Parabens

Hi everyone!

As an ongoing part of my series, I decided to do my first article on parabens, since they are probably one of the most widespread chemicals in a lot of the things we use today.

So what exactly are parabens and what do they do?
They are chemicals that manufacturers use in order to prevent microbial growth and prolong the shelf-life of the product. Parabens can be found in a lot of personal care products and cosmetics people use on a daily basis, such as lotion, eyeliner, deodorant, etc.

Why are they bad?
There have been research articles published that show how parabens are linked with tumor growth, endocrine disruption, and reproductive toxicity. Parabens have been found in numbers of breast cancer cells, and they have also been found to change the ways hormones are supposed to work in your body. Hormones are important for many bodily functions, such as metabolism regulation and also maintenance of the reproductive system.

How can I avoid this chemical?
While you probably can't completely avoid this chemical, there are ways you can minimize exposure to parabens. When you go shopping for new personal care products or cosmetics, check the label before purchasing them. Common parabens that are used include: methylparaben, ethylparaben, propylparaben, butylparaben. Basically, pay attention to anything that ends in -paraben.
Another option is to make your own personal care products and makeup. It may sound time-consuming or difficult, but you actually probably have most of the ingredients sitting somewhere in your kitchen right now! We've posted a couple of DIY personal care products and will be posting more in the future, so watch out for our new posts! A lot of recipes can be found on Pinterest as well.

As always, please let us know if there is anything we can do more of on our blog! If there are any recipes or subjects you would like us to expand on please don't hesitate to email us at loveleaf.beauty@gmail.com. Thanks so much for reading this!

              Parabens             | Create infographics

DIY Christmas Ornament

Happy holidays! Here's a quick decorating tip that's both eco and budget-friendly. You can make festive ornaments with three materials and in two steps!

• Pine cones
• Glitter glue
• String

Squeeze glitter glue onto the scales of each pine cone. Once it dries, tie a piece of string around the top. Ta-dah! Your Christmas ornament is ready to hang up. 

Wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a happy New Year! 

                                                                                                                                

                                                                                                                                Much Love,

Hey everyone!

Hope you all had a great and awesome Halloween! I just wanted to announce an upcoming series I'm doing on common chemicals in our toiletries, such as toothpaste, soap, lotion... things of that type that are more harmful than they seem. Not only will these chemicals be identified, there will be reasons given for why one should avoid them, and ways one can be able to do that. So yea! Please continue checking our Facebook page and blog regularly. Thank you so much everyone for all the views we've been getting! Your support and willingness to read our posts are greatly appreciated :)

Much love,

DIY Cucumber Eye Mask

It is often said the eyes are windows to the soul... Whether you had a late night, bad case of allergies, or bout of stress, puffy eyes betray it all. There are some remedies people use such as cold spoons and fresh cucumber slices for puffy eyes. The coldness of the spoon reduces the amount of fluids that flow to the eye and induce puffiness, as does the coolness of the cucumber. Cucumbers also contain antioxidants that relieve irritation, and its high water content also help to moisturize the eye area. Unfortunately, I don't always have fresh cucumbers on hand being a college student with limited time and lack of transportation.. so I like to make my own cucumber eye masks which can be stored for a long time, and are always fresh and on hand  :) Here's how I make them!

Ingredients: cucumbers, cotton pads, plastic baggies

Recipe:
1. Chop up some cucumbers.
2. Throw them in a blender or juicer.
3. Pour cucumber pulp into a bowl or pan.
4. Take some cotton pads and soak them in the cucumber pulp until the cotton is fully saturated.
5. Pop the cotton pads in a plastic bag. Store in the freezer.
6. De-puff away :)

To use:
Take out two cucumber eye masks and let it thaw for a minute. Please please thaw! Remember that scene from A Christmas Story where Ralphie gets his tongue stuck to a frozen pole? It would suck to have it get stuck to your skin...which happened to me once with a frozen spoon... never again!
I like to use these cucumber eye masks in the morning to wake me up..as does having a block of ice on your face would probably do... That way I walk out the door having no sign of late-night cramming and a fresh eye for learning :)

Hope this helps!

Top 3 Best Healthy Eating Apps

When it comes to healthy eating, my phone is my BFFFFF times infinity. Seriously, who else can break down my daily nutrients, rate my grocery items, and suggest recipes based on my cravings? Thanks to apps, my phone has transformed into my 24/7 healthy eating sidekick! 

1. Fooducate

This app is a savior for those of us who don't want to spend forever trying to decipher ingredients lists and nutrition charts. Fooducate rates food items on a A to D scale. Yes, it literally grades your food. If you're curious about a food product's rating, just use the app's bar code scanner or search it up in the database. It quickly sums up the food's good and bad points so you can instantly find out how healthy (or not) the food is. 

2. MyFitnessPal 

This app works as a daily journal to track your health and fitness. You can use it to log in your meals and exercise. MyFitnessPal is great for those who are starting a healthy lifestyle as it keeps your accountable for your diet and exercise goals. What I love the most about this app is that it breaks down your daily nutrient intake so you can see if you're lacking in a vitamins, minerals, protein, carbs, etc.

*My reservation with MyFitnessPal is that this app can be abused as a calorie tracker. My recommendation is that you don't use this as a calorie tracker but as nutrient tracker. Make sure you meet the daily nutrient requirements. If you're prone to counting and restricting calories, please skip this app as it may trigger those behaviors. 

3. SparkRecipes

With this app, you can browse through hundreds of healthy recipes filtered by ingredients or dietary needs. Got a bunch of asparagus sitting in the fridge that you don't know what to do with? Simply search up asparagus and choose from a wide selection of user-rated recipes. I admit, I often browse through the recipes when I'm bored. It's helped me find ways to use up all sorts of random things in my fridge. You don't have to be a gourmet cook to use this app since most of the recipes are fairly simple!

All of these apps are available on iPhone, Android, and online.

Healthy eating is super easy once you have your phone as an ally. With these apps, you can easily see how you're doing nutrition-wise. 

       Stay beautiful,

DIY Microwavable Meals

As college students, we're often too busy to cook healthy meals.  I save time and money by making my own frozen meals. Commercial microwavable meals have way too much sodium and preservatives, not to mention they're not exactly easy on the wallet! ;( By making your own meals, you can have it all-- convenience, healthiness, and cost-efficiency.

On the weekends, I cook a large batch of food. After it cools, I split it into separate portions in microwave and freezer-safe containers. The food can store up to a month in the freezer (possibly longer, but I always finish everything before then). Whenever I'm pressed for time or feeling lazy, I just pop a container into the microwave and enjoy my meal. :)

I usually freeze fried rice, steamed vegetables, or thick soups such as butternut squash soup. The possibilities are endless! Basically anything that isn't too watery or crunchy (eg. chicken noodle soup, lettuce, tortilla chips) will make a good microwavable meal.

Freezer-friendly foods:

• Pasta
• Lasagna
• Chicken fillet 
• Fish fillet 
• Spaghetti sauce
• Meatballs
• Broccoli
• Carrots
• Mushrooms
• Peas
• Corn
• Steak
• Potatoes

You can pair your frozen meal with other dishes for more variety. It's also a good way to stock up on home-cooked foods when visiting family. You can enjoy a little piece of home throughout the school year. (:

   
        Stay healthy,

Healthy, Homemade Popcorn

A healthy, chemical-free, and cheap way to make popcorn at home! Instead of using butter or canola oil, coconut oil can be used as a substitute, given its many health benefits and ability to with-stand high temperatures. Plus, popcorn is so much cheaper to make at home! Hope you enjoy :)


Ingredients:
kernels
coconut oil
salt
seasoning (optional)

Recipe:
1. Find a medium - large sized pot with a lid, preferably a clear lid so you can see the kernels pop!
2. Spoon some coconut oil into the pot. Put enough in so that the bottom of the pot is covered in coconut oil.
3. Turn the heat on high and pop in 3 kernels.
4. Once all 3 kernels pop, the oil is hot enough to add in the other kernels. Don't add too much or the pot will overfill!
5. Allow kernels to pop until the popping slows to maybe a pop a second.
6. Salt and/or season.
7. Eat! :)

*Warning: Try to find a pot large enough to cover the size of the stove top. It can be hazardous if the popcorn overfills the pot and lands on the stove, especially when it's covered in oil.

organic, non-GMO kernels yum! :)

Melting the coconut oil

Waiting for the oil to heat up

Popping the kernels!

Yum! :)

Homemade Face Scrub

A good exfoliator is a prime part of any skincare routine. When I went green, I had to find alternatives for my previous cleanser with exfoliating beads. Fortunately, a natural face scrub can be quickly assembled using just a few ingredients from the kitchen. :)

Ingredients:

• Oatmeal
• Baking soda
• Brown/cane sugar

 Mix the oatmeal, baking soda, and sugar according to a 2:1:1 ratio. You can decrease the amount of baking soda if you have sensitive skin. Blend the oatmeal before mixing with the baking soda and sugar if you prefer a finer face scrub.

After washing your face, take a small scoop of the exfoliating mixture and mix it with a bit of warm water to form a paste. Gently rub the mixture over your face for about one minute before rinsing.

Ta-dah! Clear and smooth skin is made from the kitchen, not from a chemist's lab.

Benefits:

• Baking soda removes dead skin and absorbs oil
• Oatmeal removes impurities and soothes the skin
• Brown/cane sugar smooths and protects skin 

This simple but effective recipe has earned a permanent place in my skincare routine. Hopefully it will find a place in yours too!

Stay glowing,

Lemon Thyme Potatoes

Hi everyone!
I've recently had extra time on my hands now that it's summer...and decided to experiment with some fresh herbs from the garden in the backyard. I haven't had the opportunity to cook with the lemon thyme so I thought I'd make a vinaigrette out of it and toss some potatoes in it. Here's the recipe, hope you guys like it! Enjoy :)

Potatoes and Lemon Thyme Vinaigrette

Ingredients:
24 oz small red potatoes
2 tsp olive oil
1/2 cup olive oil
1 lemon
2 tbsp chopped, fresh lemon thyme
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat the oven to 425°F
2.Slice the red potatoes into bite-sized halves and coat them with the salt and pepper and 2 tsp olive oil.
3. Bake the potatoes for 20 min.
4. While the potatoes are baking, juice the lemon and mix it with the 1/2 cup olive oil and chopped lemon thyme. Feel free to add lemon zest in as well.
5. Take the potatoes out of the oven and toss them vigorously in the vinaigrette. If you find that you don't have enough seasoning, feel free to add more salt and pepper.
6. Enjoy :)

Here are some pics I took while making this recipe!

Red potatoes pre-baking

Fresh lemon thyme! (and my hand..and toes...)

Mixing the lemon thyme vinaigrette!

(Yup mixing with my handy dandy chopsticks... like any other typical asian...)

Potatoes post-baking!

 Finished product. Yum!

Green Living Resource: EWG Database

           One of the main reasons why we decided to choose green toiletries is because of all the hazardous chemicals companies have been dumping into our products. Many of these chemicals have been proven by many studies over the past years to be toxic to our bodies. These products are then directly applied on the skin, the face, or even used in our mouths every day, and what’s scary is that the government does little to protect or inform people about these things.

When we first started to go green, the hardest thing was probably researching the ingredients on the labels of our soaps, lotions, and cosmetics, only to find out more than half contained a good amount of these chemicals. Fortunately, there are resources out there that help to make the transition easier. 

Now, I'm not encouraging you to waste money and toss out commercial products that are still usable (I actually continued to use them until they were gone, and just never bought them again), but it helps knowing what kind of toiletries to buy in the future. One website I find particularly useful is: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ . 

Basically you search up a product you want to know more about, and it rates how harmful it is and tells you why they gave it that rating. If you sign up for their mailing list, they’ll even send you a little Quick Tips for Safer Cosmetics shopping guide, as shown below, which is quite helpful when you’re out shopping. I've included a printable version of the shopping guide for your own use. EWG also has information about other key environmental issues such as pesticides in groceries or healthy cleaning. If you want to know more about the harmful chemicals in your toiletries, the government websites usually have some interesting studies on them.

Anyway, I hope this post makes your transition a little easier or a little more informed about why we chose to go green. Please let us know if you have any questions or comments at loveleaf.beauty@gmail.com

                                                                                     

                                                                                                - Grace

Introduction

Welcome to Loveleaf Beauty! We're an eco-friendly blog dedicated to promoting healthy, green lifestyles.

Our Philosophy

We believe in practicality over principles. Adopting an environmentally-friendly lifestyle doesn't have to be complicated; we hope to ease the transition with our product reviews, tutorials, and guides.

About Us

Grace is currently studying to be a Neuroscience major and German minor at the University of Michigan. In her free time, she loves to read literature, hoard things, and find new ways of killing germs in a safe, environmentally-friendly way. She hopes to one day have a career in the Public Health area, helping people make healthy decisions in everyday life.

Marissa is majoring in Education at Oakland University. She enjoys experimenting with vegan recipes, travelling, and reading funny comics. She hopes to publish a children's book and star in an indie Youtube short... whichever comes first. 

Feel free to contact us at loveleaf.beauty@gmail.com if you have any questions!

Our Blog

As college students, we understand the constraints of limited time and resources. By sharing our experiences, we hope to make your journey to living green easier. Our blog will feature:

• Organic product reviews 
• Living green pocket guides
• DIY beauty tricks
•  Healthy recipes
• Recycled crafts

Let us know in the comments which topic you're most interested in or which topics you'd like to see featured on our blog.