Our deeply moisturizing and protective balm is perfect for applying on the face and body before a sun and salt filled day out on the waves. Its organic ingredients help protect against sunburns and keep the skin feeling hydrated.

Isabel Lucas, the bombshell actress from Transformers III and water girl, says, “I love using it after swimming in the sea. It feels soft and replenishing on the skin,” Professional Surfer Lakey Peterson uses Sweet Bee Magic on her body and hair before going surfing to keep it healthy and protected from the elements.

Vaseline has long dominated skincare in the surfing world as the top prevention and cure for wetsuit rash and overexposure, but the time has come for something new. Eco-conscious surfers are swapping out their Vaseline for Sweet Bee Magic to protect themselves without using chemically laden petroleum products on themselves and in the ocean.

This seasonal itch to clean everything out and start anew is an age old practice that still has real health and wellness benefits. The Ancient Persian new year celebration fell on the day before the spring equinox and was called, ‘Khooneh Tekouni’ or ‘shaking the house’. Similar traditions are found in cultures across the world like Scotland, Ireland and New Zealand.

Centuries ago, people kept their houses mostly closed throughout the cold winter months. When Spring finally arrived, it was customary for families to throw open their windows and doors, haul their furniture outside and clear the dust out from all the nooks and corners. Spring Cleaning still serves an important function in getting rid of built up dust and useless clutter that seems to pile up around us.

Stay tuned for next week’s blog on spring cleaning your beauty routine: Purging your medicine cabinet.

What we mean when we suggest to rub your skin with oils, are organic pure oils such as olive, avocado, coconut, shea etc. I listed olive oil first because it is truly the best oil for your skin and works best with the chemistry of our skin. Ancient Greeks used olive oil for centuries in their bath houses. After exfoliating with course brushes, using the sauna and then going from hot  baths to cold plunges, they would rub olive oil from head to toe. This sequence  would stimulate circulation and would promote excellent  healthy with beautiful unblemished skin.

The Egyptians all the way back in the Pharoenic ages believed olive oil mixed with honey and beeswax to be the most healing antibacterial substance of all and this mixture was praised to be the nectar of the gods.

In Last weeks blog I gave a step-by -step guide on how to body brush your skin and then rinse of in hot and the cold water. When you have gotten out of the shower and towel dried, rub your body from head to toe with some beautiful organic oil, Sweet bee magic is perfect for this, and easy to use because of its balm/cream like consistency. Have fun with it, try to cover every inch of your skin! If you want a deeper overnight treatment cover your  hair, eyebrows and lashes too!

When we open the cauldron in our apothecary, the floral essence of a thousand flowers rise off of our melting beeswax to mix with the fragrant spring blossom aromas in the air.

The beautiful smell in the air reminds us of how pure and beautiful our ingredients are and how happy we are to be artisanally crafting such a high quality product so close to nature. Every body deserves to be covered in Magic.

While exfoliation is healthy and necessary, it isn’t necessary at all to use synthetic and harsh creams, gels, and masks to do it.  These products will fill your newly cleansed pores with chemicals, leave your skin feeling sensitive and raw, and make more vulnerable to sun damage and environmental irritants.

The healthy way to exfoliate is called Dry Skin Brushing. Dry skin brushing is simple and easy, you can purchase skin brushes at very reasonable prices at most health food stores. We recommend purchasing two, one for your body and a smaller, softer one for your face. Here is a simple step by step guide:

- Make some time before your morning shower, skin brushing works best when skin is dry and brushing in the morning will help exfoliate dead cells from overnight.
- Brush in circles from your toes, upward to your heart, and then finally with the smaller brush, your face.
-You will see flakes of skin arise as you brush. After you are done, rinse your body off in the shower, using a gentle castile soap only on your underarms and private areas, (as you have already exfoliated your entire body there is no need for soap)
- Rinse with cold water
-Towel dry
-Apply organic oil (or Sweet Bee Magic) all over your body from head to toe.

Your skin will be glowing, soft, toned, elastic and gorgeous!

Whether you are oily or dry, have acne, eczema, rosacea or psoriasis; everyone wants radiant, clear, beautiful skin. For most beauty mavens, skin is our most prized accessory and I personally feel distraught when my skin is a mess. Unlike my favorite silk wrap dress that I can take to the cleaners, my skin is with me, blemishes, marks, sunburns, wrinkles and all. I have to take care of my skin to keep it always looking healthy and beautiful.

To help you maintain your skin’s optimal health, Medicine Mama’s has come up with 10 Commandments. Rules that everyone, no matter their skin-type, can follow to get beautiful, healthy skin.

Thou shalt exfoliate
Thou shalt rub thy skin with organic oils
Thou shalt eat clean pure organic foods
Thou shalt limit thy sun-exposure
Thou shalt stay hydrated
Thou shalt cleanse 2-3 times per year
Thou shalt not smoke or eat toxic junk foods
Thou shalt use only pure organic soaps & makeup
Thou shalt not pick at thy pimples. Ever.
Thou shalt be kind, forgiving and loving to your skin.

I called a friend who I knew also had bouts of eczema and was no longer suffering from the dry, itchy skin associated with it. She told me she had been using a completely natural, organic cream. As an organic buff myself, I rushed down and got a glorious tub of Sweet Bee Magic. I lathered this eczema cream over my all of my affected spots. The effects were immediate and profound. The cream instantly soothed my skin. Within days, the cracked weepy sores had turned into superficial pink marks on the surface of my skin. In areas that I had large white patches on my skin from where the steroid ointments had been applied and thinned the skin, Sweet Bee Magic also came to the rescue. After about a month of using the cream, I had noticed remarkable results, much more than any topical steroid had done for me.

3 years later, I now work for this amazing company. I knew all of the ingredients were powerful in healing the skin, but I now truly understand why this cream was so effective as an eczema cream. Let me enlighten you on why these ingredients work:

• Honey creates a natural hydrogen peroxide, is a potent anti-inflammatory and is full of anti-oxidants. It stimulates new tissue growth with a wide range of amino acids, vitamins and minerals. Honey is also is a humectant that draws moisture into the skin over time.
• Propolis is also potent anti-inflammatory agent and helps suppress the production of histamines and prostaglandins in the skin.
• Beeswax acts as a protective mantle when there is a break or crack in your skin, allowing the skin to hold in moisture better and keep the dry skin from getting worse.
• Olive Oil delivers moisture better than any other oil since it is very similar the moisture our body naturally produces.
• Royal Jelly is a densely packed source of protein, fatty acids, B vitamins and other essential building blocks for the skin. It is also a potent, natural antibiotic and immune booster. It has also been proven to help rejuvenate skin through stimulating collagen production.
  
• Bee Pollen is nature’s multivitamin, a source of 12 vitamins, 28 minerals, 11 enzymes and coenzymes, 14 fatty acids, 11 carbohydrates and antioxidants. Its high concentration of nucleic acids has been shown to increase cell renewal as well.

I completely believe in this product and am a continued loyal user. I have found so many great uses for it other than just an eczema cream and am so thankful that a completely natural, organic cream can be so healing.

Xo,

elise seaton

Medicine Mama’s Apothecary | Sweet Bee Magic Lover

Claire has been taken in like family in the community Quebrada Seca. Her goal now is to give back as much as she possibly can. She will be hosting a Christmas party – as she said it “hot chocolate & fruit cake for all!” and will be providing gifts for the 75 children and food for their families.

Medicine Mama feels entirely privileged to be donating and spreading the Magic and Christmas cheer in Claire’s Peruvian village. You too can help. The holidays will be here faster than you know it. Please help spread the holiday joy to those who have so little.

Below is a link to a Chipin page that has more information about the project and a link for you to donate:

http://clairecrawley.chipin.com/christmas-in-quebrada-seca