Hallo Nourishers!
I have some exciting news. I have been contacted by a Dr Tony Perrone, clinical nutritionist to the stars :-) who wants me to make up an anti-ageing cream for him to sell. A bit flabbergasted, but excited about the possibilities to say the least!
By the way, has anyone read his book, ‘Bodyfat Breakthru’? Because I haven’t! His list of ingredients he wished to include (in his cream) was most of the vegetarian saturated fats. He may be on the right track. I can’t find too much info on his diet recommendations, I guess I’ll have to buy his book…
Will let you know updates as they come. Will be talking to the Dr this week to discuss further options.
By the way, I’ve always had a secret fantasy to be a nutritionist to the likes of Jessica Simpson, Lindsay Lohen etc, purely based on the media coverage they get regarding their weight and health issues. To me, popular culture would be the easiest way to get the Weston Price philosophies out to the mainstream public (where it is sorely needed). Maybe this is a small step for this journey. I hope so! I won’t stop dreaming regardless.
Cheers, and more Cheers!
Karen.
PS My good friend from Newfoundland, Shawn Silver is selling T-shirts with the above slogan for around $22 Canadian dollars. You can visit his website at www.idance.ca for orders and more info. Newfoundlanders have had an awesome diet for generations, including a great variety of seafood (including seals) and of course cod. When I was there a few years ago, Cod tongues, caplains (smoked little fish bait type fish, eaten completely whole) and bread which you had to soak overnight before it was soft enough to eat was still very normal. Gorgeous musical culture and (good looking) people - of course.
‘This T-Shirt is a very tongue and cheek comment about a very important topic which involves a culture, and a way of life in Newfoundland Labrador for generations. Available through iDance only. Email for yours! Shirts are CDN $22.50 or 2/$40. Makes a great gift…AND an even better political statement!’
Apr 1st, 2008 at 7:19 pm
Hi Karen,
Woohoo, witches brew in Hollywood! I’m so excited for you!
I just looked up Tony Perrone and he looks to me to be a low carb, high protein, low fat warrior you’ll have to do some rapid what it means to be nourished talking lol.
Apr 2nd, 2008 at 9:02 am
What an awesome opportunity Karen! I’m excited to hear how it goes!
Apr 3rd, 2008 at 9:51 pm
AWESOME!
What a great opportunity! Let us know how everything goes!
Oh- Karen I sent you a text in thanks for the samples you sent over. Hair gel: AMAZING. Cleanser: AMAZING.
Crikey, you know what ou’re doing lady!
Apr 4th, 2008 at 2:54 am
Thanks ladies!!
Gemma - thank you for your text as well, I’m sorry I didn’t get back to you! Was quite a hectic week.. I’m so glad you like the new products.
I had a chat with Dr Tony this morning and he sounded exactly like my brother in law (who is American). He seemed really cool. Very open to suggestions and very excited about making an organic natural product with saturated fats. He had some great ideas for emulsifyers and natural preservatives as well. I think we could be of mutual help actually. He also mentioned meadowfoam oil, which I’ve never heard of, but sounds good. He wants an ‘edible’ cream, and ended the conversation with ‘lets help some people’. So basically, I am won over. He wants the cream to be odourless so his clients can put in their own essential oils. I’m going to send him samples of the refined product he’s requesting as well as unrefined. Once I went unrefined I just couldn’t go back. Kind of like going from full cream pasteurized, homogenised milk, to raw milk. I think he needs to see that for himself, personally. Anyways, that’s it for now.
Cheers!
Karen.
Apr 15th, 2008 at 7:22 pm
Hi sweetie
Great news
i was just thinking how funny it would be if the macrobiotic Gwyneth Paltrow (and you KNOW how I LOVE Gwyneth!) ended up smearing saturated fat all over her face! Priceless!
Seriously though it would be great if some of those undernourished girls got some healthy fats into them finally - maybe Britney would stop acting so crazy and be able to mother her kids again.
Apr 16th, 2008 at 4:11 am
I’ve got nothing against people eating seals but if they’re clubbed to death, then that’s horrendous.
May 3rd, 2008 at 3:55 pm
Hi Karen
I am always interested in products which use natural ingredients and avoid harmful chemicals, as I was exposed to harmful chemicals some years back and am allergic to many substances. As a result, I make soy wax candles which are uncoloured and have only pure essential oils in them - hard to find in the marketplace because so many are making soy candles with fragrances which are chemicals and cause headaches and toxicity.
I was interested in your anti-ageing cream until I found one of your ingredients is phenoxyethanol. There are many reasons for not using this substance and I outline them below for your information (from an American site, http://www.inspiredliving.com/organic/a~chemicaldetection.htm ):
“EMERGENCY OVERVIEW WARNING!
Harmful if swallowed
Causes skin irritation
May cause central nervous system depression
May cause kidney damage
May cause respiratory and digestive tract irritation
Target Organs: Kidneys, central nervous system
POTENTIAL HEALTH EFFECTS
Skin Contact: Severe irritation or burns
Eye Contact: Severe irritation or burns
Ingestion: May cause gastrointestinal irritation with nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea
May cause central nervous system depression
May cause headache, dizziness, drowsiness, and nausea
Advanced stages may cause collapse, unconsciousness
May cause coma and possible death due to respiratory failure
May cause kidney failure
May be harmful if swallowed
Lesions may appear in the brain, lungs, liver, meninges and heart
ANIMAL TESTING DATA
Lethal Dose 50 (LD50) indicates the quantity of the chemical necessary to kill 50% of the animal test subjects and is measured in units per kilogram or PPM (Parts Per Million) of the animal’s body weight.
Oral, mouse: LD50 = 933 mg/kg
Oral, rat: LD50 = 1260 mg/kg
Skin, rabbit: LD50 = 5 mL/kg
Skin, rat: LD50 = 14422 mg/kg ”
We need to be very careful that our products are what we intend them to be - non-toxic and non-harmful. I am sure that you have all good intentions for your products and you have put a lot of time and money into them - it would be a pity to lose customers because of one added chemical.
May 4th, 2008 at 4:42 am
Hi Wendy,
Thanks for the info. When I first started out, I wanted a natural preservative, but found them extremely hard to find. The ones I did find, and tried out, were not very effective. I also researched phenoxyethanol among other synthetic preservatives, and it had the highest brownie points out of all of them, so to speak. It was also labelled safe, non-toxic, and globally approved. I couldn’t find a site which said it was not safe…. until now!
At first glance the above statistics look horrific, but I would also like to point out that there are a lot of ‘May’s in the info. Also the Animal Testing Data was very informative. However the amount needed to use in my creams are at 0.75%/volume. So the amount you use to put on your face, in comparison to the weight of your body would be extremely minute. I haven’t looked at the site yet, but am wondering what reactions these animals had with much less amounts…
What got my attention immediately however was the ‘harmful if swallowed’ and ’causes skin irritation’. No ‘maybe’s’ there!
Ironically enough, recently I have managed to find a source of Grapefruit seed extract. The shelf life is half of that of Phenoxyethanol, and a lot more expensive. However after reading your post, am quite determined to switch it over. My face creams I also lacto-ferment, so in conjunction with the grapefruit seed extract, they should in theory last a little longer than your regular organic creams on the market.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write. I am very appreciative and feel quite supported.
Also, your soy candles sound wonderful.. Do you sell them or just make them for personal use?
Cheers,
Karen.
May 4th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
Hi Karen
So glad you found the info of use. It is sometimes difficult to produce goods without
chemical additives when trying to appease consumer tastes which are used to things
which are instant and last forever. My dream is to find a small community to become
part of, and then all can be made fresh and shared.
I have been making candles for about 5 years now - started with paraffin then realised
the dangers of it and switched to palm and soy wax which is much cleaner burning.
Recently I moved to Forster NSW from Perth WA and have started making the candles again
- no additives - just straight wax plus pure essential oils from reputable sources and
no colours because I cant be assured of the toxicity of the dyes used. My candles and
melts are available from www.aromaqueen.com.au and can also be purchased from Aroma
Queen’s eBay shop. I was lucky to find Aroma Queen who takes care of the retailing of
the candles and that leaves me free to be the alchemist! She has some good contacts -
Adam Goodes of the Sydney Swans made the first purchase of my palm pillar candles!! You
can wholesale from her if you wish - I have a couple of ladies who are starting to
wholesale to sell in markets in Brisbane and Forster.
My partner and I will be staying near Larnook for the second week in June. Maybe if
you live close (I have no idea where NSW places are in relation to another as yet!) we
could catch up.
Iwish you all the very best success in your venture. I know for certain that if your
intentions are honourable then the Universe will take care of the rest!!!
Kindest regards
Wendy
May 10th, 2008 at 10:00 am
Hi Karen,
I wrote to you on another blog, but this one seems more current. I am a licensed aesthetician here in Alberta Canada and was wondering if you sell wholesale and/or if you would consider selling in bulk for private labeling. I am also interested in what you were making for that gentleman in, “Hollywood” and would love an update….
Most Kindly,
Anne McLennan
May 11th, 2008 at 6:54 pm
Hi Wendy,
Thank you so much for the encouragement, and its wonderful to know you’re doing so well with the candles. Larnook is a bit of a hike, but would be happy to catch up sometime in Lismore. Its about half way for both.
Would love to meet for a cuppa!
Cheers,
Karen.
May 11th, 2008 at 7:02 pm
Hi Anne,
I would say yes to both wholesaling and selling in bulk for private labelling.
As for Dr Hollywood, I’m having a wee bit of trouble getting a formula for his list of ingredients. He doesn’t want an emulsifyer apart from xanthan/guar gum. I can form a lovely cream using the list of saturated fats and water, but it comes out as a body butter not as a liquid form. My attempts to try and make the cream more liquid end up as cottage cheese, as I’m using too much water and it doesn’t blend too well without an emulsifyer.
Am waiting to hear back from him…
I would also be happy to send you some samples of my products if you are interested. :-)
Cheers,
Karen.
May 23rd, 2008 at 11:46 pm
Hi Karen,
Have you had a look at Candles in Byron Bay NSW. They are meant to be pretty chemical free . Love some samples when you get set up. Best wishes on your new venture. I am sure you will do very well.
Awaken
May 25th, 2008 at 4:38 am
Hallo Awaken!
I’m aware of the Nimbin candles. But I’m not really into making candles right now. Maybe later on, I might add some to my products, but quite busy making and creating skincare. :-)
Thank you for your kind wishes. I have sent off another sample to Dr Tony and am awaiting to hear from him. Finally got the formula and method to get the correct consistency…
Cheers,
Karen.
May 27th, 2008 at 1:51 am
Hi Karen,
Well done on your Witch’s Brew you must have a rainbow of talents. We make our own skincare out of lovely ingredients just for home use we have tested alot of products that are certified organic as well so we wish you lots of abundance.
Awaken
May 27th, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Awaken,
You are just lovely. Thank you very much. Homemade skincare is the best. Would love to have one day a completely certified organic range, at a decent price people can afford. :-)
Blessings to you,
Karen.