Human Heart Nature Coffee Body Scrub and Feminine Wash for Red Days

I visited a Human Heart Nature store and found out they have new products available: Coffee Body Scrub and Natural Feminine Wash Protection for Red Days.

Human Heart Nature Membership

I'm an avid consumer of products from Human Heart Nature and after months of contemplation, I've decided to finally apply to become a Member. An HHN Member is the lowest in terms of membership ranking and cheapest membership available (P799). 

I went to the nearest HHN store and I informed them that I would like to become a Member. A friendly staff accommodated me. She let me fill out a form and she photocopied my ID as proof. She gave a small orientation for me, explaining the history of HHN and the vision of the company. She also informed me of the harmful chemicals such as SLS (Sodium Lauryl Sulfate), mineral oil, and petroleum by-products, commonly used in toiletries, cosmetics, and household cleaning supplies. Petroleum-based ingredients (found in petroleum jelly, isopropyl alcohol, etc.) pose risks of infertility. Oh my! 

Our skin is the largest organ of the body and it absorbs most of the chemicals in whatever we applied onto our skin. That's why we must be conscious and we must read the labels of what we use and apply on our skin on a daily basis. When I went home, I immediately checked the label of a baby oil I'm using and its ingredient is Mineral Oil, the #2 cause of skin-ageing (#1 is the sun).

The Starter Kit of an HHN Member includes the following:

Image here

As an HHN Member, I need to have a minimum monthly purchase of P800. With my personal purchases, I can probably reach that amount for the first 2 months, but I asked my sister to order HHN products from me, if I'm not able to reach P800/month.

Human Heart Nature

www.humanheartnature.com

Using Natural Products

As part of my Fertility Plan, I'm now switching to natural cosmetics. I use many products on my body. I think I have an elaborate ritual of cleaning and moisturizing my skin, especially at night. Whenever I think about all the chemicals in those beauty products that I slather on my skin, I can't help but shudder. The pains of beauty. 

One shop that sells natural products is Human Heart Nature. Human Heart Nature is a company in the Philippines that produces and sells products which are pro-Philippines, pro-poor, and pro-environment. I've used its products years ago and I believe in using natural products and supporting Pinoy companies. When I was still working in the city, I've been ordering online for HHN products since I didn't know any dealers and there was no shop near my place or office. 

Image from the HHN Facebook Page

After procrastinating for several months, I finally went  to the HHN shop to buy my first batch of products. The shop was a 15-minute jeepney ride away from home. The shop was quaint and all of their products were neatly displayed on the shelves with their prices written on a small slip of paper. Most products have their testers so I was able to smell them. Since their products were pricey compared to commercial ones, I decided to first buy products which stay longer on my body. I bought the Natural Moisturizing Shampoo and Conditioner (Lush Vanilla), 100% Natural Healthy Lotion (Vanilla Delight), and the Day & Night Moisturizer Bundle. 

The HHN staff encouraged me to become a dealer so I could get great discounts and have extra income. Since I'm a user of their products, I could save a lot if I become a dealer. I'm thinking about it but if I become a dealer, it would be just for my benefit. I work from home so it limits my capacity to sell their products to other people.

UP Los Baños Flower and Garden Show

We try to attend the annual garden show at UPLB. There are lots of plants and flowers displayed and for sale. Different plant and garden shops come together in this event. If you love gardening or making your surroundings beautiful, you've got to visit UPLB for the show.

Here are the pictures I've captured during our visit:

Straight Naturelle

I grabbed a promo of Ensogo for a classic hair rebond and milk treaatment at Straight Naturelle. The salon has three branches -- Cash 'N Carry in Makati, SM San Pablo and Puregold San Pablo. I searched the net for reviews about this salon before buying the promo.

I reserved two slots for me and my sister at Straight Naturelle. Since hair rebonding takes 5-6 hours, I booked for the salon's opening time. It's good to be the first customer at a salon.

My sister an I arrived at the salon and saw their tarp in front. They have a promo for hair rebonding, P300 above the price I paid for the Ensogo promo. :) The staff were just opening the salon, arranging magazines, opening the lights, wiping the front desk, etc. I told a lady at the salon about my reservation, gave the Ensogo vouchers and wrote our names in the list.

Here are the things done during our hair rebonding session at Straight Naturelle:

1. Hair strand test. The Lady interviewed me about the history of may hair -- last treatment, color (if any), etc.

2. Shampoo. The shampoo area is clean. The shampoo chair is comfortable and I wanted to stay there as the shampoo girl washed my hair.

3. Hair rebonding solution. The lady clipped my hair into sections and she applied the hair rebonding solution to each section. After 30 minutes or so, she asked the shampoo girl to rinse my hair.

4. Hair rinse. All the solution should be removed from the hair with water. Water continuously ran through my hair as Shampoo girl removed the rebonding solution.

5. Blow dry. The Lady blow dried my hair. My hair looked like it was just blow dried, not rebonded. And then there was a brownout, for about 20 minutes.

6. Hair iron. The Lady and another male staff started to iron my hair. They painstakingly ironed my hair is small sections. Hair ironing lasted for two hours.

7. Milk treatment. A white cream was slathered to my hair. It smelled nice. The treatment lasted for 15 minutes.

8. Shampoo. My hair was rinsed. The shampoo girl left me with my head on the sink. I wondered where she went, if she was getting a towel or something. I lay there waiting as I watched a man having a pedicure. After 15 minutes (I think), shampoo girl returned and resumed shampooing my hair.

9. Cold blow dry. My hair was blow dried using cold air. In my previous hair rebonding treatment at a different salon, they used an actual blower. You place your head near the opening of the blower while the salon staff runs her fingers through your hair to dry. It was so uncomfortable, you might get vertigo. Good thing Salon Naturelle has a hair blower with cold setting.

10. Hair trim. The Lady snipped some stray hairs and trimmed the ends of my now beautiful straight locks.

Having my hair rebonded at Straight Naturelle was a good experience. The salon is not filled with customers, the staff are polite, they don't urge you to buy their products nor force you to have hair treatments, and the ambience is relaxing. Also, they don't say that your hair is "DRY" therefore needing a hair treatment. What they say is that your hair is "SENSITIZED" and you should always have treatments to maintain its health and shine.

Now, I'm lovin' my straight and manageable hair!

Hair Fall

I've been losing hair more than the usual. They say it's normal to lose 50-100 strands of hair everyday. But I think I have more falling hair than the next Juana. Every morning as I comb my hair, I feel strands of hair falling on my arm. I see strands of hair on the floor and on the bed. Washing my hair makes it worse. My falling hair clogs the bathroom drain! I have a sister and I don't notice she loses as much hair as I do. I've been in denial for the past months but time to face reality. I-am-losing-hair-big-time!

Some articles about hair loss say it is caused by genetics, illness, over/under activity of thyroid gland or poor diet and nutrition. Other articles include having PCOS to be causing hair loss. Waaah!

What should I do? I'm afraid I'm going bald. I've searched the Internet for natural ways/products to treat hair loss. So far, here are the products available in the Philippine market:


Novuhair Topical Scalp lotion

Available at Mercury Drug stores and at Cory Quirino World of Wellness

"NOVUHAIR is a combination of natural herbs, essential oils and co-factor nutrients which are proven and used for centuries to cure hair problems. NOVUHAIR penetrates deep to rejuvenate, nourish and maintain moisture in the scalp and hair. By improving the blood circulation in the scalp, NOVUHAIR stimulates hair growth and prevents further hair fall. NOVUHAIR also improves the overall appearance of hair."

It costs P2,000+. Oh my!

Lauat Hair Treatment Shampoo
Available at Watson's, Mercury Drug Store, South Star drug, all major supermarkets

"This exclusive formulation promotes hair growth and controls excessive hair fall by deeply cleansing, nourishing and revitalizing hair follicles for that naturally soft and healthy, fresh full hair."

ZEN Hair & Scalp cream (for falling hair) 50 gm P160.00

"A highly dependable leave on conditioner. When used lightly, it can be your everyday hair moisturizer for treating hairfall and dandruff, apply after your evening bath allowing the botanicals to soak and seep through your scalp pores. Leave on overnight, repeat every other night until symptoms disappear."

Another idea that I've been thinking about in the past few days is using bokoma, a scalp massager. It helps increase blood circulation on your head which promotes hair growth.

I hope I can get rid of this hair fall/loss.

Human Nature's Tinted Lip Balm Sheer Lip Soother

I am loving Human Nature's lip balm !

Human Nature is an organic cosmetics company in the Philippines. They sell a variety of natural and organic products such as make-up, facial wash, moisturizer, lotion, hand sanitizer, etc. They don't have the complete line yet (they' don't have sunscreen products, soaps, etc.) but most bath and beauty products that you want, they have it. You can order online, on their stores, or from their distributors (which I did).

Human Nature claims this tinted lip balm (P69.75) is one of their best-sellers and I know why. It looks natural on my lips. The rosey red tint is perfect on morena skin. My lips feel a tinge of coolness after applying this lip balm and I don't need to re-apply everytime. It's also good to know that this beauty product is 100% natural, I don't feel guilty after using it.

GIGA

GIGA is the name of the store where I now buy my organic and natural bath and beauty products. You can see their stalls at different malls.

I have bought stuff from this little shop a few years ago but I only knew recently about the meaning of its name. GIGA - God Is Good Always! Nice noh? And as I remember, their receipt has "God bless our sales" in it.

A few weeks ago, I bought GIGA's Hair Treatment (P165). My hair hasn't visited the parlor for treatments for so many months now and it desperately needed some TLC. This product is made of virgin coconut oil (VCO), aloe vera extract, peppermint, patchouli and lavender. The direction says to use it sparingly. It's made of VCO, so you really need to use a small amount only. Otherwise, you will have to shampoo again and again to remove the oiliness from your hair. You can use it as a leave-on conditioner. After shampooing, put a small amount on your hair and viola! I haven't tried it though.

Now, I bought the Shea Body Butter (P180). The sales lady put the product in a reused magazine page. If only all stores would do the same. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. The package says it is "A deeply nourishing creme rich in antioxidants to diminish fine lines and wrinkles and heal damaged skin." I tried a small amount on my hand and it is very rich and thick. Maybe it is good to use at night before going to bed.

What should I buy next at GIGA's?

Plant Seedlings

Hubby and I visualized our home to be relaxing and shady. A place where we could unwind, prop our feet on a chair while drinking a cool glass of juice.

Over the weekend, we went to a nearby nursery to buy plant seedlings. We have been planning to buy fruit and shade trees that will surround our future home. There are rows and rows of different plants in black plastic "pot". A green thumb's paradise indeed.

We bought 3 seedlings of rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum) at P40 each, 2 calamansi (Citrus ×microcarpa) and 1 chico (Sapodilla) for P50 each. We chose rambutan because it's one of our favorite fruits and the calamansi is a basic cooking ingredient and condiment. We bought the chico seedling because this bears fruit that is brown, not the usual guava-apple types of fruits. I want our future children to be familiar with all sorts of plants and fruits.

We also saw a pomelo tree (Citrus maxima) already bearing fruits. The tree is a bit taller than us with low branches. You can easily grab a fruit for your salad or you can eat it as is. Hubby likes pomelo and wants to have this tree in our backyard. Sadly, the nursery has sold out all their pomelo seedlings. Many are now planting pomelos. We'll be returning to check if these seedlings are available.

The seedlings we bought are now in Inay's garden waiting to be planted. I'm excited to bring them to our lot and plant them.

Tip: Bring a big bag or plastic when buying seedlings and you don't have a private vehicle with you to take you and your seddlings home.

Go Go Plants!

My friend, M, texted me that she will also use plants as souvenirs for her grandmother's birthday. My wedding favors gave her the inspiration to go the eco-frienfly route.

I'm happy to say that our guests who received these souvenirs told me that the plants are growing healthy and did not wilt, unlike the three we have at home.

For plant seedlings, you can contact:

Fely Terible

Brgy. Banga, Talisay, Batangas

0927-202-0879

Manila Seedling Bank

Quezon Ave. Extension cor. EDSA

Tel. (02) 924-7001

Email: qualitytrees@msbfi.com

http://www.msbfi.com/

Souvenir Plants

I was able to have plants as wedding favors. Not only are they cute, they are also eco-friendly. I'm sure our souvenirs will not be left to collect dust in someone's display cabinet. :)
One of my Pink Fairies, A, knew an owner of a nursery near her work place in Talisay, Batangas.

We went to Talisay one Saturday to talk with the owner, Ate Fely. Ate Fely showed us several plants that can be used as souvenirs. Initially, I wanted a Lucky Bamboo plant but since she doesn't have that, I chose which was available. I picked a nice Gabi-gabihan plant. It has heart-shaped leaves.

According to Health, Love and Life, the Gabi-gabihan plant or Caladium,

"The colorful leaves (Gabi-gabihan) are believed to bring good vibes to lovers and businessmen. These plants and many more have demonstrated to people that they are lucky in different ways."

I ordered 80 pots of the plant to be picked up the following week.

Turning Green

I am now thinking of giving plant seedlings instead of kapeng Barako as souvenirs. I have read about giving eco-friendly favors such as bird seeds, flower bulbs, plants before. But I only really took this idea into consideration after reading My Quaint Life's blog about green souvenirs. Since it is cheap (you can get about P20/seedling), you can give your guests to plant trees and help Mother Nature.

So now, given the little time left till The Day (5 weekends!!), I am thinking how we can pull this off. I am mentally imagining which nurseries are in our area where we can buy the plants. Also, C, the wife of The Cook's brother, said the Horticulture department in UP Los Banos (UPLB) sells different kinds of seeddlings that I may want to check out.

Hope this wedding project turns out fine.