Beauty | 360 Your Life with Brooke Thomas

How Changing Your Beauty Routine Could Improve Your Health

February 1, 2016 By Brooke Leave a Comment

By the time you wake up, shower, put on your makeup, maybe some lotion or perfume, you have potentially exposed yourself to 120 chemicals before you even walk out of the bathroom to start your day. Sounds crazy, doesn’t it? Do the math. The average woman uses about 12 different body and skin care products a day, each containing about 10 different chemicals.

Think about this. If it’s going ON your skin, chances are it’s going IN your body. After all, your skin is your largest organ. It can absorb as much as 60 percent of whatever is applied to it. The scary part is only 11 percent of the 10,500 chemicals used in beauty products have ever been tested for safety. 1/3 of these chemicals have been linked to cancer. Others have been linked to reproductive disorders, skin conditions, and neurological problems.

Ok, wait a minute. Don’t worry. This isn’t a blog about throwing out all of your makeup. But I am going to urge you to consider changing some of the most damaging products in your makeup drawer. It won’t hurt, I promise. And by the time you get to the end, I’ll share my secret for true beauty. [Read more…]

Never Have a Bad Hair Day Again!

May 7, 2015 By Brooke Leave a Comment

Oh my goodness I want to scream! I have found like the Holy Grail of natural hair products and I want to tell the whole world about it. Seriously, you have no idea what a big deal this is for me. I have struggled for years trying to find a natural option for my hair that really works. It’s the ‘works’ part that I haven’t been able to find. There are plenty of natural products out there that have led me to more than a few bad hair days. But this, this you guys, is the real deal!

I discovered the line on a recent trip to California. It’s called Ekatala. It’s a sanskrit word that means harmony. It was developed by a master hair stylist who began researching options for clients that had been complaining about fly aways. When she couldn’t find what she wanted.. she made it herself. How cool is that? Fearless!

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The Cure for the Dry-Skin Blues

February 3, 2015 By Brooke Leave a Comment

It’s a side effect of winter no one wants to talk about. It’s there, lurking around the warm sweaters, cozy fireplaces, and cups of hot cocoa. I’m talking about dry skin. It’s itchy. It’s ugly. And it’s annoying! If your skin is starting to look like a cracked sidewalk, and you’re singing the ‘Dry-Skin Blues’, then here are a few strategies to help.

Hydrate your entire system with lots of water even though you may not feel like drinking much due to the cooler temperatures. It might help to bring the water to room temperature. For me, nothing beats Diamond Creek alkaline water. I am telling you, you can taste the difference. A lot of people have asked me about it on my Facebook page. So let me tell all of you… it’s 6 times more hydrating than regular water. You can read why here.

Take a revitalizing bath – in warm water, not hot! Hot water can damage your skin. Try using Himalayan salt baths to help take off the dry skin.

Certain foods actually help hydrate your skin too:

Orange and yellow veggies contain beta-carotene which helps fight dry skin. It also protects the skin from harmful sun rays and environmental damage.
Nuts and seeds contain omega-3 fatty acids and vitamins that hydrate your skin and promote its elasticity
Eggs contain sulfer and lutein, which promotes skin hydration and elasticity. Eggs also work to hydrate the skin through topical application, so try an egg mask by whipping egg whites until frothy and then applying to the face and neck. Rinse with warm water.

Women who wear makeup daily absorb on average 5 pounds of chemicals every year. So take a couple of minutes every night to cleanse your face! It’s important to moisturize daily with non-clogging organic moisturizer like coconut oil or shea butter. Click here for a few other do it yourself skin moisturizers.

If you want a natural option in a bottle I use Shaklee Enfuselle.

You will be so amazed at the quality of these products, and you can sleep soundly as your skin is nourished naturally!

Your skin is your largest organ. It’s also the thinnest and highly permeable. That means what you apply to your skin has quick access to your bloodstream. The old saying, ‘beauty is only skin deep’, isn’t true. It goes deeper than that.

Go Back to Basics to Move Forward in Health

January 13, 2015 By Brooke Leave a Comment

There was a time when dinner was whatever you got out of the garden that day. Takeout wasn’t an option. While most of us wouldn’t want to go back to washing our clothes and hanging them out to dry… there is something to be said about going back to the basics. New isn’t always better. The newest diet trend, the newest break-through beauty treatment to keep us looking young, the newest workout plan… if any of it worked, everyone would be at the weight they wanted and wrinkle free. Instead people are tired, overweight and still hoping for something new to fix it all.

Well, don’t hold your breath. There is no ‘New’ thing thats going to be the solution. If you want to feel better and be thinner, if you want less stress and a healthy glow, then go back to the basics.

This year, make that your theme in four areas of your life: nutrition, home, beauty and stress.

From what you should stop eating today to natural beauty solutions and a safe way to clean… watch this video for a few practical ways you can go Back to Basics for a healthier you!

Why Supplement?

October 1, 2014 By Brooke Leave a Comment

America: Undernourished and Overfed

The Standard American Diet (ironically called the S.A.D. DIET) is a major contributing factor to many of the health problems that Americans are facing today. Shockingly, America ranks 37^th in longevity behind countries such as Cuba, Chile, Costa Rica, and Greece although we spend more than twice the amount of money on medical technology and pharmaceutical innovations as compared to other developed nations. Additionally, fast food sales have increased almost 2000% over the past 30 years, which is also an indicator of the lack of nutrients in the majority of the convenience foods that Americans eat on a daily basis. Unfortunately, our super busy lifestyles are driving us to make poor food choices that are having a dramatic negative effect on our overall health. We also are bombarded with products that are marketed as “healthy” foods that are actually filled with sugar, fat, dyes and artificial ingredients. I love the famous quote by Hippocrates who said “let thy food be thy medicine.” If he lived in America today, his quote would be laughable!

Our Food is Not Our Grandparent’s Food

Fruits and vegetables are increasingly lower in certain nutrients that make them beneficial to our health. An unfortunate drop in mineral content translates that the apples of today are nowhere near as good for us as the apples our grandparents ate 50 years ago. Our bodies thrive off of the nutrients from our food. Our bodies were also designed to heal themselves by using those same nutrients; however, the reality is that 90% of Americans do not get essential nutrients from their diet. While this deficiency is largely due to our fast food lifestyles, even those individuals that aim to fuel their bodies with the proper food choices are still falling short because the nutritional value of our food is not what it used to be. Over the past 50 years, the nutrient content of our food has shown a markedly steady decline. The chart below shows the results of a 2004 study of 43 crops between the years 1950 and 1999. As illustrated below, the nutrient content of the crops studied decreased as much as -37%!

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At-Home Spa Day

August 5, 2014 By Brooke 5 Comments

Because of synthetic chemicals, preservatives, and excess packaging that come along with many of my personal care products, I decided that using foods and herbs straight from nature is an easy way to create some of the best beauty products. When you use fresh and natural products, you are helping both your body and the planet. Fresh fruits, homegrown herbs, and refreshing scents made up the at-home beauty products that I created.

I recently invited one of my best friends, Eva Rumble, who is also my VP of Marketing, and her two daughters to come to my house for an At-Home Spa Day with me and my two girls. Our daughters get along so well, and we had a blast pampering ourselves and teaching our girls about natural beauty. Not only is this an excellent way to connect with friends, but it is also a budget-friendly, hands-on experience that everyone learns from. Plus, I get to spend quality time with my girls. We had such a fun time at our mommy/daughter “spa day.”
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