Holistic Wellness – The Gift that Keeps on Giving

“When you recover or discover something that nourishes your soul and brings joy, care enough about yourself to make room for it in your life.” — Jean Shinoda Bolen

 

With the busy holiday season coming to a close, you will hopefully enjoy some quality time off! While we work so hard to create the magic of the season for others, we often forget about ourselves. Make time to gift yourself peace, relaxation and feel good moments.

Self-care is imperative, especially after such a hectic time of the year. Consider adding more natural products to your collections to help you look and feel your very best. 

Here are some holistic products and tips to natural beauty and wellness recommended by Staff Shop:

 

Skincare

While we often focus on what’s inside our bodies, we shouldn’t neglect what’s outside – our skin. The skin is the body’s largest organ, so it’s important to treat it with the utmost care. Our skin often indicates when something isn’t right with our health. Redness, rashes, acne and other imperfections can happen due to products we’re using. 

Not only do skincare products often contain chemicals, most are full of water. While water is important to drink, it’s a mainly unnecessary ingredient in skincare. In fact, water can dilute key ingredients, so you’re not actually getting the full benefits of the products.

By switching to waterless, more natural skincare products, you’re ensuring that the active ingredients actually work. A side benefit is that waterless products are more sustainable. Also, look for organic ingredients to minimize allergic reactions.

 

Candles

Many of us love candles. Lighting a scented candle is a great way to unwind at the end of a long week – or a long month, as the case may be now. You might light them in the bathroom when you’re taking a bath or maybe you’re having a romantic dinner with someone. The trouble is that many commercially mass made candles are toxic. They use paraffin wax, a petroleum-based product. The other issue is the synthetic scents hidden in ‘parfum’ as an ingredient. 

Home fragrance is such an important part of people’s lives, it’s tough to imagine that the thing you’re lighting to help yourself relax and set the mood is actually doing more harm than good. 

Does this mean you have to forgo candles completely? Absolutely not. There are plenty of natural alternatives that are much better for your health and wellbeing. Soy wax candles are much better for you, and they often use natural scents. Look for local, Canadian retailers making these types of products.

 

Cosmetics 

People wear makeup for a host of different reasons. For some, it’s about enhancing natural beauty, for others it’s about transforming completely. Whatever your reason is, you should do what makes you happy when it comes to playing with makeup. 

Unfortunately, the beauty industry doesn’t always focus on products that are good for our face and body. Clean beauty has been on the rise for the past few years and with good reason. Many beauty products are full of chemicals and synthetic ingredients, such as parabens and sulfates that can actually irritate and damage your skin. While we won’t bore you with the long list of problems these nasty ingredients can cause, it’s important to do your own research and make informed decisions when shopping for makeup.

Thankfully, clean beauty brands aren’t hard to find. Many are in drug stores and specialty retailers.

 

Gift ideas

Looking for a last-minute gift or a treat for yourself? Explore Staff Shop’s 2021 Gift Guide!

It’s full of purpose-driven companies that reflect our values, as a Canadian-Indigenous-Women-owned business. There is a line of all-natural bath products created by two women in Edmonton, Alberta. There’s a sustainable makeup brand created by an Indigenous woman in St. Catharines, Ontario. There are several all-natural skincare brands as well. Check it out and support amazing entrepreneurs focussed on making a positive impact on holistic wellness in our world! 

 

Resources

Make good choices when it comes to skincare, candles and makeup by reading up on this news:  

• What Is “Waterless” Skincare and Why Is it Trending? – PureWow
• Is Burning Candles Safe or Bad for Your Health? – Healthline
• The Ultimate Guide to Clean Beauty – Harpers Bazaar

 

“Self-care: The practice of taking an active role in protecting one’s own well-being and happiness.”

 

Happy Holidays from all of us at Staff Shop! Submit your blog idea HERE for a chance to be featured in 2022!