We polled approximately 500 of you on which natural deodorants you have tried and failed you. A total of 44 brands were reported, now that may sound ludicrous, but we certainly believe you, as every single natural deodorant we tried failed us too. 

I just think being more conscious and mindful of our purchases, where they are made, by whom, and why is really important before bringing into your home.

What would you pay to be stink free naturally? How's .35/day sound?

You have been on a search for the best natural deodorant, feeling lost, disappointed and tired of wasting money on ones that do not work, break you out or stain your clothes. We feel ya.

As you already know, hydration is important for the skin to keep the cell production good. etc. But what about food? Food can have an effect on our body and our skin, too, and certain types of foods bring amazing benefits to our skin.

So if you want to eat well to improve your skin, the types of food to look for are those that are rich in antioxidants, omega-3, and even fats! Here is a list of the best foods for healthy skin and how they help to boost skin health:

Antioxidants

In short, antioxidants inhibit oxidation in the body. Oxidation happens naturally in the body and is a chemical reaction that produces free radicals, which damage cells in the body. Antioxidants help to prevent or stop cell damage caused by oxidation.

Loading up on antioxidant-rich foods will help to boost your health and even lower your risk of certain types of cancer. For the skin, antioxidants help to protect the skin cells from damage caused by free radicals.

Antioxidants include a special group of vitamins and minerals, such as vitamins A, C, E, and selenium, as well as lutein and lycopene. They are easily found in plants, so you'll find a lot of fruits and vegetables in this list of foods for healthy skin.

Here are some of the most antioxidant-rich foods you should load up on for healthier skin:

Beta-Carotene

Beta-Carotene helps to reduce sun sensitivity, repair skin damage and is effective in the treatment of skin conditions like dry skin, eczema, and psoriasis. It's abundant in fruits and vegetables that are green, yellow or orange in color, such as:

Carrots, pumpkins, sweet potatoes, kale, spinach, mustard greens

Lutein

This preserves skin health, prevents light-induced skin damage and fights skin cancer. Lutein also offers protection against signs of aging and boosts healthy glowing skin. To load up on lutein, eat more of these:

Kale, papaya, spinach, broccoli, brussel sprouts

Lycopene

Lycopene is a protective antioxidant compound that protects the skin from overexposure to damaging UV light. It also aids in reducing inflammation, encouraging cell renewal, and slowing down signs of aging. It can be found in:

Sun-dried tomatoes, watermelon, tomatoes, papaya, grapefruit, sweet red peppers, asparagus, mango, red cabbage

Vitamin C

A super antioxidant! Vitamin C is needed for a strong immune system, radiant skin, and to help blemishes heal properly. Best of all, vitamin C also helps to produce collagen, which strengthens the capillaries that supply the skin. Load up on:

Black currants, blueberries, broccoli, guava, kiwi, oranges, papaya, strawberries, sweet potatoes

Selenium

This boosts the immune system and helps to protect against skin cancer, sun damage and age spots. Boost your selenium intake with:

Brazil nuts, fish, shellfish, eggs, wheat germ, tomatoes, broccoli

Vitamin E

Vitamin E protects skin from oxidative cell damage and supports healthy skin growth. Increase your vitamin E intake with:

Almonds, avocado, hazelnuts, pine nuts

Fat

Fats can be good, too! Monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats provide essential fatty acids that act as a natural moisturizer for your skin. This helps to keep skin looking supple and slow down effects of aging skin. These fats also come packaged with a healthy dose of vitamin E - it's a win-win situation! Find healthy fats in:

Avocados, fish, nuts, seeds, extra virgin olive oil

Omega-3

These are essential fatty acids that encourage the body to produce anti-inflammatory compounds, which can help skin. Omega-3 is particularly helpful to relieve and treat inflammatory skin conditions such as eczema and psoriasis. Get more omega-3 by eating more:

Wild salmon, flaxseed oil, linseeds, walnut, rapeseed oil

Zinc

Zinc helps sebaceous glands in the skin (which produce oil) function normally, and it also aids in skin damage repair. Having more zinc in your diet helps keep skin soft and supple.

Fish, lean red meat, whole grains, poultry, walnuts, seeds, shellfish, oysters

Dark Chocolate

Yes - it's true, dark chocolate is good for the skin! When we say dark chocolate, we mean those with 70% cocoa and above. They're rich in antioxidants and also loaded with trace minerals such as magnesium, iron, and manganese, which the body uses for cellular regeneration, oxygen transport, and stress reduction. Opt for certified organic, fair trade chocolate and be sure to go for at least 70% dark chocolate - anything less and you'd just be loading up on sugar.

Green Tea

Green tea's actually been shown to slow down signs of aging skin. Studies have found that green tea is a powerful antioxidant and can protect the skin against sun damage and skin cancer. When buying green tea, look for the powdered kind (matcha) as it's the most beneficial, containing a higher concentration of vitamins and antioxidants.

Water

This should be a no-brainer, but we need water to keep skin hydrated and allow skin cells to function properly. Even a little bit of dehydration is bad for the skin, so keep it hydrated with at least 6 to 8 glasses of water a day, and use organic moisturizers or body butter to keep it hydrated on the surface, too.

With this list of foods for healthy skin, don’t just eat them - some fruits and vegetables, like avocado, kiwi, and tomato, can be used like an organic facial mask, straight on the skin, too! And with everything you do, invest in the best for your body and opt for organic fruits and vegetables that are pesticide-free and herbicide-free.

So now that you know the best foods for healthy skin, be sure to add them to your list the next time you go grocery shopping.

For a fresher look, you'll need more than just exfoliating and cleansing. Here's why you should also add toner into your organic skincare routine.

What exactly is Toner?

A toner is basically a water-based liquid used for removing oil and makeup from the face.

The typical routine for most of us would be to cleanse, tone and moisturize. As cleansing or exfoliating cleans out the dirt from your pores, it only makes sense to shrink the pores down to minimize future debris from clogging the pores on your face.

Apart from refreshing your skin and shrinking your pores, there's actually a few other benefits unbeknownst to most of us.

5 More Reasons to Add Toner to Your Organic Skincare Routine

It is important to note that while most toners are generally safe, some do contain alcohol and that is potentially an irritant for many as it tends to dry skin out. This is why moisturizing is important after using a toner.

It's best to get organic facial toners as these are made with organic extracts and zero preservatives and will be healthier and more gentle on your skin. It's also possible to get toners made with organic rose water to really soothe your skin.

Here are five benefits that a toner will bring to your organic skincare routine:

Soothes, repairs and smoothes the skin

Doesn't it feel super fresh after cleansing, toning, and moisturizing? While most of the grunt work is achieved by cleansing or exfoliating, you can think of using a toner as fixing up the finer details.

Once the touch ups are done, your skin will look beYOUtiful.

Minimizes signs of redness and inflammation

There are times when it feels like you have the worst acne outbreak and don't even want to go out and see anyone. You then proceed to exfoliate, but still, need to remove any inflammation and redness from the breakout.

While a toner will not provide an instant remedy, it'll help to subside any redness from the earlier scrub.

Balances the skin’s pH levels

Humans have naturally acidic skin, and soap is of an alkaline nature. Whenever we wash our hands or face, the pH balance will get disturbed.

In order to restore the balance, a toner can be used as they typically have a slight acidity - enough to safely bring your skin back to its normal pH.

Adds a layer of protection

Besides repair work on your skin by shrinking pores and removing debris, toners also help reduce any further impurities or oils from contaminating the skin.

While the effects don't last forever, it'll still help protect your skin against chlorine and harmful minerals present in tap water.

Prevents ingrown hairs

Using a toner in your skin care routine can also help to prevent (or treat) ingrown hairs.

Cleansing, exfoliating and general hygiene is definitely a good way to keep your skin constantly looking fresh and rejuvenated. Adding a great toner to your organic skincare routine will compliment and nourish your skin to look beautiful every day.

You’d think that most major companies would have started making cruelty-free skin care and cosmetics, but unfortunately, that isn’t the case. Some of today's biggest beauty brands, including M.A.C., Maybelline, L’Oreal, Aveeno, Kiehls, Dove, and Estee Lauder, still test on animals.

An estimated 100,000 to 200,000 bunnies, guinea pigs, mice, and rats are used for testing every year around the world, all in the name of cosmetics. They go through painful and torturous experiments (imagine getting chemicals rubbed onto shaved skin or dripped into eyes without any pain relief) and many die in the process.

Animal testing for drugs and cosmetics exist because of the need to establish the safety of a product or ingredient for public health before allowing it on the market. But here's the thing - animal testing for cosmetics isn't even required by law. In fact, results from animal testing do not directly prove safety for humans,, and there are alternative testing methods such as testing on microorganisms, cells, tissues, and even volunteering humans, that are more humane and literally safer for humans.

Buy cruelty-free organic skin care and cosmetics

Cruelty-free products are manufactured or developed using methods that do not involve experimentation on animals. This means everything - including the ingredients and the finished product - did not harm an animal.

Organic skin care products are almost always cruelty-free because they are made out of ingredients that are derived from plants or that are naturally occurring. More importantly, these organic ingredients are grown without the use of harmful chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, synthetic fertilizers, or genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Because organic skin care products do not contain these chemicals, and because organic skin care products are derived from natural, organic ingredients, their contents are easily recognized and can almost always be deemed as safe for humans. And because they are safe for humans, there is really no need for animal testing at all.

The reason we’re not stating that organic products are always cruelty-free is because there is no way to guarantee that as a fact. There may be companies that produce organic products but still put its ingredients or the finished product through animal testing for a variety of reasons, including “as required by law” to be imported into specific countries such as China. Therefore it’s always safe to check the product label and check the company website to find more information about whether or not the product is truly 100% cruelty-free.

What we can guarantee you at Be Well is that all our products are organic, natural, and 100% cruelty-free. All of the ingredients that we use are chemical-free, toxic-free, paraben-free, and fragrance-free, and all of the finished products that we create have never ever been used in animal testing. You can read what We Believe here.

As consumers, we can make a difference by paying attention to what we purchase. Be conscious about what you buy, and support cruelty-free skin care and cosmetics to take a stand against unnecessary and inhumane animal testing.

What is Oil Cleansing?

Oil cleansing is basically a method of cleansing your skin with oil. As crazy as it sounds - oil cleansing actually works! It only sounds unbelievable because we're so used to having commercial products cleanse our skin by removing oil, not adding oil.

When commercial products clean our skin, they strip oil off, and our skin becomes dry and is forced to repair itself. Our skin then overcompensates and creates more oil, which we remove again with more cleanser. Thus starts the never-ending cycle of having oily skin, dry skin, and then oily skin again.

Our skin actually naturally lubricates itself with oil, and we’re not doing it any good by scrubbing it away. You see, our skin needs oil to stay healthy and function properly. The skin's natural oils help to lubricate, heal, protect and moisturize skin, creating healthy skin that is beautiful, clear, and glowing.

That's the idea behind oil cleansing - natural oils in specific combinations help to cleanse the skin and naturally balance the skin's oils. The basis behind oil cleansing is that "oil dissolves oil" and that natural oils can penetrate the skin's pores and remove impurities while nourishing and moisturizing the skin.

Contrary to popular belief, oil will not cause greasy skin or create blemishes, pimples, blackheads or whiteheads. These are a result of various factors including hormones, bacteria, dead skin cells, and the buildup of them. In fact, oil cleansing can help prevent these and other common skin issues.

So how do you get started with oil cleansing? Here's what you need to prepare.

What to prepare for oil cleansing

All you need for oil cleansing is:

organic facial oil cleanser

a clean washcloth

hot water

Easy, right? Now, let's get started.

How to oil cleanse

Pour about a quarter-sized amount of facial oil cleanser into your palm and rub your hands together to warm the oil.

Massage the oil into your face for about a minute or so to allow the oil to penetrate your skin and dissolve the impurities inside your pores.

Soak the washcloth in hot water and place it over your face for a few minutes until it cools. This opens up your pores so that the impurities can be easily removed later.

Wipe your face gently to remove the oil.

Repeat steps 3 and 4 for another two to three times.

The end result is a clean and refreshed face. If your skin feels tight or dry when you are done, gently massage one drop of the facial oil cleanser into your face until no oil residue is left.

If it’s your first-time oil cleansing, you may have really oily skin for the first few days. This is completely normal and is a good sign that your skin’s pores are trying to balance itself out again. Let it readjust and adapt on its own for a few days - once it clears up you’ll have beautifully balanced skin in no time.

Do oil cleansing regularly and after a few sessions, your skin's natural oils will balance itself out, giving you beautiful, clear and healthy skin. Now you can understand why so many people love oil cleansing!