Real moisturization must be real food Our skin eats! Our dermal (skin) system eats and extracts nourishment from the sun, the atmosphere, and from substances we apply topically, just as our digestive system eats and extracts nourishment from solid and liquid food and our respiratory system eats and extracts nourishment from our breath. For our body to extract nourishment from all the various things we eat - from the mouth, the lungs, the skin - one thing must be completely acknowledged as true and accurate. And that one thing is. . . . what we eat must be 'biologically appropriate'. In other words, food! Commercial moisturizers are marketed mostly via 'feel'. They are advertised as silky, smooth, etc. Unfortunately, they don't offer true skin cell hydration, only a temporary, surface texture manipulation via chemicals. This is why people must use so much in one application and also feel the need to apply the moisturizer so often.

Feed your living skin cells Each individual skin cell has an intriguing dual structural organization. The interior of the cell is watery, while the exterior surface is oily. The skin cell can efficiently receive nourishment three ways because of this hybrid arrangement - via water, via oil and finally, via an oil and water combination. The last approach is more commonly known as a lotion, which is oil and water held together in suspension by an emulsifier. Understanding this process through a holistic perspective highlights the importance of choosing ingredients for each phase and function that are biologically appropriate. Grateful Body uses only whole, real ingredients - no shortcuts. For example in the water phase we use aloe vera leaf juice, genuine plant hydrosols, herbal extractions & infusions. For the oil phase w e use pure botanical oils that haven't been refined, bleached, decolorized, de-scented or otherwise stripped of their nutritive profile. We emulsify with tree gums, neem seed, seaweed, and rice bran, and we preserve with ingredients like turmeric, marigold, gooseberry, wasabi and olive leaf.

Love your water Our body has a strict hydration organization that follows a water distribution system based on bodily survival needs. In other words, the body ranks itself in order of importance of allocating hydration. At the top of the list are the brain, the heart and lungs. At the bottom of the list are terminal appendices like toes & fingers, and the skin. When the body intakes water, it will first convert it to the important bodily fluids like cerebral spinal fluid, blood, hormonal secretions, breast milk, and plasma. Only then, if there is sufficient quantity, will the skin cells and dermal layers will be hydrated via sebum and cellular fluids. What does this all mean? Simply, that an extremely important part of a healthy skin ritual includes drinking sufficient quantities of water.

Hydrating Dry Skin What are the actual causes of dry skin? Dry skin is often due to environmental factors, improper diet, insufficient water intake, emotions and genetics. Another cause, unfortunately, is that many commercial 'dry skin' products actually dehydrate the skin or don't contribute to skin hydration in a genuine way. Inappropriate synthetic ingredients can clog the skin and block normal hydration channels. By applying a comprehensive, dermal diet of healthy, "whole food" skin care, drinking plenty of water, and avoiding contact between chemicals and our skin, we can expect dry skin to be properly hydrated in a healthy and authentic way.

Powerful Solutions Every single Grateful Body product provides real food to your skin. Grateful Body's Moisture Monsoon Restorative is a phenomenally rich oil elixir for chronically or acutely dry skin. You can add it by the drop to your daily Moisturizer (mix them together in the palm of your hand) to custom-boost your skin's hydration intake for the day. Choose our Hydrating Cleanser for the most moisturizing wash you can get. All our Moisturizers and Serums can be used day and night to feed and strengthen your skin. Eat well, inside and out, and you'll put your best face forward!

Genuine, virgin, botanical oils are truly incredible. To see and work with them in their unadulterated state is to be entranced and inspired. They have rich, majestic colors, and when you close your eyes and smell them, it's like suddenly gaining entrance into secret glens of deep nature. They smell powerful and multi-dimensional and seem to scramble the analytical parts of ourselves, allowing us a blessed moment of awe.

But honest-to-goodness plant oils are rare and almost never found in commercial skin care. Most of the plant oils used are refined, bleached, deodorized, processed, heated - plundered of their inherent goodness and nourishing value. These are the oils valued by the cosmetic chemist - devoid of smell & color, cheap, common and easy to work with. They can be sticky and comedogenic, result in shine, and feel greasy (you know the feeling!).

GratefulBody loves and is devoted to using beautiful, authentic plant oils. We use them extensively in our products, for we value their contributions to the health and function of the skin. Each oil is like a different person, with a distinct nutritive profile and set of strengths. Oils of avocado, walnut, green tea, borage, meadowfoam, jojoba, primrose, sesame, hemp, olive, pumpkin (to name a few); they all speak a precise, unmistakable language - the vocabulary of nature's profound gift to the cute little bipeds who inhabit this thin strip of gaia.

True plant oils, with their bountiful nourishment, are versatile in their contributions. They balance both oily and dry skin, provide relief from eczemas, provide excellent hydration, bring life and color to tired skin, and fortify aging skin; for they feed the skin cell with important, essential lipid nutrients. They contain naturally occurring antioxidants, vitamins, carotenoids, tocopherols, linolenic and linoleic acid and certainly the powerful and valuable plant lignans and sterols. They even contribute to balanced emotional and mental states.

GratefulBody uses only the finest plant oils that can be found. These carefully selected oils play a crucial part in all our Moisturizers, Serums and Treatments. That they are expensive and rare does not deter us, because they bring such essential vitality to the skin. Three of our most popular products are blends of pure botanical oils: Moisture Monsoon for dry skin, Oil Embargo for oily & combination skin, and of course, Midnight Oil, our exquisite body oil.

Do people with gluten intolerance need wheat-free and gluten-free skin care? The science on this issue is unclear; no one seems to know if the gluten allergens can be absorbed dermally. But for anyone with gluten intolerance or who has experienced allergic reactions to wheat/gluten, it is probably safer and healthier to be prudent in their choice of skin care. For those wishing to play it safe, it is handy to know that Grateful Body's complete skin and body care line is formulated without the use of any wheat or gluten containing ingredients.

Both celiacs and those with minor gluten intolerances have used our products with great success. One especially common symptom of gluten intolerance is dry skin. In fact, we are beginning to understand that chronically dry skin can be an early indicator of gluten-intolerance. If you have skin that tends to be dehydrated and feels parched or rough, Grateful Body has several recommendations for you. First, we suggest our Moisturizer for Dry Skin, Moisture Monsoon Restorative and Midnight Oil. If you wish to experiment with these products, use this code: GLUTEN15. This will give you 15% off these three products and you can use this code as often as you wish. If you know others who might be suffering from the many symptoms of Celiac disease and gluten-intolerance and would benefit from using gluten-free products, you are welcome to share this code with them. Read more about these products at www.gratefulbody.com

We also have a few other suggestions for celiacs and those with minor gluten intolerances.* To help ease gastrointestinal problems try drinking fennel and ginger tea. You can add a drop or two of St John's Wort tincture in the tea to help with the mood changes that accompany celiac disease. To help prevent or relieve the painful oral symptoms of a gluten reaction, try gargling with a concoction of warm fenugreek tea with a small amount of aloe vera juice and apple cider vinegar added. Also, you might try supplementing your morning breakfast with a small (1 oz.) glass of unsweetened bilberry juice.

For those of you learning to adopt to a gluten-free lifestyle here are a few helpful resources: http://glutenfreemommy.com/ and http://www.livingwithout.com/

Quite often, celiacs write us to ask if we can recommend a cosmetic/make-up line that is gluten-free and meets Grateful Body's strict ingredient standards. We honestly haven't found such a product line. But if you have any suggestions about a cosmetic line or other ideas that have helped you please write to us at skincare@gratefulbody.com and tell us about it!

*These tips are not meant to be taken as medical advice. Please consult your doctor before adding supplements to your regimen or making any major dietary changes.

Alison