Wednesday, December 12, 2007

10 natural remedies for spots and acne

1 Don’t eat rubbish!
The skin is an organ of elimination so if your diet is high in mucus producing things like salt, sugar, alcohol, poor quality fats (good oils we need), additives, dairy products caffeine, etc. your skin will need to work overtime to clear all your internal mucus.

2 Drink lots of water
This can be hot, warm or cold. Making sure that you are well hydrated helps the kidneys and the bowel eliminate toxicity so your skin doesn’t need to work so hard. It also stops your skin from becoming dehydrated and flaky.

3 Eat lots of fibre
Eating foods such as whole grains and vegetables that are high in fibre encourages the bowel to work well. If the bowel is working efficiently then toxicity is able to leave the body. However if your diet is lacking in fibre the bowel will be sluggish and other routes of elimination, such as the skin, will become over worked.

4 Eat less bread
For some people cutting out or reducing bread can make a huge difference to their bowel and therefore to their skin. Bread is high in gluten which tends to clog the bowel and make us feel sluggish and bloated. Spots across the forehead can indicate that the bowel is congested.

5 Get your lymphatic system working well
Gets your lymph moving to clear toxicity and improve your skin. The lymph doesn’t have its own pump so it depends upon the movement of our muscles and circulation. Anything that causes the skin to flush will help.

Try working up a little bit of a sweat every day or body brushing with a dry brush before showering. This not only encourages the movement of the lymph it also removes dead skin cells and keeps the skin clear. Or try turning the water from warm to cool a few times at the end of your daily shower.

6 Keep your hands away from your face
Picking and squeezing spots only makes them worse and can cause scarring but touching your face at any time is generally not a good idea. Dirt from your hands can easily be transferred to your skin and cause spots. If you get patches of spots in particular areas it may be because you are touching your face more than you realise.

Sitting at a desk you might rest your head in your hands or touch your chin when you’re thinking. This is often the case with students and school children or anyone who works at a keyboard. Cleansing your face after work, school or college can help as well as making a conscious effort not to touch your face unless you need to.

7 Use natural skin care
Good quality natural skin care is made with plant oils which have molecules that are small enough to be absorbed into the skin. Other products are made with petrochemicals that sit on the surface of the skin and block the pores which can lead to spots and blackheads.

However other unnecessary chemicals may be absorbed in to your body so stick to products that are free from toxic ingredients like parabens, SLS, triclosan and synthetic fragrance.

8 Protect your skin’s acid mantle
Our skin has a fine protective covering which is known as the acid mantle. If you use cleansers that leave your skin feeling tight and uncomfortable then the acid mantle has been damaged. The skin will either over produce sebum, which can lead to spots and blemishes, or will become too dry.

Many manufacturers will claim that their product is pH balanced to work in harmony with the acid mantle but let your skin decide. If after using it, your skin feels taut and dry then it’s damaging the acid mantle and is best avoided.

9 If your skin’s oily - give it some oil!
This seems like a very strange concept but it works. If we use harsh cleansers that strip our skin of its natural oils (see no 8) it will simply produce more. By using a treatment oil as a moisturiser your skin will feel comfortable and will start to produce only the oil that it needs.

10 Use naturally antibacterial skin care
There are certain natural plant oils that are known to fight the bacteria that cause spots and there is one oil in particular which we have found to be quite extraordinary. Manuka essential oil is a little known oil from New Zealand.

Its properties are similar to Tea Tree but it is clinically proven to be much more effective against bacteria and less drying to the skin. It often comes combined with Manuka Honey which helps skin to heal without becoming dry and therefore greatly reduces the chances of a scar forming.

Monday, December 10, 2007

Bags of Change

A big eco cheer for Bags of Change who have just scooped the 2007 Green England Awards for Best Green Company and came runner up in the Best Newcomer category too.

Well done to Hugh, Faith and the team!!

Wednesday, December 05, 2007

bags of change

A couple of years ago we started the Willow Trading "do you need a bag for that?" campaign. Actually "campaign" is really too strong a term for it. That implies some sort of organisation. It was really just a case of us deciding to ask every customer whether they needed a bag or not, rather than just giving one automatically.

I would say that since we started doing this the number of carrier bags we use (that's paper bags, we've never used plastic) has dropped by about 60%.

Most people when asked, will have a think and then realise that they can easily use their hand bag, ruck sac, bottom of a pram, another carrier bag or even their pocket.

Obviously it's easy in a shop like Willow Trading where the products are small and people aren't coming in to shop for their weekly groceries.

But we are seeing an increase in the number of people who come prepared with their own shopping bag and I have seen signs in both Sainsbury's and Marks and Spencer to the same effect. Maybe it is a campaign after all!

Rather than taxing plastic carrier bags we should just encourage shop owners to stop handing out bags willy nilly. Which, of course, is only going to save them money.

I'm sure the practice of giving everyone a bag started as a form of customer service but I don't think any of our customers feel that we're being rude when we ask them if they need a bag. They are very welcome to one if they do. (We'll even gift wrap with a smile).

There are so many attractive shopping bags around now (and shopping trolleys for that matter, courtesy of Habitat and Ikea) that we don't need to look like our grannies going for the messages!

This is where Bags of Change come in. If you buy one of their rather funky hemp bags (just £14.85) you'll automatically get discounts when you use it to shop in any of the stores and restaurants that are participating in their scheme.

For example if you shop with a Bags of Change bag at Willow Trading you get 10% off any of our organic products that carry the Soil Association logo. Not bad eh? It's like getting a reward for having having a really cool bag!

You can buy the bags from the participating stores - such as ours - or directly from the Bags of Change web site. Once you've registered with them online they'll send you a regular newsletter so you'll always know where to get the best discounts on local, organic or fair trade products.

It's a brilliant yet simple idea and I think it's going to go from strength to strength.

Friday, November 30, 2007

get a free voucher for the flotation room

Here's the deal.

For every £50 you spend on our web site we'll give you a free voucher for the Flotation Room at Willow Trading. So if you spend £100 you'll get 2 vouchers and so on.. Each voucher is worth £30.

All you need to do is place your order and put "Please send me my free float voucher/s" in the special instructions section of the checkout. (The wording's not too important. Just so long as we get the message that you know about the offer)

If you don't need it to be gift wrapped you could let us know that too. It saves on the packaging!!

If you are due to get more than one float voucher and you would like them gift wrapped just let us know whether you want them wrapped together or separately.

Now here's the fine print.
* offer ends at midnight on Sunday 16th December 2007
* the vouchers can only be used for single float sessions at Willow Trading
* vouchers are valid for a year
* you must mention the offer at the time of ordering to be eligible for a free float voucher
* you need to spend £50 (excluding delivery charge ) on our web site
* this offer does not apply to telephone orders or purchases made at Willow Trading in Glasgow

I think that all seems fairly straight forward but if there's anything that you're not sure about please let us know. You can contact us on 0141 339 6446 or at relax@willowtrading.co.uk

You can use this link to go back to the float voucher page on our site.

Wednesday, November 28, 2007

natural remedies for tense muscles

My 12 year old son is a very keen footballer. He trains with a local sports club twice a week and usually has a match on Sunday.

After the game this week he was hobbling around complaining about pains in his feet. His muscles were so tight that he couldn't flex his feet and the tension continued right up through his calves and thighs.

He's usually on the winning side but they had been hammered 9 - 1 by a team of boys who were much bigger and rougher. So the stress of the match probably contributed to the muscular tension.

I made him a warm foot bath with magnesium sulphate which is otherwise known as Epsom salts. This is the kind of salt that's used in vast quantities in a flotation tank to give bouyancy but for a foot bath you just need a few tablespoons.

Our bodies need magnesium to balance with calcium. Magnesium relaxes and calcium contracts. Having an imbalance can lead to both nervous and muscular tension: irritability, headaches, period cramps, cramping in feet and calves, eye twitching, jumpy legs and so on.

The soles of our feet are naturally very absorbent and warm water helps open the pores. I let my son soak his feet for about 5 minutes. He dried his feet and I massaged in some Living Nature Relief Body Balm working it deeply in to the muscles across the soles of his feet and up the backs of his legs.

Relief Body Balm is a 100% natural remedy for aches and pains, packed with warming and stimulating oils which really get to work on aching muscles and joints. It's made with arnica which works miracles on bruises. It also contains peppermint which is wonderfully cooling and rosemary which helps stimulate the release of toxins from the muscles. The base is a healing blend of beeswax with calendula and almond oils.

After the massage, which sent him in to a fit of giggles, he put on some cotton socks. (As much as I love my son I do love my carpet too!) I gave him a wooden foot roller to play with and let him watch Top Gear. So he sat quite happily rolling his feet backwards and forwards and smelling divine.

I happened to have a foot roller but a tennis ball works well too. Pressing down on to it helps open up the muscles in the soles of the feet and once they are opened you can really feel a difference all the way up the backs of the legs.

After a quick supper he was off to bed. As he walked up the stairs with his usual lolloping gait he couldn't believe how much better he felt. And by morning his feet and legs were back to normal and ready for another session of football training.

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Essential Care organic lip balm review


Lip Silk Essential Care lip balm is just the most amazing lip balm I've ever tried. It's soothing and healing, keeps your lips feeling supple, it lasts brilliantly and it tastes great. Lip Silk stays on well through eating and drinking and I think it's the best protection against those cold winter winds. It's also certified organic so there's no nasty chemicals to worry about.

I used Lip Silk for the first time a couple of weeks ago at the onset of a cold sore. My lips healed really quickly without the usual messy, weeping scab that usually accompanies the irritating tingle and general nerve pain. Any fellow cold sore sufferers will know what a joy they are.

One of the problems with cold sores is that as they heal the skin dries out. So when you smile your lip splits open and the whole healing process needs to begin again.

However, if you can keep the skin supple the cold sore will be able to heal and you can smile without falling apart. Which is always a bonus. Who wants to look grumpy and scabby!

I started using Essential Care lip balm at the first tingle and whenever I felt that my lips were getting a bit dry I would slap some more on. However it does last incredibly well so I wasn't applying it that often. I'd put some on last thing at night and my lips would still feel nourished and silky in the morning. Not stuck together so that they split as soon as you open your mouth! (a common cold sore phenomenon).

My cold sore didn't amount to much and healed completely within just 4 days. I think this was largely due to the nourishing and healing ingredients in the lip balm and the fact that my lips didn't split once.

Lip Silk has a rich base of shea butter and calendula and a slight taste of orange essential oil. It also contains rosemary essential oil which helps skin regenerate. At £4.50 it's not the cheapest lip balm on the market but it works so well that I think it's worth every penny.

Saturday, November 17, 2007

opening hours over the festive season

Our Glasgow store and therapy rooms are open as usual every day up until the 24th of December. Our late nights are on Wednesdays and Thursdays when we are open until 7.30pm for sales and 8.30pm for complementary therapies and the flotation tank. Sundays we are open from 12 - 5.00pm. Every other day we open at 9.30am and close at 6.00pm.

Of course our web site www.willowtrading.co.uk is open 24/7!

We're taking a well earned break on the 25th and 26th of December and on the 1st, 2nd and 3rd of January. We're open very day in between so there's plenty of time to book in for a treat or come in for some pampering products. Of course if you've over-indulged you may be in need of a herbal remedy or some of our detox foot pads - always popular at this time of year!!


Click here to go back to our web site.

free gift from Living Nature

Sorry - this offer has now expired.
Living Nature are feeling very generous at this time of year. Probably something to do with them being in the glorious New Zealand sunshine, where as we are plummeting headlong towards the shortest day of the year.

Anyway, whatever the reason, if you spend just £25 on their delicious Manuka honey skin care products or 100% natural make up you get a Living Nature "Nature's Gift" set worth a whopping £28.


Nature's Gift is a very smart, black canvas zip up bag packed with a selection of Living Nature's most popular products:
If you order over £25 of Living Nature products from our web site you'll automatically receive a Nature's Gift pack ......... while stocks last of course but don't worry, we'll let you know as soon as they've all been snapped up!