I’m so excited to share information and my personal experience with some awesome new natural products out on the market. Full disclosure, I’m often asked to review products. If they don’t fit in the realm of natural or healthy living, I decline. I do like reviewing natural products because I feel that starting a new business is scary, and as a ‘little guy’, it’s costly and scary to go up against big box brands. I’m also a huge advocate of using natural products whenever possible and know that for many change can be slow, but if everyone starts to gravitate towards better-for-you brands, our planet will ultimately be healthier and cleaner for it.
So, I’m forever a green cheerleader – the more natural choices we have, the better! Some natural products do miss the mark, and ultimately they’ll fail because their products were not strong enough to get ‘mainstream’ product defectors.
The following body/health products all pass muster with flying colors, so I hope you’ll check them out when it’s time for you to restock your household bodycare basics.
type:A Deodorant
“Paying attention to every detail. Overachieving expectations.” If you’re a type A person, you’re already trying to find this product online. Will this product help you manage your incredibly overbooked, yet self-induced quest for perfection life? Nope. However, the Aluminum Free type:A Clean Crisp Citron will make you feel like you can breeze through your day as a pleasantly scented overachiever.
type:A contains a unique sweat activated formula that releases natural active ingredients. This allows for wetness and odor control during the day. The tube design is super smart as there is less product waste and the formula glides on very easily. Initially, I squished out too much and quickly learned that this smooth cream was just as effective used in smaller amounts. No need to cake layer! A thin swipe right after the shower was awesome and left me feeling fresh all day long, even in our hot Southern California days that we’re experiencing (suffering through) right now. If you’re looking to make the switch from a mainstream brand to a natural, aluminum free brand (AND YOU SHOULD SWITCH), then I recommend giving type:A a whirl. Now go and conquer the day, you little overachievers!
Visit their website here: https://typeadeodorant.com/
Get Free Shipping with code: SMARTER
GoPatch – Menstrual Cramps
Period cramps, irritability, headaches, nausea….these are just a few of the super fun symptoms many of us experience either before our period or for the super blessed, before and during! Our bodies are actually very smart machines, but often we muck up our own hormone machines by poor diet choices, too much alcohol, processed sugar, overdoing it with the cafe’ lattes. As a gal in my 40’s, I experience some doozy cramps and heavier periods NOW than I did when I was younger. My doctor (and friends of the same age) all tell me this is normal and it’s sort of like the last hurrah before it stops. Gee, thanks body! However, on the other end of the spectrum, I am seeing my daughter and her teen friends also experience some fairly severe cramping, hormone breakouts and nausea! I often hate taking something like a Motrin, as I find it’s harsh to the stomach lining and makes my stomach ache. So what are the natural options?
Homeopathic medicine is old (developed in the late 18th century), however, it is making a comeback as people realize that we’re not necessarily getting better with modern over the counter medicine. If anything, we are masking symptoms at best, but adding a lot of unnecessary garbage to our bodies. Homeopathic medicine is the use of small quantities of substances extracted from plants and minerals. It’s using nature to alleviate human ailments!
So when Nicole Burdock asked me if I could try out the homeopathic natural relief GoPatch, I was an enthusiastic, “heck yeah!” Nicole, the creator of the GoPatch, holds a B.S. in Biobehavioral Health from Penn State and earned a Masters Degree in Asian Medicine from Emperor’s College of Traditional Oriental Medicine. Nicole has also studied at The National College of Naturopathic Medicine and completed advanced studies in Ayurvedic Medicine, while studying abroad in India.
Nicole sent a Motion Sickness and a Menstrual Cramps GoPatch to review. I am actually the only person who will NOT get sick on a boat or road trip, so I need to find a weak-stomached or inner-ear challenged friend to try out the Motion Sickness patch. The Motion sickness patch may also help with hangovers! (I put them in my nightstand for the next time I ‘swear off’ drinking and am suffering from a hangover). However, I WAS able to find a Menstrual Cramp subject almost instantly. My teen daughter just happened to be experiencing menstrual cramps and didn’t have time to wallow in pain on the couch. She’s a golfer and spends long days out on the golf course practicing. I gave her a patch to place over her belly button and told her to check in with me later in the day. The feedback was great – she said her cramps were not very noticeable by the afternoon, and she had minimal nausea. Usually, she feels sick to her stomach for a few days, so the patch definitely helped relieve common menstrual symptoms so she could go about her day! We also joked that the patch covered her navel, so she now had no belly button like a Victoria Secret’s lingerie model. Yes, belly button removal surgery is actually a thing – good grief WHY, right?
If you suffer from nausea on long road trips, have been overserved at a Mom’s Wine Night or have brutal monthly period cramps, definitely check out the all natural and homeopathic GoPatch!
Bare Republic Mineral Sunscreen Stick
We are always out in the sun. We love it outside, so I try to keep a healthy supply of mineral sunscreen options stocked in the car. Sun sticks have been popular as of late, as my daughter golfs and after five hours on the course, she often gets burned on her neck, ears and face as she sweats off sunscreen. As she’s the toughest critic, I opened the Bare Republic sunstick and let her look at. “Oh, I don’t wear tinted sunscreen.” Cool, review over.
Just kidding – Actually, she grabbed it and said, “MMMMmm…this smells SO GOOD!” The stick has a lovely coconut vanilla scent. My picky teen ran the stick across her arm and then said it was actually very sheer and went on nicely, not sticky or clumpy like some mineral sunscreens can be. She said, yes she would wear it and then asked if she could put it in her golf bag. I actually already knew how she would react because I had tried it the day before on my face. I just wanted to get some unbiased teen feedback! I do love that the Bare Republic Mineral Sunscreen didn’t leave a ghostly white glow. It does have shea butter in it, so it’s moisturizing and you’ll feel it as you put it on – this isn’t a sheer dry product. However, I didn’t feel yucky or gummy after a long afternoon in the sun.
