Are Your Skincare Products Toxic? Get Healthy With Holistic Health Expert Aleta Medea
Written by Jon-Michael Foshee
Confused by all the skincare options out there? You’re not alone. Aleta can help.
“Mineral oil, paraffin, ozokerite, dimethicone, ceramide np, ceramide ap, ceramide eop, carbomer, water, sodium lauroyl lactylate, proline, cholesterol, phenoxyethanol, tocopheryl acetate, tocopherol, hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid, panthenol, pantolactone…”
As I sit here, listening to holistic health expert Aleta Medea read the ingredients in one of the best-selling skincare products made by one of the biggest skincare brands in the world, my mind cannot connect these words with actual things I’ve seen or touched. Well, except ‘water.’
What’s really in this stuff?
“Now, here are the ingredients in my Organic Facial Wash,” Aleta says. “Organic Cucumber; Goldenseal & Blue Flax Extract; Organic Aloe Vera; 100mg of THC-Free, Full Flower Liposomal CBD/Hemp Oil; Botanicals; Asthanxin. That’s all that’s in my facial wash. That’s it.”
I understand most of those words. My first question clears that up: ‘What is Asthanxin?’
“Asthanxin is a natural elastin that gives you the bounce in your skin, the tightening,” Aleta explains. “It’s a naturally occurring carotenoid pigment that’s found in marine plants and animals — it’s what causes the pink and red color in salmon and lobster. It’s recognized as being one of the most powerful antioxidants known in nature.”
Powerful, natural antioxidants? I can get down with that.
Which brings us to the big problem with trying to keep our bodies healthy: every time we walk into a store there are thousands of products competing for our attention. Many of us regularly buy medicines that we put into our bodies for healing, buy products to rub onto our bodies to alleviate aches and pains, or try to choose between all kinds of creams, sprays, and lotions to care for our skin and hair.
There are so many options out there and billions of dollars spent every year on advertising and pretty packaging to catch our eye — which ones do we choose to trust in/on our own bodies?
What do we really know about these products? Which unpronounceable ingredients are actually healthy? How can we be sure that the ingredients in our products are non-toxic? How can we tell which ones are toxic to our long-term health?
For answers, I turned to Aleta Medea, a prolific author, philanthropist, and holistic health and healing professional with over thirty years of hands-on experience and education in health and wellness.
Throughout her journey to help others achieve healing and peace, Aleta founded Luv Joi Lyfe, a health and wellness product and services company dedicated to helping clients heal mind, body, and spirit.
As CEO and Founder of Luv Joi Lyfe, Aleta has dedicated her life to helping people achieve natural, organic healing and self-care. She served as Office Manager of a holistic Dental Practice for 14 years, she is trained in cranial sacral healing under a Doctor of Osteopathy, and she spent 17 years as a licensed massage therapist; she even worked at one of the top spas in the country on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
“I’ve always felt that we need to find homeostasis in our bodies, and really the only way to do that is to put positive, organic things into our bodies, both internal and external,” Aleta says.
As important as it is to research the healthy products we choose, it is equally important to get to know the experts who educate us on how to get healthy and stay healthy.
“My background in the holistic process is interesting, because I started out as an assistant, helping with patients who would come into our holistic dental practice,” Aleta Medea says about her own health journey. “Some had multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer’s, or diseases with neurological components. We helped them by cleaning out their mouths.
“Many of the components that are put in peoples’ mouths have nickel in them, as well as other metals that the body doesn’t respond well to. The alloys — which is in the silver fillings a lot of us had placed in our molars when we were younger — have mercury content, so when you chew you get gases from the mercury content in those silver amalgam fillings,” Aleta says.
I grabbed a hand mirror, opened wide, and viewed the one metal filling in my mouth; then my own face frowned back at me.
“Most of us have those in our molars, if we were young enough,” Aleta tells me. “They’re starting to place composite now more and more, which is the tooth-colored filling material, but in the past it was more common to use the amalgam material because it lasted a lot longer than the composite. The amalgam fillings will outlive you; you will literally die with those fillings in your teeth — they last forever.”
Okay, so how do I get this metal out of my mouth, like, now?
“To have alloy replaced with composite, go to your dentist and tell them you really want the old filling to be replaced with the tooth-colored filling material,” Aleta says. “The nickel in the alloy is really, really damaging to us as well. We would see incredible results in patients just by removing these toxic materials from their mouths. Crowns may be porcelain on the outside, but on the inside there is a metal compound, and the metal compound has nickel in it. We would remove those crowns and replace them with all-ceramic crowns.”
That sounds extremely toxic. Can the effects be eliminated?
“What would happen after we completed the removal of the fillings and the crowns and replaced them with materials that are more compatible with our bodies, we would have the patient do a detoxification program that included IVs and supplements and ozone treatments for healing,” Aleta tells me. “And it was actually quite miraculous because these people were getting healed from things that most people never get healed from.”
It was her dental healing experience that inadvertently set Aleta upon a new health journey that would continue to this day.
“I had a really bad accident coming back from another dental office,” Aleta recalls. “Someone cut me off on the highway and I rolled a few times and landed upside down, which crushed my spine in. That landed me in an osteopath’s office. He started treating me, and he healed me.
“Once I was healed, I thought, ‘I have to learn how to do this so I can pass this on to other people.’ I asked the doctor how I could learn to use osteopathy to help others, and he said, ‘You would have to go back to school to become a D.O. (Doctor of Osteopathy) like me, or become a licensed massage therapist so you can put your hands on people. Once you do that, come back to me and you can apprentice under my skillset.’ So, I went and got my massage license, and he helped me and trained me to do cranial sacral.”
Per Healthline.com, Cranial sacral therapy (CST) is a type of bodywork that relieves compression in the bones of the head, sacrum (a triangular bone in the lower back), and spinal column. CST is noninvasive. It uses gentle pressure on the head, neck, and back to relieve the stress and pain caused by compression.
It can, as a result, help to treat a number of conditions. It’s thought that through the gentle manipulation of the bones in the skull, spine, and pelvis, the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the central nervous system can be normalized. This removes “blockages” from the normal flow, which enhances the body’s ability to heal. Many massage therapists, physical therapists, osteopaths, and chiropractors are able to perform cranial sacral therapy.
“Cranial sacral is such an amazing technique because you can be completely clothed, you don’t have to take anything off, so anyone can do it,” Aleta says. “It’s the weight of a feather — anything heavier than the weight of a nickel is more than you should be using. It works with the cerebral spinal fluid and the bones of the head and down through the spine.”
“Think of it like a jumper cable to the body,” Aleta says. “We’re energetic, right? We run on energy, so I like to think of cranial sacral as that jumper cable. When you do this technique, you’re working with the engine, which is the spine, the main driver. You get the spinal fluid moving, flowing through the spine and the head, which we think of as fused, which they are, but they aren’t. There are sutures in-between, and the spinal fluid runs between those bones.
“What winds up happening is the plates of the bones of the head go in the wrong direction, and so you have compression of the ability of the spinal fluid to flow through those certain areas of the bone. When you do this treatment, you’re working not only with the spine but with the bones of the head. When the patient’s treatment is complete, it has been five days of the body going through this transition of movement and energy going through the body at a slow pace.
“I just place my hands on their head and down the spine. I’ll place a hand on the front of the body as well; if I have one hand on your low back, I’m also going to have a hand on the front, the opposite end, so the polarity of the energy is going through the body front to back. Then I take my hands from the bottom to the top, and I’m allowing the body to move my hands the way it needs to unfold itself, because its twisted or needs to move in other directions. That’s the cool thing — the body tells me where to take it.”
Which brings us back to the most common way people react to pain or discomfort: by trying to rub something onto our bodies (topical) or taking medicine to alleviate it (internal).
“But we have to remember that its coming from something, right?” Aleta reminds us. “A pain is our body’s response to something not right in the body. So, if you have pain, and you try to just put a Band-Aid on it, you’re not going to the source of what it is, you’re not fixing the issue.
“You may get relief, that’s fine, but if the same issue is coming back over and over again, obviously there’s an internal issue that is crying out to be seen. That’s how the body tells us things.”
Aleta has worked across the country, from Dallas to Los Angeles to Atlanta. She has been recruited by some of the top hotel spas in America, helped open new spas, and became one of the top massage therapists at the famous Montage spa on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills.
She has catered to a vast range of clientele in one of the most competitive markets in the world, and the combination of everything she has learned took her to the upper echelons of the industry. This shows the authority of her advice and caliber of her experience. Not everyone can walk into a Rodeo Drive spa and become one of the most-requested healers on the roster.
“It took me a long time to get where I ended up,” Aleta says. “I worked very, very hard to educate myself in the holistic modalities, nutritional supplementation and detoxification, anatomy, physiology, pharmacology, and all the different things I needed to really help people.
“I remember I also decided I wanted to become an advanced-level TMJ assistant, and I became one of only fourteen such people in the whole country.”
TMJ stands for TemporoMandibular Joint; you have one on each side of your jaw, and they act like sliding hinges that connect your jawbone to your skull. TMJ disorders can cause pain in your jaw joint and in the muscles that control jaw movement.
“After I became a TMJ assistant, I decided to take my massage therapy to the highest level,” Aleta recalls. “I lived in Texas at the time and began at Bliss Spa at the brand new W Hotel in Dallas. That was exciting because I also learned how to open a spa, as it was a new location, and I became one of the top therapists at that spa.
“I stayed there for about three years and found out I could do a transfer to California, and I had always wanted to live there. That was my opportunity, my kids were grown, so I transferred to the Bliss Spa in Westwood in Los Angeles. I worked there for a few years, then I wanted to elevate again. That’s my personality. I wanted to advance myself as a healer, so I went to work at Montage, the five-star spa and hotel on Rodeo Drive, a beautiful spa. I worked there for a couple of years and had amazing clientele.”
“But what was even more incredible was the private clientele I started maintaining on my own because the word got out about my skillset. I worked on famous musicians, actors, on many people.”
Naturally, my next questions is…which people?
“I don’t want to name drop,” Aleta says modestly.
You can hear the blush in her tone of voice. Aleta has a humbleness that tells you she is about the work, the healing, and that names don’t matter; the healing matters. But, I asked her if she would please share just a few names with us, because as we look for an expert to trust, it can mean a lot to learn that someone we have heard of was a repeat customer. That can help establish extra credibility and put us further at ease when it comes to our health education.
“Well, some of my clients were Mr. and Mrs. Sir Paul McCartney, Usher, Michael Douglas, band members of Green Day, members of multiple royal families, and there were many more. I talk about some of that in my books.
“I remained in that spa for a quite a while,” Aleta continues. “You know, seventeen years as a massage therapist is a long time when you do deep tissue work. You end up putting your elbow into a lot of people’s backs and glutes and hamstrings, and you put all that pressure on your shoulder joints because that’s what’s carrying the load.
“So, after seventeen years, my body was hurting, and I thought, ‘All right, Aleta, this is amazing, you’ve done it. You’ve literally made it to the top.’ My last private client, he and his family treated me like family; they are so amazing, I loved them so much. I decided to retire while I was doing his massage — that was Sir Paul McCartney.
“I retired on Paul McCartney’s back. He really loved deep tissue massage, and my shoulder joints were hurting. So, I was like, ‘Dear, Paul,’ — in my head, not out loud — ‘Dear, Paul, I’m going to retire on you, Sir.’”
Talk about retiring at the peak of your career. As I slowly pick my jaw up off the floor, I find myself asking, ‘Many of us have heard of deep tissue massage, but what does it actually entail and how does it help the body?’
“With deep tissue massage, you’re going through the striations of the muscle tissue,” Aleta says. “Usually, you’re taking your elbow and you’re affecting deeper penetration as you go. You’re trying to strip down the muscle so it’s as if you had a really hard workout and the muscle needs to recover again, and in the recovery period you’re hoping that whatever pain you were having in that extremity will go away. It’s an injury to the tissue, and a rebuild.
“But, I have always said, and I tell my clients that if you allow the body to relax during a massage and not do deep tissue, and allow me to work with your body’s natural movements, you are going to relax that muscle in a way that will release the tension that is built up in it. Because it’s relaxing. I can get most of my clients to convert from deep tissue to this kind of massage.
“I never agreed with deep tissue massages, never have, never will. Instead, I’d recommend any kind of lighter Swedish massage — where you’re actually relaxing the muscle — or a myofascial release massage, which is stretching the tissue and allowing the musculature to relax when you work the tendons. It’s a nice technique. Energy work is good, cranial sacral (osteopathy) — anything that’s not going to dig into the body,” Aleta recommends.
“To me, I think people feel that they have to be hurt in order for something to work,” Aleta says. “It’s weird. In fact, the body really doesn’t like that. Your body is saying, ‘Why are you attacking me again? I’m already stressed out, I have high cortisol, I’m running on stress hormones, my adrenals are shot, I’m drinking coffee all the time — what more can you want from me?’”
It’s like she just described me…
“When you go to get body work done, it’s imperative that you just try to breathe, focus on breathing from your belly,” Aleta says, “because what’s going to happen is you’re going to travel off to some distant land, and you’re not going to experience what your body needs. Your body needs oxygen, and it needs the touch and the blood flow that comes from that treatment. So, you’re oxygenating the blood with your breathing as the treatment is going on — it’s a conjunction of the two. With every one of my clients, I was breathing with them during the entire treatment.”
Aleta has all this knowledge because she’s been there. She has persevered through her own journey of healing her body, her mind, and her spirit from a childhood marred by trauma and abuse; she has risen up through her sheer will to heal herself, and in the process she found the courage to share her journey with the world in the hope that others will find healing as well.
“Part of my healing for myself began when I started going to therapy,” Aleta recalls. “I needed some help, you know, we all do occasionally. It’s not like we all don’t suffer from time to time in our lives. I’m a very strong proponent of mental health care. I was just to the point where I needed to heal myself, and my therapist suggested I start writing.
“Well, what came out was the most basic poem — I wish I still had that cute little poem — it was almost like this five-year-old kid sat down to write his mommy a poem. I took it to my therapist, and she said, ‘Aleta, you have writing potential. Just start writing.’ So, I sat down and I kept writing, that’s how my books came to fruition.
“My first book, I Am Not My Story (And Neither Are You), took me fifteen years to complete; that was basically my conception until the age of thirty-something. It was super dark and super tragic. The things that went on shouldn’t go on, but my stories are inspirational because there’s light at the end of the tunnel. We all want to know that when we’re going through darkness that we will get to the light, right?
“When the book came out, it was cathartic, it was healing, and it was exposing something that needed to be exposed. I’m being as raw and as real as I can with a very dark topic that hasn’t really been exposed or talked about until recently.
“Now you’re seeing many different shows about this topic — about what happened to gymnasts, to Catholics, and it just goes on and on. It’s being exposed, it’s coming out. I’m very grateful to have been able to write it, and now I’ve written three books.”
“The reason why I started all the titles with ‘I Am’ is because saying ‘I Am’ is one of the most powerful things you can do to send it out into the Universe. When you say ‘I Am’ you’re declaring it,” Aleta says.
“The second book, I Am The Glory And So Are You, is taking us into a little bit of a risqué feel. I’m exposing some things about my relationships in Beverly Hills and some juicier topics, so the second book is quite different from the first. It’s going to take you on quite an adventure in Beverly Hills.
“I shared something deeply personal in that second book; my dad was really smart — when he would hit, he would hit in the head. He knew that wouldn’t show, and so it caused some TBI, which is Traumatic Brain Injury. My writing is a reflection of that also, because, for me, it takes a lot to write at times. It may flow out of me, but it may not always make sense to others because it jumps around from one thing to the other.”
In my experience, having read all three books, Aleta has a natural, unfiltered writing style that feels as if she is speaking directly to you; her autobiographies feel like more of a conversation between writer and reader. They do have a natural flow, not only within each book, but also from one book to the next. They’re real; each one holds the way she thinks and the way she speaks. It’s the real Aleta on the page.
“That’s probably just my interpretation of it, right?” Aleta says. “Because of the way I’m filtering it, which is interesting.”
In the third and final book in her I Am trilogy, I Am You Are Glowing, Aleta shares the culmination of her journey to find healing through the last three decades. It can be difficult to bring an autobiographical series to a close, especially when someone like Aleta is still very much in the prime of her life, and because we are all constantly learning and adapting throughout the course of our entire lives. But through Aleta’s extensive history of health and healing, she has reached a fascinating point in her journey: a stable homeostasis.
“I realized that there was a lot of knowledge that I had from all of the education from the holistic world, and being a massage therapist, and the body work training,” Aleta says. “I also always journaled my whole life, and so I have a lot of my healing experiences written down. And some of them are just odd, because they’re holistic in a sense, so some people might say, ‘Oh my goodness, what is this?’
“So, I decided to finish my third book and the trilogy with my holistic journey because I’m getting to a space of what I would call homeostasis. I don’t really need to add more things to my toolbox because I already have everything that works.
“I learned everything that I needed to get to my ultimate healing, and so, with the third book, I Am You Are Glowing, I thought I would give back to everybody because I want everyone to have these tools. Then they can decide if they want to even try them. It may be something that would really work for them like it worked for me, it might resonate with them and take them on a healing journey. So, I put it all in one book. I think it gives a broad span of different ways you can heal yourself.
“My reason behind writing these books is just for you to know that no matter what has happened in your life, or what is happening in your life, you can always walk away in a positive light, being grateful for what you have, no matter the circumstances. And there are healing modalities and tools out there that you can use, whether it be learning from my books or other sources, finding self-love, finding those alternative, holistic tools for your toolbox to maintain what I have — the homeostasis that I talk about,” Aleta says.
That’s what really stood out to me about Aleta’s books and her Luv Joi Lyfe products — these are real, tangible products that have the benefit of Aleta’s entire education and experience, of all that she has overcome to find her own healing.
“I wanted to give people a way to find an easy guideline to some things that are out there that they may never have considered before,” Aleta says.
“They’re probably wondering, ‘Why did you name it Luv Joi Lyfe?’ You know, you go to launch your product line, and you have this amazing idea for organic, nutritional products, and you want to name it. Well, you get online and you find out somebody’s got that name, somebody’s got this name, somebody’s got that, somebody’s got that…I mean, literally every name was already taken.
“I was like, I can’t take it anymore, I have to figure out something that someone does not have. So, I decided I was going to name it ‘Love Joy Life’ and I was going to change all the letters. We all need love, I hope we have a joyful life, and I hope it expresses something to everyone.”
LuvJoiLyfe.com is a central hub for all of Aleta’s knowledge — her books, her blogs, and her shop, which is full of natural, healthy skincare products based on all of her experience.
“When I started my website, I began with the thought: ‘I really want to give everybody everything I have that helped me heal,'” Aleta says. “That’s really what it all comes down to. I want everyone to have every single thing that I do, I have, what I practice, what I put on my skin, how I eat — all of these things in one big place.
“I created this line because there are so many toxic, toxic skincare products and supplements out there. I wanted a spa-quality product like what I was used to working with at the spa on Rodeo Drive, but not at spa-quality prices. I wanted to make them available to everyone.”
If a person is shopping at one of the most exclusive spas in America, they’re going to ask for the best stuff. They don’t want to buy off the shelf at a box store. They want the secret stuff. The good stuff.
“That was my whole purpose,” Aleta says. “I want everyone to be able to afford the best spa-quality Rodeo Drive products — everyone deserves it. We all deserve good, quality products where we’re not putting poison into our skin.”
Remember that long list of unpronounceable skincare ingredients up top? This is where we came in…
“Let’s take a look at the ingredient list of one of the top best-selling skincare products on the market,” Aleta tells me as she reads off the nutrition information. “Mineral oil, paraffin, ozokerite, dimethicone, ceramide np, ceramide ap, ceramide eop, carbomer, water — we know that one! — sodium lauroyl lactylate, proline, cholesterol, phenoxyethanol, tocopheryl acetate, tocopherol, hydrolyzed hyaluronic acid, panthenol, pantolactone…”
These are the ingredients in CeraVe’s Healing Ointment, a best-selling skincare product meant to be used on your face, body, hands, and lips. I did some digging (okay, I spent three-plus hours down an internet search rabbit hole…) and found a very helpful website named Paula’s Choice, which offers an amazing “Ingredient Dictionary” where you can look up most ingredients you find on the back of all the skincare products you buy.
You can bookmark the Paula’s Choice Ingredient Dictionary right here.
Let’s see what all these ingredient terms really mean:
Mineral Oil: labeled a “Good” ingredient.
Mineral oil is a clear, oily liquid by-product of refining crude oil that has been used in cosmetic products for more than 100 years. It is an emollient and moisturizer that sits on top of the skin and obstructs water from evaporating out of your skin. Studies have shown that mineral oil, heavy-duty plant oil, and extra virgin coconut oil are equally efficient and safe as moisturizers for dry skin.
Paraffin: labeled a “Good” ingredient.
Paraffin is a very highly refined mineral oil used in cosmetics and medicine, but should not be confused with the paraffin (or kerosene) used as a fuel. It is a transparent, colorless, nearly odorless, and oily liquid that is composed of saturated hydrocarbons derived from petroleum.
Ozokerite: labeled a “Good” ingredient.
Ozokerite is composed primarily of paraffinic hydrocarbons (from petroleum), chemically neutralized. That means it is a mineral wax made from a blend of petroleum wax and microcrystalline wax derived from petroleum, and it is used as a texture enhancer in cosmetics, especially to add stability to lipsticks and stick foundations and keep them blended.
Dimethicone: labeled a “Good” ingredient.
Dimethicone is a type of silicone (technically known as a non-volatile/linear silicone). It is one of the most frequently used emollient (softening) ingredients in moisturizers, well known for its gentleness and effectiveness.
Ceramide NP / Ceramide AP, Ceramide EOP: all labeled “Best” ingredients.
One of several types of ceramides, which are naturally occurring, long chains of lipids (fats) that are major components of skin’s outer layers. Research shows moisturizers containing ceramide NP can improve the look and feel of dry skin.
Carbomer: labeled a “Good” ingredient.
Carbomers are group of synthetic texture enhancers used primarily to create gel-like formulations. High amounts of carbomers in a gel may result in the product rolling or balling up of cosmetic products on skin, but this phenomenon depends on other formulary steps taken to minimize this effect.
Water: Water is good for you. Duh.
Sodium Lauroyl Lactylate: labeled a “Good” ingredient.
Sodium lauroyl lactylate is a naturally derived ingredient that is used as an emulsifier (stabilizer) and mild thickening agent in cosmetics. In higher concentrations, it functions as a surfactant.
Proline: labeled a “Good” ingredient.
Proline is an amino acid, which are fundamental constituents of all proteins found in the body, such as: alanine, arginine, asparagine, aspartic acid, cysteine, cystine, glutamic acid, glutamine, glycine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, phenylalanine, proline, serine, threonine, tryptophan, tyrosine, and valine. Some of these amino acids can be synthesized by the body; others (known as essential amino acids) must be obtained from protein in the diet.
Cholesterol: labeled a “Best” ingredient.
Cholesterol is a natural component of skin’s barrier, accounting for 15% of its fatty acid content. Research shows that a deficiency of cholesterol in skin can lead to dryness. When cholesterol is applied to skin topically, it plays a replenishing role to support the moisture balance and lipid composition for healthier looking/feeling skin. Reinforcing skin’s outermost layers in this way also helps it resist damage from external stressors (think harmful bacteria, pollutants, etc.). In skin care formulas, cholesterol can also function as a stabilizer, emollient, surfactant, and water-binding agent.
Phenoxyethanol: labeled a “Good” ingredient.
Phenoxyethanol is a widely used synthetic preservative with global approval for use in rinse-off or leave-on cosmetic products in concentrations up to 1%. It’s often used in even lower amounts, especially when combined with other preservatives.
Tocopheryl Acetate: labeled a “Best” ingredient.
Tocopheryl acetate is Vitamin E, one of the most well-known and researched antioxidants for the body and for skin. Vitamin E occurs naturally in human skin, but can become depleted due to constant environmental exposure in the absence of sun protection.
There are eight basic forms of the entire fat soluble vitamin E molecule, which are either synthetically or naturally derived. The most typical forms are d-alpha-tocopherol, d-alpha-tocopherol acetate, dl-alpha tocopherol, and dl-alpha tocopherol acetate.
Tocopherol: labeled a “Best” ingredient.
Same basic principles as Tocopheryl acetate; Tocopherol is one of four forms of Vitamin E and has potent oil-soluble antioxidant properties. It can help defend skin from pollution and environmental stressors.
Hydrolyzed Hyaluronic Acid: labeled a “Best” ingredient.
Hyaluronic acid is a component of skin tissue. Synthetic variations are used in skincare products to function as a superior skin-replenishing ingredient. Hyaluronic acid has restorative abilities and can boost skin’s moisture content, soothe, and defend against moisture loss, and provides an antioxidant defense against environmental assault.
“Hydrolyzed” hyaluronic acid is hyaluronic acid that has been broken down into elements small enough to penetrate the skin. It’s moisturizing, but not the most moisturizing option, so it’s best for people who have oily or combination skin, since these skin types want to avoid over-moisturizing.
Panthenol: labeled a “Best” ingredient.
Panthenol, also known as pro-vitamin B5, is a popular humectant in personal care products due to its ability to attract and hold moisture. When topically applied, it converts to pantothenic acid, which is a naturally occurring substance within the body.
Pantolactone: labeled a “Good” ingredient.
Pantolactone is a humectant, which means it maintains the water content of a cosmetic in its packaging and on the skin.
As scary as these ingredient names seem, most of them are okay for our skin, and some are even great. But, the words that kept giving me pause throughout this list were “petroleum,” “synthetic,” and “preservative.” I have no idea what these elements will do to my body long-term.
Aleta read the ingredients of her facial wash aloud and the simplicity almost bowled me over.
“Here are the ingredients in my Luv Joi Lyfe Organic Facial Wash: Organic Cucumber, Goldenseal & Blue Flax Extract, Organic Aloe Vera, 100mg of THC-Free, Full Flower Liposomal CBD/Hemp Oil, Botanicals, Asthanxin. That’s all that’s in my facial wash. That’s it,” Aleta says.
I find that I am comforted by the organic nature of these ingredients. I understand them, I can visualize most of them, and that puts me at ease, especially when it comes to my long-term health.
“My Organic Facial Oil has 250mg of THC-Free, Full Flower Liposomal CBD/Hemp Oil, Frankincense & Turmeric Essential Oils, Organic Botanical Oils, Beta Carotene, Vitamins A, B3, B5, C & E, Peptides — which are amino acids — and a proprietary blend of Terpenes,” Aleta says.
Terpenes are aromatic compounds that determine the smell of many plants, herbs, and some animals, and are in the flavors and scents of many everyday products, such as perfumes, body products, and even foods. They also form the basis of many essential oils and are a big part of aromatherapy.
“With the terpenes you’re really going to smell that scent and it’s very healing for the body,” Aleta says.
“Here are the ingredients in my Barrier Repair Cream, which you apply after the Facial Wash and Facial Oil: 290mg of THC-Free, Full-Flower CBD/Hemp Oil, MSM, the Proprietary Terpene Blend, Beta Glucans, and Ceramides.
“MSM (MethylSulfonylMethane) is a pure, organic sulfur which is found in all plants and tissues, and is considered to be nature’s beauty mineral because it enhances collagen and keratin.
“Beta Glucans are soluble fibers from bacteria, fungi, yeasts, and some plants that might prevent the body from absorbing cholesterol and stimulate the immune system by increasing chemicals that prevent infections.
“Ceramides are epidermal lipids, or fatty acids, naturally found in skin cells. They make up about 50% of the outer layer of our skin. They are the cement forming the protective barrier that prevents sun damage, aids in healing, and keeps impurities out and moisture in.
“Many things can cause lipid levels to drop, including age, exposure to external stressors like weather or chemicals, over-cleansing or over-exfoliating, or even incorrect layering of products. It’s like a barrier to help build the foundation to be stronger against environmental toxins,” Aleta says.
With all the options out there, the facial cleansers, the oils, the masks, the scrubs, the moisturizers…it seems like every week there’s a hot new skincare regimen to follow, a new study released, a new product to add to our list. It’s so easy to become confused. How do we know what to do — or, better yet, what not to do?
“My skincare line is a three-step kit, it’s super, super easy,” Aleta says. “I just wash my face with the Facial Wash, rinse my face, put on my Facial Oil, and then I put on my Barrier Crème over the top of it — and that’s it. The Facial Oil is one of my favorites, it smells amazing with the frankincense.”
If you’re like me, you may have seen CBD/Hemp products on the market but never tried them for yourself. You may know someone who uses the creams or the oils for chronic pain relief, or someone who uses CBD or Hemp skincare products. But you may not have felt the benefits of CBD/Hemp for yourself. So, I asked the expert why it has suddenly become so popular.
“Hemp and CBD have natural anti-inflammatory properties,” Aleta says, “and basically any skin issue you see is caused by inflammation. When your main ingredient in your product is Hemp/CBD, you are hitting that inflammation and knocking that inflammation down.
“So, if you have acne-prone skin, or you have eczema, or rosacea, or any type of skin issues, this works well because the body really enjoys these products. They’re natural and organic and vegan.
“Also, all my products are fully tested and made in the USA. My company is woman-owned, and my manufacturer is woman-owned,” Aleta says with pride.
“I love hemp and CBD because they have such high anti-inflammatory contents. I have CBD supplements on my website as well — the oils, the capsules, and the topicals, which are fantastic if you have knee issues.
“I like to use the topicals if I am PMS-ing and have cramps. Women love that; you just put a little bit on your stomach and it helps. If you have joint issues, you just place it on your knees or elbows or shoulders. I have the full line, and I actually use all these things myself,” Aleta says.
“All of the photos and videos that I shoot and put on my Instagram or on my website are unfiltered,” Aleta says. “And I never wear makeup on my skin, period. I never wear anything but lipstick, and it’s because of my products and my healthy living. So, again, I’ve come into that space, that homeostasis, where I’ve found all the things I need to look and feel amazing. I can say that with confidence, not cockiness.
“I know that it comes from feeding myself properly, giving myself the proper things both externally and internally, and staying positive as much as I can while also expressing my feelings. I really feel that is important as well. You have to express your feelings — it releases energy in your body and keeps you from aging as quickly because you’re not stressed out inside your body.
“All of my products are anti-aging, anti-inflammatory. I have a Calendula and Mango Butter Anti-Aging Créme that I love putting on my neck and on the top of my hands. Those are very delicate skin areas, they thin over time, and this product really plumps the skin — you’ll see it instantly. I love to put it on one hand and just watch the change between the two hands, it’s really phenomenal,” Aleta says.
“I really look forward to more people trying these products so they can see the results for themselves.
“I have something for everyone on my site, whatever issue you’re having. I call them “kits” because everyone needs a little kit sometimes. If you’re having PMS, you need a PMS kit; if you’re under stress, you need a stress kit. We need these little go-tos. I like kits; you have everything you need right there ready to go.
“When it comes to food, a lot of people say that they can’t afford organic food. I’ve heard that a lot. I’ve also heard people say they can’t afford supplements. Well, to me, these things are my health insurance. Would you rather pay for whatever’s going to come down the road because you didn’t take care of your engine that needed high-octane fuel?
“I have also written a couple of tiny e-books; I think of them like little books of thought. They’re super short. It’s another outlet for me to give some of my knowledge to others. They’re inexpensive and super short to read but give more education, and education just adds to our toolbelt,” Aleta says.
“It’s how we heal.”
You can find all of Aleta’s natural, organic products right here on her Luv Joi Lyfe website, along with much more heath information she has learned along her healing journey.
You can find Aleta’s I Am book series right here on her website or right here on Amazon, both in printed and Kindle versions, along with her shorter, specially-crafted, informative eBooks.
You can follow Aleta and Luv Joi Lyfe to learn more about healing right here on Aleta’s Instagram account.
For more helpful Health resources and information, please visit our #CD Health page and our Resource Directory.
For more resources and information for your needs and to enrich your daily lives, gather together on the Chicago Devotion Home Page and follow us on Facebook and Twitter, @ChicagoDevotion.
Thank you, Aleta. #YouAreDevoted!
