Timeless Beauty Tips From Audrey Hepburn

The following poem was written by Sam Levinson. Levinson's words were so loved by Audrey Hepburn that she used to read them to her children for inspiration and claimed to live by them. Hepburn's natural beauty reflected the great character of the woman within. She was kind and selfless, with a generous spirit. We could all learn from the way she lived her life and how effortlessly she exuded grace and elegance.

For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.

For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.

For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.

For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it once a day.

For poise, walk with the knowledge you'll never walk alone.

People, even more than things, have to be restored, renewed, revived, reclaimed, and redeemed; Never throw out anybody.

Remember, If you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.

As you grow older, you will discover that you have two hands, one for helping yourself, the other for helping others.

The beauty of a woman is not in the clothes she wears, the figure that she carries, or the way she combs her hair. The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides.

The beauty of a woman is not in a facial mole, but true beauty in a woman is reflected in her soul. It is the caring that she lovingly gives, the passion that she shows, and the beauty of a woman with passing years only grows!

The History of Aromatherapy

The term aromatherapy was first used to describe the use of plant and essential oils for physical and psychological wellness in the 20th century. However, the foundations of this art and science date back to ancient times.

Infused oils and herbal preparations have long been utilized for spiritual and medicinal practices as well as for cosmetic purposes. Thousands of years ago the Chinese, Egyptians and Greeks were using aromatic plants for well-being. Chinese practitioners burned incense to create a feeling of harmony for spiritual practices. Egyptians were the first culture to create a process of distillation so that the crude oil could be extracted from cedarwood. Later, Persia and India also devised rudimentary distillation machines.

The ancient Egyptians used oils of myrrh, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg and cedarwood to embalm the dead. It is believed that they were also the first people to use the word perfume, which comes from the Latin per fume, or “through the smoke.”

In ancient times both Egyptian men and women used perfume to increase attractiveness. They placed a solid cone of fragrant resin and oils on top of their head and as time passed, their body heat would slowly melt the fragrant cone, releasing a steady stream of scent.

Ancient Greece birthed one of the first professional perfumers, a man by the name of Megaleion. Megaleion mixed the essential oil of myrrh with a fatty oil base and used the mixture for aromatic, anti-inflammatory and healing purposes.

In the 11th century a.d. Persian scientist Avicenna invented a coiled cooling pipe that allowed for more effective distillation of aromatics and brought more attention to essential oils as fragrances and remedies. The 11th through 15th centuries brought major advances in medicine and the properties of herbs was well-known. More plants were being distilled for their medicinal and aromatic benefits. The new essential oils were rosemary, juniper, frankincense, sage and rose.

By the 16th century apothecaries were common. People could go and purchase essential oils for personal use. This led to the advent of perfumery, which was soon considered an art form and became a very prosperous industry by the 19th century. The term aromatherapy was coined in 1928 by René-Maurice Gattefossé in an article he wrote after applying lavender oil to a burn left no scar.

In 1937 Gattefossé then wrote the book Aromathérapie: Les Huiles essentielles hormones végétales which included information on aromatics, classification of essential oils and the basis of the action of plant compounds. This book was widely read and is still in print to this day.

The industrial revolution of the 20th century minimized the popularity of using essential oils. But today we are witnessing a growing trend toward the return of utilizing natural products including essential oils for aromatic, cosmetic and medicinal benefits.

Visit Emily's Beauty In Balance for more information and nature's best aromatherapy products.

Why We Avoid Parabens

Parabens are chemicals widely used in the cosmetics and personal care industries as powerful preservatives. Preservatives are necessary in all products that have water in them because water is a breeding ground for bacteria and many types of fungus. Preservatives protect the product from these microbes keeping the product fresh and healthy.

Sounds good, right?

Wrong. The problem with parabens is their implications in cases of allergic reactions, estrogenic activity (acting the same way that the female hormone estrogen acts in the body), and even breast cancer.

While parabens have long been deemed as “practically non-toxic,” (Soni, M.G. Evaluation of the health effects of methyl paraben: a review of the published literature. Food and Chemical Toxicology (2002))recent findings are suggesting otherwise.

Skin irritatation, contact dermatitis, and Rosacea are just a few effects being reported as allergic reactions to parabens found in commercial health and beauty products.

Experiments have shown that parabens act as xenoestrogens (according to Wikipedia, xenoestrogens are novel, industrially made compounds that have estrogenic effects and differ chemically from naturally occurring estrogens produced by living organisms. Their potential ecological and human health impact is under study.).

At Emily’s Beauty In Balance we believe strongly in the vital importance of a natural balance in the body. Hormones play an immense role in this, maybe even more than any other factor. When the hormones are out of balance, the body is out of balance. When the body is out of balance, diseases and afflictions result.

Why add artificial hormones to your body?

How many of the products you use each day contain parabens?

With the estrogenic activity of parabens known, it is no surprise that they have been found to be linked to breast cancer.

Parabens were found directly inside of breast tumor tissue in a study by PD Darbre (Concentrations of parabens in human breast tumors. J Am. Coll. Toxicol 2004). There have been many other studies in which up to 18 out of 20 breast tumor samples contained parabens.

Do we know for sure?

No one does. For now, this is just speculation. But we make our products without parabens because we can’t ignore the data and wait for cold hard proof. Beauty In Balance is about making educated decisions about our health and bodies.