By Rob Hardwicke, President & Product Master, Awakening Mineral Skin Care

Skin Care Truths

If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.  I live and work in the world of skin care, and this, sadly, is a world prone to hype and illusion.

There are two, basic polarities of interest: “Beauty/Cosmetic” on the one end and “Natural/Cosmeceutical” on the other.  Up until a decade ago, “Beauty/Cosmetic” was the 800-pound gorilla of the industry — a land of enormous investment and equally enormous return on investment — whose historical sales spanned from the old-time Woolworth and Rexall drug chains (Factoid: Hollywood’s Owl Drug was recognized as the world’s biggest drug store in 1958) to the highest-end haute couture salons and department stores.

Then came the emphasis on ‘natural’, ‘green’, ‘organgic’ — the return to traditional herbs and extracts, homeopathy, and Oriental medicine — and the use of operational practices that eschewed the testing of product ingredients on animals.  Formulators of exceptionally pure products such as Aubrey and Dr. Bronner began to flourish through “health food” stores.

Educational efforts by organizations such as PeTA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, coaxed greater consumer demand for better ingredients and better practices, which brought rise to larger businesses such as Tom’s of Maine, Zerbo’s in Michigan, Mother’s Market & Kitchen in California, and then chains such as the western states’ Apollo/Henry’s/Sprouts grouping, and the merger of Wild Oats into Whole Foods Markets.  Of all the brick & mortar purveyors of natural products, Whole Foods, contrary much urban mythology of the web, has done much to make natural products more affordable.   Quality players within the web arose, such as iHerb.com.   …And, of course, this growth around the Natural/Cosmeceutical pole did not escape the attention of those at the Beauty/Cosmetic end: Companies such as Clorox, Proctor & Gamble and L’Oreal acquired key players on the natural side.

My personal belief is that the hype & illusion at the Natural/Cosmeuceutical end is diminishing.  Most fomulators are making genuine strides towards the concept of never-ending-improvement.  Here at Awakening, we were one of the first to remove paraben ingredients — and potential quasi-parabens such as Japanese Honeysuckle — from our creams and lotions.  Our focus has remained on the therapeutic qualities of mineral skin care products.  Are my own products completely free of hype & illusion?  Probably not, since it is so hard for a small skin care company to thread its way through the maze of governmental, FDA, FTC, EU and UN rules & regulations.

Do we use the word “natural” or the claim that our products “help” improve skin health?  Yup, we do.  But we also are always looking for ways to make our products as kind and helpful to the health of skin as possible.  I turly believe that our heart here at Awakening is in the right place.  We always aim to do the right thing.  That said, I also believe that the efforts of parties such as personalcaretruth.com (“Truth or Scare: Personal Care”) to hold our industry to higher standards are a positive force.  Therefore, I recommend their latest posting, “The 10 Most Misleading Cosmetic Claims“.  Making a donation in support of their efforts — or any donation in support of PeTA’s cause — would seem to me a good use of personal funds.

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Awakening Mineral Skin Care is a boutique formulator of natural, vegan skin care products utilizing concentrated mineral crystals isolated from the Dead Sea, essential oils and botanical extracts.  With only a few exceptions, we call our products by what they do: Awakening HANDS treats hands, Awakening FEET treats feet, Awakening BODY treats bodies, Awakening SCALP treats scalps — you get the idea.  However Awakening MUDFace is mud for the face (and feet!) — so, as with 9th grade English, there are always exceptions to every rule!

By Rob Hardwicke, President & Product Master, Awakening Mineral Skin Care

The ball cap is a ubiquitous fashion statement with about 80% of the U.S. male population.  Some position the bill forward; some aft.  But the result in any position — other than doffed —  is that the hair (if there is any) and scalp are blocked off from the rays of

Self-concious male disguising himself with ball cap

the sun.

This can be good news and bad news.  It’s the bad news that I’ll dwell upon.  For the record, however, the good news is that ball caps greatly reduce the incident rate of skin cancers and sunburn.  The bad news is that sunlight, vitamin D and blood circulation are part of God’s masterplan for the human body and that undesirable things do happen when the masterplan is thwarted.  For instance: Deforestation leading up to “chrome dome” status.  And as the summit of Mt. Baldy expands, then there is even more reason for males to keep their ball caps firmly in place.  It can be a vicious circle.

Since 1995, my company has been involved with research into the physiological impact of natural minerals on the health of skin and hair.  We have run physician-supervised trials.  We have counted follicles with a magnifying glass until we were cross-eyed.  Month after month, we have photographed designated patches of scalp with macro lenses capable of highlighting the freckles on an ant.  After all, Awakening’s ‘thing’ has always been the hydrating and healing benefits on human skin of concentrated minerals such as potassium and magnesium.

A number of years ago, we received domestic and international patents on the use of Dead Sea mud, amplified through the addition of natural herbs, oils and extracts, to improve the health of scalp tissue.  While the clinical trials did indeed document the growth of hair on male scalps, the real benefit turned out to be how the process helped to reduce the rate of hair loss in both sexes.   Out of this, we developed Awakening SCALP, a mud masque product for the health of scalp tissue.  One tube will last about 3 months of weekly treatments.  All of our products always comes with a “guaranteed to delight or your money back” pledge.  But we go even further than that by offering a nearly a 60% discount off our webstore price per tube to anyone who enrolls in Awakening’s ‘auto ship’ program that allows us to ship them a fresh tube of SCALP every 60 to 90 days.  To receive this price break on future orders, all someone needs to do is ask — or send us a note of their intention to become a “SCALPer” when they place their web order — and, voila´ — they get their 60% mega-discount!

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Awakening Mineral Skin Care is a boutique formulator of natural, vegan skin care products utilizing concentrated mineral crystals isolated from the Dead Sea, essential oils and botanical extracts.  With only a few exceptions, we call our products by what they do: Awakening HANDS treats hands, Awakening FEET treats feet, Awakening BODY treats bodies, Awakening SCALP treats scalps — you get the idea.  However Awakening MUDFace is mud for the face (and feet!) — so, as with 9th grade English, there are always exceptions to every rule!

By Rob Hardwicke, President & Product Master, Awakening Mineral Skin Care

Skin care for the barn?  You bet!  When we’re designing the specifications for how an Awakening product is to perform on the skin, we keep a keen eye on the types of folks we envision using the product.

Winter Barn Work & Healthy Hands ARE Possible!

Horses and the people of care for them are a big interest of ours.  That’s not to say that other farm animals and the people who tend to them are not of interest to us.  It’s just that folks on the equestrian side of the equation have always been supportive of the types of skin care products Awakening specializes is making.

Grooming horses and mucking out stalls is not for the faint hearted.  Then, when winter cold and dry winds are added to the scene, the impact on humans can be harsh.   One horseperson who’s always been straightforward and gracious in letting Awakening know what’s on her mind is Mary Copus.   As I write today’s post, the U.S. is engulfed in storms coast to coast.  This morning, Mary posted this comment on Awakening’s facebook page: “I sit by the fireplace after being in the barn and my hands are freezing.  I put [Awakening] HANDS on and rub my hands in the heat of the fire.  It’s truly amazing how healing HANDS is.  Warm, soft hands in minutes.  Never sticky or greasy and the burning from the cold stops instantly.”

We couldn’t pay for comments like that!  At the heart of Mary’s satisfaction is our use of concentrated magnesium and potassium isolated from the minerals of the Dead Sea.  We use both minerals to hydrate and heal all skin, whether or not it’s been abused by barn work!  Awakening welcomes horsepeople at visit our facebook page.  To join the conversation, just click here!

PS.  Awakening FEET is pretty awesome, too.  And, yes, if you’re working on hooves, it does draw blood (to the hoof — not from you!).  A few other (non-Awakening) tips in the hoof & leg department:  Corn starch is great to whiten socks, and a lot less expensive than French chalk.  Arm & Hammer toothpaste is handy to clean face markings and white socks, and then to get a nice shine, use a little baby oil instead of artificial hoof polish.

By Rob Hardwicke, Product Master, Awakening Mineral Skin Care

It’s no secret that a great number of horesepeople truly like what we formulate at Awakening Mineral Skin Care because we give relief — big time relief –  for hands and feet that have been ravaged from horse grooming and stable mucking!  In particular, Awakening HANDS provides healing and hydrating relief for mangled mitts using natural mineral, essential oil and botanical extract ingredients.

"Walking Tall" by Shane Knight Gallery, Flagstaff, AZ

Because of Awakening’s special relationship with the equestrian community, we want to thank our many fans by giving away an extraordinary metallic/sepia photograph, “Walking Tall,” by noted landscape and western horse photographer, Shane Knight.  This beautiful image was captured on film at the Triangle X Ranch in Wyoming in 2005.

Becoming part of the Awakening community is simple.  We’d welcome the opportunity to stay in touch with you as a fan of our Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/awakeningskincare) or a follower with us on Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/awakeningskin).  We aim to provide useful, practical information over time about why the use of natural skin care products in general, and potassium and magnesium skin care products in particular are so helpful for skin health and an active, western lifestyle.

“Walking Tall” not only presents a head-on perspective of a truly majestic creature, but captures the grandeur of snow-capped mountains and an expansive plain.   I recommend that you visit http://www.shaneknight.com to savor the full breadth of Shane’s remarkable wardrobe of tradtional darkroom film images.

We work hard at Awakening to provide handcrafted formulations using natural ingredients.  Likewise, we thoroughly appreciate the painstakenly handcrafted workmanship that is the hallmark of Shane Knight’s mastery of the photographic image.

By Rob Hardwicke, President & Product Master, Awakening Mineral Skin Care

“Travel Season” can be defined as practically any time of the year — Americans are a travelin’ bunch of people.  But the stretch of time from Thanksgiving through Christmas and New Years is finally starting to see crowds hit the road (or skies) in numbers almost reminiscent of the Pre-9/11 days.  Since we all take our skin with us when we travel, there are things we

A thoroughly unwanted travel companion: The Bedbug

can do to make the journey as pleasant as possible.

Airline cabin climate conditions are dry, dry, dry — sometimes downright hostilely so.  This is why airline attendants are so concerned about taking care of their own skin (literally) so they can be there to take care of yours (figuratively).  Their carry-on luggage typically is a treasure chest of travel-sized skin care life-support supplies.

Hotels and motels may not be much better.  A little telltale reminder of no moisture in the air is when you go padding across the carpet in your room and touch the door knob or anything that’s metal.  If you’re practically electrocuted from the static electricity, that’s a sure sign from Mother Nature that you skin may be headed for trouble.

And, speaking of lodging accommodations, your room may be a “chemical-rich” environment, thanks to the resurgence of the lowly bedbug.  I recall only too vividly a lady at a tradeshow I was attending in San Antonio last June who was awakened in the wee hours of the morning at a large, well-known hotel to find a bedbug feasting on the back of her hand.   Regardless of the time, she checked out within minutes, and although she doesn’t blame the chain in question — the bedbug epidemic can infest even the best of innkeepers — she needed a new venue immediately.  Within hours, her hand had the appearance of an engorged cow utter — ballooned, feverish and hot pink.

Does all this mean that travel isn’t worth the potential perils?  Not hardly.  There are people and places to see, business to conduct, and life to live.

The Ladies’ Home Journal printed an informative article recently that listed very useful travel tips, which I recommend that you scan before heading out the door on your next trip: http://www.lhj.com/relationships/family/travel/50-travel-tips-and-tricks/?page=1

What we do at Awakening is aimed at harnessing the benefits of natural minerals to help keep your skin happy and healthy no matter where on Earth you may be — hunkered down in North Dakota motel in January, cruising at 40 thousand feet enroute to Helsinki, or simply motoring 40 miles over fields and through the woods to Grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving.   One of our most popular items is a set of pocket/purse-sized tubes of Awakening HANDS and Awakening FEET in a ZipLoc® baggie that’s ready to send through the TSA’s baggage scanner at your nearest airport.  HANDS is perfect for dry hands; FEET is ideal for dry, tired, swollen feet.  Combinr them together and even the lady with the bedbug-mauled hand found instant relief.

By Rob Hardwicke, President & Product Master, Awakening Mineral Skin Care

“HERE’S MUD IN YOUR EYE” — Strange words!  This typically now is a toast to someone’s health that seems to have come into common usage during World War I as an in-the-trenches, tongue-in-cheek greeting of health between soldiers, and which most likely originated through Christian Scripture in John 9:6-7, when Jesus mixed his spittal with mud to

Mud in Your Face!

apply to the eyes of a man born blind, who, after cleansing his face in the Pool of Siloam, could see.  Not at all a bad outcome.

Well, all of us at Awakening learned long ago that putting our products in the eye was NOWHERE close to pleasant, given the high concentration of natural chloride salt crystals we use that are extracted from the Dead Sea.  So, when it came to naming Awakening’s unique formulation of Dead Sea mud mixed with extracts of chamomile, tea tree, myrrh and other costly ingredients, we definitely did not call it “mud-in-your-eye” or even “MUDEye” (even though the latter was borderline cute because it sounded like ‘muddy”).

Instead, we chose MUDFace, which had no Scriptural basis whatsoever, and really was quite close to less-than-affirmative folk sayings like “he ended up with mud (or, alternatively, “egg”) on his face”, we still thought it said it all.  Mud for the face: MUDFace (although I personally use it on my feet).  This is the same branding philosophy we used with our other products: Awakening HANDS for the hands, Awakening FEET for the feet, Awakening BODY for the body — we didn’t want to leave much for the imagination as to what to do with each of our products!  Say it like it is — that’s us!

Wrinkling and aging come (all too naturally) from the hardening and binding or meshing of collagen with adjacent collagen.  Hydration declines.  Wrinkles form.  Oxidants in the air disrupt the electron balance of the tissue molecules, accelerating aging.  People pay vast dollars in search of a cure!  They don’t have to.

One curative ingredient is as old as dirt because it is dirt: The mud of the Dead Sea.  The mud itself is awesome.  Awakening just makes it better.  Awakening MUDFace exfoliates, detoxifies and aids healing and health of the skin.  As with all other Awakening products, we offer a no-questions-asked “guaranteed to delight” commitment.   No Like?  Then No Pay!

By Rob Hardwicke, President & Product Master, Awakening Mineral Skin Care

Just recently, one of the newest of the late Steve Jobs’ remarkable consumer products has reached the marketplace.  It features state-of-the-art voice-recognition capabilities — “intelligent” human interface by an electronic contrivance.  Skin care is growing more ‘intelligent”, too, as more and more of it sources from the Dead Sea.  (Check out the YouTube video I’ve linked to further down in this posting).

The health-giving elements of the Dead Sea have been known for well beyond a millennium, but it’s not been until the past score of years that the word’s really gotten out globally.

Dead Sea Panorama

Thanks to Ahava, the commercial pioneer of the mineral skin care industry, products with Dead Sea content now are available worldwide in many forms and under many brands.  Not unlike the automobile industry, quality ranges from the Rolls Royce and Ferrari to the much-maligned Yugo (if you didn’t see the flick, Nick & Nora’s Infinite Playlist, when it first came out, I suggest you pull it from Netflix to see an honest-to-goodness Yugo in actual running condition — a most rare phenomenon).

So, you ask, what’s so ‘intellegent’ about a bunch of earthly minerals and muds?

Using concentrated, natural minerals as the basis for skin care products is infinitely more intelligent than the host of chemically concocted substances that you will find on sale at nearly every cosmetics counter of every high-end department store and boutique anywhere in the world.  And then go to a drug store and the chemical content can grow even more nasty. Dead Sea minerals are the foundation of intellegent skin care because they so perfectly maintain skin moisture levels, nourish skin cells and provide the skin with natural, anti-allergenic protection.

YouTube just posted a new video that gives a super overview of why the Dead Sea is such a special wonder of the world.  I recommend that you take the time to click this link to spend the 4 minutes to view it.

We named our unique brand of skin care products “Awakening” thanks to the Prophet Isaiah: “Awaken and shout for joy!”  The people you use our products have had their eyes opened — they’ve been awakened — to the benefits of intelligent skin care.  We ain’t no Yugo! 

By Robert Hardwicke, President & Product Master, Awakening Mineral Skin Care

Halloween approaches as I post this blog.  Since so much of what Awakening does is linked to the Dead Sea, “Dead” seems like an appropriate topic for Halloween!

The Bloggert "Mudded-Up" — Before His Morning Coffee!

While most bodies are buried only 6-feet deep, the Dead Sea is far deeper at 1,292 feet (or, for our friends in metric areas: 394 m) below sea level ( a zombie would have one heck of a time digging itself out of a grave this deep!).  And, if we were to drain all the water from the Dead Sea, the seabed floor would be a whopping 2,600 ft (800 m) below the level of the world’s oceans.  This ernormous pit is an extension of the Great Rift Valley up from eastern Africa and its impact on the world has been to create a gargantuan, hyper-salty mud puddle!

So, for Halloween, I encourage everyone to splatter the mud of this great puddle all over their faces, step out into public, scare a few people, then retreat to your home to see what has happened to your skin when the mud’s removed.

Mud is good!  As we all learned when we were two years old, mud is fun to play in and is especially wonderful to splat all over the face, and, if your mother didn’t move fast enough — all over your entire body!  Mud from the Dead Sea lends a pleasantly spooky aura to one’s presence.   It’s tactilely goopy, and if extracted from the proper locations, it also stinks (but of course, we have ways to neutralize the stench quite naturally into a virtual bouquet of gardenias)!

Go ahead: Mud Up!  Maybe even send me a photo or two of what you — kid, adult or adult-kid — look like!  For those of your who enjoy the learning process more if there’s a little humor added in, I recommend that you take the time to study

The blogger AFTER mudding-up AND his morning coffee!

Mike & Mitch’s What Now Wacky Workshop on YouTube cute “treatise” on the Dead Sea’s salinity.  You might even be quizzed about what you learn later!   [Why is it that all the people I know named "Mitch" fit so well into the Wacky Workshop motif?  Maybe that's why I prefer to know them!].

Oh, and before I forget, the asterisk on the word “Dead” in this posting’s title is there for a reason.  The Dead Sea is not dead.  In a later posting, I’ll talk about Archaea — a recently discovered domain system of Bactertia doing rather good things whilst living happily in environments so salty that everything else trying to live there, too, is, well… dead!

By Robert Hardwicke, President & Product Master, Awakening Mineral Skin Care

In one of our company’s recent “Tuesday Trivia” posts on our Awakening Skincare Facebook page, some interesting little factoids were laid out concerning how many “components” it takes to “construct” 1-square inch of human skin.  This blog posting talks about how that componentry might affect diabetic feet.  The skin components in that 1-sq. in. of skin are these:

19 milion cells, 60 hairs, 90 oil glands, 19 feet of blood vessels, 625 sweat glands and 19,000 sensary cells.

Even Diabetic Feet Can Be Happy!

The American Diabetes Association is one of the preeminent authorities on the subject of diabetic feet.  The feet of folks suffering from diabetes are particularly susceptable to a range of complications:  Nerve damage (neuropathy), calluses, foot ulcers, skin issues and poor circulation.  As the disease progresses, nerves can become damaged and the damaged nerves then fail to regulate the proper functioning of those 90 oil glands, 19 feet of blood vessels and 625 sweat glands — on every single square inch of skin on each foot.  Adequate instructions fail to get transmitted for the glands and vessels to hydrate and lubricate.  Calluses form and skin becomes dry.  Because the nerves are failing to send out proper sensation reports to the brain, a diabetic foot might be suffering an injury that can go overlooked.

Unnoticed injuries can lead to foot infections and ulcers.

The counsel and services of professionals such as podiatrists and physicians are important.  Diabetic feet that are seriously neglected can end up being amputated.

Foot balms alone are not the answer to the health of that vast tangle of components in each 1 sq-inch sector of skin on diabetic feet.  In fact, foot creams actually can make a bad situation worse, primarily if they are over-applied between the toes and result in overly moist areas than can incubate germs and fungus.  Yet good foot balms, properly applied, can help in suibstantial ways.

So, what’s the definition of a “good” foot balm?

Inasmuch as our company formulates skin care products that emphasize high concentrations of natural minerals, oils and botanicals, I gravitate towards mineral foot balms as opposed to those that do not contain therapeutic minerals.  In the 16 years we have been in business, we have recived unsolicited communications from many people who attest to the relief they have experienced after applying one or more of our balms.

Yes, we incorporate ingredients such as peppermint and camphor to cool and soothe, but so do a great many companies.  Arnica Montana is an herb that lends help to the body’s healing system.  But my opinion of what has made so many people pleased with their feet is our use of natural magnesium and potassium — with emphasis on the former of those two minerals.  We isolate both minerals from the chloride mineral salts of the Dead Sea.

Dead Sea magnesium helps to dilate those 19 feet of blood vessels (mostly capillaries), which in turn nourish the skin tissue.  Nourished skin tissue becomes less dry, less callused and less prone to infection.  And since the balm also can be applied to the lower leg & calf, more skin ends up happiers & healthier.

By Robert Hardwicke, President & Product Master, Awakening Mineral Skincare

Every year at the end of September, my spouse, several friends & I attend an arts & crafts fair in the western Nevada hamlet of Genoa.  We attend in part to enjoy each other’s company, to people-watch, to marvel at the array of really clever art that’s on display, and to introduce additional members of the public  to our own handcrafted Awakening mineral skincare products.

Nevada has never been known as a tropical paradise (except on the grounds of a few Las Vegas hotels).  The climate is dry, the wind often blows, the weather can change on a dime, and, through the summer and into the fall, it can be rip-roaring hot.  This is not what I’d call a ‘skin friendly’ environment!  For me, it’s just fine — maybe the Good Lord crossed some of my DNA with that of a lizard somewhere along the line!  But for many others, it’s not fine at all.  Among those are folks coping with eczema.

Eczema occurs most often in areas of high sensitivity.

Eczema and Kids This year, it seems as if there were unusually large numbers of children whom we encountered with eczema.  Could be that without the influence of an adult willing to take a stand (over & over, and at the distinct risk of jeopardizing ‘family harmony’) concerning what a kid eats (fruits & veggies, for example) or does not eat (we can include most junk food here), the opportunity for children to provoke the onset of eczema goes up substantially.  With children and eczema, diet is huge — and the biggest culprits often are gluten-intolerance and dairy-intolerance (in fact, not junk food-intolerance, but junk food sure doesn’t help).

Eczema develops most often in certain areas of the body.  Unfortunately, most of these target zones are those of highest sensitivity.  Atopic dermatits (the variety of dermatitis that’s typically labeled as eczema in children) affects people who tend to be allergy-prone in the first place.  It occurs on the face, neck, hands, the feet and in the bends of elbows & knees.  Children over 5 years of age who have never been troubled by eczema most likely never will be.  Children who develop eczema during their first 12 months often get better by age 2, but sadly some don’t.  Moreover, out there in that Nevada desert last month, the number of adults who were complaining to us of eczema also was larger than in any of the past four years.  What’s up?  My guess is that it’s stress over the economy.

Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate. And ‘hydrate’ doesn’t only mean that you should drink lots of water, which, of course, you should [as opposed to lattes, beer, 'juice-cocktails' (also known as high-fructose corn syrup), sodas and those perenial favorites of the adrenal gland: Red Bull and Rock Star].  As I’ve blogged in the past, proper skin hydration is important; don’t just let your body go unprotected when it’s so easy to take a little defensive action.  There are skin care lotions that can do lots of good.  My bias is for those lotions that contain naturally healing minerals.  The hotter and drier the climate, the more you need to hydrate to keep eczema at bay.  Allergens also are a problem.  The lower the quality of the air in terms of contaminants, the higher the risk of eczema.  People living in urban areas are especially prone.  The more stress a person encounters (and stress is most definitely NOT just an adult affliction), the higher the risk of eczema and the greater its intensity if you do have it.

An adequate intake of calcium and magnesium does much to keep nerves happier and stress lower (not to mention sleep deeper).  Lotions high in magnesium chloride can do wonders.  Because low levels of hydrochloric acid in your stomach can precipitate eczema, you might consider supplementing Betaine HCl to boost the efficiency of the gut.  Consider also the products made by GoodBelly.  All of the B Vitamins (with particular empahsis on B3, B6 & B12) work to calm nerves, help circulation and support skin health.  Essential fatty acids, such as flaxseed, primrose and fish oil,  especially the oil of salmon & mackerel, help to lubricate the skin from the inside out.  Minerals, particularly potassium chloride, applied as a lotion, help, too, from the ‘outside in’.  For information about what’s new, consult an authoritative website such as the National Eczema Association.  And stay positive:  There are things that you can do to give eczema the boot!