What to do with pregnancy acne? Some tips and guidelines. - Yoshiko Roth-Hidalgo

I am happy to say that I have had a very easy pregnancy so far, knock on wood. Except my skin. Before I got pregnant, I had dry, very sensitive skin with mild rosacea. Now, I have very oily skin with break outs. We probably all remember our anti-acne program from back when we were teenagers, but what is a woman to do with pregnancy-induced skin problems? What's safe, what's not?

Is it safe to use medicated acne products?
The most common anti-acne ingredients you can get without prescription are Salicylic Acid, also known as Beta Hydroxy Acid, and Benzoyl Peroxide. Salicylic is actually a part of the aspirin family and therefore not recommended during pregnancy. The same applies to Benzoyl Peroxide, which kills acne bacteria, However, with both ingredients, it does depends on how much of it you use and how often. In my research, I read that small amounts of topical salycilic acid or benzoly peroxide are considered safe. Therefore, I occasionally use a spot treatment with 1% Salicylic Acid to target a particularly nasty break-out. Other than that steer clear of medicated product.

There are a few other non-prescription ingredients to be aware of, especially because they are not considered medicated and could easily be overlooked. These include Retinol, Retinaldehyde or Retinyl Palmitate, all Vitamin A or Vitamin A derivatives except Beta Carotene. These ingredients are mostly found in potent anti-aging products, but there are also anti-acne products that contain these ingredients, especially since they help with help minimize the discoloration associate with acne-scarring.

It goes without saying that pregnant women should only use prescription strength acne products if your doctor gives you the green light.

An important point to consider: You skin becomes more sensitive to the sun during pregnancy. Medicated ingredients carry a risk of causing a reaction together with UV light, so now you have to be even more careful to protect yourself from the sun when you use medicated products.

Which JUARA products do I use now that my skin is so dramatically different from before pregnancy?

Gentle Cleansing
I always knew based on other people's testimonicals that our Rice Facial Cleanser is suitable for all skin types, now I really know it first-hand. I loved our cleanser back when I had dry skin and I love it now that I have oily skin. It's simply a great, effective, gentle cleanser. Can't live with out it!

Oil-free moisturizers with anti-aging benefits
I realize it’s hard to find a moisturizer that is suitable for oily skin AND also has real anti-aging benefits. Our oil-free Sweet Black Tea & Ginger Mattefying Moisturizer is it for me. It has just the right amount of hydration with Hyaluronic Acid, it feels light and really does give you a nice matte finish. The ingredients are natural and give anti-aging and oil-balancing benefits.

Deep cleansing clay masks
Now that I have such problematic skin, I absolutely love our Milk & Red Sandalwood Facial Mask. It gives my skin clean, matte look and also calms down some acne-related blotchiness, while acne-bumps seem much less noticeable after only 1 treatment. BTW, this mask is also great as a natural spot treatment. Just mix a little bit of powder with a drop of water, create a paste and put it on the pimples.
-YOSHIKO ROTH-HIDALGO

Coming Together - Metta Murdaya

One of the favorite things I enjoy most owning and running a business is meeting interesting, motivated, passionate women who are inspired by something they do or have created. Sometimes they're more quirky characters, like a woman I had met at a tradeshow who cultivated dirt and insisted on giving me her business card that had a bag of dirt attached to it (she was so enthusiastic!) while others may circle the world of entrepreneurs - jewelry designers, fragrance makers, tech company founders, independent consultants, and more. But not only do I find who I meet is interesting, but sometimes it is how I meet them is that is special.

Earlier this year, a journalist, Karen Zusman, was writing a story for Organic Beauty magazine about Indonesian spa tradition and she was looking for people well versed in Indonesian beauty rituals. Through this, my name was passed to her through Kim Collier, the lovely, highly knowledgeable owner of the spa/bodycare line Jamu, (thanks Kim!) along with Susan Jane Beers - the author of the book "JAMU: The Ancient Art of Herbal Healing," who has written, to my knowledge, the only comprehensive, pleasantly informative, and easy to read book about the JAMU tradition in English. Needless to say, back in the early and pre-JUARA days, I devoured the book, using it as an inspiration, along with other more technical books in Indonesian. I've even given the book to the beauty editors of magazines, in hopes they'll also fall in love with and understand the richness and beauty of Indonesian herbal and beauty tradition. (That's why JUARA is so authentic - it's really that amazing back home!) I have never met Susan before, as I knew she doesn't reside in the US, but through the connection of this article, Susan reached out to me, which suprised me, yet made me really happy. And so I find out, lo and behold - she resides in Singapore, a place I go to every year in my transit to Jakarta! So 6 months after email correspondence with the author of the book who I have always held dear, we met for coffee at a cafe in Singapore. How global. We had so much to talk about - her life is so different than mine now, but how how common interests can bond. And just last week, I was in Indonesia again, and again, we were able to connect, 6 months after our first meeting, this time in a Thai restaurant in Jakarta. We had a great time and I so enjoyed speaking with her, which is a nice reminder that despite my hectic days in NY, where connections with people often stem from convenience of schedules, that sometimes people can bond over space/time from common passions. It's really refreshing. So, we part until our next meal together... I wonder where in the world that may be, but I'm looking forward to it!

Susan's book, JAMU: The Ancient Art of Herbal Healing is available at www.amazon.com here.
Tidbits of the article in Organic Beauty can be seen here. For all JUARA press, visit: www.juaraskincare.com/press.php
-METTA MURDAYA

Ingredients for Healthy Skin AND Healthy Singing! – Michael Montalbano

We at JUARA talk all the time about the hyaluronic acid contained both in our Tamarind Tea Hydrating Toner and the new Sweet Black Tea & Ginger Mattefying Moisturizer. This active water-binding ingredient is found naturally in many places, including the seed of the tamarind fruit, but what you may not know is that it occurs naturally in our bodies too! Crazy, right?

You know what's even crazier? The amount of hyaluronic acid your body naturally produces can affect the human voice in singing. I personally have gotten very interested in the study of vocal pedagogy over the last few years, finding out how the human voice physically works and how it applies to singing instruction. I never expected to find mention of this JUARA ingredient in my vocal studies!

When you use your voice, your vocal cords slam together and move apart hundreds of times per second. That can cause a lot of damage to those tiny folds of skin if they don't have some defense against fatigue and injury. The superficial layers of the vocal folds are where most ordinary vibration occurs, and they are also where hyaluronic acid is found. Essentially, hyaluronic acid helps your vocal cords bounce back to their original shape, avoiding injury and disfiguration.

*Quick sidebar: Hyaluronic acid is also contained in the human eyeball. If you want to feel first-hand how it helps your body bounce back, close your eye and press gently on it with your finger. When it returns to its original shape, that’s partially due to the hyaluronic acid at work!*

Different people are born with different levels of hyaluronic acid (along with many other varying components in the anatomy of their vocal cords). Generally, those born with more hyaluronic acid in their cords have more resilient voices that can stand up to more pressurized singing and still resist injury. This component contributes to reasons why some people are more predisposed to have bigger, heavier voices naturally. They can sing with somewhat more weight in their voices without wrecking the instrument. Of course, they still can't go crazy and start singing with no regard for vocal health, but it does mean that they can get away with a little bit more than those with less hyaluronic acid ;-).

So what do we do with this information? Start chugging JUARA toner and singing our faces off? Well, not only would that be a rather expensive drink ($27 per bottle is a bargain when you're using one pump per application on your skin, but gets a little pricey for a drink...), but it also probably wouldn't change the amounts of hyaluronic acid your body naturally produces in the vocal cords. Drat!

We do, however, now have some fun information on how one of JUARA's star active ingredients plays a part in many stars of the entertainment industry. Remember, though, just because someone has a slightly more resilient anatomy doesn't mean it's not important to sing healthily in order to have a lasting instrument!

-MICHAEL MONTALBANO (JUARA CUSTOMER SERVICE/NY-BASED SINGER/ACTOR)

Congratulations to Angela Huston for winning JUARA's Mother's Day 2009 Contest

Thank you everybody for submitting your beautiful stories about why your mom is the best. There were several amazing essays to choose from. In the end, Angela Huston's touching story about her mother impressed us so much that we crowned her the winner of our Mother's Day 2009 Contest. Angela and her mother will each receive a $50 JUARA gift certificate to redeem on our site. Congratulations Angela! It is our pleasure to share with all of you her beautiful story and hope that it inspires you as much as it has inspired us.

Why my Mom is #1!

My Mom is the best Mom in the world because of THOUSANDS of reasons. First, she worked harder than most to become a mom. You see, she was unable to conceive and thus turned to adoption. After many years and heartbreak (one child she had for 4 months was taken back by his birth mother) she finally persevered in having a family when she adopted me. She was wonderful from day 1, always there for me 1000% of the time. I cannot remember a moment in my childhood when I doubted my mother's love or support of me. What makes her such a tremendous mother is because she is truly an amazing human being. Many years ago there was a neighbor family that was devastated by the death of the father; seeing the mother suffer a nervous breakdown and having no family nearby to help, my mother offered to take care of the preteen son, and he lived with us for a year. That is just one example of how generous my mother is. Recently, in her 60's, my mother helped a student from the college she works at. The student could not afford to stay in school and pay for rent but she refused to let him withdraw from College...My mom moved him into her house and gave him a room to stay in rent free for the remainder of his education! Her greatest lessons are not in what she told me but what she has SHOWN me. Now in her 70's, my mother continues to show my children what being a great human being is. Some may say she became my mother by chance, but I believe that some higher power had a hand in granting me the world's best mother! I thank God for her every day, and hope that I become half the human being that my mother is.

Angela Huston

Make Magic Fizzy Tea aka Kombucha - Metta Murdaya

I've been drinking Kombucha, the active ingredient in our Sweet Black Tea series, (moisturizer, eye creme, lip treatment,) for quite some time now with positive results; I have more energy, a more balanced appetite as I swear it curbs my guilty snacking desire and more. Needless to say, I'm a fan. So to add to my growing (no pun intended) "I'm going to grow something" kick which includes nurturing indestructable houseplants, I decided to brew Kombucha.This concoction is a healthful brew of black tea, sugar, and a special "mushroom," that is called a SCOBY (acronym for Symbiotic Colony of Bacteria and Yeast,) that ferments together over time to create a yummy, tangy, carbonated beverage that contains healthy organic acids that can seriously improve your energy levels, digestion, and provide many other health benefits. Now I say grow because at the end of the brewing process, the mother scoby actually grows, or creates, a new baby scoby you can use or give away! Despite the safe history of home brews for over 2000 years, I didn't want to be the clueless idiot who screwed it up, a trepidation I admittedly felt. My consolation is that I have historical averages on my side - if I followed directons and kept everything clean, how badly could it go? The first batch where I combined the 'mother' scoby, black tea and sugar, the fermentation, which takes usually 5-10 days before happy drinkability, took about 2 weeks thanks to freezing New York end-of-winter weather. It resides on my fridge in a jar, and wow - it's fun to watch develop. Day 1 it was clear. By day 3, I would shine a light through the tea, and it was cloudy, like the submarine in ocean depths of the Hunt for Red October. Mother scoby was kicking off all sorts of growth, and I saw strands aiming for the surface, where the baby scoby gets created and covers the whole surface of the liquid. So little jar, little baby scoby. Wide jar, wide scoby. I didn't think about this when I bought my 2-gallon jar, so now I'm going to get a fantastic scoby the size of a frisbee. Not so aw-how-cute, but definitely woah-huge impressive. Day 5, I notice a film starting to grow at the top, some scary looking discolored yeast/bacteria formations, bubbles and a slightly sourish smell. I thought it was time to panic, thinking something had gone wrong. But after some research, I realize it's all good and accepted the fact making kombucha was not going to be pretty like watching your chocolate cake batter rise in the oven. But so much more fun. It's dynamic. Zip to the last day, when air bubbles have formed (like in soda,) baby scoby is a thin film, smooth and tan-cream colored, and it's ready to go. Voila!

As the weather gets warmer (oh finally!), and so does my apartment, each batch has only taken about a week to fully ferment to bottlable, shareable, yummy drinkable fizzy healthy tea. When it's done, I bottle it in a GLASS bottle (no plastic, ceramic, metal, etc.) only and keep in fridge to avoid overfermentation/too much gas build if it sits in a heated area for too long (glass shattering has been reported though I've never experienced it... oops) and enjoy! I'm now on my 5th batch or so, I've lost count, my baby scobies have created new ones, and I've gotten requests for my scobies that I'll gladly give away to proliferate scobies the size of frisbees in my neighborhood.

Ideas I've gotten to mix the Kombucha with - I like straight, or with apple juice and cranberry juice. So easy to search online on how to make it, and all I have to say is, if I can do it, so can anyone. Give it a go - if nothing else, it makes for great party conversation! To your health!

-METTA MURDAYA

Are You Really Eating Healthy? - Jill Sung

It occurred to me recently that I might not be eating as healthily as I think I am. Random events with free cookies, the candy hand-out at work every now and then, and lattes pepper my diet occasionally...or at least I think they do. So I came up with the idea of keeping track of what I eat. I know a food diary is a pretty common idea for keeping track of what you eat if you're trying to lose weight, but I never thought to use it just to double check that my eating habits really are as healthy as I think they are. I've been keeping my food diary as a spreadsheet on Google Documents (http://docs.google.com/?hl=en&tab=wo) - so that I can fill out the diary anywhere I have access to the internet (home, work, etc.). The beauty of it, I also keep track of my spending habits and exercise habits as well.
I've been keeping track for a month now, and sugar does tend to find its way into my diet more than I had thought. Now I know, and I'll be keeping an eye out for sugar. I'll check back in a month and see if I've improved. Or let me know if there's any other bad habits you think I should keep track of!

- JILL SUNG

Productive walking?! - Jill Sung

I love moving around and the concept of exercising, but can’t get myself to walk into a gym. The utter dread of exercising in a room full of strangers for an hour is related more to boredom and time moving so slowly than anything else. When I walk around the city, I’m energized by the small traces of life I see all around me, whether it be street graffiti, people talking animatedly on the streets, or the rare brave squirrel that makes it past the gated clumps of grassy gardens we New Yorkers love. Don’t get me wrong, I love walking in the forest and the suburbs too, it’s the diversity of life and living around me that I love. But I’ve come up with something new since I can’t bring myself to walk into a gym and enjoy it for more than 1 week. I’ve discovered body weights. (http://www.bodytogs.com/) Weight training is super important for body health, especially as we age. It helps to build strong bones, which our bodies depend more on from weight training than drinking in calcium (ie. Milk) as we age. And you burn more calories when you're walking around with weights on. It's a win win. Plus wearable weights are perfect for the winter when I'm wearing warm clothes (at home or work) No one can tell I'm wearing them on my forearms or calves under my clothing. So just don't tell my work mates I'm working out while working with them. And someone please help me come up with a solution for the summer!

-JILL SUNG