Favorite Etsy Finds

Over the past few months I have made a handful of purchases on Etsy.com. If you haven't heard of Etsy before it is "Your place to buy and sell all things handmade, vintage, and supplies". You can find everything from beauty products to clothes to furniture to food. I have spent many hours just browsing through the pages and favoriting items that I would like to eventually purchase or that inspire me.

One of the really neat things about Etsy is that they have a team called "EcoEtsy". This is a team of sellers that are dedicated to reducing, reusing and recycling. You can visit their Etsy profile here and their website here.

Another interesting thing about Etsy is that you can shop for sellers/items in your area. That way you can reduce your environmental footprint by shipping products less distances and support local entrepreneurs.

I haven't done a whole lot of purchasing on Etsy yet but I did want to share some of my favorite finds. These sellers are from all over the world and I highly recommend their products.

1. Christy Studio. Christy is from Malaysia and makes the best hand bags I have ever purchased. She makes her hand bags in lots of beautiful colours and has a style that can suit anyone's needs. The first bag I purchased from her was the Denise bag in a purple/fuscia color. She didn't have it listed in this color but when I messaged her she had no problem making the bag in the color. The second bag I purchased from her was the Anna bag in hot pink. The color is even more stunning in person than it was in pictures. It is huge as well. I have used it as a carry on bag when traveling and it fits everything I would ever need. Her customer service, speed and quality is absolutely amazing. I find a lot of bags I buy start to fall apart pretty quickly but these ones are built well enough that they can handle anything. She is one of my favorite sellers on Etsy and I will definitely be going back to her in the future. Click here to check out her Etsy store.

This bag is huge on the inside. There are 5 good sized books in there right now as an example. This is the Anna bag.

2. mylavendercottage. Kari is from Wisconsin and she is seriously gifted when it comes to paper. I purchased her 12 Month Planner and List Keeper stack with the 3-month and page marker add ons and layout upgrade. I had questions about my order and Kari responded to my messages quickly and with great willingness to help. Her handy-work is absolutely superb and I can promise I'll be going to her when this day planner expires. Click here to check out her Etsy store.

Kind of beaten up already but still in great working order.

3. cottonpurr. JoJo is from Georgia and she makes the most beautiful wallets/clutches. I think one of my favorite things about JoJo is that not only does she have different styles for different needs she has soooooo many different patterns. It took me a while to decide which one I wanted because there were so many that I liked. In the end I loved my decision and have received multiple compliments on it while out shopping. Her custom service was fantastic when I had issues with shipping (Canada Post strike for the loss) and was willing to do what it took to make the customer happy. Click here to check out her Etsy store.

Fits way more stuff than I ever thought it would.

4. soapwallakitchen. Rachel is from New York and has made the only natural deodorant that actually works. Well maybe not, but the only one I have been able to find that actually works. It smells fantastic and really does last. Even through a sweaty hot yoga class. The deodorant took a couple times to get used to because it is a cream not a stick but the cream absorbs into your skin really quickly so there were no problems. I bought two tubs with my first purchase and I can guarantee I'll be going back for more when I run out. Click here to check out her Etsy store.

Convenient size to fit in your purse as well.

5. tibetane. Cara is a little different from the rest of the above sellers. I guess I am kind of cheating here because she is no longer on Etsy. She makes stunning jewelry for really great prices. I originally purchased my earrings from her when she was still on Etsy. Since then she has closed the store and moved to a different website. I highly recommend you check out what she has up. She is super sweet and really talented in what she does. She also has new stock in frequently so there is always something new to see. Click here to check out her online store.

You can't tell from the picture but the turquoise is so vibrant.

As you can tell I like to shop. Hahaha. But honestly, I really do recommend all of the above sellers. If you've heard of Etsy before, do you have any favorite sellers?

Sunburns: Prevention, Treatment (Part 2)

To read part one of the sunburns posts please click here.

The next logical step after the last post is to talk about how to protect yourself against the sun. The first way you can protect yourself really isn't something you can control. In yesterday's post I talked a little bit about melanin. Just as a recap, melanin protects our cell's DNA from being damaged by ultraviolet radiation (UVR). Melanin is also what gives our skin brownish/tan pigmentation. Now there are two ways our body reacts to UV rays. When UVA reaches our skin it immediately oxidizes the melanin already in our skin and triggers melanocytes to release more melanin. This creates a quick tan that can last for days. When UVB reaches our skin it stimulates our body to actually produce more melanin. This means that we can still tan from UVB rays but it takes around 2 days for us to see the tan. (source)

All in all, melanin is our body's way of naturally defending itself against UVR. But this only works in moderate exposure. When we are overexposed to UVR we become vulnerable to the damages that it can cause. Which brings us to the second way to protect ourselves: not coming into contact with UVR/minimal contact. This is probably the best way to protect ourselves from the damaging effects of UVR. But it can be pretty unreasonable to never go outside. Therefore when you are outside, try to stay in shaded areas. Or wear hats and clothing that protect your skin. It is my personal belief that exposure to the sun is good for us but just like everything else in life, it's all about moderation. So next time you go to the beach, bring a big sun hat or sun umbrella to lay under when you're not swimming.

The third way to protect ourselves is to wear sunscreen. Now there is controversy online about sunscreen vs sunblock but for the purposes of this post I'm going to generalize it as sunscreen. Sun Protectant Factor (SPF) is the quantitative measure of a sunscreen's ability to protect you against the sun. The easiest way to explain how it works is to give you an example. If your skin burns in 5 minutes then a sunscreen with an SPF of 30 will protect you for 30 times longer (2.5 hours). The higher the SPF the better in my books although I did find an interesting article online that talks about how SPF factor doesn't really matter since the differences in protection are so minimal. Some sunscreens claim to be water resistant/sweat resistant but I recommend reapplying after swimming or physical activity. You should also reapply after prolonged exposure to the sun (for me it's about every 2 hours). When purchasing sunscreen make sure to get a "broad-spectrum sunscreen" as these are the ones that will protect you against both UVA and UVB rays. Some sunscreens will protect you against UVB rays and not against UVA rays. This can be deceiving since UVB rays are the ones that cause sunburns. So just because you don't have a sunburn doesn't mean you were completely protected against both types of radiation.

Two of the most common compounds in sunscreens are titanium dioxide, and zinc oxide.

Titanium dioxide is found in almost every sunscreen with a physical blocker because of its high refractive index, its strong UV light absorbing capabilities and its resistance to discolouration under ultraviolet light. This advantage enhances its stability and ability to protect the skin from ultraviolet light. The titanium dioxide particles used in sunscreens have to be coated with silica or alumina, because titanium dioxide creates radicals in the photocatalytic reaction. These radicals are carcinogenic, and could damage the skin. (source) I was able to find an article on titanium dioxide that states that studies have shown it as being non-carcinogenic unless in the form of ultrafine or nano particles.

From what I have been able to find on zinc oxide its function in sunscreens is to absorb UV light. It does not get absorbed into the skin, instead staying on the outer surface. One natural sunscreen company states that they put ingredients that are high in antioxidants to counter any free radicals that can be created by the zinc oxide. Another thing you can do to help fight against free radicals is to eat foods that are high in antioxidants like blueberries and acai. Overall it looks like zinc oxide is better than titanium dioxide in toxicity testing.

Compounds like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide are found in mineral sunscreens. They stay on the surface of the skin. Chemical sunscreens however are absorbed into our skin and can cause other damaging effects. To read more on chemical sunscreens please go here. For the most part I would stay away from chemical sunscreens whenever possible for a few reasons:

1. They are powerful free radical generators.
2. They often have strong estrogenic activity.
3. They are synthetic chemicals that are alien to the human body and accumulate in body fat stores.
(source)

Recommended Sunscreens

When I went down south last Christmas I stocked up on a bunch of sunscreen. Therefore I am still working my way through the current stash at home and haven't been able to test out any of the products listed below. I have found the below products using google searches and with the help of Ecoholic's article "What’s the greenest sunscreen on the shelf?".

1. Aveeno Sunscreen Lotion with SPF 55. This is the sunscreen stash I am currently working my way through. Taking a quick look at the label it has zinc oxide in it and no parabens. This formula does leave a bit of a white film on my skin but since I'm pale it doesn't bother me. The reason I liked this one so much is because it is non-greasy and provides really good protection. I missed a spot when I went to the beach lately and you could tell big time.

2. Aveeno Natural Protection Sunblock Lotion with SPF 30. This one I found on Aveeno's American website as it is not available in Canada. Although the website does not have an ingredient list posted the description states "contains MINERALBLOCK Technology with 100% naturally-sourced active ingredients...". I would read the ingredient list before purchasing though to make sure there aren't any nasty chemicals.

3. Green Beaver Certified Organic SPF 30 Adult Body Lotion. Only available in Canada Green Beaver's line of sunscreens are made with zinc oxide as the main protection agent. What impressed me about this product is that the website states it is "Organic Certified, Health Canada approved, Non-whitening, Waterproof, Fragrance-free, Non-nano, non-silicone coated". The website does also have the ingredient list posted so check out the link for more information as to what is in it and where you can purchase it.

4. Badger SPF 30+ Unscented Sunscreen. Again, uses zinc oxide as the active sunscreen ingredient. Website does have the ingredient listed posted and a quick skim through shows that it does not have any parabens in it. It also has cocoa butter and shea butter in it which will help keep your skin moisturized preventing wrinkles. This one is probably the next one I will test out.

Edit: My lovely friend Lisa reviewed Badger Sunscreen on her blog. Check it out here. Basically, it sucks. Don't get it!

5. Kiss My Face Oat Protein Sun Screen SPF 30. Another paraben free, zinc oxide based sunscreen. Website has the full ingredient list posted. The description states "combines Oat Protein and Oat Beta Glucan, a dynamic duo of ingredients that help reduce irritation and inflammation and fight against damaging free-radicals as they moisturize your skin.". This is pretty cool in my books.

All in all there are lots of options out there. The best thing I can recommend is for you to go to your dermatologist for recommendations as they can assess your skin type and recommend something specific for you. You can also visit your local health food store. Just be careful to check ingredient lists as sometimes the products are listed as "natural" but actually have some nasty chemicals in them.

I learned a lot writing these last two posts and hope you have too. If you have a favorite sunscreen that you recommend me testing out please comment below.

(edited to include the following)

Sunburn Treatment

I have found that there aren't any products that will make your sunburn heal faster but there are some that help with the pain of sunburns. I always drink lots of water to keep the skin moisturized. This will definitely make you feel better and make your skin feel less like it's going to crack. I also recommend using 100% aloe which can be found and your local health food store or pharmacy. This literally cools your skin and helps treat the pain of the sunburn. Times when I have had a really really bad burn I have also used Vitamin E. This can get messy since it is a sticky oil but it again helps to keep the skin hydrated which will help with the healing process. I find the best thing to do is to put this on before you go to bed at night and wash it off in the morning. My only warning is that you might stick to your sheets.

Sunburns: Breakdown (Part 1)

This doesn't have anything to do with yoga but a lot to do with my life. As a red head I get sun burns regularly. Summer or winter. Sunshine or overcast. I am far from a specialist about sun burns but I thought I would share a little bit about what they are, best ways to prevent them and how to treat them. (edit: this post got pretty scientific so I'm sorry if any of this is confusing. Please check out the sources I have notated for deeper explanations.)

Originally I was going to start this post talking about ultraviolet radiation but I thought maybe I would give you some background on our body's way of protecting ourselves from it first. In the bottom layer of our skin we have cells called melanocytes. These cells produce melanin and insert the melanin into melanosomes (specialized cellular vesicles). The melanosomes are then transferred into skin cells in our epidermis. Once in a skin cell melanosomes accumulate on the cell nucleus where they protect the nuclear DNA from being damaged by ultraviolet radiation (UVR). (source) Melanin protects the nuclear DNA by absorbing UVR and dissipating the energy as harmless heat. (source)

Ultraviolet radiation (UVR) is produced naturally by our sun and artificially by sources like tanning bed bulbs. There are 3 types of UVR rays: UVA, UVB and UVC.

UVC has the shortest wavelength and the most energy, but it doesn't reach the Earth's surface because it's stopped by ozone in the Earth's atmosphere.

UVB light is between UVA and UVC in wavelength and energy and is the primary cause of sunburns. UVB light can cause direct DNA damage. Direct DNA damage happens when the radiation excites DNA molecules in skin cells, causing adjacent thymine bases to bond with each other, instead of across the "ladder". This "thymine dimer" makes a bulge, and the distorted DNA molecule does not function properly. (source). When this happens either type 1 cell-death is triggered, the DNA is repaired by our body or the cell is replicated with the damaged DNA. When the damaged DNA is replicated a DNA mutation will be present in the new skin cell. This mutation can result in cancerous growths. From what I can tell these growths form the two most common types of skin cancer: squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma. For more information on skin cancer go here.

UVA has the longest wavelength, the least energy, and the most penetrating power of the 3 types. Of all the UV light that reaches the Earth, about 95% of it is UVA. (source) Studies have shown that increased exposure to UVA rays can cause pre-mature aging of the skin and indirect DNA damage. From my understanding indirect DNA damage causes malignant melanoma (for more details go here). Melanoma is the least common type of skin cancer but it is the deadliest causing 75% of skin cancer related deaths (source).

Tomorrow's post will talk about sunscreens (what's in them, natural vs. artificial, recommendations), how they work and what to do if you find yourself looking a little red after a day outside.

Yin Practice

I figured this would be an appropriate post after my last one since I struggle a lot with Yin.

Here is a bit of a background on yin yoga for those who are not familiar. Regular asana practice focuses on our muscles. On the strength and flexibility of these muscles. It isn't always but it can be a demanding practice. Poses like chaturanga and utkatasana focus on building strength. Whereas poses like uttanasana and prasarita padottanasana focus on building flexibility in the muscles. This is called our yang practice. Our active practice. Yin on the other hand is more of a passive practice. Yin yoga focuses on stretching our connective tissues, specifically our ligaments and tendons. It does this by holding postures for longer periods of time (anywhere from 2-8 minutes). When holding postures for this amount of time it forces us to become passive, to not use our muscles. When our muscles are no longer active we can get a stretch in our joints and spine. (To find our more about yin yoga go here) As with the rest of our life, yoga requires balance. Balance between our muscles and our connective tissues. Most asana classes will have a yin section at the very end but the poses are not held as long as in a yin class.

As much as I love how open and relaxed my body always feels after a yin practice, the practice itself, the whole 75 minutes is always a really hard struggle for me. One of the many reasons I love yang yoga is that you don't hold the poses for very long. Therefore my mind always has something new to focus on. On average a yin pose is held for about 5 minutes. This gives my mind time to a-wander or b-focus on how much I don't want to be in the pose. I'm not sure if everyone else feels this way during a yin practice but I know that I'm in the pose properly when it starts to feel like I'm old and I don't know how I'm going to get out of the pose. Which starts the ball rolling into a mini panic. I start to fidget and sweat a lot. I find myself saying "get out of this pose now, now, NOW!".

I want to clarify that I am never in pain in yin, you should never be in pain in any yoga practice. I just find it to be the hardest practice I can do mentally. I really hope this doesn't intimidate readers to try this out. Like I said above, I reap amazing benefits from my yin practice. I just wanted to throw my mental struggles with yin out there so that someone else will realize they are not alone if they have a hard time with yin as well.

And since I haven't posted any photos for a long time I thought I would show you some of the regular yin asanas.Anahatasana (image source) stimulates the meridian lines that run along the spine (urinary bladder lines) and along the arms. It especially helps to open our chests (heart and lungs). (source)

Dragons (image source) stimulates the stomach, spleen, gall bladder, liver, kidney and urinary bladder meridian lines. (source)

Saddle (image source) stimulates the stomach, spleen, urinary bladder and kidney meridian lines. (source)