Posts Tagged ‘chemical-free’

Nine Naturals Ingredient Story: Certified Organic Brazilian Cupuaçu Butter

Cupuacu Butter

At Nine Naturals, we’re on a mission to make beauty simple, smart and safe for moms and moms-to-be. Integral to that is understanding our ingredients’ science and benefits. Today’s Nine Naturals Ingredient Story Series featuring Cupuaçu Butter is part of on ongoing series featuring the natural, plant-based ingredients behind our high performance beauty products.

Loved in its native Brazil for the succulent and sweet fruit that yields it, cupuaçu butter earns plaudits as one of Mother Nature’s most impressive ingredients for health and beauty. Although similar to cocoa butter, cupuaçu is even more powerful as an amazing and powerful remedy for damaged skin and hair.

The Science & Extraction of Cupuaçu Butter

Creamy cupuaçu butter is derived from the cupuaçu tree of the eastern subsection of the Amazonian rainforest in Brazil. Brazilian locals make delicious juices and desserts from the fruit of the tree — the most popular fruit in the country, in fact.

The seed pods within the fruit create the rich and healthful cupuaçu pulp which comprises approximately half the weight of each cupuaçu seed. A process of cold-pressing, refining and filtering renders the butter from each seed to yield the soothing butter.

Cupuaçu’s Benefits for Beautiful Skin

A powerful and deep-penetrating moisturizer, cupuaçu butter is packed with an array of rich compounds including Omega 6- and 9-fatty acids and phytosterols, which can help reverse long-term skin damage and balance skin’s moisture levels. Those who suffer from eczema, dermatitis, dandruff, and other skin conditions can also tremendously benefit from cupuaçu’s anti-inflammatory activity.

Cupuaçu butter has a high water absorption rate - almost double that of shea butter. The butter restores and reinforces strength and elasticity in every skin cell by improving skin’s long-lasting ability to absorb and retain moisture. By creating a fortress of moisture at the cellular level, cupuaçu proves essential for anyone craving truly healthy and vibrant skin. In short, cupuaçu is a potent all-around wonder for the skin, direct from Mother Nature.

Why Nine Naturals Loves Cupuaçu Butter

Nine Naturals hand-picks each ingredient in our products to ensure the best beauty benefits that nature offers. USDA Certified Organic cupuaçu butter is an essential part of our formulations. We use cupuaçu butter in our products focusing on restoring moisture in the skin and hair including our Mandarin + Ginger Restorative Conditioner, Citrus + Geranium Soothing Body Wash, Vanilla + Geranium Regenerative Belly Butter & Stretch Mark Cream, and Unscented Moisturizing Body Cream. Improving moisture is a crucial task in the battle against pregnancy skin woes like irritation and stretch marks.

Cupuaçu butter is but one ingredient in Nine Naturals’ arsenal of powerful, toxin-free ingredients for beautiful skin and hair. Checkout others like jojoba seed oil and geranium oil by checking out our Ingredient Glossary.

Ten Green Resolutions for 2014!

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A new year has begun! We turn over a new leaf and welcome another opportunity to break old habits and make real improvements in our lives. Many of us spent 2013 contemplating the switch to a green lifestyle, but didn’t know the best way to start.

Our list of 2014 green resolution tips will help you get started! Follow one, two, or all of our tips, and you’ll notice a great change in the New Year.

  1. Rely on Nine Naturals for a beautifully clean 2014! We are proud to carry 100% all-natural, 100% plant-based products that designed to help pregnant women feel beautiful without compromise. Every Nine Naturals product, from our rich Moisturizing Body Cream to our Mandarin + Ginger Restorative Conditioner, will spoil you and keep you, your baby and our environment safe. Check out our luxurious line today!
  2. Opt for chemical-free cleaning products. Did you know that using traditional cleaning chemicals can create indoor air that is two to three times more polluted than the air outside? In 2013, many organizations around the country, including the state of California, began pushing for regulation on chemicals in common household products. Find a list of eco-friendly cleaning alternatives (some of them right in your kitchen cabinet) in our Greening Your “Clean” Routine article.
  3. Get in on the green nursery trend. In 2014, expect a boom in the number of new parents considering a green sanctuary for their newborn. But as our popular article makes clear, green nurseries are much more than a trend. From the mattress to the crib to the cleaning products to the air filter, they provide an excellent way to secure a baby’s health during her important formative years.
  4. Vow to steer clear of chemicals at the hair salon. Chemical-heavy treatments like hair dyeing and chemical straightening can expose you to damaging chemicals and even carcinogens. We’ve published several articles on great alternatives to these harsh treatments.
  5. Line-dry your laundry. Take advantage of sunny days to let the heat dry your clothes naturally, which can seriously save on both energy and money. Find more tips on greening your laundry with our blogpost here.
  6. Don’t let product labels intimidate you! At first glance, they’re just so darn difficult to read. But toxic chemicals are a reality in any number of commonly used household and cosmetic products and it’s crucial to arm yourself with the knowledge to avoid them. Trust us - you can become a fast expert on deciphering an ingredient list! Check out How to Read a Label to get you started!
  7. Eat organic whenever possible. This resolution can significantly reduce how much you expose your body to harmful chemicals and pesticides through what you eat. But you don’t always have to make the organic choice. The Dirty Dozen are the foods you should always eat organic (like apples and peaches), while the Clean Fifteen (eggplant, kiwi) are fine to eat conventionally. The Environmental Working Group provides a handy list for both.
  8. Ditch the plastic water bottles. This might be the hardest resolution to keep, since plastic bottles are so convenient and widespread. But these bottles often harbor harmful chemicals like bisphenol-A and phthalates and are an albatross on global environmental health.
  9. Instead, choose stainless steel and glass over plastic. These materials do not include the toxic chemicals that plastic containers can. Have no choice but to use plastic, though? Remember this rhyme for your safety: “4, 5, and 2 — all the rest are bad for you!”
  10. Increase your environmental shopping consciousness. Lastly, do what you can to augment your mindfulness of Mother Earth whenever you shop. Examples of how to do it: buy in bulk, and choose the farmer’s market over the grocery store. Bone up on the many ways you can be a greener shopper with the help of our Green Tip article.