Stress can do a number on your skin, but don't worry, we've got you covered. Let's break down how stress affects your skin and what you can do about it.

1. Stress Ages Your Skin Faster

When you're stressed, your body releases a hormone called cortisol. Too much cortisol can make your skin age faster. It causes inflammation, which breaks down things like collagen and elastin. These are your skin's natural tighteners. Without them, your skin sags and wrinkles appear.

How to fight it: Try relaxing activities like yoga or meditation. They can help reduce cortisol levels and keep your skin looking youthful.

2. Stress Can Make You Break Out

Stress also cranks up the oil production in your skin. This extra oil, mixed with dead skin cells, is a recipe for acne. Stress hormones, called androgens, are to blame.

How to fight it: Use skincare products that are gentle and full of good stuff like antioxidants. These can help prevent breakouts.

3. Skin Conditions May Flare Up

If you have skin conditions like eczema or psoriasis, stress can make them worse. Stress weakens your skin's defenses. It becomes more likely to get irritated and react. This leads to redness, itching, and discomfort.

How to fight it: Prioritize self-care. Use gentle, hydrating products for sensitive skin. And try relaxation techniques to keep stress in check.

4. Stress Steals Your Beauty Sleep

Stress can mess with your sleep, and that means puffiness and dark circles under your eyes. Lack of sleep causes fluid to build up, especially around your eyes.

How to fight it: Get into a relaxing bedtime routine. Make sure your skin stays hydrated with a good night cream and eye cream.

Stress might try to dim your radiant beauty, but you've got the upper hand. With relaxation, a good skincare routine, and a little self-love, your skin can stay radiant and strong. Remember, your skin reflects how you feel inside. So embrace each day with positivity and grace, and your skin will thank you for it.

Hey there, Beautiful! Have you ever wondered why we sometimes look tired, even when we're feeling fabulous?

Well, as we age, our skin goes through some changes that can leave us looking tired and dull. But fret not! In this blog, we'll dive into the skin changes we experience after 40 and explore some fantastic skincare tips to help us look as vibrant as we feel.

1. Loss of Elasticity

So, one thing I've noticed as I've gotten older is that my skin isn't as firm as it used to be. It turns out, that's because our bodies produce less collagen and elastin as we age. But fear not! Look for products with Vitamin C like our Vitamin C + Hyaluronic Acid Serum. Vitamin C promotes collagen production, helping your skin regain some of the elasticity it may have lost.

2. Dryness and Dehydration

Raise your hand if you've noticed your skin becoming drier over the years. Yep, me too! Our skin loses moisture as we age, which can leave us feeling parched. But don't worry! Look for products that expose your skin to the magic of hyaluronic acid. It's like a moisture magnet, attracting and locking in hydration.

3. Dullness and Uneven Tone

Do you ever feel like your skin has lost its radiance? Well, you're not alone! Our cell turnover slows down as we age, and that can leave us with a dull complexion. But here's a trick: exfoliation! By using products that gently exfoliate, we can slough off dead skin cells and reveal a fresh, glowing complexion.

4. Now, let's show some love to those tired eyes.

Thinning skin, loss of fat, and reduced lymphatic drainage can cause dark circles and puffiness around the eyes. The solution? Look for eye creams that contain caffeine and peptides, like this Green Tea + Plant Stem Cells Eye Gel – they are amazing at reducing puffiness and those pesky dark circles.

So, my friend, while life beyond 40 does bring some changes to our skin, there's a whole world of skincare products and natural ingredients out there to help us combat them.

With collagen boosters, antioxidants, exfoliants, and hydrating agents in our arsenal, we can revitalize our complexion and bring back that vibrant glow we’re used to.

Remember, consistency is key, so be patient and give your skin some time to respond. Embrace your age with confidence and a well-crafted skincare routine, and you'll be looking and feeling fabulous every day!

There are many things you can do to help end human trafficking, but one key way is to educate yourself about the different forms of human trafficking and what to look for. In the video below, Apple Rose Beauty's founder discusses some signs to look out for. You can forward to timestamp 3:30 in the video below for the myths and signs of human trafficking.

Apple Rose Beauty is an anti-human trafficking social enterprise that creates and delivers high-performance, luxurious, natural and organic face care and beauty products that work for the most sensitive skin and supports organizations involved in the rescue and rehabilitation of victims. Click here to learn more about our story.

Human Trafficking Awareness Day is an annual event that is observed on January 11th. The purpose of this day is to raise awareness about human trafficking, which is a global issue that affects millions of people around the world.

People around the world wear blue to bring attention to this issue and to encourage individuals and organizations to take action to combat human trafficking. It is a day to remember the victims of this crime and to honor the work of those who are fighting to end human trafficking.

Click here to see why Apple Rose Beauty cares.

Did you know that human trafficking is NOT the same as human smuggling? Watch the video below to see the difference.

Can you relate to this? 

The weather is getting cooler ...

Your lips start feeling more dry than usual.

You add an extra layer of lip balm and find yourself re-applying more and more throughout the day.

One day you wake up and your lips feel rough and cracked.

You look in the mirror and notice your lips are peeling.

You panic, start scrubbing and it seems to only make it worse.

You're frustrated because they hurt and it feels like you deal with this struggle every year.

Here's the deal. 

The skin on our lips is very thin and when it is exposed to cold air outside and dry, centrally heated air inside, it can lose it's flexibility and become sore, cracked and scaly.

The solution? 

You want a lip care regimen that doesn't just moisturize, but also exfoliates, hydrates, increases the elasticity and adds a protective layer to prevent your lips from drying out.

That's why our Vitamin C Lip Care Trio is so special.

The Sugar + Marula Lip Scrub exfoliates your lips while leaving them moisturized.

The Sunflower + C Lip Repair hydrates while promoting collagen production to improve the elasticity of your lips. It also leaves an occlusive layer that prevents your lips from losing moisture. No more constant re-applying.

The Sangria + C Lip Tint also hydrates and improves the elasticity in your lips while bringing out the natural color in your lips.

This Lip Care Set is different. It's powerful and made with the sensitive skin on your lips in mind.

Having oily skin can be stressful. You spend hours perfecting your makeup to only look like a frying pan 3 hours later. Or you look at photos from your night out and all you can see is your shiny forehead.

The fact that your skin is producing nourishing oils is a good thing. The issue is that, for some of us, it’s the gift that keeps on giving - and not in a good way.

Whether you have oily skin or combination/oily skin, this blog is for you. Continue reading to get our best tips on managing your oily skin. 

Why Does Your Skin Get Oily?

First things first. Why does your skin get oily?

Well, oily skin is caused by a natural oil, called sebum, produced from your body to hydrate the face, however too much can lead to oily skin and acne. 

There are a variety of factors that can affect the oiliness of your skin.

For instance, dry skin can cause the body to create more oil to hydrate your face, making your skin oily throughout the day.

The oil produced by our skin is actually used to protect the skin from bacteria, therefore, if you don’t maintain a good facial cleansing routine, this can also lead to oily skin.

Even if you do have a regular cleansing routine, the products you use can also lead to oily skin!

If you use harsh chemicals, such as those in synthetically fragranced skin care, the harsh chemicals can dry out your skin, and can sometimes cause the face to produce more sebum.

Other factors such as the products you use in your hair or hormonal changes in your body can also impact how much sebum your face produces.

What Can You Do?

Once you have established the cause of your oily skin, you can get down to fixing it.

1. Get a good cleansing routine.

Washing your face regularly can help you avoid oily skin, add it into your routine along with brushing your teeth. Once in the morning, and once before you go to bed.

2. Avoid harsh chemicals.

Stick to natural, hydrating face washes and stay away from fragranced products, as those contain unnatural compounds, to which the body may react sharply.

3. Moisturize your face after washing. 

Avoid using face washes that strip your skin and make sure to moisturize, even if you have oily skin. Moisturizing your face after cleansing is the best time to add moisturizer, as it allows the body to soak more water into the face, leading to better hydration. Hydrated skin sends a message to your oil producing glands that your skin does not need more sebum.

4. Use facial masks.

Facial masks can really help hydrate, and you can even create your own facial masks at home if you are not willing to spend the money!

Using hydrating facial masks once every 2-3 days can really help with oily skin.

5. Avoid harsh materials.

Stay away from rough materials, like washcloths when washing your face, as the irritation can cause your body to produce oil!

The Best Products To Use 

Here is a list of some of the best products to use for oily skin

1. Aloe vera based moisturizers

Aloe vera is really good when it comes to hydrating the skin, so getting a moisturizer with aloe vera, like Apple Rose Beauty’s Turmeric + Aloe Moisturizing Treatment, can help reduce natural oil production. 

2. Cucumber

Cucumbers are very hydrating to your skin, so if you ever peel any cucumbers, don't throw them away, place them on your skin for extra hydration!

 3. Clay Facial Masks

Clay facial masks, like Apple Rose Beauty’s Charcoal + Hibiscus Exfoliating Mask, are really good for absorbing oil from your face! Use these no more than 3 times as week and always moisturize after as you don't want to dry your skin out, thus creating more oil!

Conclusion

The oil produced by your body is in fact, something natural that is meant to keep the skin as healthy as possible.

A number of factors, however, can lead to excessively oily skin, which can be frustrating.

For this reason, we do advise you to try some of the products/tips we mentioned in this article and see what works best for you.

Click here for therapy resources

The events of yesterday (January 6th) have been bothering me a lot, and other than them being shocking, I wasn’t quite sure why I was so bothered until I did some reflection.

Some of you may not know this, but I was born and raised in the Caribbean country of Trinidad and Tobago.

30 years ago, as a child, I witnessed an attempted coup in the parliament in Trinidad.

I still remember seeing the images on my TV.

My brothers and I were watching cartoons and our regularly scheduled programming was interrupted to report that gunmen had stormed in while parliament was in session.

Videos were shown of elected officials ducking under chairs as they feared for their lives.

I remember being afraid and wondering if my Dad was ok, since he worked in the country’s capital.

Fast forward several years and I was on a mission trip in Thailand (the same trip where I met Apple and Rose).

My team and I were heading to the red-light district to befriend victims of human trafficking when we learned that a coup had begun and a curfew was set.

We had to quickly return home.

The images of Thai military in riot gear are still seared on my brain.

I realized that the images of yesterday’s events in the US Capitol were not just shocking for me, they were familiar, traumatic and sad.

Sometimes we don’t realize how traumatic and triggering national events can be until we are faced with them.

Trauma can often take up residence in our bodies that can later manifest as physical symptoms.

In working with human trafficking survivors, we are always mindful about operating in ways that are sensitive to the traumas they’ve experienced.

Today I’m tuning out the news and focusing on practicing ways to deal with the recent trauma.

I wanted to share some of those ways with you:

1. Pause – sometimes we are so consumed with the information coming at us that we are not tuned in to how it’s affecting us. Pausing helps us to become more attuned.
2. Breathe – when we’re anxious we tend to take shallow breaths. Consciously focusing on breathing deeply helps to calm us.
3. Pray – praying/meditating reminds us that we are not alone in what we are experiencing. I believe in God, so praying reminds me to release the things I can’t control to him. Whatever your belief system, remember that feelings of isolation can cause us to experience deeper levels of trauma.
4. Talk – talk to a trusted friend or therapist. If after some prolonged time, you find that it’s difficult for you to engage or perhaps perform at work or at home, please seek out a resources.

Hopefully, you find one or all of these helpful. How do you handle traumatic events? If you have other tips feel free to reply and let me know your thoughts.

When this arrived, the first thing that hit me was that it didn’t smell like curry! Neither did the yellow of the spice stain my skin! It is a rich cream that smooths, refreshes and feels luxurious but healthy! I was hooked."

Aging is a natural process of getting older. Wrinkles and other signs of aging are also normal. We often talk about aging gracefully, however, many women are opting to get botox, facelifts, and other invasive treatments. According to the Society for Plastic Surgeons, cosmetic surgery was up to 5% last year.

While changes in our skin are normal as we age, we think it's important to do what we can to age as healthily as possible, by keeping our skin hydrated, maintaining collagen levels and elasticity as well as naturally addressing wrinkles and signs of aging. Taking care of your skin naturally means that you can combat wrinkles in a natural and healthy way as well. Here are some natural ways to age healthily and keep wrinkles at bay:

1. Antioxidants: Eating a diet high in antioxidants helps fight harmful free radicals and build healthy skin cells. Skin cells are constantly renewing themselves so why not address wrinkles from the inside out through a healthy diet? Foods high in flavonoids and antioxidants like berries are great for promoting beautiful glowing skin from the inside out. 

2. Herbal Tea: Many herbs are filled with antioxidants and anti-inflammatory properties which can be steamed into teas. You can also use these same herbs to create a gentle facial steam to lock in moisture and also harness the healing power in the plants. The polyphenols found in herbs such as green tea also provide anti-aging benefits. 

3. Vitamin C: Applied topically it is great at renewing skin cells to reveal fresh new skin. It also helps with collagen production, improving skin's elasticity and minimizing the appearance of wrinkles. Vitamin C can also help your skin recover from sun damage, smooth the appearance of fine lines, and lighten age spots. Our Bloom Beautifully Vitamin C serum has 20% pure potent Vitamin C to smooth skin and visibly tackle signs of aging. 

4. Love: It sounds so simple but it is oh so important. Love yourself and embrace all that you are; age and all. Age gracefully by loving on yourself and practicing self care. Those fine lines of your face have come from a life lived. It is important to embrace any changes that aging brings while trying to continue to live as healthily as possible. Believe you are beautiful now, well, because you are. 

What are some ways you age gracefully, naturally?