•    By diluting a small amount of Sugar Scrub in the palm of your hand with Hydrating Mist or water, even the most sensitive skins can enjoy the gentle exfoliating, cleansing and nourishing benefits.
•    Apply a quarter-size amount of product over damp skin and leave on for up to twenty minutes. Once rinsed off, the Sugar Scrub will leave your skin plumped, hydrated, glowing and smooth as silk. Try applying right before your next shower and rinse off just before you finish showering.
•    Apply a small amount to a blemish and leave on for a half hour. It draws out impurities and helps the blemish heal more quickly.
•    Apply to hands to gently exfoliate and give yourself a revitalizing hand treatment. Follow with the Vitamin C Hand Cream.
•    If you’ve been working in the garden and scratch your hands, first clean the scrapes, then apply the Sugar Scrub to the scratch and let it dry until it naturally flakes off. Martha did this over the weekend on a scrape she got while cleaning her roof. It had zero sting and her scrapes aren’t even visible a day later.
•    Use Sugar Scrub to help remove a mask treatment. It makes the mask come off more easily while not stripping away the mask’s beneficial ingredients like a cleanser often does.

All of these are made possible by using naturally antibacterial and organic cane sugar. We grind the cane sugar for every batch so that the sugar is coarse enough to lift debris and dead skin but fine enough to not irritate or cause micro-tears on the skin. We combine this sugar to a mixture of aloe, collagen-boosting MSM and vitamins C & E. Our  Lemon and Lavender Tee Tree essential oils are unique to OHA and not available in other brands. On top of that they are truly refreshing and thoroughly therapeutic.  We hope you are as inspired by this new season as we are, and of course we wish you health and beauty.

Because we’re so impressed with CO2 extracts, we believe that every skin type can benefit from using OHA’s Supercritical CO2 Gel Mask. “Every skin type?” Trust me, I know that sounds like a lofty claim. Whenever I read about products for “all skin types”, I doubt that it’s actually the best product for all skins and tend to assume it’s the best compromise for all skin types. This mask, however, really IS the best thing for all skin types, especially those with acne, sun damage, or roseacea. Here’s why:

Why it works on acne:

• Seabuckthorn  and Rosehip CO2  contain high and almost equal amounts of Omega 3 and 6 supporting skin membrane function and elasticity and useful in cases of roseacea, acne and all skin inflammatory issues.
• Turmeric CO2 contains curcumin which is known for its anti-inflammation and anti-carcinogenic properties that are also highly antibacterial.

Why it works on sun damaged skin:

• Pomegranate CO2 contains punicic acid, which has been found to promote skin regeneration and decreases the incidence of skin cancer formation.
• Carrot Seed, Seabuckthorn, Rosehip and Calendula contain high amounts of carotenoids which are also known as Pre-Vitamin A. Carotenoids offer your skin protection from environmental toxins and ultra violet damage. They also assist in wound healing.

Why it works on roseacea:

• Rosemary is well known for its cell regenerative properties. The rosemarinic acids have been identified for use in eliminating the Demodex mite, thought by many to be a direct cause of roseacea.
• Seabuckthorn  and Rosehip CO2  contain high and almost equal amounts of Omega 3 and 6 supporting skin membrane function and elasticity and useful in cases of roseacea, acne and all skin inflammatory issues.

Why it works for every skin type:

• Both the Rosemary and St. Johnswort CO2 have calming and analgesic properties that help us to relax and breath deeper.
• Another unique ingredient in this mask is unrefined Acai oil. This super food oil is rich in essential amino acids, minerals, vitamin C and E, essential fatty acids and other highly therapeutic nutrients.

The overall ingredient deck of this formula makes it as useful for anti-aging  as it is for acne and roseacea.

Try the treatment below and let us know what you think!

• Gently cleanse with OHA Cleansing Milk.

• Mist your face with 1-7 pumps of Hydrating Mist so your skin will fully absorb the nutrients of the following treatment.

• Combine in the palm of your hand a quarter-sized amount of Supercritical CO2 Mask and 1-3 pumps of Intensive Nutrient Complex. Begin by massaging product onto your décolleté, up your neck and all over your face, avoiding the eye area.

• Next, gently pat 2 pumps of Lip Line Treatment onto mouth area, jaw line and décolleté/neck over the mask/serum mixture.

• Lie down with your legs elevated and relax for 25 minutes.

• After 25 minutes, take a quarter-sized amount of Sugar Scrub and scrub away the mask. Rinse while massaging products into face with warm water.

• After patting skin dry, follow with Hydrating Mist, Intensive Nutrient Complex, CoQ10 & Argan Face Cream (or OHA moisturizer of your choice), and apply Under Eye Therapy. Voila!

Nurturing your skin with this treatment is a powerful and positive way to start the new season. It is especially effective at decreasing redness, discoloration, sun damage and fine lines. You’re sure to notice an improvement in the texture and tone of your skin after your first use.

Beyond clothes and OHA, this place has a huge variety of gifts and generally awesome products. I have a difficult time leaving Spun without a bagful of flattering organic clothes, understated and beautiful jewelry and sassy handmade greeting cards. I confessed to Sara the other day that half of my closet is filled with her beautiful clothes.

If you’re in the Pacific Northwest, be sure to stop into this gem of a store and feel good knowing that you’re directly supporting local businesses, buying reasonably priced but stunning pieces for both your wardrobe and your skin, plus enjoying a high-quality perusing session.

Happy shopping! Be sure to check out the locations page to see if there are any new places to find OHA near you!

Skin issues, like break outs, eczema, psoriasis, and redness, are a reaction to external AND internal processes. For instance, frequently switching out your pillowcase can go a long way in preventing break outs that are caused by the oils and bacteria built up every night. This is an external issue that’s easy to fix. The internal issues, such as your emotional wellbeing and stress levels, are trickier to address but just as important.

A recent study done by the Department of Psychology at the London Metropolitan University found that internal issues can wreak havoc on our skin. Their study uncovered that people with negative emotional patterns, like social isolation, anxiety, and depression, are more likely to have chronic skin problems, like eczema and psoriasis. This shows that one’s thought patterns and way of interpreting the world changes their skin’s ability to take care of itself. This means that your skin care routine should involve tending to your emotional health. If that means speaking with a counselor, exercising, or spending quality time with friends, do it. For you and your skin’s sake, do whatever it takes to break emotionally destructive patterns.

Another important part of your skin care routine is cleansing, treating and protecting with quality skin care products. Lucky for you, OHA fans, OHA is the only skin care line we’ve encountered that addresses emotional health as well as skin functions. Vanilla Leaf Flower Essence is featured in every product and boosts self esteem. The essential oil blends in each product are made to heal skin on contact but also balance the mind and soothe the nerves. This two-pronged approach of feeding skin directly with nutrients while also addressing emotional balance separates OHA from every other skin care line in a profound way. Enjoy your skin care ritual with OHA, knowing that you’re tending to both your external and internal wellbeing.

Both of these oils are organic and can be marketed as such but the one on the right is teeming with nutrients and active ingredients whereas the refined oil on the left has lost a lot of what makes avocado oil so fabulous.

Lavender Field in France

Night Cream: OHA is the only skin care company using organic Kashmir lavender from the Himalayas. This is one of the finest lavenders in the world and it’s in this Night Cream to soothe frayed nerves. The natural healing powers of lavender are intensified by the association with what a lot of people consider the most healing and spiritual place on earth. Australian Sandalwood, also included in this blend, has been used for temple building because it’s believed to protect one from negative energies and surround one in divine presence. Beyond having a beautifully nourishing cream to apply at night, you can bask in the spiritual and healing aspects of these exotic and rare oils. Take time to breathe in the rich aroma and try it for daytime use, too, especially if you need extra calm in your day.

Rosewood Lavender Shea Body Butter: Rosewood is considered to be one of seven trees in the South American culture that can transform the planet. It is thought by the South Americans to be guarded by angel spirits and they use it as a rite of passage when their people die. This blend also includes English Lavender, which contains different compounds from Kashmir lavender due to the entirely different soil. Lavender grows all across the world from the Himalayas, to England, to the USA, to Australia. Martha’s OHA formulations feature lavenders from all over the world in order to provide the skin with every possible healing compound that lavender has to offer.

Intensive Nutrient Complex: Martha’s a firm believer in “it takes a village” when it comes to formulating with essential oils. That’s why she included 7 different lavenders, 3 vanilla balsams and a bouquet of soothing and healing florals in the essential oil blend for this best selling treatment serum. If you consider yourself a connoisseur of chocolate, coffee, tea or wine, you will appreciate our use of small but over-the-top skilled, artisan essential oil producers. These producers and Martha’s skill in blending assures you of true aromatherapy in every application of OHA.

Enough said. How should you use these products to relax? We suggest using any of these as a balm for temples, shoulders, feet and anywhere else a massage therapist would release tension. Be aware of the long history of lavender providing beauty rest that we all need so badly this time of year. As you apply these products to your face and body, take a moment to breathe deeply and enjoy the relaxation that follows.

Best to your holidays!

1. For a quick “pick me up”, use Hydrating Mist all over the face. We’ve heard from some of our longtime customers that they like to spray Hydrating Mist on their face and neck when they get headaches.
2. Vitamin C Hand Cream or Fresh Limes Shea Body Butter: Take a nickel-sized amount and rub briskly between clean hands to heat up. Massage your fingers by pulsing from the base of each finger and working out to the tips. Deeply breathe in the uplifting orange/lime scent. Also apply in brisk, upward motions on your forearms to increase circulation. You can also try a quick mist with either product on feet after a grueling day or a particularly tough workout.
3. Pump 1-2 pumps of the Under Eye Therapy to the tip of your ring finger. Touch ring fingers together to distribute product evenly between them. Starting at the temples, tap gently across the orbital bones moving towards the inner corner of each eye. Continue up over the eyebrows all the way back to the temples. Repeat around the eyes until all the product has absorbed. Once absorbed, take tips of ring fingers in the sockets and very gently do 10-20 tiny, super light circles. For an especially reviving treatment, pop the Under Eye Therapy in the refrigerator thirty minutes before trying this tapping treatment.

CoQ10 Powder: You’ve probably seen this in grocery stores as a supplement to support heart health and energy. CoQ10 is made in the body but is hard to come by naturally in food, hence its popularity in supplement form. Topically, it’s a powerful antioxidant that smoothes wrinkles and reverses sun damage (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20635514). CoQ10 blocks collagen-damaging enzymes called metalloproteinases (MMPs) so the skin stays elastic, supple and strong. MMPs are stimulated by pollution, smoking, oxidative damage from UV radiation and other environmental hazards, so having CoQ10 to protect and fortify collagen against MMPs is especially important for an anti-aging skin treatment.

Argan Oil: This is an oil from Morocco that’s loaded with natural tocopherols (vitamin E), phenols, carotenes, squalenes and fatty acids. It absorbs quickly but is a rich enough oil to deeply hydrate dry skin. As an added bonus, it also prevents and reduces signs of stretch marks and other scarring.

Moroccan Argan Tree

Plum Kernel Oil: Like Argan Oil, Plum Kernel Oil is rich in essential fatty acids, which boost cell regeneration, provide lipid barrier protection and nourish the innermost workings of the skin, the dermis. What makes Plum Kernel especially great in a face cream is its absorbability – it leaves virtually no oily residue so your skin gets hydrated but doesn’t feel like an oil slick.

Beyond containing these beauties, our new face cream is VEGAN. That’s right. This cream is beeswax free and ready to quench those thirsty vegan faces.

CoQ10 & Argan Face Cream seemed like an obvious choice for the Radiant Skin Treatment with its anti-aging and deep hydration abilities. Our customers have mentioned a progressive brightening of their skin with continued use of this new cream due to the high concentration of Vitamin C. Check out the Radian Skin Treatment through October 30^thfor special pricing on all the steps of this skin beautifying regimen.