Here’s a little Sunscreen 101 for you, as well as a few other tips for keeping your skin healthy and hydrated all summer long.
Read on to find out how different sunscreens work in different ways and how they can be easily implemented into your daily routines!
]]>Summer is here and we’re excited to spend more time outside as stores and patios re-open for business. Picnics and park hangs and beach days? Yes please! But don’t forget your sunscreen.
I know from experience how easy it can be to get lax with your sun protection. You tell yourself you’ll apply it later or that you’ll stay in the shade, but by the end of the day—it’s lobster city. And not the good kind that you get to eat.
When you’re spending long hours in the sun, SPF is your best friend. Exposure to harmful UVA and UVB rays won’t just leave you with a painful sunburn, it causes long term skin damage, which can lead to skin cancer. Did you know it can also suppress your immune system? Yikes!
One of the best ways to protect yourself and your skin while you’re outside is to make sunscreen part of your daily routine. So here’s a little Sunscreen 101 for you, as well as a few other tips for keeping your skin healthy and hydrated all summer long.
You’ve probably heard of SPF, but do you know what it means?
SPF stands for Sun Protection Factor. The number indicates a sunscreen’s ability to deflect UVB rays. It’s calculated by comparing how long it takes protected skin to sunburn vs. how long it takes unprotected skin to sunburn.!!!If you’re like me, and the math part starts to hurt your brain, just know that SPF 30 or higher is recommended to protect against sunburn and long term skin damage. SPF 30 will give you 97% deflection of those UVB rays. You get an extra 1% for every 20 factor increase, so SPF 50 is 98% and SPF 70 is 99%.
Sunscreens work in different ways depending on what kind you’re getting. There are two main types: mineral sunscreen or so-called classic sunscreen. Classic sunscreen uses chemical components that absorb and dissipate UVA/UVB rays, while mineral sunscreen uses physical mineral components like titanium dioxide and zinc oxide to scatter and reflect those rays. Both are effective, they’re just different.
The main suncare brand we proudly carry—Coola—makes both classic and mineral sunscreens. They offer a wide range of products to fit your needs. Whether it’s for your face, for full body coverage, or something water resistant, Coola’s got you covered. We carry a range of their classic and mineral sunscreens, as well as some of their unique products like tinted BB+ creams, Refreshing Water Mist, and Makeup Setting Spray—all with SPF!
Now that the dryness of winter is behind us, it’s all too easy to forget about keeping our skin hydrated. Summer skincare is about more than just remembering to slather on the sunscreen.
So what should be in your summer arsenal? H+H has you covered! Here are a few of the most effective products to boost your skincare regimen during the summer months.
Serums are a great way to keep skin moisturized without weighing it down. The last thing you want when you’re hot and sweaty and covered in sunscreen is to add another layer of cream. Serums keep your skin hydrated and smooth, while giving you a natural dewy glow.
Here are a few that we have in store:
Toners are another way to give your skin the hydration it needs. They’re most often used between cleansing and moisturizing your face, but they’re also a great way to refresh your skin throughout the day. Spritz on overheated skin to give yourself a much-needed cool down. A great bonus? They’re often made with floral waters, so they smell fantastic!
Try some of these great toners we carry:
Don’t just focus on what you’re putting on your skin. What you put in your body affects your skin, too. We all know it’s important to drink lots of water to replenish your body on sweaty days, but it keeps your skin healthy, too.
Brew some of H+H’s Beauty Tea blend and pour it over ice for a deliciously cool beverage that will keep you refreshed, inside and out. Beauty Tea is specially blended in-store in small batches with organic herbs to support your lymphatic and nervous systems, alleviating all types of skin stress. The Calendula Petals, Chamomile Flowers and Lavender Flowers all have an anti-inflammatory action on the skin and help calm and heal any irritation, redness or blemishes. The Nettle, Cleavers and Red Clover Blossoms all work to keep your skin’s circulation of water and nutrients moving efficiently to give your skin tone a beautiful glow!
Enjoy the sun and stay safe out there!
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International Tea Day is celebrated globally on May 21st, but here at Helen + Hildegard, it’s Tea Day everyday - especially for our founder, Sonya D’Cunha. Herbs have been a guiding force in Sonya’s life, and she makes a point to have some herbs brewed into tea throughout most of the day. We asked our in-house expert about some of her favourite teas and why it’s so important to have tea in our lives!
I’m rediscovering an old favourite: Labrador Tea. I used to harvest this all the time while camping and canoeing in Algonquin. It’s a little evergreen shrub, native to Northern Ontario that you can find in the woods and on the Canadian Shield. It has these amazing, structured leaves that are green on one side and a fuzzy burnt orange on the other side. Often, a fuzzy component to a leaf or plant indicates an affinity for the lung, so nature tells us that this is a great respiratory tea.
Of the teas we carry, I personally love Women’s Wisdom! I also love Elderflower tea, it’s a respiratory aid that’s a great circulatory stimulant and wonderful for reproductive health as well. It has a delicious flavour too - adding Elderflower into a tea blend always brews into a full bodied infusion. In the evening; organic Chamomile is my staple, while in the morning I really like doing a combination of Holy Basil and Yerba Mate to foster a clear mind throughout my day. Lastly, when in doubt I will always mix Nettle Leaf in - they’re great for energy because they’re high in iron, and are wonderful support for the liver and lymphatic cleansing.
I try to make tea uncomplicated, and therefore accessible, for people but one easy tip is to use loose leaf teas instead of bagged tea. The benefit of loose leaf tea is that, not only is it typically less expensive and creates less waste, but you’re able to see the quality of the plant first hand. It’s important to ensure that its dried version has some resemblance to its fresh form, indicating that it still maintains the plant’s potency and flavour for your maximum enjoyment.
Organic teas are typically more trustworthy for quality and purity because their production processes are so highly controlled, and there are transparent and traceable third party management systems that growers and handlers are accountable to in order to achieve organic certification. In addition to this level of scrutiny, chemicals and pesticides being used on tea can sometimes diminish the potency and interfere with its flavour.
First off, I always ask what they’re personally experiencing, and what they’d want the tea to try to get the whole story. Someone might come in for stomach aches, but after digging deeper over a gentle conversation, I’ll learn that those aches aren’t coming from a digestive issue, but instead they seem to get a cramping sensation every time they have a big work deadline. In that case I might take a look at supporting their nervous system and how they manage stress in addition to herbs that will help calm their tummy. It’s always important to get to the root cause of an issue. Secondly, I also always ask about interactions: are they on any other medication, have any major or acute health issues, and if there’s anything they’re already doing to help address this. That way I can complement their other therapeutic efforts instead of contradicting or duplicating them.
In a number of beautiful ways! Brewing a tea can be such a wonderful mindful practice. It’s something that is integrated across cultures, as soon as there were plants plus water - even without heat - people have been drinking teas of some nature for ages.
Teas are such a simple way to get basic nutrition. Drinking tea is a very efficient way to get nutrients into your body and have them assimilate easily. Your body can only absorb a certain dosage of vitamins and minerals through capsules and pills, but if you’re sipping on teas throughout the day, they work as a time release because the nutrients are flowing through the digestive system already broken down and ready to absorb.
In my experience, I have found that tea is the great equalizer between cultures, socioeconomic groups, and people of all backgrounds. I used to run workshops for women-at-risk in different marginalized communities where many of the women and young mothers were new immigrants to Canada. Often, these women weren’t too practiced in English - and I obviously couldn’t speak the plethora of languages they spoke - but we found common ground through the ritual of tea together. Sharing the different teas from each of their cultures was such a rich unifying connector for everyone.
Be sure to explore our selection of custom tea blends online or pop by the shop (for distanced/curb-side service) and have a tea consultation to figure out what blend might be right for you. Celebrate International Tea Day with some freshly brewed, organic, loose leaf tea this year and feel the magic of tea flow through your body.
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For a practical understanding of Green Chemistry in the world of beauty and self-care, let’s dial into some really incredible walk-the-walk brands on the shelves at H+H.
In the spirit of Earth Day, we are highlighting the benefits of Green Chemistry in the beauty industry so that with a deeper understanding of ingredients in your favourite products, you can feel confident in your choices as a consumer.
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For a practical understanding of Green Chemistry in the world of beauty and self-care, let’s dial into some really incredible walk-the-walk brands on the shelves at H+H. Each of the brands we carry follow these strict environmental and ingredient guidelines and in their own way, go the extra mile to help the earth thrive!
In the spirit of Earth Day, we are highlighting the benefits of Green Chemistry in the beauty industry so that with a deeper understanding of ingredients in your favourite products, you can feel confident in your choices as a consumer. It’s incredible to know that from the development of a product to its use in everyday routines, it is thoughtfully designed and safe and beneficial for the planet.
So now that you know a little more about Green Chemistry (if you missed that intro article you can check it out here) let’s explore where you may find this amazing science in some of the products in our shop in ways that really matter.
You may find that the language behind Green Chemistry can read a little complicated and may use chemical names that you might not recognize as ‘natural’. How do you really KNOW if it's Green Chemistry or synthetic junk when reading an ingredient list? Simple, shop with H+H! This isn’t meant to sound like a sales pitch, it's because we do the work!
We’ve done all the research for you, making sure that nothing comes through our doors and to our shelves that is harmful to your body or the body of Mother Nature. We know as consumers it's empowering to begin to recognize some standout terms (and if that is for you then keep reading!) but we also know that it can feel overwhelming at times navigating through products with more complex ingredients.
If you are curious about how to decipher Green Chemistry terms from Synthetic, let us know! We would be more than happy to help and provide further insight.
So without further delay, LET’S DIVE IN!
We would like to start off by saying that ALL of the beauty brands in our H+H boutique are sophisticated, well-curated, and thoughtful by design. We’ve picked three terrific brands to highlight in this article, even though we could talk for hours about each brand’s unique story and fabulous product line-up! So for the purpose of this piece we are keeping it short and sweet (but stay tuned to our blog as we continue to dive into more brands in future posts)!
CONSONANT SKINCARE
All of the products in this curation are unscented, don’t degrade the environment and are aesthetically sophisticated. Although their ingredient lists may be long, with some chemical terms, they are 100% a Green Chemistry brand! Consonant is transparent about their formulations and clearly states on their labels the percentage natural that their ingredients add up to. You can trust us when we say this brand doesn’t greenwash, which is when some companies pose as putting out something ‘natural’ or ‘green & clean’ when in actuality, it’s just a superficial effort.
An ingredient found in Consonant’s natural face creams and moisturizers is Leuconostoc/Radish Root Ferment Filtrate. What exactly is this and what does it do? This highly effective preservative ingredient is created by fermenting Raphanus sativus (Radish) roots with a bacterial microorganism from lactic acid. Yes, radishes! It’s also the same lactic acid bacteria used to make the traditional Korean condiment, Kimchi!
This unique ingredient demonstrates that some bacteria and microbes are beneficial. When making a water based product, preservatives are a must-have for reliable antimicrobial action. Remember, where there is water, there is life! As well, once a product is open you need an ingredient that will stop foreign and possibly harmful bacteria from growing in your beauty product. To put it simply, with Leuconostoc, it is a good bacteria that stops the growth of harmful bacteria!
The development of this fermented radish root extract was a game-changer in the world of natural skincare as there used to be very few natural preservative systems that were robust enough to ensure a long shelf life.
We’re excited to see many of the brands we carry formulating with it now- you’ll find this ingredient is also relied on by Wildcraft and Province Apothecary to name a few. Amazingly antimicrobial, now you know that when you see Leuconostoc on your natural skincare label, you’ll know with confidence that it’s an approved and highly regarded Green Chemistry ingredient.
KAIA NATURALS
Interestingly enough, the next ingredient in our Green Chemistry highlight is a champion deodorizing ingredient derived from corn - Propanediol.
Similar to the carrier oils of coconut and almond, this corn based product was found to have the ability to minimize the activity of odour-causing bacteria, which is often the cause of stinky armpits! Talk about a pivotal moment for those corn scientists! After much research and development they were able to get the deodorizing protection to last all day while keeping its chemical structure stable during product formulation.
On the topic of corn, you may be thinking “Isn’t the mono-culture and over consumption of corn harvesting damaging to the environment? And aren’t corn crops GMO?” The answer can sometimes be yes! But, not at H+H *wink wink!
As we mentioned in our Green Chemistry article Sonya, our in house herbalist and Green Chemist not only checks the ingredient lists to weed out the prohibited ingredients but also checks with the brand personally to make sure that the ingredients used are ethically sourced. It’s critical to ensure that the farming practices are maintaining balance and/or benefiting the planet during its production. All of Kaia Natural’s Propanediol-based deodorants are sourced with non-GMO corn! As well, Propanediol is produced by using the by-product material of the corn-grown-for-food industry, so it diverts tons of waste from landfill in creating this highly useful ingredient.
Want to know something super cool? The chemical structure of Propanediol, also known as corn glycol, is similar to that of propylene glycol or butylene glycol- those are two primary petroleum based ingredients used in conventional deodorants on the market. Due to this, the corn glycol will behave similarly in its deodorizing capacity, and 90 - 95% of consumers find that they don’t notice a difference when switching over to natural deodorant!
The extraction and production of petroleum based products are hugely detrimental when it comes to the health of our planet and climate change. The production and use of these synthetic materials is a huge contributor to global warming and the burning of fossil fuels! Knowing what we know today, how we are connected, and how Green Chemistry has advanced over that last 20 years, we’re glad to be able to use such an effective natural replacement such as Propanediol in deodorant technologies.
COOLA
Last in our line-up today, let’s talk about sunscreens. Certain carrier oils like sesame seed, for example, have a natural sun protecting activity of SPF 15. Using oils like this directly on your skin may seem like a natural option for sunscreen, but in this raw form it’s not strong enough to screen the sun’s harmful UVA and UVB rays for a sustained coverage. Anyway, we’d also end up with a pretty greasy finish and smelling like a delicious tahini sauce!
Since a natural standardized sun screen of 30+ SPF using whole plant materials like a base oil or a wax can’t be achieved, Green Chemistry can bridge the gap with proven functional ingredients.
Coola is a fabulous brand offering a selection of highly technical products that use clean synthetic ingredients to deliver natural skin protecting actives to help protect us from the sun’s rays, without degrading the environment. These green sunscreen products contain the micro minerals Zinc Oxide and Titanium Oxide for protection that creates what we call ‘the block’. Coola’s Matte Unscented BB Cream uses these key ingredients to create a fine blend offering the consumer a truly effective natural sunscreen.
Some chemical sunscreen brands have been called out for their detrimental impacts on ocean ecosystems, specifically the tropical coral reefs, and have been banned from use by regions working to protect these unique marine environments. Using sunscreens that are formulated as “Reef Safe” do their part to help you enjoy the sun while knowing that the products you’re using are biodegradable and not damaging to the ocean and its precious inhabitants. Coola is proudly a reef safe brand focusing on protecting the planet as much as they are protecting you. Take a deep dive into Coola’s ingredient list hereand discover how their unique formula is made!
The theme for this post rose from the inspiration of Earth Day, but it is important to remember EVERY DAY IS EARTH DAY! Each moment you have the opportunity to be a conscious consumer, choose the path of empowerment. Educate yourself to make ethical choices that support your values and if you have questions or want to learn more, know that we are here to support your exploration! Navigating through all of this isn’t always a straight line, so at H+H we hope to offer you guidance through knowledge wherever we can.
Thank you for reading! We would love to know what you think! Drop us your questions or insights in the comments below and let’s continue the conversation.
To further experience the gifts of our amazing natural world, take a moment for yourself to connect with the Earth. Spend some quiet time with a household plant or get grounded by placing your feet in the grass, or close your eyes and raise your face to the sun, and breathe deeply. Give kindness to Mother Nature whenever you can and from all of us at H+H, HAPPY EARTH DAY!
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You may have heard the term Green Chemistry before but what does it really mean? Natural? Organic? Clean? Cruelty free? Environmentally friendly? It encompasses many of these important aspects, but truly takes a deeper role in the practice of sustainability for people and the world we all share.
This week, in honour of Earth Day on April 22nd we are highlighting the key reasons why Green Chemistry is important, and sharing how we qualify each of our personal care and beauty products at H+H under this standard.
Green Chemistry is a branch of the cosmetic industry that primarily uses nature-derived ingredients that uphold stringent environmental and health & safety standards. This ensures that the sourcing of an ingredient, the processing, the handling, and the finishing of this raw material has a clean environmental scorecard from cradle to grave! The diverse roster of tools under this science empowers cosmetic chemists to formulate highly ethical, functional and sophisticated beauty products that are aesthetically on par with their conventional equivalents on the market.
How Do We Qualify Green Chemistry at H+H?
Green Chemistry has come a long way since its inception to the industry in 1990. Yes - 1990! Not so long ago in years, but eons of evolution has occured in the past few decades to create such a robust science. This pillar of our shop’s values is something we’re proudly passionate about and it’s something our customers have come to trust from us over the years too!
In celebration of Earth Day we are highlighting Green Chemistry so you can dive deeper into the everyday ways that we practice this evolved science! Empowering our customers with knowledge as a discerning consumer is ultimately important to us and we hope this insight inspires you to feel confident that you too are supporting Mother Earth in your daily beauty routine.
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Mother Nature generously graces the earth with plants that inherently heal & nurture those who roam among them. Understanding how botanicals benefit our mind & body gives us the power to thrive in balance with our planet ✨
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Herbal healing is the foundational inspiration behind our apothecary, the philosophy that roots our approach to the custom herbal tea blends that we individually craft for our customers.
If you want to ease your mood, mind or body with a personally balanced blend, we’ll happily build a tea for you!
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We understand you may have questions about this process and we are here to help!
You can contact Sonya, our in-house herbalist and the founder of Helen + Hildegard, directly by emailing your questions and inquiries to apothecary@helenandhildegard.com. We also invite you to give us a ring by phone at 647.348.1833 where you can speak to someone directly.
To start, let us know what symptoms you are feeling or what type of mood, mind or body shift you would adjust. Below are a few blends we currently sell that have all been inspired by custom blend requests!
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1. Beauty Tea
Tone and clear your skin with a blend of herbs that support your lymphatic and nervous systems with key vitamins and minerals for healthier skin.
2. Breathe Tea
This infusion of aromatic herbs will soothe your throat and calm a cough, giving you both upper and lower respiratory support.
This fortifying blend of restorative roots and barks will give you the foundational strength to get you from run down to back on your feet.
4. Joy Tea
Enjoy this uplifting blend of calming herbs that help you destress, feel comforted, joyful and open-hearted.
A calming, nutritive blend to enjoy throughout the childbearing year from pre-conception and pregnancy to post-natal periods. Safe to use while breastfeeding.
6. Sleep Through the Night Tea
This blend helps you fall asleep, stay asleep, sleep more soundly, and wake up refreshed.
A wonderful blend of balancing botanicals that support and tone a woman's reproductive system throughout any stage of her life.
A warming digestive blend to sip before, during or after a meal to help ease tummy upset and bloating.
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It is important to us that our customers have access to their daily therapeutic herbs, custom tea blends and apothecary essentials while staying in the comfort of their own home. We look forward to exploring herbal tea blends with you and making you something truly special!
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You might not know where it’s supposed to fit into your skincare routine, or whether you really need it at all. Well, we’re here to tell you that you do! No skincare routine is complete without toner. We’re breaking it down for you, giving you everything you need to know about how toner works and how to use it.
Toners, as the name suggests, tone the skin. They often contain an astringent ingredient that closes the pores and gives your skin that tightening sensation. A well formulated toner will also rebalance your skin’s natural pH, give it a hit of hydration, and have a calming effect to reduce redness.
Cleansers awaken the pores, helping to provide the deep cleanse your skin needs, but after that you want to close the pores back up. This is where your toner comes in. Toner also helps to remove residue left behind after cleansing. It helps soften skin, locks in moisture, and helps the skin absorb other products, like serums and creams. It also has a cooling and lightly antiseptic effect, which makes it great to use as an aftershave, or as an enlivening facial spritz on a hot summer day.
You’ll find that toners share common ingredients. Many used to contain alcohol, but a growing number have been formulated to be alcohol-free and less drying. To achieve the desired astringency, they’ll use other ingredients, such as witch hazel extract.
Floral Waters / Hydrosols (botanical extraction using steam distillation)
Humectants
Many flowers have qualities that make them perfect for skincare. They’re often extra hydrating, rich in antioxidants and have a soothing effect on the skin. Rose water, for instance, strengthens and regenerates skin cells, while reducing inflammation. Lavender has a similar soothing quality, as well as antibacterial properties that help prevent acne bacteria. Geranium oil helps the skin heal and evens out skin tone by reducing visible blemishes.
Humectants hold hydration in the skin. Aloe, glycerine, honey, and maple syrup are all examples of natural humectants, though you’re most likely to find aloe and glycerine in a list of toner ingredients. Initially humectant ingredients can feel tacky on the skin, but they absorb quickly, leaving your skin refreshed and moisturized longer.
Okay, now for the practical piece. How and when do you use toner?
Any time you cleanse your face, you should be following it with toner. You can spritz it directly onto the skin, or spray it onto a cotton or reusable makeup pad to wipe it over your face. If you like, you can do both! Use a makeup pad to let your toner remove any unwanted residue, then give your skin a direct spritz for an extra hit of hydration.
To set your makeup
During the day when you need to refresh your skin / cool down
After shaving
Spritzed into your palm with your face serum to thin the serum to help it absorb better
Here are just a few of the toners we have available in store:
The best way to find a toner that works for you, is to figure out what your skin needs and make sure the toner supports those needs. So if your skin is really dry, make sure your toner is extra moisturizing with lots of humectant properties. If you’re prone to redness, look for ingredients that will soothe and calm, like aloe and floral waters.
And, of course, you can always ask us! Pop by shop or give us a call, and we’ll be happy to help you find a toner you love to best fit into your personal skincare routine.
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