Author: admin

Living in Colorado you deal with dry weather pretty much year round, but especially when the temperature drops in the fall and winter. And for someone who has had eczema their whole life, the winter brings flare-ups and overall drier skin. If you’ve ever dealt with eczema you know that it takes a little extra care compared to the rest of your skin. But there are some things you can do throughout the cold winter months to keep your skin from drying out.

Pump up the Moisture:

In my opinion enemy number one during the winter is hot showers and baths. Showers are great, not to mention necessary, but you are cleansing your body from head to toe with usually really warm/hot water and harsh soaps and cleansers. Showers cleanse all the dirt and grim from your body but they also strip away the natural oils which help to keep your skin moisturized.

So my first recommendation is to use baby oil right after your shower, it’s best if you apply the baby oil when your skin is still damp to really lock in moisture. You may need to hang out in your robe for a few minutes before putting on your clothes for the day, but your skin will thank you. I also apply some to my elbows, knees, any visible eczema spots and hands prior to bed every night! If you’re gonna use and trust baby oil to keep your baby’s skin supple and soft then why not use it yourself?

Other products to consider adding to your routine during winter are serums and heavier face moisturizers. Serums can penetrate the skin deeper than your moisturizer and often times contain the highest concentration of active ingredients for your skin. After the serum, add in a moisturizer that will provide needed hydration and works best with your skin type. And if adding new products to your routine isn’t in the budget or you just don’t want to, then do your best to use what you’ve already got more consistently.

Seasonal Product Changes:

Since I have oily skin, my normal facial cleansers are usually pretty harsh and contain salicylic acid and other ingredients to help combat my acne and oil production. But in the winter I’ll only use my harsh cleansers on days when I wear make up and I really need my skin to be clean afterwards. But day-to-day I’ll use a cleanser that is geared more towards skin calming, which still gets the job done, but won’t strip away all the natural oil from my skin.

Your body would also really benefit from a less intense body wash or soap too. Switching to a cleanser geared more toward moisture will really protect and maintain your skin’s moisture over all, even after a hot shower.

And if you wear makeup every day, to work, to school, or just because, try using less powder. In the summer I need all the powder I can get to combat natural oil from coming through. But in the winter months I can get away with a minimal amount of powder and still stay relatively shine free.

Moisturize your skin with food:

Fats, Fats and more healthy fats! This does not mean making butter a main ingredient in your diet, because you still need nutritional value too. Instead be sure to eat more fish, nuts, avocados, and olive oil. All of which will provide you with needed fatty acids and vitamins to help your skin stay hydrated. But you can also eat more sweet potatoes and cucumbers, both of which contain vitamin A, which is great for soothing skin and fighting damage.

And of course there are supplements you can try if you feel your skin still isn’t its normal self. Like KBA’s Radiance, which provides tons of vitamins and minerals your skin will drink up during the dry winter and year round, give it a try today!

 

By: Paige Peterson

Winter is coming (for most of us)! The first thing I want to do when it gets cold is put on my biggest hoodie and have a warm beverage by the fire. I’ll usually stay in that state until I notice the weight gain associated with being so inactive. But this year I have decided to end that cycle and try my best to maintain an active lifestyle even if there is snow on the ground!

Outdoor Activity Options:

Now if you’re brave and bundled up enough to endure the cold there are a ton of activities you can do to stay active. Besides the obvious, skiing and snowboarding, there are quite a few other things you can do that don’t involve going to the top of a mountain. For example, ice skating, which a lot of the time is indoors meaning you can most likely get some hot cocoa to help you stay warm. Ice-skating is a great way to get out of the house, get some exercise and even learn a new skill.

And if the roads won’t allow you to travel much, the snow brings many activities right to your door. Shoveling, while necessary, can also keep you get moving and this helps prepare you for other activities too. Like building a snow man or a snow cave and having a snow ball fight. It’s free and can tire the kids out quickly! You can even find a nearby hill and go sledding! Then you can always end the night by roasting marshmallows at the fireplace or over a fire pit outside—since now you’ve earned it!

Indoor Activity Options:

And if you’re like me then your main goal is to avoid the cold all together! So to start if you have any workout equipment at home, use it! Put on some festive movie or TV show and run or bike while you watch. Also if you have a gym membership that you’re paying for, use it!

Once you’ve gotten sick of staying home or are avoiding working out at all costs, I’m giving you permission to go shopping! Go walk around your local malls and shops, this will keep your feet moving and you may even get ahead of your Christmas shopping for once.

Malls and arcades are greats options for winter activities; you can usually find an indoor mini-golf or laser tag. You may even be able to find a roller rink and finally have an opportunity to bust out your roller blades from the 90’s. Your body will thank you for all the activity, making getting back in shape for summer a bit easier.

Diet for Winter Energy:

Last thing to keep in mind is to eat a diet that will keep you energized to want to stay active, and I don’t just mean eating sugar cookies.

First things first, stay hydrated and consume your recommended amount of water. I know it gets boring but it’s necessary, add some citrus or mint to spice it up if needed.

Second is protein and healthy fats! To be sure you have enough healthy fat in your diet eat nuts, seeds and oils. A couple of easy ways to get enough protein in your diet include eating eggs, Greek yogurt and lean meats like chicken and fish.

And lastly, if you’re still feeling sluggish after beefing up your diet try an all natural energy supplement that can provide needed vitamins and minerals to enhance and maintain your energy even on the coldest of winter days! Try KBA’s Energy supplement to help get you through this season feeling energized all day, everyday! Staying active will help keep your mind off the cold and dread winter a little less, because hibernating is unfortunately not an option!

By Paige Peterson

 

We all want hair that is shiny, voluminous and soft, whether it’s long or short, we seek the peak health of our hair so that it looks and performs its best. While previous blogs have mentioned all the damage we do to our hair, this one will focus more on all the little things you can do every day to combat the damage and bring your hair’s health back.

As I mentioned before, I have done many things to damage my hair. Since I was in middle school and was first allowed to dye my hair I haven’t stopped until recently. As someone born with naturally dark hair, the first change I made to my hair was highlights. Since that first round of highlights I’ve gone back and forth between dark and light and everything in-between and going lighter always involved A LOT of bleach. I’ve probably bleached my hair at least 10-15 times in the last 12 years. Keep in mind that ALL of these transformations have been done at home by myself or with help of family (because I’m not one to pay crazy salon prices).

Moral of the story is — my hair has been through a lot and it wasn’t until last year, when my hair was breaking off left and right, that I made my hair’s health a priority. Since then I’ve done a ton of research and tried many different things to get my hair back to normal. If you’re like me and you are trying to get your hair healthy again, I think I have some tips to help you back onto the road of recovery

Quick Tips:

• No bleach!
• Sleep in braids.
• Always start brushing from ends to roots.
• Brush with care.
• Brush your hair before you wash it (to decrease tangles after).
• Don’t brush your hair while wet (hair is weakest when wet).
• Leave your conditioner on for 3-5 minutes when washing.
• Only apply shampoo to the roots.
• Avoid putting conditioner on your roots.
• Limit the use of heat styling tools.
• After washing, rinse your hair with cool water.
• Don’t wash your hair with super hot water.
• Get trims as necessary (when ends are split and dry)
• Avoid getting tons of layers if you’re trying to grow your hair very long.
• Use a wet brush! (which has more flexible bristles to avoid breakage)
• Don’t wear your hair up everyday (this can cause breakage)
• Switch to scrunches (regular elastics can cause excess breakage) (plus scrunches are cuter)

My 3 Best Tips for Restoring your Hair’s Health:

First things first, do not wash your hair everyday! Washing your hair everyday strips your hair of its natural oils, which actually do quite a bit to nourish your scalp and hair. This doesn’t mean to not shower every day, just don’t wash your hair with oil stripping shampoo every day because this is likely to dry it out. I only wash my hair twice a week and if my hair starts looking oily in between I use a little dry shampoo.

Next, if you have never used coconut oil on your hair, you are missing out! When my hair was at its very real breaking point I would use a coconut oil mask twice a weak (on days that I wash my hair). I prefer to wash my hair in t犀利士
he mornings, so the night before I would melt down a tablespoon or two of coconut oil and put it in my hair from root to tip. I then usually braided it and slept with a towel over my pillow. Then I would wash my hair as normal with shampoo and conditioner the next morning. Immediately after, my hair feels extremely soft and moisturized and over time I believe that it helped a lot in keeping my hair strong as it grows out.

Last but not least, find a good hair, skin and nail supplement. It’s just as important to give your hair what it needs on the surface as it is to provide from the inside out. Along with eating a well balanced diet, it’s important to make sure your hair has enough of the vitamins and minerals it needs to grow strong. Vitamins that can help restore hair health are: Vitamin A, B-Vitamins, Vitamin C, Vitamin D and Vitamin E.

The supplement I have been taking everyday for the last couple of months is KBA’s Radiance. Radiance actually contains all of the above vitamins and is very easy to take. I just mix it with my morning glass of water or tea and that’s it! Since starting I’ve noticed my hair becoming more shiny, voluminous and strong. Taking Radiance daily and the above mentioned tips have really brought my hair back to it’s healthiest state in years! Check out my results below!

 

 

By Paige Peterson

Every year is the same, as summer ends and the school year begins, everyone’s germs get intermingled and begin cultivating into the common cold. If you go to any sort of school or work in an office setting, once one person catches something contagious it’s just a matter of time before you and everyone else has to deal with a cold or cold like symptoms.

When the symptoms start, most think its just seasonal allergies, which in some cases can be true. But it’s hard to determine the difference between allergy and cold symptoms from the beginning, and so many of us go out into the world in our most contagious state and infect those around us without knowing it.

Now we have all heard–I’m sure more than once–that we should wash our hands more often and eat and an apple a day. But there are actually quite a few other things you can do in order to help prevent a cold or at least make it less detrimental to your everyday life.

The common cold can enter the body through your mouth, eyes or nose. This means the only way to truly avoid the cold is to stay away from people completely, which would be pretty difficult. So if you’re someone who can’t just hibernate during cold season, than you’ll need to figure out how to best prepare your body for the inevitable.

Preparing your Body for Cold Season:

While keeping our hands clean and eating certain things can help, there are actually a number of additional things that can help keep your immune system strong even if you end up getting the cold despite all your efforts.

To start, do your best to reduce stress, which can surprisingly affect your immune system quite a bit. Whether that means doing daily yoga or simply avoiding those individuals that cause unnecessary stress, do it for your health!

Next is making sleep or rest in general more of a priority. Quit staying up late catching up on mindless shows or stalking people on social media and let your mind and body rest so that you’re more ready and alert for the next day.

And of course make fluids a main part of your diet. Take water with you everywhere and drink it all throughout the day. Not only does your body love water, regardless of the season, but staying hydrated can also help thin out mucus, making coughing and blowing your nose easier and more effective.

Vitamins and Minerals for Immunity:

If you’re like me, then natural remedies are your preferred method of prevention versus stocking up on over the counter medicines that often have their own side effects. But you can stock up on vitamins and minerals naturally by either modifying your diet or by adding natural supplements to your regimen.

Three vitamins to keep on hand to avoid getting sick are Vitamin A, Vitamin C, and Vitamin D. And 2 minerals to be sure you’re getting enough of are Zinc and Selenium.

KBA’s supplement lineup is great for immune system defense. Our Pine Needle Powder, Pine Needle Tea and even our Radiance are full of Vitamins A and C. While our Pine Pollen and Energy supplements contain Vitamin D and Zinc. These supplements can be easily added into your daily routine along with the above-mentioned body care to help you escape cold season unscathed

  

They say there is a specific season where allergies are their worst, but as far as my family is concerned, allergy season is every season. Whether it’s summer, spring, winter or fall, there is always something in the air that irritates your sinuses and tickles your throat.

Now some months may be worse than others, but many people within arms reach are fighting some sort of sniffle or puffiness year round. This could be from what grows that time of year or even just too much dust accumulation. The fight against symptoms is never ending!

Allergy Seasons:

When fall rolls around most of us have pumpkin lattes and decor on the brain and not how to combat allergies, but there are still some to keep an eye out for. Ragweed is usually this season’s number one allergen. A single plant can produce tons of pollen and usually does not slow down until the first freeze kills the plant. And dust mites may also be at their peak this time of year because they thrive in 60-70 degree weather.

When you think of winter allergies I doubt much comes to mind because most plants are dormant or dead this time of year (if you live in a colder climate). But there are still allergens around during this season that can cause discomfort. Some of these include: fireplace smoke, pet dander, wood and even mold.

And then it’s spring again! Spring is the time that most allergies are at their peak. Pollen is most people’s trigger for this season’s allergies. It can come from trees, grasses and weeds that come back to life and bloom this time of year. I’m someone who thankfully only suffers from springtime allergies, and I couldn’t imagine feeling that discomfort year round.

Finally when summer hits and your main focus is vacation and tan lines the last thing you want to worry about is keeping tissues on-hand, but you very well may need to. The warmer weather is perfect for plant growth and therefore more pollen, which there is an abundance of on warm and breezy days.

Battle Allergies Naturally:

Most people with allergies will already have certain medications, whether over the counter or prescription, that help them fight off the symptoms. But there are also some more natural ways to lessen these reactions that won’t “break the bank.”

To start, eating an anti-inflammatory filled diet can help. This would mean eating more things like garlic, lemon, green leafy vegetables, bone broth, coconut milk, apple cider vinegar and local raw honey.

There are also some vitamins you can make a priority if you start to feel symptoms before buying over the counter relief. Vitamin C can be very useful in combating allergies. Vitamin C helps to stabilize the immune cells that cause allergic reactions. And there are many supplements out there that are full of Vitamin C and can really help you get through allergy seasons.

KBA’s Pine Needle products are a great option to up your Vitamin C levels, providing you with 3-5 times more Vitamin C than an average orange. We offer Pine Needle Powder, which can be mixed into water or smoothies, and we also have a Pine Needle Tea, that you can steep anytime. Pine Needles also have other benefits such as helping with immunity, skin health, hair health and even eye health.

Whether you’re a year round allergy fighter or just have flair-ups in peak season, try taking a more natural approach to combat symptoms and arm your body with the vitamins it needs to perform at its best regardless of the season.