What’s the benefit of Hemp Seed oil in skin care products?

It doesn’t take long to figure out that Trés Spa products contain Hemp Seed oil. In fact almost all of our products contain it from our soap to our body butter to our lotion and even our shampoo. Our Old Fashioned Body Scrub and our Sea Scrub feature Hemp oil as well. This discovery has raised an eyebrow or two and even a giggle here and there. I have even heard some travelers comment that the Hemp Seed oil is so “California”.

As with all of the raw ingredients we use, we did a fair amount of research in selecting Hemp Seed oil. In searching for the right ingredients to use to create the best skin care products for you, the main criteria is that it contains the highest amount of nutrients. There are many reasons why we are such strong supporters of using Hemp oil for your skin care. Many of them are for the curative properties it posesses and the other reasons are for the eco-friendly qualities of this plant. There really is a good deal that can be said for this mighty producer but I will try to keep it short.

Hemp Seed oil is made from cold pressing the seeds to extract the oils. This all natural oil is good for all skin types and does not create allergic reactions. The therapeutic substances this oil carries are numerous rich in Omega-6 and Omega-3 it also contains the more “rare” GLA (gama linolenic acid) and SDA (stearidonic acid) fatty acids. The oil lipids allow it to permeate the skin and carry the nutrients to the cells. It is because of this ability that the oil doesn’t act as a “coating” it actually penetrates and works at the cell level to aid the skin in maintaining moisture this giving the skin the soft smooth feeling. Hemp seed oil is believed to be ideal in improving skin conditions such as aging skin, psoriasis, eczema, and acne.

The Hemp plant is one of the most eco-friendly plants. It is a very hearty grower that requires little water, helps control top soil erosion, has a very fast growth cycle (it can be harvested in 100 to 120 days of planting) and since it has natural resistance to predators it does not require any pesticides. Every part of the plant can be used to make consumer products from the stalk to the seed. Thousands of products can be made, all of them biodegradable.

Embrace your inner hippie and add this amazing power house of an oil to your daily skin care regime!

To shop for Trés Spa products, you can visit us on line at http://www.tresspa.com/

The unexpected customer!

The Tres Spa website has a feature where people can rate the products they use. I am always encouraging people to let me know what they think of the Tres Spa products they use. I even offer incentives for those who subscribe to the Tres Spa newsletter where they can win free products for writing reviews.

I believe people should give a candid honest review of the item they are reviewing and the one criterion is that they have to have used the product. The way the website works, I actually have to review the comments before they get posted. There are pros and cons to this feature. The con is that people may feel they are censored or that I will not post an unfavorable review. The pro is that I can help scrub out things that might identify them (since I believe people should have their privacy) and I can also delete bogus posts (I’ve actually had a couple of these).

Recently I received some reviews from one of my customers who took the time to actually go on line and rate the products. I was thrilled to see the reviews waiting for me as I know how busy we all are. As I started to review the comments I was very surprised to see her review of one of my soaps was for her dog! Well, when Tres Spa was created and the products designed, we did not intend for them to be pet products. In fact there are natural product companies that specialize in pet products. It’s just not a line we thought to create or carry. After all, what we wanted to create was a line of natural skin care that would leave you feeling just as good as you had spent the day at the spa.

I have to admit, this review caused me to pause (pardon the pun). I debated about whether or not to post this one. I decided to push the review threw and make it public. I thought of all the people I know who are so close to all their pets and how a dog really does become a member of the family and even shares our food at times so why not our body care products? I take my cat to the Cat Day Spa where he gets a lavender bath so why can’t a dog use Tres Spa soap? As I came to discover, this customers dogs have very thick fur and very sensitive skin. They had been suffering for so long and she had tried everything she could get to try and relieve their dry itchy skin problem. As any good parent would, she tried the soap herself and knew how well it worked for her so why would it not work for her dogs?

So now our Naked Soap can be called People friendly pet approved. LOL I am very glad that this customer is so happy with the products she uses and even more proud her dogs are too!

I would like to stress though that Tres Spa never tests on animals, ever. All of our products are cruelty free.

Summer time!

Great time to get out into that warm sunshine and soak in those rays?

Not without some protection!

I remember when I was younger and there was a huge fad with laying in the sun to toast yourself to get a deep tan. Being very fair skinned myself, this always resulted in sun burns and some of them were quite severe. I remember one summer in particular that I wanted to get a tan and be like everyone else. I laid in the sun and the result was a severe burn across my back that created so much pain and such large blisters that I had to wear loose cotton t-shirts and have salve put on my back to relieve the pain. Well, I learned the hard way, protect your skin when you are in the sun.

While there seems to be this belief that a nice toasty tone to your skin gives you the look of health, that is just not true. There are lots of articles out there and reams of research about the negative effects of the sun and its potential to damage your skin over the long term. Once the tone or color of your skin changes as a result of UV rays, the damage has been done. This also shoots the theory of creating a “base tan” as a way to protect your skin.

What to do when fun in the sun is not so fun after all.

So what do you do if you are unfortunate enough to get a sun burn?

Keep it cool! Use either a cold compress or soak in a cool tub to bring down the heat. I would not recommend using any salts or suds but perhaps a herbal bath with the Tres Spa Tub Teas especially Romance or Sanctuary.

Keep it moist! Using a lotion, cream or a body butter can help create moisture for your skin. I have many customers who use the Tres Spa Naked Body Butter. When I am asked by people what I use, this is the one. A body butter works to lay down a thicker coating of the skin than a lotion or even a cream since it contains no water. Continue to use the moisturizer as the dead skin peels away as this will help the new skin as well.

Here is a great article with simple steps to help relieve a burn from the Mayo Clinic:Sunburn

If you experience severe sun burn or other exposure symptoms such as dizziness, headache, or vomiting, you should seek immediate medical attention.

Best defense? Don’t be there to receive the offence.

Okay so we’ve all heard about the benefits of a little daily dose of sunshine and the rays providing the much needed vitamin D. You don’t want to live in a cave hiding away from those lovely happy and inviting rays of the sun so you know you are going to get outside and enjoy. Who could blame you? Do yourself a favor though and avoid all of the hassle and pain with toasting your skin by protecting yourself.

The best ways to protect your skin from damaging rays are;

Avoid the sun during the hours of 10am to 4pm

Wear protective clothing. Lose fitting clothes that cover the skin and hats to protect your face and neck.

Use liberal amounts of a sunscreen with a high SPF value.

To learn more about Tres Spa and to see a full list of products available, please visit our on-line store at www.tresspa.com

So what's the difference between a Body Butter and a Lotion?

What is the difference between a body butter and a lotion?
At the base they are very similar. Both are important items in keeping your skin supple, both are designed to help keep your skin moist, and both can be used from head to toe. But they differ in the composition of oils and butters as well as in preservation, absorption rate, and consistency.

Body Butters are made from the nut butters of various plants like Shea, Cocoa, Kukui, and Mango to name a few. Some are based on only one butter and others combine more than one type of nut butter. There are also body butters that whip the nut butters with other oils like the one we make at Tres Spa. The
Tres Spa Whipped Body Butters tend to spread easier on the skin out of the jar where more solid butters take some warming from your skin’s heat to improve spread ability. I also prefer the whipped butter since I can add other ingredients that are beneficial for your skin like Vit E and Aloe Vera gel.

Another key difference in body butters is that they do not require additional preservatives since they contain no water. We do add a antioxidant though to help prolong the shelf life for you. We use ROE which a natural antioxidant. In addition, many of the essential oils we use in our custom blends will act as an added antioxidant.

All butters are sensitive to external heat and if your butter is exposed to a heat source, it will melt. Don’t panic though. All you need to do is chill the butter and it will return to a more solid state. Butters are great for laying down a thinker moisture barrier to help keep your skin feeling supple and soft. Since the body butters are thicker than a lotion or a cream, they do take longer to absorb in. I recommend using the body butter just after you shower since your skin is more able to absorb the nutrients as the pores are open. Another great use for body butters is for massage.

Lotions are much thinner since, in addition to other things, they contain water and since there is water they also require a preservative. There is much debate about preservatives and which ones may be harmful . Tres Spa lotions are paraben free. They do contain EDTA for a preservative at less than .1%. You can read more about this preservative at Cometicsaftey.org. Here is the direct link to information about EDTA: http://tinyurl.com/m4gzwz

Lotions may contain a nut butter but predominantly they are made of other oils and various additives. For the Tres Spa lotion we have chamomile extract and green tea extract as an addition. Since lotions are thinner, they are faster to absorb into the skin. The oils in lotion (as well as some of the additives they may have) still make an excellent moisturizer . Since they are less susceptible to heat conditions, they are a great companion to carry around with you during your day so you can apply when you feel you need it. Butters aren’t as good for this as they will melt in heat.

If you would like to learn more about our products, please visit our on-line store at www.tresspa.com

In business, it’s not the sale that is the reward, it’s the people!

Yes, I know that sounds crazy. I mean after all, you have a business to make money right? True, you do need to make money to survive over the long term but money is not the corner stone of business: people are.
Last night I set up my little shop at the Farmers Market in Los Altos. In my planning for the market, I was excited as this is always a good market for me. The customers are wonderful and I do pretty good in sales. Well, sometimes what we plan to happen doesn’t manifest itself in the way we think we want it to at the time. I was very pleased with all of the visitors coming by to see and sample products. I remember thinking of how the number of people coming in was even a little more than what I had before, so this is a good sign. The customer traffic was very good.
We had great conversations about what is a butter and what is a lotion. We chatted about different carrier oils and the ones I use. We talked about different skin issues and scent blends. As the night progressed I noticed something peculiar, I hadn’t sold one item! Not even a bath bomb or a tub tea (great for using with your clothes in the dryer). All these conversations and all the wonderful positive comments from the visitors about the product quality, scent, look, and feel; still no sale. Oh dear!
I began to worry that I had done something wrong. Of course I began to wonder all kinds of things. Some were serious considerations and some very silly. Did my products have value to the shoppers? Was my packaging not attractive? Did the display not attract people? Is my hair wrong? Is it because I didn’t pluck my eyebrows? Of course I know from experience that my product does have value to the customers. They feedback to me all the time even though they may not have the time to rate the product on the website, they like to tell me in person. There is not an event that goes by when I don’t hear great reviews about my packaging. Of course the display is attractive to people as is evident by the number of visitors I get. I am certain the customers do not look that close to my eyebrows and as long as my hair is neat, I don’t think that matters much to them.
So why aren’t they buying? Well it is a simple answer. Because they don’t need soap or skin care products right now and they don’t need a gift at the moment. So rather than focus on the instant revenue, I focus instead on all of the things that will have them come back to shop when they are ready. Taking the time to listen to them and talk with them about their cares, concerns, and interests. Having genuine conversations with the people who come by to see me. Or simply being still while they enjoy the scents and the feel of the products they can try. Of course, it is equally important that I provide a good quality product that I am proud to stand behind.
By the end of the night I was able to make a couple of sales, some new customers and some returning ones. It was a rich event, not because of the money but because of the people I met, all of the great feedback they gave me, and the many interesting conversations we had.

4 Simple Steps to More Vibrant Skin

It’s a fact of nature that time and the elements can cause your skin to lose it’s soft moisture and supple feel or that soft glow we had in our youth. In order to help fight the effects of time and the elements, we recommend the following 4 steps in skin care. Nothing will stop time, but you don’t have to go through life with dull tired skin!

Step 1: Use a body scrub. Using a body scrub can help to unclog pores, remove dead cells, stimulate the skin cells and leaves you feeling soft and your skin glowing. Scrubs will also make the skin ready to receive the added benefits of body butters, creams, and lotions. The most important thing to do when selecting a scrub for you is to read the label or ask the crafter/creator. A really nutritious scrub should contain natural ingredients and if any preservative is used (remember you use this in the shower), it should be paraben free. At Tres Spa, we have 4 different types of body scrubs each featuring a different combination of oils and exfoliate with different essential oil blends. A list of all of the ingredients is posted there as well as directions for use.

Step 2: Use a natural soap. Soap cleans your skin. Plain and simple. But not all soap is created equal. Of course you know I am going to recommend you use only natural handcrafted soap. I have good reason for this. The natural handcrafted soap is an amazing thing and so are the crafters who make them for you. Many of us take a great deal of pride in our craftsmanship and each batch is made and watched over very carefully at every step along the way. The Tres Spa soaps are made from all natural plant oils and scented using essential oils. Many crafters will also add additional exfoliates or texture items to the soap such as flower petal, ground oatmeal, tapioca pearls, etc… These additions give your bar an interesting feel and can further help to exfoliate or massage the skin. Many people have commented to me on how wonderful their skin feels after using our soap. You owe it to yourself to use a good natural handcrafted soap.

Step 3: Create a moisture barrier for your skin. Now that you have cleaned away all of the dead skin cells and dirt that may have clogged your pores and choked your skin, it is time to lay down a nice protective barrier between you and the elements and help lock in all of that moisture. This is where a good Body Butter, Skin Cream, or Lotion comes in to action. For my customers I recommend using a good body butter just after they shower and allowing the extra 10 minutes to let the skin drink it all in. This can give you a really good moisturizing that will last with you all day long. Some people do not like the feel of the butter as they are thicker than a cream or a lotion and take a little longer to absorb in. You can also use a cream or a lotion to help seal in the moisture but you may want to keep a travel size lotion for yourself during the day. Perfect for reapplying when you feel you may need it through the day.

Step 4: Have a soak! At least one time a week we recommend a nice soak in the tub. Not only is a good place to de-stress from the week, it’s good for you. We recommend a nice soak with rich bath salts containing minerals, or a milk bath with milk and honey, or an herbal steam, or a effervescing bath fizzy. Any of these will not only reward your nerves, your skin will thank you for it. We do not recommend soaking in a bubble bath and suggest you use only salts, herbs, or a milk bath. Personally, I like to take what I call a power bath. I combine more than one tub treat. For example, I’ll use a bath fizzy along with my Royal Silk Milk bath. Ahhhh! Wonderful.

Greening your life, one leaf at a time.

Going "green" might seem like an enormous task at first, but it really can be as simple as changing one thing at a time. Changing one leaf at a time.

Try starting with something simple like where you get your fresh produce each week. Rather than buying from the large chain stores, try visiting your local Farmers Market. There are a great deal of benefits for you to purchase local produce as the fruits and vegetables that are sold in the market are seasonal and often grown with less chemical intervention from pesticides. The taste is amazing! Local produce is good for your health, better for the environment, and supports local small business. So, the few cents extra you may spend for the food you eat actually helps save the planet and the economy! While you are visiting your local Farmers Market, be sure to see the local artisans that are present at many of these markets. You can find some wonderful gifts and some very unique items for yourself. Try a bar of natural soap made by the local handcrafter.

Another simple thing you can do to green your life is to re-look at the items you are throwing in the trash. Can that item be reused, re purposed, or recycled? If so, it doesn't belong in the trash only to become landfill.

Don't stress yourself with having to change everything at once, the little changes you can make will all add up over time. Just look at changing one leaf at a time.