Skin Care by BB*Jayde and The Everyday Diva

To my Pregnant Divas... PLEASE be careful this summer!

2010-06-17T00:19:00.000-07:00

It's finally summer time... Everyone has been waiting for some well deserved va-cay time.
Some will be going to the beach, some camping in the mountains.. some to the awesome cabanas in Mexico with the swim up bars *coughtGina&MaryBcough*

Whatever you plan to do this summer.. have fun by all means. BUT if you're pregnant... you may want to reconsider your trip.. especially if it's farther than an hour away.

Our niece Desiree, some of you know and have dealt with her when we had Paypal yet.. is 31 weeks pregnant.
She was taken to the hospital via ambulance last night around 9pm because she's been having horrible leg pain (and swelling) She first went to the ER on Tuesday morning, but they sent her home and told her the baby was laying on her sciatic nerve... Well, she went back yesterday morning and was there all day... then we get the call around 8:30pm that we need to go over there to pick up Steve (her partner) to take him to Allentown (bigger hospital) because they are sending her down via ambulance to another hospital and he can't ride along. She went on to tell us that the swelling and pain in her leg was due to a huuuuugh blood clot. But, not just ANY blood clot, but a "bunch" (more than 60) of blood clots that have formed a huge mass in her leg and has now traveled up her thigh. It's so big that they can't see the whole thing on an ultrasound. They can see where it begins, but they can't see where it ends.

As of tonight she (and the baby) are stable, but she's in a ton of pain. She's on some pretty heft pain killers that should have knocked her out, but she's still wide away screaming in pain and obviously extremely scared (she's only 19) We have no idea WHAT is gonna happen :(
They've given her some Heparin.. I read online that it'll dissolve the clot, but the doctor said it will not, it'll only keep new ones from forming, I guess the game plan is to just monitor her, monitor the baby and make sure this clot doesn't break apart and travel up to her heart or lungs... and if it does, they're gonna hurry up and take the baby and then work on the clot/s.

The moral of the story is.... The doctor is suspecting that the clot/s formed last week when she was sitting in a car for 4 + hours when she was on her way to the beach with her friends in Maryland.
I never once considered that or even thought anything of it at the time...
It's strongly advised that pregos do NOT fly or sit for long car rides because of the possibility of a blood clot forming. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE reschedule your vacations.. or maybe book one closer to home.
I hope to God nobody else ever has to go thru this. I'm scared to the point that I'm sick.. I couldn't imagine what a 19 year old (prego with her first baby) must feel like... in the hospital knowing that at any second this could kill her and/or her baby... and there's absolutely NOTHING they can do. The doctor said her body might fight it.. I can see maybe if it were ONE clot.. but not a huge mass that can't even be detected in it's entirety on an ultrasound because it's so huge!
What's even worse is there is absolutely NOTHING we can do but wait and hope that the clots don't move... or the baby hurries his lil butt up and matures so they can get him out and get this taken care of.

So, once again... please! Be extremely careful.. stop every half hour- hour and walk a little.. or massage your legs.. something! Don't let this happen to you!

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UPDATE
Desi is home! She still has the massive clot and is still having a hard time getting around, but she's being monitored and on Heparin 3x a day. She only has a couple weeks left so hopefully they'll fly by.

Thank you for all the prayers!

Here she is visiting with BB the weekend before she left.

Hidradenitis Suppurativa,

2010-06-14T19:06:00.000-07:00

HS is also known as 'Acne Inversa.' HS is a non-contagious, recurrent skin disease usually found in inverse areas of the body, or those places where there is skin-to-skin contact (armpits, groin, breasts, buttocks, etc.) and around hair follicles where apocrine sweat glands are located. HS is characterized by a progression from boil-like, cyst-type or abscess-like lesions to non-inflamed, hard lumps to painful, rounded deep-seated inflamed lesions with subsequent scarring and chronic seepage (suppuration --- hence the name).

These hard lumps occur under the skin and may be as large as baseballs in some people. They are very painful to the touch and may persist for years with occasional to frequent periods of inflammation. Inflamed lumps lead to extensive draining and the development of sinus tracts, or tunnels under the skin, which heal slowly or not at all and can lead to further inflammation and lumps; bacterial infections are possible at these sites. The HS sites can be painful and the pain can occur 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for HS sufferers during flareups. The sites can have drainage, which may have a foul odor.

The pain, the drainage and the odor can often limit activities and cause depression so that people often do not or cannot work, or even go out in public. Most often, HS goes undiagnosed or misdiagnosed for years. The patient ends up in a very expensive and exhausting futile search for help. So not only is the patient dealing with a painful problem – they are following a trail of useless treatments. The pain pushes the patient to seek relief, only to be met with failure. The stress from the building sense of hopelessness – exacerbating the pain, depleting funds and ultimately can result in depression. In addition to depression, there are many other physical and psychological impacts and effects HS can have on a person.

There is currently no successful treatment or research for HS
For more information go to :
http://www.hs-usa.org

Attention all you creative people!

2010-05-18T22:59:00.000-07:00

I've been debating this contest for a while now.. I think I'm going to take the plunge :)

Everyday Diva needs YOU and your creativity!

I know there's lot of it out there! I am looking for some designs to have printed on T-Shirts.

They can be anything from an image.. so just plain text... or a combo of both.... Anything catchy :)

These T-Shirts will be sold, with 100% of the proceeds going towards charities.

Designs should:

Not include any copyrighted or trademarked material

Reflect our company and have a diva-esque feel to them. What would a diva want to wear?

Include our URL somewhere - www.everydaydiva.net

Here is some info to help, but doesn't necessarily have to contain any of this

Our Color Scheme : pink, white & black

Fonts used on labels: Scriptina & AR Bonnie

Entries can be submitted to: everyday_diva@hotmail.com until July 30th and should be submitted as a high resolution image in any image format (jpg, gif, tiff etc.)

We will select 2 of our favorite designs to use (designs become property of BBJAYDE LLC.)

and will make them all available for everyone to vote for as well :)

Prizes:

1st place: $100.00 plus a $50.00 Gift Certificate to Everyday Diva + Advertising (if applicable)

2nd place: $50.00 plus a $50.00 Gift Certificate to Everyday Diva + Advertising

If you have any questions, feel free to ask! I can't wait to see what you all come up with :)

The Everyday Diva Fragrance Guide

2010-05-17T04:51:00.000-07:00

Overwhelmed at the looooong list of scent to choose from? Not sure which ones you'd like.. or maybe you're sensitive to fragrance and are afraid of having a reaction?

I'll break it down for you :)

Current list of available scents

♥ Amazing Grace* (Philosophy Fragrance Oil)
♥ Aloe & Green Tea
♥ Apricot & Chamomile
♥ Baby Scent
♥ Baby Buttermilk (Burt's Bees - vanilla, peach, violet)
♥ Bay Rum (Smells like Old Spice)
♥ Blush Blossoms- (DKNY Fresh Blossoms Type Fragrance Oil)
♥ Bergamot Coriander
♥ Black Amber Musk
♥ Blue Raspberry Cotton Candy* ( Fragrance Oil )
♥ Chamomile
♥ Chamomile & Neroli
♥ Chocolate Indulgence
♥ Coconut Lime Verbena
♥ Cool Water* ( Men's Fragrance Oil)
♥ Coconut Cream
♥ Cucumber Melon
♥ Drakkar Noir (Men's Fragrance Oil)
♥ Enchanted Orchid
♥ Fresh Bamboo
♥ Fresh Ginger Lime
♥ Fresh Lavender
♥ Forbidden Indulgence (exotic fruits & florals)
♥ Grapefruit Citrus
♥ Honey Almond
♥ Hawaiian Tropic
♥ Juicy Watermelon
♥ Lime Cooler
♥ Lemon Sugar
♥ Lemongrass Sage
♥ Lovespell* (Victoria's Secret Fragrance Oil)
♥ Madagascar (Vanilla & Ylang Ylang Essential oils)
♥ Oatmeal, Milk & Honey
♥ Orange Cinnamon Clove
♥ Pink Hibiscus
♥ Pomegranate Sage
♥ Raspberry Lemonade
♥ Sandalwood Rose
♥ Strawberry Patch
♥ Sweet Pea
♥ Strawberries & Champagne
♥ Chocolate Cherries
♥ Patchouli
♥ Vanilla
♥ Vanilla Pear
♥ Sea Island Cotton
♥ Cinnamon & Clove Buds
♥ Apple Jack & Orange Peel
♥ Appleberry Spice
♥ Blueberry Cobbler
♥ Candy Kisses (smells like candy..?)
♥ Spiced Pear
♥ Jamaican Sunset
♥ Fresh Lilac
♥ White Tea & Ginger
♥ Rosemary Mint
♥ Pina Colada
♥ Peony
♥ Rice Flower & Shea* (BBW Fragrance Oil - Reminds me of a sweeter version of Baby Buttermilk)
♥ Tahitian Tiare (exotic gardenia type of scent)
♥ Stress Relief (essences of: lavender, clary sage, juniperberry, laurel leaf, coriander, mandarin, amber, sandalwood, jasmine, clove)

♥ Bergamot
♥ Jasmine
♥ Peach Blossom
♥ Plumeria
♥ Mandarin
♥ Mother Earth (spicy incense type scent)
♥ Oak Moss
♥ Orange Blossom
♥ Tangerine
♥ Waterlilly Jasmine
♥ Vanilla Lavender
♥ Honeysuckle
♥ Tahiti Tropic (mango & papaya)
♥ Peppermint
♥ Nag Champa
♥ Atlantis (a "blue" ocean-ey/Caribean type scent"
♥ Euphoria (Jasmine, Sandalwood & Rose essential oil blend)
♥ Zodiac Scents

With the exception of those marked as fragrance oils, a majority of these fragrances are naturally derived petrol & phalate free fragrance oils in a coconut oil base or they are essential oils.. These are typically safe for every skin type and are 100% natural. This doesn't mean that they may not cause a reaction to those with sensitive skin.. We'll get into that further down. Let's talk about fragrance selection.

Fragrances are usually a combo of a couple different "notes" You can view the different types and their class HERE But first, let's dissect my list of scents and categorize them. Some scents may appear in more than one category.

Perfum-ey type scents (mainly floral)

If you like one of these scents, then you will like them all

Amazing Grace

Mandarin orange, grapefruit and bergamot; middle notes are freesia,

jasmine and rose; base notes are and musk.

Blush Blossoms (DKNY Fresh Blossoms)

Grapefruit combined with French black currant buds.

Peach zest, floral accords of lily of the valley,

rose, jasmine and a hint of apple.

Love Spell (VS)

Peach, cherry blossom and white jasmine

Pink Sugar

This is probably one of the top selling scents. I love it blended with Warm Vanilla Sugar & Coconut Cream

Bergamot, Sicilian orange and green nuance of fig leaves.

In the heart, a thin lily of the valley note enjoys the company of liquorice blossom and red fruits.

The gourmand drydown is composed of vanilla, caramel, woodsy and musky notes

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Fresh Scents

This category has sub categories.

If you like "white or blue" scents that are crisp and fresh

Sea Island Cotton - LOVE this one! But, I don't recommend it for those with allergies/sensitivities or extremely sensitive skin because it may not agree with you. I've gotten a little rash every time I've used it, but then again I also went a little overboard with the scent.

Pear leaf, bloody orange, tangerine, clear floral accords, cotton aroma, a breeze of fresh air, green pear and tangerine. The heart is composed of lily-of-the-valley, orange blossom, water cyclamen, cotton blossom, freesia and jasmine, while the base contains white musk, powder, sandalwood and vanilla.

Bay Rum Fragrance Oil : ozone, jasmine, muguet, lemon and rum. Mid notes of pungent floral, lilac, rose, carnation, lavender, cedar wood and balsam. Patchouli and vanilla

Bay Rum Essential Oil: Lavender, cedar, cypress, bergamot, balsam patchouli

White Tea & Ginger : This is more of a clean cotton scent. Notes are: white tea blends well with clean florals and spicy ginger.

Cool Water (men's) citrus, floral and herbaceous notes. Bergamot, fresh lime, orange and lemon top notes. Middle notes consist of sage, muguet, lilac and a lingering lavender. The base notes are classic jasmine with the depth of patchouli, amber and musk.

White Water Rapids: To make this fragrance, I've blended White Tea & Sea Island Cotton. It's a zesty scent that's really fresh.. like a rush of white water.

Atlantis: This is a cross between Bay Rum and Sea Island Cotton

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Fresh "Green" scents

Coconut Lime Verbena: Zesty citrus meets fresh eucalyptus and sweet coconut. Top notes of sparkling lemon, lime and grapefruit. Mid notes of jasmine, eucalyptus and a ripe peach that meld into a coconut musk base

Bamboo: Very pretty and light, fresh scent. One of my favorites! Golden Bamboo, Night blooming Jasmine & Fresh Grasses

Aloe & Green Tea: Fresh herbal Green, melon, Floral Jasmine, Muguet, Lily

, Clover

Fresh Ginger Lime: Another one I really like! It doesn't smell anything like ginger or lime really.

Citrus mix with fragrant ginger. Top notes of zesty lime, muguet, crisp apple, grape and tangy grapefruit. Floral mid notes of jasmine, rose and lilac. Ripe plum, luscious peach, ginger and a whisper of camphor. A light musk at the base

Cucumber Melon: Everyone know this scent! It's cucumber and melon :) One of my all time favorites!

Lime Cooler: This reminds me a little if Irish Spring soap with hints of Lime

It's VERY fresh! I use this for laundry detergent and Chad's body wash/deodorant.

Fresh floral, ozone, lime and apple. Mid notes of eucalyptus, lilac, and gardenia. Base notes of coconut, powder and vanilla

Lemongrass Sage: Another favorite of mine! You can't detect the sage in this really. I like to mix it with grapefruit! : A fresh clean perfectly balanced mixture of lemongrass and sage essential oils.

Green Clover: When I hear "Green Clover" I think of "Irish Spring" soap. It's nothing like that! This is a sweet floral scent : sweet clover and dewy green grass and crisp fresh cut flowers with a hint of sheer white musk

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Citrus Scents

Bergamot Coriander: This is a fresh, almost lemoney type of scent. Coriander gives it a little kick. I like to blend it with vanilla to warm it up a little. Almost all of my favorite perfumes have bergamot as a top note.

Lemon Sugar: A blend of lemon and vanilla. Reminds me of a lemon sugar cookie

Grapefruit Citrus: This is a bitter grapefruit scent, but VERY energizing and uplifting. It blends well with Lemongrass & Sage, Bergamot Coriander, Pink Hibiscus (surprisingly) Ginger Lime and many others.

Fresh Orange: Smells like fresh squeezed Orange Juice. I like to blend it with Vanilla to make Oranges & Cream.

Mandarin: This is a warmer citrus scent. I like to blend it with madagascar vanilla and other exotic citruses

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Fruity Scents

Blueberry Muffin

Strawberry Patch

Very Cherry

Juicy Watermelon

Raspberry Lemonade

Orange

Apricot - Very sweet and pretty. Love blending it with Chamomile

Fruit Punch - aka- Jungle Juice - Cherry, Strawberry, Orange & Watermelon

Pina Colada: Coconut & Pineapple

Candy Kisses- This is like a cherry or strawberry candy type scent

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Florals

Also has sub categories

Group 1 - Flower Scents

Fresh Lavender: Lavender essential oil. Not a sweet frilly type, but more of the mediciney type scent.

I just found out (from experimenting) that this blends amazingly well with the "Baby Buttermilk" scent!

Chamomile: Smells like fresh Chamomile Leaves

Chamomile & Neroli - This is a different scent. It's a little bitter. I can't quite explain it. If you like the benefits of Chamomile but not the scent, this is a wonderful alternative

Fresh Lilac

Honeysuckle

Peony

Hibiscus (not pink hibiscus) blends well with other florals

Tahitian Tiare- This is a very nice gardenia type of scent

Sandalwood Rose: Absolutely beautiful! It's very soft and romantic

Sweet Baby Scent- More of a baby powder scent, but with rose & lavender

Sunflowers: Bergamot, Sandalwood, Peach blossom & Orange blossom

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Group 2 - This is the more exotic or frou frou - girlie type scents and are among my favorites!

If you like one, you're sure to love the rest!

Enchanted Orchid - I LOVE this! It's so exotic: An oriental floral fragrance - water lily; violet and orchid; amber, musk and heliotrope.

Pink Hibiscus - A "bubble gum pink" type of floral fragrance. Very pretty!

Plumeria - Similar to Enchanted Orchid. This is a Bath & Body Works classic and another favorite.

Jasmine

Waterlily Jasmine: This is soo nice! It gives the Jasmine a little kick

Euphoria: Jasmine, Sandalwood & Rose essential oil blend. This is my current favorite and what I'm using in my personal products.

Sweet Pea -sweet pea blossom with watery pear aromas, rhubarb, violet, plum, red apple and bergamot. The heart follows with cyclamen, blue freesia, raspberry, Madonna lily and orange blossom, drying down to the base of musk, sandalwood and heliotrope

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Exotic type Scents

Hawaiian Tropic: This is your typical coconutty scent, but without the annoying banana tutti fruity. One of the best sellers. It's supposed to be just like the tanning lotion.

Tahiti Tropic: Mango, Papaya and mandarin. If you've ever ordered a firming butter from me, chances are that I've used a little of this to scent it.

Pina Colada: Coconut & Pineapple

Orange Blossom & Madagascar Vanilla- Another firming butter scent. These 2 scents were meant to be blended. They're just incredible!

Tahitian Tiare: Exotic gardenia type of scent

Forbidden Fruit: Exotic fruits and florals. Tropical, but sweet and soft.

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Dessert Type Scents

Oatmeal, Milk & Honey

Honey Almond

Chocolate Cherries

Chocolate

Vanilla Butter Cream

Coconut Cream

Blueberry Muffin

Strawberries & Cream

Orange Creamsicle

Candy Kisses- Hard to explain this one.. it's like candy?

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Warm scents and Spicy scents

Warm Vanilla Sugar (vanilla musk)

Baby Buttermilk (vanilla, peach and violet- like Burt's Bees)

Cinnamon Clove Buds

Orange Cinnamon Clove

Nag Champa - incense type scent, but mellow

Patchouli

Drakkar (men's)

Sandalwood Rose

Spiced Pear

Rice Flower & Shea - smells almost like baby buttermilk, but a little sweeter and with more vanilla

Madagascar Vanilla - A blend of natural vanilla dn ylang ylang essential oils

This is a work in progress.. I will be adding more :)

What is Keratosis Pilaris???

2010-05-10T22:50:00.000-07:00

Disclaimer:

This blog post is intended for information purposes only. My PHD in internet doctorhood (is that a word?) is not a substitute for medical care and is not a medical professional opinion. You should always consult a real doctor and get a proper diagnosis before starting any treatments.

I have an enormous amount of customers who suffer from this condition. I had no idea it was SO common! I would say that maybe 1 out of every 3 convos that I get on Etsy is from someone who is looking for something to help with their Keratosis Pilaris.

Perhaps you or someone you know may also have this condition and not even know about it!

Keratosis Pilaris

Keratosis pilaris (AKA- follicular keratosis) is a very common genetic follicular condition that is manifested by the appearance of rough bumps on the skin. It most often appears on the back and outer sides of the upper arms (though the lower arms can also be affected), and can also occur on the thighs,hands, and tops of legs, flanks, buttocks, or any body part except glabrous skin (like the palms or soles of feet). Less commonly, lesions appear on theface, which may be mistaken for acne

Worldwide, KP affects an estimated 40% of the adult population and approximately 50%-80% of all adolescents. It is more common in women than in men. While KP resembles goose bumps, it is characterized by the appearance of small rough bumps on the skin. As a result, many people with keratosis pilaris do not know they have it, and it is often confused with acne.

There are several different types of keratosis pilaris, including :

keratosis pilaris rubra (red, inflamed bumps which can be on arms, head, legs),

keratosis pilaris alba (rough, bumpy skin with no irritation),

keratosis pilaris rubra faceii (reddish rash on the cheeks), and related disorders.

Keratosis follicularis (Darier Disease) aka lichen pilaris, or follicular xeroderma:

conditions in which abnormal keratinization (failure of skin to desquamate properly) is

limited to the hair follicles, manifesting itself as discrete, tiny follicular papules (solid,

usually conical elevations)

Ulerythema ophryogenes involvement of the outer eyebrows

Atrophoderma vermiculata severe worm-eaten appearance of the cheeks

Keratosis follicularis spinulosa decalvans a rare familial variant which results in bald

areas on the scalp and eyebrows

Lichen spinulosus solitary or multiple patches of follicular papules topped with scaly

spines on any part of the body

Symptoms and signs

Keratosis pilaris occurs when the human body produces excess keratin, a natural protein in the skin. The excess keratin, which is cream colored, surrounds and entraps the hair follicles in the pore. This causes the formation of hard plugs (process known as hyperkeratinization). Bearing only cosmetic consequence, the condition most often appears as a proliferation of tiny hard bumps that are seldom sore or itchy. Though people with keratosis pilaris experience this condition year-round, it is during the colder months, when moisture levels in the air are lower, that the problem can become exacerbated and the goose bumps are apt to look and feel more pronounced in color and texture.

Many KP bumps contain an ingrown hair that has coiled. This is a result of the keratinized skin's "capping off" the hair follicle, preventing the hair from exiting. The hair grows encapsulated inside the follicle.

Treatment

Typically the first choice of treatment would be a Lactic or Glycolic Acid Peel. AHAs are normally more gentle on the skin. Lactic acid is my choice because it's so much more gentle than Glycolic acid.

I make my Lactic Acid scrubs and creams at 12%. You can go as high as 25% but the FDA (and my insurance) will not allow me to go over 15% without having to go thru a bunch of red tape. I will not make anything over 12% for sale because there is too high of a chance that it could be misused and end horribly. I recommend first speaking with a doctor about treatment options.

Other treatment options include:

Exfoliation, intensive moisturizing cremes, lac-hydrin, creams, and lotions containing alpha hydroxy acids and urea may be used to temporarily improve the appearance and texture of affected skin.

Beta hydroxy acids may help improve the appearance and texture of the afflicted skin. Milk baths may provide some cosmetic improvement due to their containing lactic acid, a natural alpha hydroxy acid in milk. Sunlight may be helpful in moderation. Coconut oil may also be helpful if applied to afflicted areas while in the shower. Scratching and picking at KP bumps causes them to redden, and, in many cases, will cause bleeding.

Creams containing the acid form of vitamin A, Tretinoin, have been shown to help. Most commonly sold under the trade name Retin-A, it is a topical retinoid medically approved in the treatment of acne. This medicine works by causing the outer layer of the skin to grow more rapidly, decreasing the amount of the keratin in the skin. As a result, the surface layer of the skin becomes thinner and pores are less likely to become blocked, reducing the occurrence of symptoms related to acne. While keratosis pilaris is not acne, some believe this action may be of benefit to those with KP as well.

An alternative is the prescription medication Triamcinolone. Most commonly sold under the trade name Aristocort, Triamcinolone is a synthetic corticosteroid, compounded as a cream, which has been medically approved as an anti-inflammatory agent in the treatment of eczema. As the action responsible for alleviating eczema symptoms is, as with retinoid creams, the reduction amount of keratin in pores, the effect of Triamcinolone on KP is expected to be similar.

As with Triamcinolone, Tretinoin or any other treatment, once therapy is discontinued, the condition reverts to its original state. However, skin treated with Tretinoin may take several weeks or more to revert to its pre-treatment condition, but may, at the same time, take several weeks or more to show optimal results, with the condition commonly worsening initially, as underlying keratin is brought to the surface of the skin. Tretinoin is considerably more expensive and dispensed in smaller quantities than Triamcinolone and other treatments. Although it may be the most effective treatment for keratosis pilaris, it is not considered the first line of treatment

The condition is often dismissed outright by practitioners as being presently untreatable, giving mere moisturizing suggestions or reassurance that the condition will improve or cease with age, typically after 30. Ignorance, accompanied with the price, availability, quantity dispensed, time taken for optimal results to be achieved, more serious side-effects, adverse reactions, and worsening of the condition in the initial treatment phase - coupled with the cheaper, safer, and easier availability of other treatments - has hindered Tretinoin from showing its potential in the treatment of this condition.

Sulfur has been used for skin treatment predating modern medicine. Sulfur soaps, lotions, and exfoliants have been used successfully for treating KP. Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) supplements used with some success often require dosage as high as 25g per day. Side effects can include thickening of hair and nails, and pale skin.

Craft Show Horror Story & Mother's Day Giveaway

2010-05-09T07:00:00.000-07:00

It was our first craft show of the new year. (yesterday) and we decided we'd do the one in Leesport since we just started selling at the farmers market down there..
First of all... hubby and I were both miserable because we were up all night rushing and trying to get everything ready. I had about 10 of everything in my shop ready to go.. I didn't even want to go because I was swamped with Etsy orders but he was pushing to do the stupid craft show... so whatever.

So, we get there about 6:30am.. and couldn't find the instructions to assemble our tent (it was a huge tent too) but luckily hubby's a handy guy because we got it up alright.. Next, we got our banners up and the table up... and the second that I had everything laid out on the tables so we could finish labeling, it starts to thunder... then it literally pours rain! Everything got drenched. I had a couple labels that weren't waterproofed so they just completely got soaked... you couldn't even see what was on them.. I had a couple bars of CP soap that I had the ends of the shrink wrapped snipped so people could smells thru them.. well, they got water inside so they're now unsellable... Which is ok with me because I get this attachment to my cp soap and don't want to sell it anyway. You should see me in the shower. I currently have 4 bars that I use at one time.... trying to see which one I like best.
So anyway, everything's completely soaked.. the rain blew in the mosquito net and just flooded us, The ground was muddy and gross and it was freezing cold! After I had everything dried off, the winds picked up. We had 50mph wind gusts at one point and you could see flower arrangements, wooden yard decorations and knitted stuff just flying past.. you could hear people screaming obscenities as their stands were being destroyed.... There were even a couple tent tops that went flying by (no joke)
But we were safe.. our tent was anchored into the ground... right? Haha.. WRONG!
Our tent was the next to go.. I was at one end drying to wipe off the blowing mud from my table cloths and hubby was at the other end trying to relabel the soaking wet stuff and a huge gust came and I hear hubby drop the F bomb... so I knew it was serious business... I look up and the wind just snapped the bars of our tent in half (these are 3" round metal poles too! . I quick grabbed one end.. he grabbed the other and the 2 people on each side of us saw it coming and quick grabbed the sides... at one point there were like 8 people holding on to our tent... and we couldn't let go for a good 10 minutes or else our tent would've been thrown into someone's car... or even worse, the pack of cute old ladies that were 20 ft. from us.
So we eventually got our tent down and packed up.. surveyed the damage.. which was EVERYTHING at that point because everything was covered in dirt and mud... so we packed up and dumped everything in a dumpster at Wendy's. I wasn't even gonna try cleaning anything up and relabeling because it was just nasty!

Did I mention that hubby put the wrong labels on a couple things (he's notorious for doing this.. I think he labeled the antioxidant butters as regular butters) and cost me like 4 sales!
As of today, I think I'm going to demote him back to funnel holder. Ugh! Where did Willy Wonka get those Oompa Loompas again?
The good point of the rain soaking everything was I completely sold out of like 60 fizzing bubble bath bars because everyone got a live demonstration on how they work and were amazed that bath bombs could actually bubble too. So, that's my newest obsession.
/ rant

It's Mother's Day wohoo! Happy Mother's Day to the moms out there!
To celebrate motherhood, I will be giving away another gift basket full 'o goodies!
One lucky winner will recieve:

Gift basket

2pc 10oz Sulfate Free Body Wash & Shea Butter Moisturizer Set

in Bergamot Corriander & Vanilla

I chose this scent because it's an essential oil blend that's very versatile. If you like lemon sugar, or any kind of lemoney scent, you'll love this! That way if someone were to win that couldn't use fragrance oils because of either an allergy or because the scent was headache inducing, they wouldn't have to miss out.

1- Sulfate Free 3.5oz Fizzing bubble bath bar

because I'm SO proud that I finally mastered the art of making them! (Your bar will be square, like a bar of soap)

You'll have your choice of what I have available scent wise. I'm going to work on some headache/tension relief bars with some mint & other headache relief aromatherapy scents :)

And.... sample bag (makes 64oz ) of the most amazing coffee I've ever had! I'm sure you'll love it too! The flavor is bitter chocolate (yum!)

This giveaway runs from Today 5/9 to midnight 5/23

You can enter the same way as always.. twittering, facebooking, blogging this giveaway link, referring friends etc. Be sure to post your twitter & blog so you can get credit.

Bonus 3 entries... post links to your best "Mom" pic of you and your little one/s or you with you mom.
If you are concerned about their safety, feel free to black out their face.

They can be hospital pics (my favorite)

or prego belly pics, or just regular pics.. whatever!

I'll go first... this is me 8 months prego with Brynn April 2009

and Brynnie's B-day May 27, 2009

Bird's Eye View the day I went in to get induced 5/26/09

Good luck to everyone!

Don't forget to post your contact info so I can notify the winner!

Keep the Good Karma Flowing!

2010-04-26T03:47:00.000-07:00

I'm a strong believer in karma... what goes around will certainly come back around.

If you are a kind person with good intentions, good things will come your way.
However, if you're a rotten mean spirited person with ulterior motives... well then, you're SOL. Karma will come back... and I hear it's a b*tch!

Maybe I'm a little superstitious, but I credit all my my good fortunes in life to things that I have done to help others or just for the greater good of humanity. I've been blessed with a wonderful family and amazing customers and friends! We're by no means wealthy people, but our home is full of laughter and love.. and to me, those are the greatest riches. So, to keep the good karma flowing, we pick a new project every so often (with our animal rescue mission being top priority)

My favorite charitable thing is to whip up a huge batch of everything, split it up and drop half off at a local women's shelter and the other half to a facility for pregnant teens who were kicked out of their homes or have no place to go otherwise. They have a place to live, tutors to help them graduate and all that good stuff to make sure that they can succeed in life and raise their babies. I can not save the world and prevent things like abuse and neglect... but if I can offer these girls 20 minutes to escape the ugliness of their realities in the shower.. or to do something to make themselves feel a little better... well then that's stellar.

So, that leads me to my next thing...

I came across these amazing people on Facebook. Tysha and Chris
They run an operation that's called Spreading Peace Reno.
They take food and supplies to the homeless down in Tent City
Their videos are so heartbreaking!
So, I've contacted Chris and Tysha and asked if these people had access to shower facilities and were in need of soaps and other toiletries. It's got to be incredibly uncomfortable to be stuck in a tent in the middle of the desert without being able to properly wash. Can you image how disgusting these people must feel? That's a huge blow to their confidence. I wouldn't want to go and try to apply for a job after I've been sleeping in a tent and unable to shower. Hopefully I can get some stuff together for these people.

I think I want to set something up where every month I can sponsor a different organization... and have certain products in a special section of my shop that are marked up $1.00 and take that buck, plus a percentage of that sale and use it to donate towards that month's charity. That way it's something that everyone can get involved in and get a piece of that good karma.
I'd love any feedback or suggestions as to what organizations I can get involved with!
What's YOUR favorite organization to donate to or the greatest cause you support?

I haven't posted in forever!

2010-04-24T23:54:00.000-07:00

It's been crazy here! The Wednesday & Weekend markets are opening up again.. and I'm having a Paypal issue.. so I've been working double time to get everything in order!

I was having a slow week last week so I thought I'd be ok to take the weekend off for Chloe's 4th birthday party.. Pshhh! Yeah! That would be the weekend I get hammered! Luckily, it only took me til Tuesday to get caught up... then the Paypal problem hit... so, I had to cancel 40 orders... re-invoice about 3 quarters of those... (Thank you to everyone who's working with me thru this.. I love you guys!)

So, anyway... this week I hot the 1000 sales mark! That was very exciting! I've been on Etsy for 69 sleepless nights and 70 fun filled days.. and I wouldn't give it up for anything! bring on the next 1000!

I have a couple cell phone cam pics of the birthday party that set me back 2 days lol
It was nothing big.. just the 6 of us at Chuck E Cheese.

Fun fun fun... until the kids at the next table were trying to take the Dragon Tales cake toppers that Gio made for me... then it was just annoying!

And the April give-away winner is....

2010-04-16T23:01:00.000-07:00

Entry # 10! Woooooooooo! I have no idea who it is because I don't have the number list in front of me... I'll look in a minute... but congrats anyway~

For the rest of you, thanks for entering! I wish you all could win!
Next month's will be even bigger and better!

Diva in training

2010-04-08T14:12:00.000-07:00

My inbox was graced with this cuteness for this month's Diva drawing and I just HAD to share!.

To protect her privacy.. I'll call her Baby E... and here she is striking a pose with her Nature Girl Bath Products and Lil Divas bubble bath.

That is just the greatest thing in the whole world!

Thank you Melissa, for sending me the pics and good luck in the drawing!

And here is another!

This is Mary I's little Diva Man! (Don't tell daddy that tho!)

He's enjoying his Oatmeal Milk & Honey bath <3

I love it! Keep them coming!

Thanks Mary!

We got our new banner - YAY!

2010-04-03T13:15:00.000-07:00

I wanted to do a little re-vamping at our farmer's market shops... So, I ordered some new banners.

I got them to match my business cards... now I'm wondering if I should have the product labels redone in the same style?

I love the pink stripes.. but I'm thinking I should coordinate.. thoughts?

Here it is... (excuse my old clothes.. we were grilling out >.< )

Awesome things on Etsy

2010-04-03T02:14:00.000-07:00

I'm always blogging about what I sell... but never really about what I buy.

These awesome finds deserve a shout out...

Chloe's 4th birthday is coming up on April 14th. We've already done Dora the last 2 years, we've done Care Bears and a princess theme.. so I wanted to do something different this year.

Right now she's really into Dragon Tales

She likes to pretend that she's going to dragon land.. She'll even get her fake dragon tail and recite the whole rhyme that takes the kids to Dragon Land. It's quite funny..

Anyway, It's impossible to find Dragon Tales birthday decorations.. So, I turned to Etsy.

CraftyGio a customer of mine, was able to make us the most ADORABLE dragon tales cake toppers!

Here they are on a cake prop (click to enlarge)

How amazing! You should've seen the little 125x125 pixilated picture she had to work from!

She also does Disney Princesses, Handy Manny, or pretty much anything. You think it, she'll do it (she really likes doing Olivia... especially after doing 20 of them in a row LOL)

Have a look at her shop and if you don't see what you're looking for, just ask! Her lollipops are adorable too.

To complete the Etsy birthday party decor, I got a banner in a trade from Love2Embellish

Let me tell you, it's adorable in person! Photos don't so it justice... and I feel so horrible about the trade. She wanted a bottle of body wash, so I said ok... I'll trade for the banner... and believe me, a bottle of body wash does NOT cover the awesomeness of this banner... and I need to send her something else now because she deserves it!

Next, we have some soap!

I need soap like I need a hole in my head... but I was on th hunt for some Soap Savers and I couldn't resist!

Next to the Sunflower soap that I just made (will be blogging about that next week)

Glenda @ SudzNThings makes the best bar soap that I have ever used or laid my eyes on! If you're a fan of bar soap.. you have to give her's a try! I promise you won't be disappointed!

I got the Mountain Lake Scent. It was like I wasn't even using soap.. No squeaky tight feeling afterwards, no yucky soap feeling... just nice smelling, super soft and conditioned skin. The best part is, her soap is completely natural and very simple. Just a tad of lye (there is no lye left over once it turns into soap) oil and filtered rain water (soft water) That's it! It's amazing how something so simple can be so superior! No this or that.. no bar hardeners or whiteners (which are NOT bad for you by the way) just pure and simple. Even hubby enjoyed it and he's hard to please! This soap definitely gets my seal of approval! Not that it needs it or anything... Actually, I bow down to her greatness. Yes, her soap is THAT good!

Glenda's such an amazing person too. She helped me out with my Soy Milk Soap (it's a different process) and coached me on how to avoid the Soy Milk from ruining the batch. Now, I have an amazing batch of it (almost) ready to gift for Mother's Day. Her shop's in Va-cay mode at the moment (for Easter) but will be returning on Wednesday :)

Finally, we have the most awesome mineral makeup in the whole world!

It's not an Etsy purchase, but still falls under the Hand Made :)

I was having a convo with Courtney @ http://frescophyrra.blogspot.com (the makeup bible)

about mineral eye shadow and she referred me to Evil Shades

I ordered:

Eye Shadows: Panic, Suffocation and Double Barrel

The colors are a little hard to see, but they're pretty true to color, and beautiful in person.

They're shimmery and they go on very easy. I didn't have to stand there rubbing at it to spread, but once they're on they stay on. Suffocation and double barrel re my favorites! Suffocation reminds me of the eyeshadow that I use to get from Victoria's Secret (sans the yuck) It's a light pinkish shimmer and it looks awesome over Double barrel!

Double barrel is like a dark grey shimmer. Almost like gunmetal. When I get some sleep and don't have huge bags under my eyes, I'll get some pics.

If you're unsure about the colors, you can order samples cheap.. That's what I did before getting full sized, and the samples are huge! They'll last me quite a while. Her shipping was super fast too.

Diva of the Month - The Winner is....

2010-04-01T19:47:00.000-07:00

The Diva of the Month is...

Nina!

And what a beautiful girl she is too, sitting there with her various array of Everyday Diva Products!
I think she owns almost everything in my shop.. seriously... :) and she's the sweetest girl EVER!
This picture is hanging up in my soap house and will be going along to hang in our shops. Once I get a nice collage of Divas going, I'll have to get some pics.

Look out Covergirl©
Who needs Beyonce and Ellen... We've got Nina!

Nina has won herself a $25 gift certificate to EverydayDiva.Net
You go girl... get your shop on!

To enter for next month, send YOUR Diva pic, with your Everyday Diva product/s to
Everyday_Diva@hotmail.com

Don't forget about the April Giveaway!

2010-03-30T22:31:00.001-07:00

The post was getting buried
http://bbjayde.blogspot.com/2010/03/april-giveaway.html

Enter now!

What you need to know about sunscreens!

2010-03-26T14:26:00.000-07:00

I've gotten a few questions about the use of sunscreens... so I thought this would be worthy of sharing.

Many of you will be spending hours in the sun in the months ahead. Sadly this year, more than a million of you will also learn that you have skin cancer.

We all know sun blocks can work to prevent burns and disease, but how do you pick the right one?

The American Academy of Dermatology recommends using a broad-spectrum sunscreen. When we talk about sun damage, we’re actually talking about damage to the skin that’s caused by ultraviolet light: UVB and UVA rays.

UVB rays lead to sunburns. When you buy sun block that provides SPF protection, you’re protecting yourself against UVB rays. SPF indicates the level of protection.

UVA rays penetrate deep into the middle layer of your skin. They can lead to wrinkles and age spots. They can also diminish your body’s ability to protect against cancer by weakening the immune system.

Both UVB and UVA rays can cause skin cancer, but not all sun blocks protect against UVA rays. For broad-spectrum protection, you want to buy one that does.

Now, a lot of people wonder about strength: SPF 85 sounds like a lot more protection than SPF 30 or SPF 15, but the difference between them actually starts to get pretty small.

For example, an SPF 15 sun block lets in about 6 percent of the sun’s UVB rays. An SPF 30 lets in only about 3 percentof those rays. An SPF 85 lets in a little more than 1 percent.

So, you’re going to get only slightly more protection with the higher SPFs, but that doesn’t mean you should let yourself bake in the sun longer. The recommended minimum is an SPF 15.

Whatever SPF you pick, be sure to slather on enough sunscreen—a shot glass-full is about right, the recommended one ounce. Reapply frequently, especially after swimming or if you've been sweating profusely.

According to Dr. Sanja Gupta, it's not important whether or not your sunscreen contains SPF 15, 30 or even 85.. it's HOW you use it. Most people aren't using enough of it and he recommends using an ounce at a time. That's a LOT of sunscreen! It makes me wonder whether or not the little bits of moisturizer with SPF is even effective?

Could you imagine slathering a whole ounce or even half ounce of moisturizer on our face? I think I need to do some further investigating into this..

Also, you need to be aware of WHAT kind of sunscreen you're using.

Sunscreen Types

Sunscreen is a general term. A sunscreen simply means any product which saves us from UV radiation, if we apply it on our body. While many people often mix the terminology of sunscreen and sunblock, there really is a technical difference between the two. A true sunscreen is a chemical agent that denatures the light, making the wavelengths incapable of causing damage. Sunblocks act as a physical wall to prevent sunlight from reaching the skin.

Chemical Screens:
These are aromatic compounds which absorb photons of light energy and transform high energy UV radiation into harmless long wave radiation. This avoids or minimizes sunburn. Commonly used chemical sunscreens are PABA (Para Amino Benzoic Acid), Anthranilates, Benzophenones, Camphor derivatives, Cinnamates, Dibenzoylmethanes and Salicylates.

Physical Blocks:
These blocks reflect and scatter the sun light, and decrease the dermal penetration of UV rays. Eg. Titanium dioxide, Magnesium oxide, Zinc oxide, Red petrolatum, Kaolin, etc.

Mixtures:
Many sunscreen products contain a mixture of these two properties. If you have contact dermatitis allergies, eczema or sensitive skin, you should prefer to use the true physical blockers.

Obviously, the healthier and better choice would be the blocks... But with these also come acne break outs and white noses (like the life guards) This is where you need to weigh the pros and cons.

I'm in the process of adding a SPF 15 moisturizer to my line but it's still in the developmental phase.

I'm curious to hear what you're all using (sunscreen) and how it's making your skin react!

Don't Drink The Kool-Aid - The Great Preservative Debate

2010-03-25T23:11:00.000-07:00

That's right Divas, don't drink the Kool-Aid :)

There's a great debate about the use of preservatives in skin care. I believe it was CNN or HLN had a program on a week or 2 ago.
If you'd ever been lucky enough to listen to one of my ramblings,
you've probably heard all about my distaste for synthetic ones.
First of all, there is no need for preservatives in FRESHLY
made products. Secondly, there are plenty of natural
preservatives that one can use that will preserve a product
just as well, if not better than a synthetic.
Synthetic preservatives such as, Parabens, Diazolidinyl Urea,
and Phenoxyethanol not only cause cancer,

and interfere with the way your body produces hormones,
they also release formaldehyde and are extremely dangerous!
Honeyquat, Pink Grapefruit Essential Oil, Tea Tree Oil, Vitamin E,

Potassium Sorbate, Natamycin (made from carbohydrates and sugar)

and Glycerin (just to name a few) are natural preservatives and will

preserve a product for up to 18 months, sometimes longer.

They are very expensive as opposed to synthetics, that's why many
companies choose not to go natural (as if they couldn't afford it with their multi billions). They argue that preservative free or natural preservatives are inferior (not true!) and then go on to justify using synthetic preservatives by stating
that products need to be properly preserved to prevent bacteria growth
such as E.Coli, Salmonella etc.First of all, a facility that KNOWS what they're doing (a company devoted to mainly SKIN CARE & bath, not Skin Care, clothing, footwear, car parts etc.) and follows proper sanitary procedures

Secondly, using top of the line quality ingredients is very important.
Cosmetic grade (the only grade available by middle men suppliers)
are allowed to contain up to 50% impurities and bacteria.
Pharmaceutical grade ingredients are not allowed to contain any more than
2% impurities and bacteria, so by purchasing top grade supplies directly
from the factory where they're made will greatly reduce bacteria
present in your product. Having every batch of product tested is a MUST
as well. Every facility that makes these products should have the necessary testing equipment in their manufacturing facility and be trained on how to use the equipment (that means no hiring temps!)

as well as how to take a sample for a culture. Samples should ALWAYS be send to

a 3rd party lab for testing as well (we are required by the state and our insurance

to do this because we are licensed as manufactures, not just a retail

or wholesale business so you'd think the conglomos would also be required?) This is fairly cheap ($35 per product sample) but unfortunately, some will not do this because they don't want to incur the costs and it's cheaper for them to add a harmful chemical (that's why they're billionaires and Etsy mom and pop shops are not)

Of course you also have to worry about contamination once it's in the
hands of the customer. Every time the bottle or jar is opened, bacteria
like E.Coli and Salmonella will get inside. This is why it's important to make
the product an unfriendly environment for bacteria to grow in the first place.
Adjusting the PH before you market your products is a good start.

In the possession of the consumer, products should always be stored

away from heat and moisture, this will also cut down on bacteria growth.

If you like to keep things in your bathroom, the medicine cabinet or high up on a shelf away from the toilet and moisture from the shower or in a drawer is the best

place to keep them stashed.

As scary as they sound, these bacteria are not always harmful.
E.Coli, Salmonella, Staph etc. naturally occur inside and outside your body.
They are on everything from skin, hair & fingernails to your pillow case,
on your toothbrush, and even on the foods you eat (remember that
onion you peeled for your Tuna Salad? or the cucumber you had on that sushi?).
In order to have an outbreak, there needs to be an abnormally large
amount present and it needs to either be ingested or enter your
body through your eyes or a deep cut. Being exposed to a little bit of
bacteria will actually help your body build immunities.

In conclusion, the next time you read or hear a company knock a natural
preservative or synthetic preservative free product, or try to
get you to drink their "Preservative Kool-Aid" you'll know better.

What would *I* rather have on my face... ?

I'll go with the potential for poo germs over the stuff that's gonna give me liver tumors, breast cancer and put me thru early menopause or kill my thyroid.

'Cause ya know what... Those poo germs are gonna get there and be there

no matter what. I bet they're all over your keyboard right now... and in what

you had for lunch! They will be there after you shower and settle in for the night and they'll be there in the morning when you wake up.

You've been informed :)

- April Giveaway -

2010-03-24T00:25:00.000-07:00

April's Giveaway will be a Pampering Mini Spa Basket.

One lucky winner will receive an adorable basket

Packed full 'o goodies from my Etsy Shop
Some of the items include:

Body Butter Moisturizers

Body Washes & Bubble Baths

Dead Sea Mineral Bath Soaks

Organic Raw Brown Sugar Scrub

Pure Organic Cocoa & Shea Body Butter

Massage Bar

Sugar Scrub Cubes

Shaving Cream & Other Bar Soaps

Jars of Body Butter Samples (1 oz)

That's just a few of the items that will be inside! There'll be lots more!

There will also be coupons (up to $10 off) and Gift Certificates to share with friends. You won't want to miss this!

From now until 11.59pm April 15th you can enter this giveaway. You can rack up as many entries as you'd like, there's no limit. The more you do, the more entries you gain.

You can gain an entries by:

Posting a link to your Favorite item in my shop, along with a link to you Etsy Profile or you Email address (please use [at] instead of @ to prevent the spambots from picking up your addy )

Blogging about this giveaway. Your blog post must contain a link to this blog post and a link to my Etsy Shop http://www.everydaydiva.net Please post a comment with the link to your blog post

Tweet or post on Facebook about this giveaway with a link to this blog post. Please post the link to your profile in your comment here (for it to count as an entry)

Refer friends. Post the names of each friend you referred to this blog post. Each friend = 1 entry. If they enter the giveaway and mention you as a referral, you gain another entry for each friend.

Remember... This is supposed to be a fun giveaway! Please don't kill yourself over posting my links everywhere or jump thru hoops. The last giveaway winner only had one entry ;)

New Scents This Week

2010-03-22T04:55:00.000-07:00

This week bring us:

Blueberry cobbler: Sugary blueberry. Rich buttery notes mixed with a sweet cinnamon & creamy vanilla.

Perfect Pear: Juicy pears, tart green apples, cinnamon and clove.

Passionate Kisses: Sweet candy, cherry, vanilla and cinnamon mix with Musky spice

Jamaican Me Crazy: Lemon, grapefruit, sweet summer berries, hints of coconut & sweet orange.

Fresh Lilac

Cinnamon Clove Buds

Apple Jack & Orange Peel: Fresh peach, crisp green apple and juicy orange, soft lavender and classic rose combined with cinnamon and clove.

Appleberry Spice: (fresh sliced apples with diced berries sprinkled with cinnamon. Raspberry, strawberry & tart cherry with spicy cinnamon and ginger)

Sea Island Cotton: Crisp cotton sheets hung out to dry in the fresh ocean air

New waterproof Labels! Woooo!

2010-03-20T16:57:00.000-07:00

We've made out own labels for 4 years.. Just regular old no frills labels because it allowed us to charge less for product. To have our labels done professionally with waterproof backing and ink, it would cost between $2 and $3 per label! That means we'd have to add that to the price of the product. A 10 oz bottle of body wash would cost $10.99 instead of $7.99 and a 6 oz body butter would cost $9.99 instead of $6.99. Plus, this allows us to change them up as needed and to make new labels right away as soon as a new product has been introduced.
Our store customers never seemed to mind that the ink ran or the labels washed off... It always irked me but hubby said it adds to the essence of "hand made" and to get them and rack prices up by $3 a pop just wasn't a god idea. But... I've been hearing about it with my online sales so I decided to take a trip to staples to get some waterproof labels. Well, in order to get what I'd need, I would have to buy a special laser printer that only used waterproof ink. Only one company int he world makes both the ink and printer, and right now we're really not in a position to remortgage our house to buy a printer (they're in the triple digits!) So, I will now be adding a protective clear plastic label over top of the regular labels to keep water out and to keep them from peeling or running. I'm not quite sure how this will affect price yet. It's cheaper than professional labels and the special printer, but it's an added expense plus they all need to be hand cut from a 8 x 10 sheet.
The price jump shouldn't be more than a quarter and it won't go in to effect for a little bit yet, so it's not breaking the bank :)

The winner of the Antioxidant Serum is...

2010-03-18T00:34:00.000-07:00

And the winner of the $140 value C-Serum give away is.......

Drum roll please...

Ugh! Why won't the drum roll sound embed??

Ah.. ok nevermind... no drum roll.

With 26 total entries...

Random.org chooses... (click to view)

Entry # 2

That would be Sarah!

Whoooooooooo

Congrats Sarah!

One month and almost 200 sales!

2010-03-14T19:51:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow, March 15th will be the one month mark of my Etsy shop's grand opening!

One month, 197 sales (will i get to 200 by tomorrow?) and a whole lot of Everyday Divas!

My customers mean the world to me, I love you all! Gina, Nina, Amanda, Valerie, Pam and of course everyone else! You guys have been amazing to us!

Over the course of the month, I was able to add a few new scents and other items. This coming week I'll be adding Vanilla Pear & Butter Cream Frosting fragrance, I'm gonna have a whirl at strawberry citrus... Chamomile Butter, Acai Butter, and a new Antioxidant facial moisturizer with Green Tea, Pomegranate, Acai berry & Chamomile! I've already started my next batch of Lactic Acid Scrub with the Pom/Acai blend and I need to photograph the moisturizer and list it yet. I will have some awesome new soaps available in a few weeks once they're done curing. I'll be working on a beer soap tomorrow and also some natural laundry detergent :)

Hopefully I'll have an extra set of hands so I can get some pics/videos.

I get asked this a lot

2010-03-13T13:16:00.000-08:00

Hi there!! First, I loved looking thru all of your items - so very cool!!! But I am a little confused about how your prices are like 1/2 of most of the others. I just spent $14 plus shipping for 4 OZ of yogurt body cream/butter and you have this wonderful 10 OZ for so much less. I love the prices - but it just blows my mind about the difference in price. WOW!! Also, I am 43 and use the SUKI brand organic items for my face but they are so pricy and I would love to use your items for my face. I see you have the brown sugar scrub for the face and the squalene, but do you have a regular facial cleanser and moisterizer? If you do, can you please let me know the price? Thank you and I look forward to using your products! Take care,

My answer...
Simple... I don't charge retail! Retail is cost of goods x 2.5 + selling fees + hourly rate. That's why those little 4oz jars of body butter are so expensive, because you're paying MORE than DOUBLE of what it cost to make!

Secondly, I buy all of my raw material directly from the source that produces it. I do not have a "supplier" or "middle man" who can cut the quality and jack up my prices. Typically a 3 lb bucket of Organic Cocoa Butter from a supplier will cost about $70. I buy cocoa butter in a 55 gallon plastic drum. from where it's made.

Say, The factory will charge $1000 for a 55 gal plastic drum of oil. That's a little over $18 a gallon. or 11 cents an ounce.
A supplier will order this and then split it up each into 55 - 1 gallon jugs and then charge it's customers $36 a gallon., or 23 cents an ounce. Whoever buys this will use the cost x 2.5 pricing formula to make their products. So, they are charging you 23 cents x 2.5 = 57 cents per ounce of oil that goes into your product.

I only charge you the 11 cents, plus I don't use a retail pricing formula. I charge wholesale which is cost of supplies + paypal & etsy fees + piece rate. Most will charge a flat hourly rate, I only add $1.00 on to the the cost of what it is to make.
That is my wholesale pricing formula. Etsy accounts for about 1% of our total sales, so really we're not loosing out on much :)

If I were to charge retail price for a 10oz jar of my body butter ($9.99), it would cost $23 a jar! I lowered my prices online because shipping needs to be factored into the total cost. If you were to visit one of my local shops, you'd pay $13.99 for that same jar of body butter because I can charge a little extra because there's no shipping.

Third, why take advantage of the consumer? I'm not trying to become a millionaire. As long as my costs are covered and I have a little extra to add some new things to my shop the next time I order my material, then I'm happy.

Soap!

2010-03-12T23:22:00.000-08:00

If you subscribe to my mailing list then you've read about my new Ice Cream Parlor/Spring inspired products in the Featured Product Section of my shop. I forgot to mention what else spring brings!
Warmer weather + lotsa rainfall = SOAP!

Cold process soap is typically made with commercial sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide (lye) that can be found in any hardware store or Lowes/Home Depot (ingredient in Drain-o). I, on the other hand, do not use these to make my soaps. I don't want them in my house where my kids and pets could possibly get a hold of them or breathe in the fumes, let alone use them on my skin!

We do something a little different... Instead of buying commercial lye, we make our own out of wood ash (potash) and filtered rain water.

We start by burning hard wood (hard wood = hard soap and soft wood = soft soap) until the ashes are white.

Next, we put the ashes into a barrel that's lined with river rocks and straw. Then it's time to wait until enough rain water is collected and the water & ash solution will drip out of the valve on the bottom of the barrel

After the solution is collected, it is then boiled until it's the right strength for soap making.

To test the strength of the lye you need a saturated solution of salt. Dissolve chemical-free salt in a pint of water until no more salt will dissolve. Take a stick and put a small weight on the end of it and float it in a pint of the salty water. The weight will sink to the bottom, while the top of the stick will float. Make a mark on the stick where it reaches the water line. Then float the stick and weight in a pint of lye. The mark on the stick will probably be above the water mark of the lye. If so, stir in some more rainwater until the mark on the stick is in exactly the same place it was in the salt water. You now have the correct distillation of lye for making soap :)

It's actually a lot more complicated than it sounds, but in my opinion, totally worth the effort!

Tonight I got to make some cold process soap!

I've only gotten 2 batches done so far.. I'll probably do 2 more before bed.

The first batch was "Chamomile, Cucumber & Cocoa Butter"

It's infused with Chamomile Tea & Cucumber Hydrosol for an amazing scent and packed full of Cocoa Butter. I used a little Olive Oil in this recipe as well so it's going to be super moisturizing! Once it hardens a little, I'll get some pictures. It looks and smells amazing!

The next batch I made was "Apple Strudel"

This one's made with Apple Cider, Shea Butter, fresh ground Cinnamon (courtesy of my Magic Bullet) and scented with Honey Almond. I think this one's going to be a favorite!

I managed to get a picture of the little bit I scraped out of the bowl after filling the mold. I put it in a smaller mold to cut up for samples

It's still wet here and reminds me of pumpkin pudding. I'm interested to see what it'll look like when I un-mold it to cut tomorrow.

I think I want to do a baby soap next and maybe some shampoo bars and laundry pre-treaters next. Or, maybe I'll do some cupcake soaps? So many options, so little time!

Talk to me!

2010-03-11T20:32:00.000-08:00

I'm on the hunt for some new scents!

I'm interested in finding out what are the most appealing to others whther they're essential oils, fragrance oils, plain scents, brand name scent dups...

This is a list of my current available scents (I tried to alphabetize them, but my head is starting to hurt and I need to go make some more acne moisturizer before I go to bed haha)

♥ Aloe & Green Tea
♥ Autumn Tuberose
♥ Baby Scent
♥ Bergamot Coriander
♥ Black Amber Musk
♥ Blue Raspberry Cotton Candy ( Fragrance Oil )
♥ Chamomile
♥ Chocolate Indulgence
♥ Coconut Lime Verbena
♥ Cool Water ( Men's Fragrance Oil
♥ Coconut cream
♥ Cucumber Melon
♥ Freesia
♥ Fresh Bamboo
♥ Fresh Ginger Lime
♥ Fresh Lavender
♥ Grapefruit Citrus
♥ Honey Almond
♥ Hawaiian Tropics
♥ Juicy Watermelon
♥ Lime Cooler
♥ Lemongrass Sage
♥ Madagascar Vanilla (Vanilla & Ylang Ylang Essence)
♥ Oatmeal, Milk & Honey
♥ Orange Cinnamon Clove
♥ Bergamot Coriander
♥ Pink Hibiscus
♥ Pomegranate Sage
♥ Peppermint
♥ Peppermint & Tea Tree
♥ Raspberry Lemonade
♥ Sensual Amber
♥ Strawberry Patch
♥ Sweet Pea
♥ Strawberries & Champagne
♥ Chocolate Cherries
♥ Patchouli
♥ Vanilla
♥ Cherry Almond
♥ Pink Sugar
♥ Pink Sugar & Coconut Cream
♥ Sandalwood & Patchouli

Perfume/Cologne Scents
♥ Amazing Grace (Women's Philosophy)
♥ Very Sexy (Victoria's Secret Fragrance Oil)
♥ Lovespell (Victoria's Secret Fragrance Oil)
♥ Curve - for women (Fragrance Oil)
♥ Be Delicious - Fresh Blossom - (DKNY Type Fragrance Oil)
♥ Drakkar Noir (Men's Fragrance Oil)
♥ Eternity (Men's Natural)
♥ Ck-1 Type(Men's Fragrance Oil)
♥ Cool Water (Men's Fragrance Oil)

---------------
♥♥♥ Limited quantity scents (best for mixing) ♥♥♥

♥ Balm Mint
♥ Bergamot
♥ Jasmine
♥ Peach Blossom
♥ Plumeria
♥ Mandarin
♥ Mother Earth
♥ Oak Moss
♥ Orange Blossom
♥ Orchid
♥ Lily of the Valley
♥ Tangerine

And this is the list of scents I'm currently debating

Vanilla Pear

Mango Papaya
Raspberry Lemonade
Goji Berry Bliss
Mango Sorbet
Sun Ripened Raspberry
Pineapple

Thoughts?

Nominate my item for Etsy's Front Page!

2010-03-09T15:09:00.000-08:00

Nominations can be made on this thread here http://www.etsy.com/forums_thread.php?thread_id=6458993

For Easter Please nominate:

My Bath Bomb Easter set

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=42022862

Easter Peep Soap

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=41658153

Easter Egg Soaps

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=40816271

------------------------------------------

Mother's Day

Bath & Body Gift Set

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=41025140

Thank you :)

All fun... without the calories.

2010-03-08T13:08:00.000-08:00

It's been super nice in PA lately... it's been making me think of spring.
Spring makes me think of walking the kids around the canal when they were younger. We would always stop at Burke's Dairy Bar for ice cream. so, I guess you could say that spring makes me think of ice cream.... Which has inspired me to make these

Root Beer Float http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=42060845

&

Rainbow Sherbet http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=42285262

All the fun, but without the calories!
Well, no... these scrubs are packed full of exfoliating sugar so I guess they would be packed full of calories as well. However, the only thing that'll be showing on your hips is beautiful, soft, smooth and glowing skin :)

Huge Giveaway! $140 value!

2010-03-03T12:39:00.000-08:00

I decided that I would like to do a giveaway....

But not just ANY giveaway... A BIG giveaway!

This is your chance to score huge! One lucky entrant will receive a 1.5oz bottle of

Everyday Diva

Vitamin C + E + Ferulic and Hyaluronic Acid Collagen Boosting Antioxidant Serum

20% Vitamin C with 2% Vitamin E, Ferulic and Hyaluronic Acid

For those of you who are unfamiliar with this bottle of liquid gold, this is the ONLY serum that has been scientifically proven to boost collagen production, fight free radicals, improve skin tone and texture and diminish fine lines and wrinkles. It also works to treat acne and fade acne scars.
This product is truly amazing!
Inferior serums sell for $138 and even more!

It's almost identical to Skinceuticals except:

My Serum- Contains 20% Vitamin C

Skinceuticals- Contains 15% Vitamin C

My Serum- Contains 2% Ferulic Acid
Skinceuticals- Contains only .5% Ferulic Acid

My serum- Contains 2% Hyaluronic Acid
Skinceuticals- Does not contain enough to count.
Less than .5%

My Serum Ingredients:
Distilled water, L-Ascorbic Acid, Ferulic Acid, Hyaluronic Acid, Vitamin E, Sorbitol (emulsifier derived from berries
and grapeseed oil)

*Less unnecessary crap and more active ingredients

Skinceuticals Ingredients:

Water, Ethoxydiglycol , L-Ascorbic Acid, Propylene Glycol, Glycerin, Laureth-23, Alpha Tocopherol, Phenoxyethanol, Triethanolamine, Ferulic Acid, Sodium Hyaluronate

My serum- Pharmaceutical grade active ingredients

(99% purity)

Skinceuticals- Cosmetic Grade active ingredients
(50% pure)

My serum- $50
Skinceuticals- $138.00

Clearly you can see how spectacular my serum is, and at a fraction of the cost. Granted I don't have the expenses they do (overhead, salaried employees, advertising etc.) but for what they are charging, they could use better ingredients!

Anyway.. back to the giveaway :)

From now until 11.59pm March 17th you can enter this giveaway. You can rack up as many entries as you'd like, there's no limit. The more you do, the more entries you gain.

You can gain an entries by:

Posting a link to your Favorite item in my shop, along with a link to you Etsy Profile or you Email address (please use [at] instead of @ to prevent the spambots from picking up your addy )

Blogging about this giveaway. Your blog post must contain a link to this blog post and a link to my Etsy listing http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=41885260 Please post a comment with the link to your blog post

Tweet or post on Facebook about this giveaway with a link to this blog post. Please post the link to your profile in your comment here (for it to count as an entry)

Refer friends. Post the names of each friend you referred to this blog post. Each friend = 1 entry. If they enter the giveaway and mention you as a referral, you gain another entry for each friend.

Nominate my items for Etsy's Front page (see this post http://bbjayde.blogspot.com/2010/03/nominate-my-item-for-etsys-front-page.html) and Gain 5 entries!

Please include your email address in your comment or your Etsy shop link. I need to be able to contact you if you win :)

This giveaway is open to anyone age 18+ In any country :)

Let the games begin.... :)

March Promo/Giveaway!

2010-03-02T20:01:00.000-08:00

Send in pics of you (or kids) being an "Everyday Diva" with your Everyday Diva products and be entered into a drawing for a $25 Gift certificate for TheEverydayDivaCo.Etsy.com

Pics can be submitted to everyday_diva [!at] hotmail.com until midnight March 31st!

I wasn't kidding when I said it was a "Family Affair"

2010-03-01T13:25:00.000-08:00

We're starting Chloe early.
Since my products need to be made under strict sanitary guidelines, the formulatory is a no-kids and no-pets zone. This upsets Chloe greatly because all she wants to do is help.
She's pretty smart in some areas, for a 3 year old. She can read numbers and letters already and I never knew it until I let her play around weighing soap scraps the one day and she was telling me what numbers were on the scale. I was just blown away at how she knew what the numbers were. Most kindergarten kids can't even do that!
So, I had an idea..
I set up a little assembly line around the dining room table so she could help me.
After I get done unmolding, trimming, weighing, photographing and shrink wrapping, I'll lay each item out and let her weigh them. She will then tell me what each item weighs
"What does that one weigh Chloe?" I'll ask... "3-2 Mom" and she'll set it down for me to label with the weight (3.2oz)

Surprisingly, it worked out well, helped move things along a bit, and it cut down on hard feelings :)

She even knows how to toggle between the different measurements and can tell me what something weighs in ounces and in grams.

I plan to make her my business partner in 2024!

Check my Etsy shop for my upcoming line of "Chloe" inspired Children's items :)

If you love Skinceuticals Vitamin C Serums

2010-02-28T23:03:00.000-08:00

If you love Skinceuticals Vitamin C Serums but not the $150 price tag, you've GOT to see this in my Etsy shop

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=41725486

Everyday Diva - Vitamin C - E - Ferulic and Hyaluronic Acid with Olive Squalane - Collagen Boosting - Antioxidant Serum

New Acne Treatment Listed Today!

2010-02-23T17:56:00.000-08:00

The ONLY Acne Treatment You'll Ever Need- Overnight BHA and Vitamin B3 Peptides Treatment- With 4 percent Salicylic Acid and 5 percent Niacinamide

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=41352776

Check the label on your “Natural” Deodorants!

2010-02-22T08:47:00.001-08:00

Check the label on your “Natural” Deodorants

Some of the most popular natural deodorants are the “crystal” deodorant stones and sprays. But most people don’t know that these crystal deodorant products contain aluminum.

The crystal deodorant stones are made from alum. The most widely used form of alum used in the personal care industry is potassium alum. The full chemical name of potassium alum is potassium aluminum sulfate.

The reason that most people try to avoid aluminum in deodorant is because of its possible link to Alzheimer’s disease. There is some strong evidence of a link — for instance, in 1988 a truck driver accidentally dumped 20 tons of aluminum sulfate in to a town’s drinking water.

Now, over 20 years later, they are finding a higher incidence of Alzheimer’s in the people of this town.

Incidentally, the article linked below notes that, “many doctors such as popular web guru and natural health expert Dr. Mercola suggest avoiding aluminum as much as possible.”

Skip the candy & give these cute & practical Easter basket treats!

2010-02-18T19:55:00.000-08:00

Just listed in my Etsy Shop!

Easter Egg Bath Bomb Basket Stuffer/Gift Set $8.25

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=41016491

Handmade Easter Egg Soaps. 100% Vegetable Glycerin. $9.99

http://www.etsy.com/view_listing.php?listing_id=40816271

These sets are perfect for adults and kids!

Kids love them because the Bath Bombs fizz in water and turn the tub water a pale shade of natural color and the soaps are just so fun to use and smell sooooo nice! They can't wait until bath time so they can use these.

,Adults love them because of the nutrient rich, skin softening and chemical free ingredients that won't irritate even the most sensitive skin and may actually help with conditions such as eczema and dry patches!

Both are truly amazing products!

I LOVE This Woman!

2010-02-18T13:47:00.000-08:00

My Son Joel LOVES Donkeys!

He adopted a mini (Homer) at his school's 4H programand spends every free minute taking care of the little guy. One day he was looking for donkey stuff online and he came across this Etsy Shop

Pomegranite80

O.M.G! There are NO words to describe this shop. It's just awesomeness all the way. We

sat and almost peed our pants laughing at all the cool stuff in this shop. Not only is it super creative and amazing, The proceeds go towards rescuing and caring for unwanted/abused donkeys. How incredible is that? Ady, the shop owner, is the most amazing, lovely and beautiful and creative person on earth! There are no words to describe her either. I just can't stress it enough! You all HAVE to go and check out her shop!

She recently made Joel his very own donkey. This one was made after I believe it was her Miss California Beauty Queen Burro that was Joel's favorite listing. OMG! It's the sweetest thing in the world!

Here he is posing with his Miss California Burro

Thank you again Ady! He loves it and it's most definitely the most talked about item in his possession. He displays it proudly on top of his entertainment center in his bedroom but he usually ends up having to take it to school with him because everyone wants to see it.

To get your very own donkey... have a look at Ady's shop! Pomegranite80

EverydayDiva.Net is now open for business!

2010-02-17T11:35:00.001-08:00

After months and months of preparing.. and a whole week of all day and all night of formulating and mixing and shaking and stirring and packing and wiping and labeling and weighing.... We're slowly but surely trying to get everything added to our Etsy shop.

EverydayDiva.net
TheEverydayDivaCo.Etsy.com

I'll be announcing the $10 gift certificate winner from the label voting contest this weekend... So, stay tuned!

Sammy's Sanctuary

2010-02-15T19:42:00.000-08:00

This section is dedicated to Sammy's Sanctuary.

Samuel Phinnaeus Snipes

Sammy's Sanctuary is a project that Chad and I have started to help rescue stray, abandoned and/or abused animals.

Sammy is our Blue Seal Siamese that we adopted from a kind soul named Keith who had turned his sub urban home into a cat rescue. Sammy was rescued from a man who was deployed to Iraq and ended up having to stay much longer than expected. Sammy was just a 10 week old kitten was he was left completely alone to fend for himself. He was completely mauled. His owner had him totally declawed, front and back. He was left alone in a house without food, water or companionship and had to survive by trying to get water from any source he could (toilets & faucets) and killed insects to eat for food. When he was brought to Keith's house, he was the smallest cat there and since he was totally declawed, he was defenseless against the other cats who often picked on him.
When we went to Keith's house to see his cats, we found Sammy hiding in the back yard under an upside-down kiddie swimming pool. He was absolutely terrified and so pathetic looking... we just HAD to bring him home.
It took about 2 years of constant love and attention (this means spending many nights laying on the bathroom floor with him) to get him to come around. He's a completely different kitty now. He loves to lay on us and knead his paws into our shirts and play with his little mouse toys. He's learned to eat from a dish, but still will not drink from a bowl, so water must be left running for him to drink.. He's an excellent hunter. If there's a bug within our 1500 square foot downstairs area, he'll find that sucker and kill it! He just found a lady bug in our chandelier a week ago that we never would've noticed!

After getting Sammy, we decided that we need to do something for the other pets out there like Sammy. This is why we decided to start Sammy's Sanctuary. We have a large family and limited space (plus the kids and I have allergies) so having a ton of animals in our home isn't practical (altho I wish we could ) So, we decided that we are going to build on our property and house these animals there where they would receive care and medical services.

As our project progresses, we'll post updates here.
Check back soon to see pictures and bio's of our latest rescue... Dashel.

This blog received a record number of views yesterday, February 5!

2010-02-06T16:06:00.000-08:00

According to Google Analytics, this blog received a whopping 840 Views yesterday, with the average time spent on site at about a half hour! That's 857% more than average!

I received a little over 160 emails (the ones that I had gotten a chance to read) within the past 48 hours, and I have got to say... wow! I'm so flattered by all the kind words and honored that you have chosen me to answer all of your important questions!

A lot of you were asking when my Etsy shop will be open and when I will have my products available for sale. My Etsy shop will be fully stocked and open on February 14th. One more week!

For those of you who are in the Lehigh Valley PA area, you can visit my store in the Lehigh Mall. We're the second last shop before Neiman Marcus on the east end.

We will be opening a new location at the Schuylkill Mall in Frackville on March 1st and you can find us every weekend at Renninger's Farmer's Market in Schuylkill Haven PA and the Leesport Farmers Market in Leesport PA

I am SO looking forward to working with everyone and making you all something fabulous!
In the mean time, please see some of these amazing Etsy shops:

Jewelry Catagory

Amazing Beaded Jewelry by CaryMartinDesigns My jaw dropped when I saw these!

Beads, Beads and More Beads @ GemGourmet Here's a secret, she also makes some AMAZING candies!

Whimsical

Pomegranate80 - No words to describe! You just have to look! Ady is absolutely the most creative, kind hearted and loveliest person in the whole world... I just want to hug her and never let go! All proceeds from her shop go towards housing, medical and feeding her rescued donkeys. She made my son the most incredible Pagaent Queen Donkey. I'll post pics ASAP!

RitzeeRebel's Felt pins and ornaments. SOOO cute! Her cupcakes are my favorites!

Bags and purses

Miss Hillary ohhh they're so cute!

Soaps

BL Soaps Very talented soap maker who has excellent quality bath & body products.. Girlfriend knows her stuff! :)

Vote for your favorite label!

2010-02-04T17:32:00.000-08:00

Our new Etsy store is opening on February 14th and our 2nd B&M at the mall on March 1st.

We've decided to get a new label design (courtesy of the talented and very sweet- Jodi Snyder)

I tweaked the text a little bit because some of of formulations and product names have changed and I couldn't bear to ask Jodi to change them AGAIN (she did it like 5 times.. I told you she's amazing!)

She's made so many amazing designs and I can't choose one!

PLEASE!!! Help me out and vote for whatever design you like best and think would look the best on a bottle or jar of your favorite skin care product. Voting ends on February 10th and one lucky winner will receive a $10 gift certificate to my Etsy Shop

To vote, simple leave a comment with your selection number. I wish I could include a poll but for some reason they make my browser crash...?

You may need to click to view the full image. My blog setup is dumb!

Number 1

Number 2

Number 3

Acne Relief

2010-02-04T17:10:00.001-08:00

Believe it or not, treating acne is not as simple as some believe. There are different kinds of acne that require different treatments and what might work for one, might not work for another.

It's important to know what kind of acne you need to treat before buying products.Sadly, neither I nor anyone else would be able to help if you have any of the severe forms that require to trip to the dermatologist. Please, if you suffer from disfiguring acne, seek help from a doctor! They CAN help you! This has always been something I was passionate about since I had suffered for years with acne, even as an adult. It took me many years and many treatments to find the right one. Hopefully your search won't have to take so long. I have a variety of different treatment options and I'm more than happy to answer any questions you may have and help you find the right product.

Opening February 14th http://TheEverydayDivaCo.etsy.com

Below is a list of the different types of acne, I'll get into treatments in a bit.

Acne Vulgaris is the most common form of acne. Acne vulgaris lesions include blackheads, whiteheads, papules, pustules, nodules and cysts.

Mild to Moderate acne vulgaris consists of the following types of acne spots:

Whiteheads: Whiteheads result when a pore is completely blocked, trapping sebum (oil), bacteria, and dead skin cells, causing a white appearance on the surface. Whiteheads are normally quicker in life cycle than blackheads. These are best treated with BHA (Salicyclic Acid) and vitamin A

Blackheads: Blackheads result when a pore is only partially blocked, allowing some of the trapped sebum (oil), bacteria, and dead skin cells to slowly drain to the surface. The black color is not caused by dirt. Rather, it is the skin's own pigment, melanin, reacting with the oxygen in the air. A blackhead tends to be a stable structure, and can often take a long time to clear. BHA therapy along with Vitamin A is the most effective treatment.

Papules: Papules are inflamed, red, tender bumps with no head. Do not squeeze a papule. It will do no good, and may exacerbate scarring. Vitamin C and A as well as niacinamide are the most effective in treating this tye of acne.

Pustules: A pustule is inflamed, and appears as a red circle with a white or yellow center. Pustules are your garden variety zit. Before you pop or squeeze such a lesion, be sure to sanitize your face, hands and sterilize a needle. Do not apply pressure! This type is best treated with Vitamins C, E and A as well as Tea Tree oil and Pink Grapefruit essential oil

Severe acne vulgaris is characterized by nodules and cysts:

Nodules: As opposed to the lesions mentioned above, nodular acne consists of acne spots which are much larger, can be quite painful, and can sometimes last for months. Nodules are large, hard bumps under the skin's surface. Scarring is common. Unresolved nodules can sometimes leave an impaction behind, which can flare again and again. Absolutely do not attempt to squeeze such a lesion. You may cause severe trauma to the skin and the lesion may last for months longer than it normally would. Dermatologists often have ways of lessening swelling and preventing scarring, such as injecting the lesion with cortisone.

Cysts: An acne cyst can appear similar to a nodule, but is pus-filled, and is described as having a diameter of 5mm or more across. They can be painful. Again, scarring is common with cystic acne. Squeezing an acne cyst may cause a deeper infection and more painful inflammation which will last much longer than if you had left it alone. Dermatologists often have ways of lessening swelling and preventing scarring, such as administering a cortisone shot. In my experience, this type is best treated with a combination of Tetracycline antibiotics as well as vitamins C, E and A.

Acne Rosacea can look similar to the aforementioned acne vulgaris, and the two types of acne are sometimes confused for one another.

Rosacea affects millions of people, most of whom are over the age of 30. It appears as a red rash which is normally confined to the cheeks, nose, forehead and chin. The redness is often accompanied by bumps, pimples, and skin blemishes. Blood vessels may also become more visible on the skin. Blackheads are not part of rosacea. It is more prevalent in women, but often more severe when found in men. Left untreated, it can cause swelling of the nose and the growth of excess tissue, a condition called rhinophyma. Treatment is often different for rosacea than for acne, and it is important that you consult a dermatologist if you suspect you are experiencing rosacea.

Acne Conglobata: This is the most severe form of acne vulgaris and is more common in males. It is characterized by numerous large lesions, which are sometimes interconnected, along with widespread blackheads. It can cause severe, irrevocable damage to the skin, and disfiguring scarring. It is found on the face, chest, back, buttocks, upper arms, and thighs. The age of onset for acne conglobata is usually between 18 to 30 years, and the condition can stay active for many years. As with all forms of acne, the cause of acne conglobata is unknown. Treatment usually

Acne Fulminans: This is an abrupt onset of acne conglobata which normally afflicts young men. Symptoms of severe nodulocystic, often ulcerating acne are apparent. As with acne conglobata, extreme, disfiguring scarring is common. Acne fulminans is unique in that it also includes a fever and aching of the joints. Acne fulminans does not respond well to antibiotics. Isotretinoin (Accutane) and oral steroids are normally prescribed. In my experience, a GOOD vitamin A treatment is effective.
My teenage son had fallen victim to this horrible plague and has responded well to my 4 step regimen which includes a gentle cleanser, BHA toner and niacinamide cream with vitamin A cream applied at bed time. Vitamin A increases sun sensitivity so, I suggest using it at bedtime.

Gram-Negative Folliculitis: This condition is a bacterial infection characterized by pustules and cysts, possibly occurring as a complication resulting from a long term antibiotic treatment of acne vulgaris. It is a rare condition, and we do not know if it is more common in males or females at this time. Fortunately, isotretinoin (Accutane) is often effective in combating gram-negative folliculitis.

Pyoderma Faciale (Rosacea Fulminans): This type of severe facial acne affects only females, usually between the ages of 20 to 40 years old, and is characterized by large painful nodules, pustules, and sores, all of which may scar. It begins abruptly, and may occur on the skin of a woman who has never had acne before. It is confined to the face, and usually does not last longer than one year, but can wreak havoc in a very short time. Doctors often prescribe isotretinoin (Accutane) and systemic corticosteroids are sometimes use an an adjunct.

Treatment Options

Different kinds of acne require different kinds of treatments. Below are a list of ingredients I use that are proven to help and are also kinder to the skin. You should avoid Benzoyl Peroxide (Proactive) at all costs! By using it, you may be causing more harm than good. Here's some info on it:

Benzoyl peroxide, an ingredient used in many acne products, generates free radicals and skin damage. It promotes skin damage in a manner similar to unprotected sun exposure. The redness caused by the application of benxoyl peroxide to the skin is a visible demonstration of "oxidative stress" or free radicals causing skin damage to the components and chemistry of the skin. Repeated unprotected sun exposure causes skin damage and premature skin aging which promotes the potential of skin cancer. Repeated application of benzoyl peroxide has been found to have the same result. The extent of skin damage from benzoyl peroxide is determined by the concentration of the benzoyl peroxide, the frequency of application and the duration of its use.

Benzoyl peroxide is used in acne products because it effectively kills the bacteria which causes acne. On the other hand, benzoyl peroxide generates free radicals that interfere with and slow the skins healing process. The red and brown marks that are a part of the acne healing process may last weeks longer when benzoyl peroxide is a regular part of the daily acne products regimen.

A majority of acne is caused by dirt, oil and bacteria that gets stuck in your pores. Skin can become inflamed and your immune system's responds by sending white blood cells to the area of infection. This is what makes pimples "poppable" for lack of better term.

I recommend that everyone have a regimen to follow. You first need to gently cleanse. Harsh cleansers will only irritate the skin and make your face produce more oil.

Next, you need to use a clarifying toner, preferably with BHA to help exfoliate the lining of your pores and to "unglue" dead skin cells, a good stable vitamin C and vitamin A to help shrink the pores, decrease oil production, stimulate cell growth and collagen and make it an undesirable area for bacteria to grow (acidity in vitamin c will do this). Vitamin E helps as an anti-bacterial agent as well as tea tree oil and pink grapefruit essential oils. However, too much of these essential oils may cause skin to appear dull, so you need the right balance.

Niacinamide is also wonderful for treating acne.

You can read about it HERE

Using a good moisturizer is also important to proper skin care. Natural oils such as shea, grapeseed, and jojoba will not clog the pores and actually form a breathable barrier on the skin.

avoid any products that contain mineral oil or dimethicone or any ingredient that ends with "cone"

You can read about those HERE

A full list of acne treatment products and regimens can be found in my Etsy Shop

*Pictures courtesy of the internet

We interrupt these important skin care announcements.....

2010-02-01T18:16:00.000-08:00

To bring you some cuteness

Chloe, my 3 y/o is obsessed with Lady Gaga. She knows every word and dance move to "Poker Face" even tho she's too young to understand what "bluffin' with my muffin" means.

After watching Gaga perform at the Grammy's and seeing pics of her amazing dress online

She asked me to get her one just like it. Yikes! I don't think I have enough available credit between all of my cards to be able to afford a custom made size 3T Armani for Gaga dress
Sorry Chloe :( I would ask a fellow Etsy dress maker to have one made for me, but I don't think that would be right unless I had her permission to have someone make it for me. It IS Gaga's design after all but I really don't see her designing a children's clothing line any time soon :'(

Here is Chloe in her favorite (non Gaga) outfit that she wears to dance.
She picked everything out herself... Oh, and check out her Tiffany's earrings. (They're what she calls "Mommy's special earrings" I was reluctant to let her wear them, but she insisted.
Maybe one of these days I'll post Chloe recreating the Poker Face music video

Here she is at Halloween.

As as a Gaga Princess... or what she refers to as a "Poker Face Princess"

Diazolidinyl Urea and why you should avoid it

2010-01-26T09:59:00.000-08:00

Why is it used in cosmetics and personal care products?

Diazolidinyl Urea prevents or retards bacterial growth, and thus protects cosmetics and personal care products from spoilage. If a product contains Diazolidinyl Urea, chances are your product was

sitting on a shelf in a warehouse for 6 months

Diazolidinyl Urea is a formaldehyde releaser and a skin irritant.

Skin care products that are made fresh should not need these types of preservatives.

There are much safer preservatives that can be used to maintain the freshness and quality of products.

Let's leave the formaldehyde for the morticians ... and keep it out of skin care!