Top Seven Reasons to Use Natural Products

1. It smells good.

2. Makes my skin soft.

3. Made fresh.

4. You know who makes your lotion.

5. Support local non-profits making a difference working with youth.

6. Support businesses in your area

7. It's good for you. Most products have added synthetic ingredients that don't offer essential vitamins, the key to healthy skin.

Run Oshune Run!!!

Jo and Shani are working on our fitness! We are racing the world for the 10K Nike plus Human Race, which will take place on the 31 of August in Los Angeles. Compete against 25 cities and 1 million runners around the globe.

The race will kick off at 8:31:08 PM at the famous LA Memorial Coliseum, which hosted the 1984 Olympics. The proceeds will benefit one of three charities, WWF-Global Conservation Organization, the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the ninemillion.org campaign.

Inspired by Life

Inspired by life, business is no different. And on fabulous days like today, it's hard to be indoors. Seashells, the smell of the ocean, sand in my shoes, a walk through a canyon... it's the total package, the whole experience that keeps us coming back for more.

When so many elements play an integral part to contribute to the grand stand of blooming flowers, laughter, sunshine and some free time, memories become priceless and become a part of our database for cold winter days, sick days and when we just don't feel like it.

Today, we need to finish work early so we can do some research on the little things that make it all work.

Seasonal Tips - Sensational Summer

Based in Los Angeles for the past nine years, this rich sunny climate has to be edited when it's all the time. Seasonal activities and routines are all different. Summer signifies fun, carefree time well spent and anticipated new experiences naturally spending more time outdoors.

Small steps to help replenish your skin's natural glow seem like big tasks with a full plate. But with a few small time saving tips, you won't even notice it. Today, sun protection is essential to maintaining healthy skin.

• Leave a hat in the car, sunscreen in your bag. Sunscreen becomes less effective over the years so invest in a new one to guarantee freshness and effectiveness.
• Rub fresh aloe from the plant on exposed skin after a day in the sun to soothe post-inflammatory hyper-pigmentation
• Cleanse, Tone and Moisturize Everyday
  

Each One Teach One

Today we are meeting our annual summer intern through Step Up Women's Network. A non-profit national network of women dedicated to strengthening community resources for women and girls. This is an eight week program helping teen girls in underserved communities by empowering them with on the job training and nurturing life skills.

Your purchases help us support local youth programs. Here is an excerpt from Alejandra, a young teen with a bright future and last year's intern. We learned a lot from each other as we are committed to making a difference, one person at a time.

Naturally Curly Hair

Naturally curly hair has a mind of its own. I had one woman tell me " your hair is an entity all by itself" and she was so right. We recently were interviewed by a website strictly dedicated to this entity. Naturallycurly.com asked us about our solutions for those untamed locks.

We recently joined their ranks of recommended products for curly hair sharing our experiences and solutions. This site is completely dedicated to do's and dont's, tips and suggestions. Check out our latest interview at:
http://www.naturallycurly.com/home/spotlight-oshune-body-care

Accepting Natural Products

Today, consumers have been raised to think the way merchandisers want them to think. A product should look perfect, whatever that means. - Aubrey Hampton

In a digital age, we feel like salmon swimming upstream with messages of "natural" with an IPhone and PDA in our backpockets. On one hand, we identify with the human aspects of life and on the other we live in a world filled with possibilities through technological advances so we walk a tight rope everyday, wanting the best of both worlds.

In selecting natural products that are right for you, choose ingredients first because mother nature doesn't come in perfect packages. We've found by NOT adding artificial colors or emulsifiers, the products are superior in every way and safer than the chemicals they've come up with to replace them.

Life cycles are regenerative processes like seasons, change is always upon us.

Our Weekly Magazine

Featured in this week's issue of Our Weekly, I talked with Cynthia and shared with her our mission: helping millions of diverse cultural people find alternative natural solutions for everyday personal care.

Our goal really is to share with people what ingredients are unacceptable to be considered premium beauty care. Just like everything, sometimes we just need a reminder if we already know and a heads up if this is the first time you are hearing it to live healthier and happier lives. Ever tried to read those ingredients on the back of the bottle? Here's a few ingredients we don't recommend. Need substitute suggestions? Send us an email at info@oshune.com.

Unacceptable List

Propylene Glycol
Sodium Laurel Sulfate
Methylparaben
Tetrasodium EDTA
Diazolidinyl Urea
Mineral Oil
Petrolatum

Link:
http://www.ourweekly.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=157&twindow=Default&mad=
No&sdetail=6454&wpage=&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption
=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=1172&hn=ourweekly&he=.com

Fighting For What You Believe In...

My partner (in the black trunks) has taught me so much especially going after what you want in life. How hard work and dedication with all your heart and soul, only really works when you believe and commit 100% in the magic of the moment. All of us are finding our voices, speaking our truths, standing up against injustice, making our way in life but are you just going through the motions? Wondering why it's not working? If we don't believe in ourselves, who will?

Today, I am mad about all the halfway doers and sometimers (including myself) because when you know what's right and nothing changes, then you only have yourself to blame. Anger is a catalyst for change. What are you fighting for?

Baby Oil Blues

I joined in on some chat rooms and listened in on some general concerns on both skin and hair care sites and got caught up on shared experiences, tips and suggestions. I was sad when fellow members suggested Baby oil and Vaseline as tried and true remedies for dry skin. "Well, it worked for my momma" is a good argument but for so long so many other generations didn't have a lot of choices.

Today, we have a lot more resources and it is our goal to support, educate and inform each other of natural remedies using mother earth's plants with higher nutritional value for our largest living organism "the skin" instead of petroleum.

We have a wealth of resources about the skin and what's really in our products so drop us a comment. We are demanding more benefits to pass along to you the consumer with your best interest in mind. As a natural substitute, try our Feel Good Oil or Belizean Joe's Coconut Oil.

Mad Mondays - Sodium Laurel Sulfates

Introducing Mad Mondays... we are so over toxic chemicals in our products that when we did our research, it wasn't a surprise that so many of ailments can be simply avoided if we took a little more time in knowing what we are putting on our bodies everyday and in the most intimate places.

Did you remember your skin is the largest organ on your body? Just as a reminder, your skin works like your liver or your lung, not just like a zip lock bag keeping it all together. It absorbs everything up to about 60% so from perfume to deoderants and especially shampoos and other bubbly delights, those ingredients become a part of us and our pores are just an open door to free radicals. here are some ingredients we consider avoidable.

Sodium Laurel Sulfate: White powder used as a detergent, emulsifier, and surfactant in over thousands of cosmetic products, including shampoos, toothpastes, lotions and creams. SLS is a strong degreaser that dries skin and hair. It is a primary irritant in high concentrations. It is produced synthetically. The presence of natural ingredients make little difference in the irritating action. Any cosmetic that contains sodium laurel sulfate can't be termed as natural, although many shampoos labeled as natural contain large amounts.

Resource: A. Hampton "Natural and Organic Hair and Skin Care"

Tips on buying, keeping and discarding personal care products for African American and Latina women.

Whether it is a new haircut, decluttering your closet, or cleaning house, spring is about change by letting go of the old and bringing in the new.

The same applies to your personal care products. Letting go old make-up, moisturizers and sun screens are essential to their effectiveness. Many products like sun screen lose their value in a shorter period of time than you expect. Also, make-up can be a germ bed to your skin, causing irritations and possibly infections.

Our products are made fresh and as a guarantee, we suggest using them is a shorter period of time. Also, refrigeration is effective in keeping germs and other unwanted microscopic critters away. Buy smaller quantities even if the bigger one is a better deal and/or let it chill out with your veggies.

Ask yourself what's in my lotion? Nothing lasts forever so this month's motto is "keep it fresh".

What's the hardest part about getting rid of old products?

Putting It All In Perspective

When life leads you down roads less traveled, there are fewer props, people and the familiar to keep you in the world you think you know. No two roads are alike and yet we are always looking for repeat performances so we can at least pretend to know what to expect.

This weekend while my partner was out of town, I surrendered to the now and stopped planning and preparing for tomorrow for at least 2 hours. That was a huge leap and we went to the Hsi Lai Buddhist Temple also known as the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, a traditional Chinese Buddhist mountain monastery to regroup and get back the grander purpose.

I was surrounded by a cultural experience far removed from the everyday hustle and bustle of LA living and traveled back in time to where the smell of incense and the presence of grand statues older than I can put into context melted my so-called concerns away.

I felt at ease and walked away with one simple mantra -
When there is no doubt, there is no fear.

Have any mantras/epiphanies to put it all in perspective for you this week?