin following use of our facial scrubs. Spots and blackheads have disappeared completely.
I would recommend exfoliating once to twice per week. It is possible to over-exfoliate and cause damage to your skin. We don’t want this to happen! Using an exfoliator/scrub that contains oils is a perfect combination. Whilst you are exfoliating away, you are also massaging in the oils which will be able to reach deeper into your skin and really nourish and feed it. The oils will remain after rinsing the exfoliator and continue to moisturise. There are plenty of nasty-chemical laden scrubs on the market soI urge you to read the labels very carefully (including the ones that make claims of organic or natural as they are not always as pure as they may lead you to believe). Because of the nature of exfoliating, it is important that what you are using to clean out your pores is bad-chemical free as it is reaching deeper into your skin.
When I first launched Heavenly Organics Skin Care, I began with three body scrubs. We now have approximately 100 products but the body scrubs are still my favourite as they genuinely make me feel better, psychologically as well as physically! Some people refer to our range of products are ‘beauty products’. I say they are skincare products, ones which perform a function, it’s not about beauty; it’s about care!
As many of you will be aware, we have very strong beliefs about skin care. We believe our products are unique because we use as few ingredients as we can, organic where possible (if it’s not organic, it’s because it is an ingredient that has not been grown and simply exists, like salt and clay), we never use preservatives. We believe simple is best. Why use ten ingredients when you can use two.
Clever marketing techniques have brainwashed us into believing that for a soap, shower gel or shampoo to work, it MUST foam or lather. WRONG! Foam mainly means skin-irritating chemicals and generally on the high street, you’ll find that equates to sodium lauryl sulphate. Also known as engine degreaser. Still want to wash your hair with engine degreaser?
It’ll take years for the truth to be widely realised but it will happen. People are becoming increasingly aware of the ‘nasties’ that can be found in 95% plus of skincare products. We could easily make a shampoo that could be classed as organic and still foams but we won’t. Why? Because we’d be letting ourselves and you down. We only make products that we believe are truly effective and are made of organic, natural and pure ingredients; and nothing else.
Mother nature provides us with all that we need and soapnuts are one of nature’s best! Without them we doubt we’d have been able to create a shampoo we are so very proud of. Unconventional is definitely the word that describes our new shampoo; a powder that you ‘Just Add Water’ to thereby creating a paste, then massage in and rinse off, just as you normally do. There’s no foam. It’s been described as rubbing sand into your hair BUT it works, it really does! We’ve had excellent feedback so far. The only ‘negative’, if you can call it that, is that some people find the sensation really weird and occasionally off -putting. They still say it leaves their hair soft, clean and shiny!!! So again, convention is to blame!!
Imagine this scenario: you had never used a shampoo before and were given our ‘Just Add Water’ Shampoo and a high street, chemical laden one, both leaving your hair feeling clean. Then you were told, one of these is made by natural, organic ingredients that gently but effectively cleans your hair without stripping away its natural oils and the other contains a main ingredient that can also be used to degrease car engines which is also a known skin irritant (amongst other worrying detrimental effects claimed), which would you choose? Remember, 60% of what you put on your skin gets absorbed into your body.
We know it’s unconventional but we hope that our shampoo will soon be recognised as the way forward in hair care! If we believe something is bad and has a negative effect on your health, we won’t try and sell that very thing to you! We have morals after all! We like to pave new paths and stand out as being different, in a positive way! So, we’ll continue not to conform!
