Online Goddess

A few days ago, I was pleasantly surprised to find a comment from Helen James, the Founder of Innocent Oils, on my post regarding shopping for skincare products.

Innocent Oils is a natural skincare company based in the UK, specialising in hemp seed oil products, which has gone from strength to strength since its inception 2 and a half years ago.

I thought it would be fascinating to learn about the inner workings of such a company and so Helen very kindly agreed to answer a few questions for the readers of Online Goddess:
Read the rest of this entry »

A little background before I detail all the drama - a few days ago I learned about the Oil Cleansing Method (OCM) thanks to Fran over at High On Health, an interesting (and simple) way of cleansing the skin by using certain oils to counteract and breakdown the existing oil that clogs up pores. I’m surprised I’ve never heard of it before, especially as it has quite a good following and the majority of users find it works extremely well. I’ll be going into more detail on this in a future post.

The key ingredient is castor oil, a basic and cheap product which has been used topically and internally for all sorts of ailments over the years. So yesterday, I headed down to a nearby pharmacy to grab a bottle and try it out. Except they didn’t have any, and they’ve never stocked it in the past.

Undeterred, I decided to stop off at Tesco’s on the way home. They didn’t have any either – not in the cooking oils section or the pharmacy. The lady behind the counter wanted to sell me a zinc and castor oil cream instead, until I explained what it was for.

At this point, I started wondering what was going on. How is it that a large, modern pharmacy and a national supermarket don’t have this most basic item? Perhaps it was just a coincidence, so I had a look in my local Sainsbury’s too. Nope, nothing there either.

It was a little after 6pm, so too late to check any other pharmacies. I went back home and did a little research and discovered that castor oil is often taken by pregnant women wanting to induce labour. As this practice is questionable, it seems that stores don’t like to sell it.

There are two other supermarkets in my area, and I was getting more and more determined to find the darn oil, so I decided to check them out just in case. Nope, that’s Asda and Morrisons off the list as well.

Today, I got my husband to ring around a few pharmacies (I asked him to do it in case they assumed I was pregnant). He called five places in total – three independant stores and two national chain stores (Superdrug and Boots) and nobody had any. However, there is some good news – Boots have arranged to order some in and it should be ready for collection tomorrow.

Interestingly, one of the pharmacies we contacted said that castor oil isn’t readily available because no one currently holds the licence to distribute it in this country. I find that rather strange, especially as Boots are able to get some, but it would certainly explain things.

The other alternative is to buy online, Googling castor oil brings up several UK-based companies selling it in sizes from 50ml to 1 litre. Assuming I like the OCM, I think that’s how I’ll be buying my castor oil from now on. 

Update: My husband works for the NHS, so I asked him to look for castor oil in the British National Formulary (BNF) – this is the official guide to all licensed medications in the UK for health professionals. It seems that it was once available as a laxative, but has been replaced with other products and is now considered obsolete. Amazing, eh? He also nipped into Boots this afternoon and one of the bottles we’d ordered had come in – I say only one as that’s all their supplier had. Looks like I’ll definitely have to order online if I stick with the OCM…..

It’s rapidly approaching the time of the month I fondly know as payday and therefore it’s time to think about what I’ll be buying for my skin. I tend to spend the whole month beforehand researching products and discovering new things to try, then gradually make a final list. Even that is subject to change at the last minute as I have a (bad) habit of impulse buying.

This month, I’m going to ease up on those impulses and try to be more practical. Over the last year, I’ve amassed a lot of products, all of them lovely, but many not suitable for me. I’ve tried to use them in whatever way I can, but I’m realising that it’s just not good for me – if something doesn’t work, I can’t force it to.

To help me let go, I’ve decided to pass on a few things to my mum. I was intending to buy her a nice moisturiser for Mother’s Day on March 2nd, but instead I’m going to give her a few creams that I haven’t been able to use, including my Mother Earth Orange Flower Moisturiser. I’ve only ever used them after thoroughly cleaning my hands, so I’m not worried about them being secondhand. And if she doesn’t like any of them, then I’ll buy her something new instead, no biggie.

As for what I’m going to buy for myself, I’m being very strict. I’ve decided to go for Anita Grant’s Camellia Copaiba Bath & Body Oil and another of her lip butters (a girl can’t have too many of those ;) ) I think the lemon one sounds nice. I have also sent her an email today asking if the plain Camellia Kissi or the plain Copaiba Balsam would be better suited to my skin, so it’s possible my choice may change. But ultimately, I am only going to be buying the one oil.

I also need to put in an order at Pure Skincare for some more Liquid Black Soap as I’ve managed to use over half the bottle this month, and a refill for my Angel Face Scrub. I’m also debating trying a new (and cheaper) shampoo now that my dandruff has cleared up. If my mum doesn’t like the moisturisers I give her, I will need to buy her something as well.

I’ve decided to ditch the Coconut and Rosewood dry oil (at least for the time being) as I keep breaking out shortly after I use it. I initially read that coconut oil can cause breakouts when newly introduced, but that it’s due to toxins being brought to the surface and should subside within a few days. I guess I’m just a little nervous, especially as the author of the aforementioned post wrote a few days later that things actually seemed to get worse and so she scrapped it. I’ve decided to go with the Camellia and Copaiba Bath & Body Oil instead, which hasn’t caused any breakouts so far and smells fantastic.

I’ve also adjusted my stretchmark routine. Basically, I was getting annoyed at how greasy the Monoi Oil and the Whipped Butter were leaving my legs, so I’m solely using the Camellia and Copaiba Oil for that as well. There’s been no obvious improvement in my stretchmarks, but it’s only been a few days and the general opinion is that it takes months of daily use before scars are visibly reduced. I’m not really bothered by how long it takes, I just wish I knew for certain that it will work for me. Nothing is more disheartening than spending a lot of time and money on something only to find it didn’t do any good.

Oh, one final thing. I’m sad to say that I won’t be using the Whipped Butter in my hair either. I used a tiny amount yesterday and, though it did leave my hair luxuriously soft and smoothed out my split ends (briefly), it also left an oily sheen and needed washing again within a couple of hours.   

On my About page, I wrote that I’ve spent most of my life believing I have dry skin, but now realise that I actually have oily skin. How could I have made such a seemingly obvious mistake?

Like most people, I had a flawless complexion until puberty was in full swing at about age 12. I actually started my period when I was 9, but luckily the skin problems didn’t emerge until later. Anyway, I had spots, as most teens do, but what really concerned me was the development of a flaky red rash on my chest. After seeing my (unsympathetic) GP several times and many months of waiting, I was finally able to see a specialist at the hospital. He diagnosed me with eczema and sent me away with a big tub of aqueous cream and a topical corticosteroid. The aqueous cream wasn’t very pleasant to use, but I did find the corticosteroid helped the rash. During a flare-up, I could apply it before bed and the rash was either gone or significantly toned down by morning.

Unfortunately, as I hit my mid-teens and beyond, the rash began to extend to my face, mainly around my cheeks and I developed a general redness that looked as if I’d been rubbing my face vigorously. I couldn’t apply the corticosteroid there as my GP had warned me not to and I didn’t dare leave the house without a thick coating of foundation to cover it. To top it all off, my acne was as bad as ever. I also had dreadful dandruff which made me incredibly self-conscious, especially as my school uniform was largely black. I was thoroughly miserable and suffered from depression as a result.

During my early twenties, I read about corticosteroids online and realised – with horror – that long-term use can cause the skin to thin. I instantly decided to discontinue use and find some other solution to my problem. At that point, the rash on my chest wasn’t as bad as it had been during my teens, so I didn’t feel too insecure without my safety net. My face, however, was another story. I tried all sorts of acne creams, but most made the condition worse. Then I happened to come across a soap made by Palmolive containing starflower oil. It was amazing. After only a few uses, the reddening on my cheeks had lessened considerably and the acne was so much better.

As my luck turns out, Palmolive discontinued the soap within a couple of years. I tried an evening primrose one instead, which was still helpful but not as good as the starflower. I continued this way until early 2007, when my rash decided to make an aggressive re-appearance. I gave the corticosteroid another try and was shocked to find that it no longer worked! I trotted back to the GP who this time said I had a fungal infection. Though I agreed with him that it looked like one, I wasn’t convinced as this was the same rash I’d been suffering from all along, just much worse than usual. He gave me a topical antifungal, which made the rash go bright red, itchy and inflamed!

My dandruff was an equally hopeless situation, I’d been using medicated shampoos over the years which never worked. Head & Shoulders – the favourite anti-dandruff shampoo of many – only made me itchier and flakier. The nearest thing to relief I got was Nizoral shampoo, but it’s incredibly expensive and didn’t come close to eliminating the problem.

At this point, I decided that conventional skincare just wasn’t helping. I was doing a lot of research online about chemicals and skin irritants and this is when I found out about SLS/SLES and parabens and how much damage they can cause. I decided to try cutting all these nasty chemicals out of my skincare routine and this is when I began to realise that my skin wasn’t actually dry. I was buying virgin cocoa butters and shea butters and finding that they left my skin soft, but way too greasy. Reading online reviews and forums revealed that people with dry skin found these products nourishing and could slather them on without any problems.

Reading further on acne, blemished skin and dandruff, I began to see that these conditions are often caused by an over-production of sebum. The seemingly dry and flaky patches on my skin and scalp were actually a build-up of dead skin, not lack of moisture. All these years I had been compounding the situation, not making it better!

Though I have only been aware of my true skin type for about 9 months, I have already seen massive improvements from using the right products. The rash on my chest is all but gone and I no longer suffer from redness and blemishes on my face. I’ve recently found an amazing (and simple!) treatment for my dandruff. I’m still battling the acne, though I am making progress and it does take time to see results. Most importantly, I now feel confident that these problems will someday go away.

So that’s it, in a slightly long-winded nutshell. It really is important to know your skintype before you attempt to treat any problems. Don’t assume that the medical professionals always get it right. Do your research and talk to others. After all, nobody can know your skin better than you do.

A few days ago, I read this article and decided to try a simplified version of the vinegar rinse recipe. I didn’t have any rosebuds or honey, so it was plain apple cider vinegar and water. I did add some ylang-ylang essential oil that I had knocking around, however, as it’s good for oily skin and would hopefully balance out the yucky vinegar odour. For those interested in trying this, I used 100ml of vinegar to 900ml of water, with 5 drops of ylang-ylang.

Well, I’ve used the recipe 3 times now and I am extremely proud to say that my dandruff appears to have completely vanished! It was actually gone from the very first wash, but I didn’t dare say anything then in case I was just having a good day. I’ve had my husband take a thorough look at my scalp every day and there’s no trace of redness or flaking at all. 

I use it as a pre-rinse - basically I pour it all over my scalp, give it a bit of a massage and then leave in for a couple of minutes. Then I rinse it out and apply shampoo as normal. My hair still smells faintly of vinegar after the final rinse, so I’m going to try halving the vinegar content in my next few washes.

I’ve never tried anything like this before and it never even occured to me to do so as I’ve used shampoos containing apple cider vinegar without success. I guess they just didn’t contain enough of it to have an effect.

Fingers crossed that it continues to work!

I was googling info on stretchmarks the other day and was quite surprised to learn that oily-skinned people don’t get them very often. Because the skin is more elastic and supple, it’s harder for scar tissue to form – so it’s just my luck that I’m one of the minority that do get them and I guess that’s down to genetics. They first appeared on the backs of my legs during my teens and I also have a few on my hips and upper thighs, some at the top of my bum and the odd barely-visible one on the sides of my breasts.

So, what can I do to get rid of or minimise them? Well, I’m currently trying a mixed regime of products and yes, it’s those Anita Grant ones again, I told you I’d find some use for them. :D Anyway, I’m applying the products as follows, twice daily:

Monoi de Tahiti Oil: This goes on the back of my legs. I’m hoping the high content of coconut oil will have a positive effect. It’s the greasiest solution I’m using, but it does smell fabulous.

Ylang-Ylang & Cedarwood Whipped Butter: This is the one I expect to have the greatest effect, containing a more traditional stretchmark remedy of shea butter and cupuaçu butter (a member of the cocoa butter family). I’m using it on my hips and thighs and though it’s a little greasy to start, it absorbs quite quickly and leaves the skin nice and soft. I’m rather partial to ylang-ylang as well and it’s very easy to apply over a wide area.

Camellia Copaiba Bath & Body Oil: Finally, this goes on my chest. It’s the least greasy of the three and instantly leaves a velvety feel. The woody aroma is gorgeous. The ingredients are a little more exotic, camellia kissi is purported to be very good at treating stretchmarks. Anita does a pure Camellia Kissi oil as well, but I went for this one because the copaiba balances out oily skin, which often causes blemishes and pimples on my chest. May as well kill two birds with one stone as they say.

I’ll post the results at a later date. Although I only have sample bottles, they are going to last me a long time by the looks of things.

Last night, I decided to try a little experiment which didn’t turn out so well. I’ve been desperately wanting to use those lovely butters I bought from Anita Grant, but they’re not really meant for my hair type. Regardless, I thought I’d work a teeny bit of the Monoi de Tahiti into my damp hair after bathing. At first it seemed really nice - the butter melted in well and smelled absolutely gorgeous. But as it dried, I realised it was quite heavy and more than a little stringy and greasy. Eeeek!

After much furious brushing and confirmation from my husband that I looked like a wet dog, I decided to give it another thorough rinse. That still didn’t do the trick, but by then it was late and I needed to go to bed. This morning, I shampooed and used a vinegar rinse and it looks better again.

Moral of the story: no matter how much you like the look of a product that isn’t intended for your skin/hair type, no amount of wishful thinking will make it work. That said, I am going to find a use for these butters, and thus an excuse to buy more. Mwahahah!

UPDATE: I’m actually going to give this another try soon, as the cause seems to have been the shampoo I was using, not the butter. I didn’t realise this at first as when I did the repeat shampoo, the problem didn’t occur again - I must have rinsed it out more thoroughly that time. However, I used the same shampoo again last night, minus the butter, and the wet dog look is back! The shampoo in question is Akamuti’s Liquid Black Soap, which I posted my review of last night and have adjusted slightly. The problem is that it doesn’t lather well in hair, so I feel as though I’ve not put enough in and pile on loads more. I won’t be making that mistake again.

A quick post to say my samples from Anita Grant arrived this morning, just as promised! I rushed out of bed to open the package and spent the next 20 minutes ooh-ing and ahh-ing at the contents. There’s no doubt I’m going to be putting in an order for some full-size products very soon.

One of the lip butters is now permanantly installed in my handbag and the other by my bed (I often wake in the night with dry lips). Although I’ve only used them for a few hours, I’m thinking of featuring them in my next review which I will put together shortly. In total, I bought the two lippys, some monoi de tahiti oil and butter, ylang-ylang and cedarwood butter, a camellia copaiba bath & body oil and a gorgeous coconut and rosewood dry oil. Fabulous stuff! 

So I was just searching on google for similiar sites, when I discovered a UK-based skincare company that I’ve not seen before. Anita Grant seems to sell goodies that are right up my street and at reasonable prices too. I’ve just perused the whole site and noted a few things I’d love to try, so will probably put in an order this evening. I love that they have sample sizes - this is something I believe every company should offer. There have been many times I’ve wanted to try something expensive, but was concerned about wasting my money if I didn’t like it. Natural products often don’t come cheap and offering samples and trial sizes is a great way to help potential customers take the plunge. 

Anyway, I’ll be sure to post about my experiences with the products after I’ve had a few days to play with them. :)

UPDATE: I’ve just placed my order, which should arrive on Wednesday. Had to juggle around with some of the items I wanted in order to get Special Delivery postage – my impatience knows no bounds! :D I ordered some lovely looking oils and butters and a couple of lip balms, I’m really looking forward to trying them out.