As a tween I thought that a good facial routine meant wash, tone and spot treat.  But as I’ve gotten older, I’ve invested more in good cleansers and moisturizers than astringents or toners.

I have tried a few out here and there over the past few years, and recently decided to give
100% Pure Organic Peppermint Green Tea Facial Toner
a try.

It immediately surprised me since it has no alcohol, but has the same cool “burn” of the Windex colored toners of my past.  But whether or not it anti-ages, brightens, protects and repairs as recommended is still to be determined.  I’ll keep you posted!

Return to NaturallyDahling.com

One of my very favorite boutique skin care lines, Amelia’s Soap Co., has added some amazing new items to the line.

I rave often about how I love Amelia’s soaps, and refuse to travel without them.  Well now Mrs. Janet Amelia has been mixing up even more delightful bath beauties to become addicted to!

Famous for her gentle, moisturizing, Crisp Citrus scented body bars, the line also now includes scents like:

• Sunny Morning Soap with Orange Peal and Rosemary Petals
• Chamomile Tea and Lavender Soap with Calendula Petals
• Energizing Soap with Crushed Rosemary
• Gardner’s Soap with Crushed Apricot Seeds, Lavender Buds and Rosemary
• Unscented Oatmeal Scrub Bar (Made w/ gluten-free oats)

Mrs. Janet has also added round and rectangular soap gift sets, face polish and soap packets, and gift sets that include soaps, face polish and lip balm.

Everything Amelia’s sells is gluten-free, and in her extensive “All Natural” selection, there’s just so many wonderful choices!

You can purchase these bathing beauties from Amelia’s @ http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5518360&section_id=5690562

Months ago owner Karen Behnke gave me a generous sample of the moisturizer. Recently I’ve pulled that sample out to use and simply cannot stop touching my face since–I just can’t believe how soft my skin is!

I am even more surprised that this light, easily absorbed cream with SPF is so smooth and silky.  Usually I find products with SPF to be heavier, or milky.  But not this little gem.

So when you do need that extra SPF protection, Juice’s Moisturizer w/ SPF is gluten-free and a great way to go!

Of course, whilst all this drama (that I’m not sure I agree with) has been going on–Elaine Monarch of The Celiac Disease Foundation announced that: the inaccuracies in this book are potentially dangerous and detrimental to celiacs and to those yet to be diagnosed if people self diagnose and start eating GF–I have been busy on my quest to find a safe gluten-free dog food for our adopted GWP Waylon.  Waylon seems to be better off with less gluten in his diet, but I am also being a bit selfish in the matter and trying to avoid contaminating myself three times a day as well (via handling his food).

Isn’t it just amazing when you consider all of the small and unexpected ways in which you can get glutened?

Anyway, it’s a bit off topic from gluten-free beauty, but handling your pet’s food can most certainly cause you to ingest some amount of gluten, so do be careful!

Exciting stuff! I may have a new addition to place on Naturally Dah’ling tomorrow: Juice Beauty’s Oil Free Moisturizer.

Months ago I received some generous samples from Juice Beauty’s founder Karen Behnke at the Global Green Green and Gorgeous Event. While I did love my sample of the Hydrating Mist, I quickly realized that it contains “oat extract” so was unable to add it to my routine.

But the Oil Free Moisturizer was a wonderful light weight face cream which would be great for the summer and especially for men (sorry fellows, but technically speaking you have larger pores and more oily skin). I’ve e-mailed Karen to ask about the product’s Vitamin E and what it is sourced from.

I’ll keep you posted on the results!

Though there are some amazing gluten-free resources out there, I don’t typically take the time out to mention them.  I just wanted to recommend taking a look at some of these excellent gluten-free news resources.

Celiac-Disease Author Kyle is very much in tune with celiac new and happenings, his site is updated remarkably often, linking to blogs, articles and resources alike that you may not yet know about.

Texas GIG’s Google News Feed For newsworthy updates of global gluten-free information, this site is certainly worth bookmarking.

GIG or Gluten Intolerance Group of North America is a site I recently learned about, with is great for staying in the national loop of all events gluten-free.

And if you haven’t yet, please check out a new site that my boyfriend, Search Engine Consultant (and Expert) and I recently built.  GlutenFreeFox.com is the world’s first gluten-free search engine, customized to give better, more helpful gluten-free results than your average Google Search Engine.  I also welcome any feedback and suggested sites to add to our search engine!

Have a wonderful New Year’s!!

Kristen

My boyfriend and I have been working day and night to create a brand new, gluten-free resource site.  The site is called Gluten Free Fox.  It is the world’s first gluten-free search engine!

So now, instead of blind internet searches that don’t always result in the best or most current gluten-free results, when you simply visit www.GlutenFreeFox.com, you can type any gluten-free search term into the search box and will find the most applicable, valid search results in answer to your questions.

Now that the site has launched, I will be back to posting regularly, but do be sure to check it out!  Also, we are SO excited about the organic and natural fiber t-shirts being sold though the Gluten Free Fox Store!

For my articles and blogs on Celiac.com I have researched extensively, quoting doctors and other publications.  So here are my answers:

The average woman absorbs 30 pounds of the ingredients contained in moisturizers over sixty years (SOURCE: DR. HAUSCHKA)

The body’s digestive system is designed to filter out impurities, but the skin, the body’s largest organ, absorbs up to 60% of what is put on it straight into the bloodstream. (SOURCE: GOOD HOUSEKEEPING INSTITUTE)

The Federal Drug Administration has banned only nine personal care ingredients in the past 67 years, yet the European Union has outlawed 450. (SOURCE: ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP)

Laboratory tests have shown that teen girls across America are contaminated with chemicals that are most commonly found in cosmetics and skin care products. The Environmental Working Group found 16 chemicals from 4 toxic chemical families – phthalates, triclosan, parabens, and musks – in the blood and urine samples from all 20 of the teen girls tested. (SOURCE: ENVIRONMENTAL WORKING GROUP)

“Gluten sensitivity (celiac disease and gluten intolerance) is a systemic immune reaction to gluten anywhere in the body, not just that entering the body via the gut. Therefore, topically applied lotions, creams, shampoos, etc. containing gluten would indeed provide a source of gluten to the body, and we therefore recommend all such products be discontinued for optimal health.” (SOURCE: DR. KENNETH FINE)

“I would recommend that all topical products such as shampoos, lotions and creams be gluten-free (although others may not agree with me).” (SOURCE: DR. CYNTHIA RUDERT)

“Check your shampoos, check your make-ups.  You call the companies and ask them, get very clear, if you are a celiac (or gluten intolerant) patient you go the extra distance and you ask them: do they use any gluten or wheat in their products . . . Just one milligram of gluten is all it takes to prevent the body from healing.” (SOURCE: DR. THOMAS O’BRYAN)

Ultimately, the choice is yours; I just aim to arm you with some good, educated arguments towards change for the betterment of your personal health. 

The patient’s undiagnosed celiac had caused dangerous malnutrition, resulting in her insanity which eventually killed her baby and left her with stomach cancer.  It was one of those heart-breaking episodes, but what is so important is that they did cover this disease and the severity of it.  Due to lack of understanding, most people dismiss the idea of a sensitivity to gluten from wheat, barley and rye causing any real problems.

What people do not understand is that celiac disease and severe gluten intolerance cause the body to attack itself when gluten is introduced.  And these attacks prevent an individual from properly absorbing nutrients leading to a whole host of problems, some as sever as cancers and osteoporosis.

Everyone has a total and complete right to his/her opinion, but it does upset me when I am accused of simply “being picky” because I know the ramifications of gluten on my body, I’ve experienced some of them, and others I hope never to have to.  The general public is becoming more and more aware of celiac disease and the danger of food intolerances, and I sincerely hope that this trend continues.