The Heart of The Matter - Organic Skin Care is Better

Did you know that there is a profound difference between organic, food grade ingredients and cosmetic grade cosmeceuticals?

Organically grown plants and oils, cold processed for food consumption are holistic by nature and their minimal processing allows substance integrity (literally the heart of the matter) to remain intact and vital. These substances nourish and better absorb into the skin because their molecular structure has not been disturbed and hardened through high temperature refining, bleaching, decolorization, standardization, etc. as are many cosmetic grade ingredients. Commercial over-processing of ingredients results in a less expensive, devitalized substance, and though not optimal for the skin, renders a longer shelf life, an essential feature when mass market saturation is the driving force.

Starflower Essentials assures skin vitality and organic beauty. At the heart of Starflower's preparations are rare extracts of organically grow/wild-crafted medicinal plants, food grade plant oils and waxes, flower waters, aloe vera, rare essential oils and a myriad of other special ingredients, chosen for their harmonizing effect on the skin. Each of our ingredients separately, could be considered a "wonder" ingredient, and marketed as the core of a product line. Our formulas are produced in small, frequent bathces to deliver potency and freshness to you, the conscious consumer, whose skin knows and shows the difference! And remember, the most vital skin care in the world is organic and food grade!

*The average shelf life of our products is 1-1/2 years from date of manufacture and a healthy 8 month vitality quotient once the product is opened.

All Natural Fragrances For Your Home

At Starflower, we love the smell of the holiday season and how it can transport us! There are so many scents out there for sale that try and replicate the warmth of the season, but they don't last and most of them contain dangerous hormone-altering chemicals. At Starflower, we are always aware of what goes into the products we buy and how they can impact our health. To avoid nasty chemicals we like to create our own holiday scents using a simmer pot. 

You don't need to go out and buy a simmer pot, although there are some simply gorgeous ones out there, like this lovely one from Claire Burke. If you don't want to spend anything, you can use an older pot on the stove that you don't mind getting messy, an old crockpot, or a ceramic bowl on your radiator (not recommended if you have children in the home). 

There is a lot that you can put into your simmer pot to get that lovely holiday smell to permeate through your house. Most of the ingredients, you will find, you already have in your home. We like to use pine needles from the tree, evergreen sprigs, essential oils, cinnamon sticks, apple rinds, orange rinds and cloves to achieve that warming holiday scent. 

To get your pot together, fill your container of choice about halfway with water. Next add your ingredients and set the temperature on a low setting. Don't let your pot get too hot or it will burn and make not only for nasty clean up, but a bad, lingering smell as well. When your water and ingredients warm up, the scent should start filling your home with warming scent that is sure to make you sigh with content. Be sure to check your simmer pot throughout the day to make sure that your water hasn't evaporated away. 

Simmer pots also make for a wonderful humidifier. The steam that rises from your pot will help rid your home of horrible dryness that comes from the heating of your home through radiators and heaters. 

For more recipes on simmer pots, you can find them here and here. For quality 100% organic essential oils, visit our website. 

Do any of you use simmer pots? Do you have any recipes you would like to share?

Protecting Your Skin from Winter Damage - Starflower Essentials Organic Facial Creams.

With fall and winter setting in our skin is about to take a beating from the elements. As the weather turns colder, we tend to heat our environments through heating systems. Heaters and furnaces take the moisture out of the air and therefore out of your skin.

People with normal skin in the spring and late summer will find that their skin become dehydrated as the season progresses. Others who have oily skin throughout the rest of the year will find that during the colder months, their skin is more manageable as the drier air will help control the moisture and oil on their skin. However, it is important for all skin types to stay hydrated during the fall and winter months. A healthy hydrated body is important for healthy skin, especially during the winter where a cold drink of water is not as appealing as it is in the summer.

At Starflower Essentials Organic Skin Care, we have some amazing skin care products that will keep your skin safe and protected during the fall/winter season.

Starflower's facial creams are formulated for balancing and moisturizing every unique skin type. They have sun-protection properties and organic essential oils to stimulate the skin’s natural functions. Antioxidants and Vitamin E slow free radical-induced deterioration of the skin’s natural fatty acids. Our synergistic formulas encourage harmony and cell regeneration deep within the skin’s layers to aid in anti-aging and elasticity.

Rich emollient oils and waxes provide extra protection for the surface layer of the skin. Starflower's Facial Cremes contain a variety of herbs that are grown biodynamically or wildcrafted from high altitude fields in the rocky mountains of Colorado. This fact ensures a freshness and potency rarely experienced, even in organic skin care. They are available in two varieties, Rose Gold and Lavender Gold, as well as Day Replenish, a healing and moisturizing barrier balm.

Rose Gold Face Creme

Our Rose Gold Face Cream  is a  very special healing day creme, rich in antioxidant protection and vitalizing herbs wild crafted from the Colorado mountains. A super soothing creme, ideal for traumatized skin in special need of repair (post-lazer surgery or chemical peels) and a blessing for dry, winter skin. To reduce extra sheen, Chamomile Face Powder will seal in moisture and provide a smooth matte finish.

Key Ingredients: Organic Cold Pressed Coconut and Virgin Olive Oil; Bio-dynamically Grown and Wild Harvested Herbs of Calendula, Elder, Hollyhock, Rose Petals, Self Heal, Chickweed, Lavender; Organic Vitamin E; Beta Carotene derived from Wild Harvested D. Salina Algae; Organic Essential Oil of Bulgarian Rose.

Lavender Gold Face Creme

Starflower Essentials organic Lavender Gold Face Creme is packed with highly absorbent emollient oils and regenerative herbs provide effective daily moisture protection while stimulating balance and tone.

For normal or dry skin which suffers occasional monthly breakouts.

Key Ingredients: Organic Cold Pressed Coconut and Virgin Olive Oil; Bio-dynamically Grown and Wild Harvested Herbs of Calendula, Elder, Hollyhock, Rose Petals, Self Heal, Chickweed, Lavender; Organic Vitamin E; Beta Carotene derived from Wild Harvested D. Salina Algae; Organic Essential Oil of French Lavender.

Day Replenish Face Moisturizer

Our Day Replenish Face Moisturizer provides excellent barrier protection to face, lips and neck for prevention of fine lines. Excellent for extremely dry skin and/or during dry, cold winter months. Super healing balm from biodynamicall grown and wild crafted herbs. Apply as day moisturizer protection over SkinDance or Nutrient Intensive Moisturizer.

For dry, chapped, fine lines of mature skin. Also very beneficial to inflamed acne, eczema,and psoriasis.

For more information about the effect of the seasons on skin, you can check out this article from Wildcrafted.

The Terrible "Touch-Me-Nots"

What you put on your skin can go into your body to affect your health and sense of well being- either negatively or positively. YOU CAN CHOOSE WHICH, if you know the facts (which the 'cosmetic conspiracy' want to hide from you). As your body's biggest organ, your skin is your most important immune defense barrier as well as your largest organ for eliminating wast. Commercial products with harmful petroleum ingredients can plasticize and 'constipate' your skin, making germs more likely to get in and toxins less likely to get out of your body. The result: Neither you nor your skin are as radiant and healthy as you could be!

Every day we use products that we think are safe; but the truth is that products are NOT always safe - and manufacturer's don't have to tell us so. Ever since 1938 - when the FDA granted self-regulation to the cosmetics industry - such products can be marketed without government approval of ingredients, regardless of what tests show. Most of the 2,000 chemicals used have not been tested for long-term toxic effects. In a typical day, you might be exposed to over 200 different chemicals, many of which are suspected of causing cancer or juggling hormones. EPA tests conclude that ingredients in shampoos, dyes, and other personal care products 'may be playing havoc with hormones that control reproduction and development'.

START CHECKING ALL PRODUCT LABELS:

Avoid these harmful, hazardous "touch me not" ingredients!

Alcohol, Isopropyl (SD-40): A very drying and irritating solvent and dehydrator that strips your skin's moisture and natural immune barrier, making you more vulnerable to bacteria, molds and viruses. It is made from propylene, a petroleum derivative and is found in many skin and hair products, fragrance as well as shellac and antifreeze. It can act as a 'carrier' accelerating the penetration of other harmful chemicals into your skin. It may promote brown spots and premature aging of the skin. A Consumer's Dictionary of Cosmetic ingredients says it may cause headaches, flushing, dizziness, mental depression, nausea, vomiting, narcosis, anesthesia, and coma. Fatal ingested dose is one ounce or less.

DEA (diethanolamine), MEA (monoethanolamine), and TEA (triethanolamine): Hormone disrupting chemicals that can form cancer-causing nitrates and nitrosamines. Already restricted in Europe due to known carcinogenic effects, but Americans may be exposed 10-20 times per day! Used to create 'foam' in products like shampoo, shaving creams, and bubble bath, Dr. Samuel Epstein (Professor of Environmental Health at the University of Illinois) says that repeated skin applications of DEA-based detergents resulted in a major increase in the incidence of liver and kidney cancer. The FDA's John Bailey says this is especially important since 'the risk equation changes significantly for children'.

DMDM Hydantoin & Urea (Imidazolidinyl): Just two of many preservatives that often release formaldehyde which may cause joint pain, skin reactions, allergies, depression, headaches, chest pains, ear infections, chronic fatigue, dizziness and loss of sleep. Exposure may also irritate the respiratory system, trigger heart palpitations or asthma, and aggravate cough and colds. Other possible side effects include weakening the immune system and cancer.

FD&C (Color Pigments): Synthetic colors made from coal tar, containing heavy metal salts that deposit toxins onto the skin, causing skin sensitivity and irritation. Absorption of certain colors can cause depletion of oxygen in the body and death. Animal studies have shown almost all of them to carcinogenic.

Fragrances: Mostly synthetic ingredients, often containing animal urine or feces! Fragrance on a label can indicate the presence of up to four thousand separate ingredients, many toxic or carcinogenic. Symptoms reported to the FDA include headaches, dizziness, allergic rashes, skin discoloration, violent coughing, vomiting and skin irritation. Clinical observation proves fragrances can affect the central nervous system, causing depression, hyperactivity, irritability, inability to cope and other behavioral changes.

Mineral Oil: Petroleum by-product that coats the skin like plastic, clogging the pores. Interferes with skin's ability to eliminate toxins, promoting acne and other disorders. Slows down skin function and cell development, resulting in premature aging. Used in many products (baby oil is 100% mineral oil!).

Polyethylene glycol (PEG): Potentially carcinogenic petroleum ingredient that can alter and reduce the skin's natural moisture factor. This could increase the appearance of aging and leave you more vulnerable to bacteria. Used in cleansers to dissolve oil and grease. It adjusts the melting point and thickens products. Also used in caustic spray on oven cleaners.

Propylene Glycol (PG) and Butylene Glycol: Petroleum plastics which act as 'surfactants' (wetting agents and solvents). They easily penetrate the skin and can weaken protein and cellular structure. The active ingredient in antifreeze, PG is strong enough to remove barnacles from boats! The EPA considers PG so toxic that it requires workers to wear protective gloves, clothing and goggles and to dispose of any PG solutions by burying in the ground. Because PG penetrates the skin so quickly, the EPA warns against skin contact to prevent consequences such as brain, liver and kidney abnormalities. But, there isn't even a warning label on products such as stick deodorants, where the concentration is greater than in most industrial applications.

Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) & Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES): Detergents and surfactants that [pose serious health threats. Used in car washes. garage floor cleaners and engine degreasers - and in 90% of personal care products that foam. Animals exposed to SLS experience eye damage, depression, labored breathing, severe skin irritation and even death. Young eyes may not develop properly if exposed to SLS because proteins are dissolved. SLS may also damage the skin's immune system by causing layers to separate and inflame. When combined with other chemicals, SLS can be transformed into nitrosamines, a potent class of carcinogens. Your body may retain the SLS for up to five days, during which time it may enter and maintain residual levels in the heart, liver, the lungs and the brain.

Triclosan (synthetic antibacterial ingredient) - With a chemical structure similar to Agent Orange! The EPA registers it as a pesticide, giving it high scores as a risk to both human health and the enviornment. It is classified as a chlorophenol, a class of chemicals suspected of causing cancer in humans.It's manufacturing process may produce dioxin, a powerful hormone-disrupting chemical with toxic effects measured in the carts per trillion - that is only ONE drop in 300 Olympic-size swimming pools! Hormone disruptors pose enormous long term chronic health risks by interfering with the way hormones temporarily de-activate sensory nerve endings, so contact with it often causes little or no pain. Internally, it can lead to cold sweats, circulatory collapse and convulsions. Stored in body fat, it can accumulate to toxic levels, damagin the liver, kidneys and lungs and can cause paralysis, suppression of immune function, brain hemorrhages and heart problems. Tufts University School of Medicine says that triclosan is capable of forcing the emergence of 'super bugs' that it cannot kill. Its widespread use in popular antibacterial cleansers, toothpastes and hosehold products may have nightmare implications for your future.

Educate yourself on what you are putting on your skin and letting absorb into your blood stream. At Starflower Essentials, we will always share the ingredients that go into our organic skin care products.