“I have to be careful what touches my skin.  I am so sensitive.”  I hear this lament fairly often.  If this is a song you sing, you may actually be the lucky one.   Yes, it may be frustrating that every cream or lotion you try is irritating.   Every time you apply a sunscreen your skin screams.  Every time you try the soaps in commercial places your hands rebel.  Perhaps you have inherited this tendency from poor Aunt Nona who forever complained.  Perhaps your father always suffered with eczema, like you do now, and you figure it is in…

“Have you ever heard of ‘Devil’s Itch'?" the phone-in customer asks. “No, but I am looking it up as we speak.” I scan the horrors of ‘skin on fire’. “It happened to me”, she continues.  “I had sunburn and the itching started after I showered.  It felt like ants crawling inside me.  It was a hell.  I called to tell you that your zinc oxide saved me.  Nothing else worked.  Any cream or lotion I applied made it worse.  Yet your zinc worked.”   This phone conversation surfaces in my mind several months later in Prince George, BC.  A beautiful…

While surfing for winter tips, I found some interesting suggestions.  While I did not agree with everything said, (some of the recommended moisturizers would do just the opposite), I liked the main tip categories and decided to share some with you. When appropriate, I suggest some Earth to Body products to help. 1. Stay cozy but at a comfortable temperature:  Too warm a room will dry you out.  Our soy candles can help provide a calming Zen atmosphere but moisturize at the same time.   Don’t hesitate to use a humidifier if you have one.  Or take a nice Dead Sea…

10% off on all candles from now until Dec 25th while supplies last. The Western world based cultures sometimes refer to the ‘solstice’ holiday as ‘Christmas’, the date settling on December 25th.  There are many theories as to the date, one of course, being the birth of Christ. This day is now celebrated worldwide. The Winter Solstice is the day of the shortest time between the sun rising and the sun setting. This year, 2016, the solstice is on December 21st. Many holiday customs are borrowed from the solstice.  Most of us take these traditions for granted, not…

Amla (emblica officinalis), Amalaki, Indian gooseberry.  In autumn, in wet forested hilly areas of India’s subcontinent, the amla or gooseberry fruit ripens.  Sacred to India, sour in taste, sumptuous to eat.  In many countries, food good to eat is also food good for the skin. Canada is listening. I am very conscious of what feeds my skin.  We started Earth to Body 15 years ago, due to an illness that stripped me of my job and much of my life at the time. But it was also the start of a new journey.  My healing research, introduced me to the amla tree.  …

Halloween is here.  Party weekend.  Dress up.  Monday night ‘trick or treat’.  The fun begins. Whether you read this now or later in the week, whether you actually do dress up, paint your face, become someone or something on Halloween, this article applies to all of us, all year long.  All the time. We use cosmetic products on our bodies, daily.  Halloween merely requires excess.  Our concern is to avoid the toxins as much as possible.  A few years ago I wrote this poem, ‘The Trust and The Truth’.  Our customers loved it and I thought I would share…

Halloween is just around the corner.  Let the fun begin.  Surveys show that for many, Halloween is a favourite time of the year and if you google why you will find the answers. We can be gluttons.We can decorate our homes for fun and inexpensively. We can let our kids talk to strangers.  Within earshot of course.We can listen to music favs like, Monster Mash, Ghostbusters’s, Thriller.We can revisit movies like Psycho, The Exorcist, The OmenWe can party without fear…by morphing into whomever we like.  Outside the box. We can win Best Costume. We can carve a…

How are your feet?   Last spring, I wrote 'Your Neem Footprint' discussing neem* and feet.  People were thinking about wearing sandals and were concerned about the condition of their feet. The calluses, the toenail fungus, the itchiness, the cracked heels.  It is time to revisit this issue.  We tend to neglect our feet, especially in the winter months when they are under cover.  Need I remind you?  Winter is here.  Start using neem throughout the winter months so that by spring your feet will be presentable and sandal worthy.   And…