#Bulnesia sarmientoi

[talleyran]

Palo Santo

Продолжая тему благовоний хочу рассказать про Palo Santo (исп. Святое Дерево).

Это дерево родом из южной Америки, называется научно Bulnesia Sarmientoi, а по-русски Аргентинский или Парагвайский бакаут в зависимости от страны произрастания или Гваяковое дерево.

Благодаря эфирным маслам оно приятно пахнет, когда горит, поэтому сухой хворост из него продают по всему миру в качестве благовоний.

Аромат у древесины очень сильно напоминает лимонную приправу к рыбе, во всяком случае у меня именно такая ассоциация. И когда жжешь её, такой смолистый запах, как в бане.

Мне понравилось, даже больше среднего, Эсти вообще не зашло, говорит, что очень резкий, хотя по сравнению с индийскими палками он в половину слабее и затухает щепка гораздо быстрее.

Помимо самой древесины выпускают так же благовония в виде ароматических палочек. У тех же HEM такие есть, но я не пробовал.

[guidedbyamara]

El Bulnesia sarmientoi comparte su nombre popular con otro árbol también conocido como palo santo, la “madera sagrada”, que se quema para la popular aromatización energética de ambientes, pero que proviene de otra especie denominada Bursera graveolens, que crece en Centroamérica, según publicó The New York Times.

En cambio, el palo santo del Gran Chaco sudamericano sólo crece en partes de Brasil, Paraguay, Bolivia y Argentina, y se utiliza para la fabricación de muebles, pisos y artesanías, tanto para la producción local como para la exportación a los mercados asiáticos.

También se destina su uso a la industria farmacéutica, en la producción de aceites esenciales.

[crystallogicshop]

Palo Santo – Sustainability and Disambiguation

For the past couple of years, Katie and I have used Palo Santo in our practice and invested more for it to be ethically sourced. We know some of you don't use Palo Santo at all because you heard it is endangered. Hopefully this article will shed some light on what Palo Santo is, help with some disambiguation, and give you the opportunity to make a more informed decision when purchasing Palo Santo in the future.

What is Palo Santo?

Palo Santo, a.k.a. Bursera graveolens, is a wild tree native to the countries of Ecuador & Peru. It is most often encountered in the form of its heartwood or essential oil. The wood is commonly burned in nature similar to incense by allowing the smoke to cleanse an area. Its essence is believed to energetically clear a space of any lingering stagnant energy. Diffusion of the essential oil may be used for those sensitive to smoke. The essential oil can also be externally applied to the body via dilution with carrier oils to activate its pleasantly therapeutic qualities and increase one's relaxation. This heavenly aromatic wood has been used for generations, and we work passionately to protect its place within contemporary conscious culture.

Not to be confused with…

“Palo Santo” is a common name that is used for several different & distinctly unrelated botanical species. Another species, known as Bulnesia sarmientoi is also referred to as "Palo Santo" in its native countries of Argentina & Paraguay.

Bulnesia sarmientoi was listed as endangered in the 2018 publication of the IUCN Red List, due to the deforestation of Gran Chaco and a strong global demand since 2001. IUCN estimates indicate that over three generations the global population will decline by around 50%.

Bulnesia sarmientoi is still listed as an endangered species.

Localization

They are two distinctly separate species, native to geographically different regions of South America & utilized for different applications. Bursera graveolens used in aromatherapy and various spiritual practices is a tree that originates in the dry forests of Ecuador & Perú, while Bulnesia sarmientoi originates from Argentina, Paraguay, and Bolivia.

We offer sustainably sourced Palo Santo as a single stick, as well as bundles of 2 and 6 sticks, and as 1/4lb bag, which contains approx. 20-25 smudge sticks.

Wanna know more?

Visit our website to know more about Palo Santo, what both species are used for, the IUCN Red List of endangered species, sustainability, and our commitment:

[cyan6]

Guaiacwood（Bulnesia sarmientoi） smell like plum candy? Sour and a little sweet, kinda addictive.

[caffeinated-spicy-cutie]

This is the purity made simple one-step paraben free facial cleanser~ As you can see, I’ve used a lot of this huuuge bottle of wash already. In fact, it is the only facial wash that I use now. It doesn’t leave my skin feeling stripped or dry and yet it gets ALL of my makeup off including stubborn waterproof formulations with one cleansing. There’s no need to use a makeup remover or anything before using this stuff.

I’m not a chemist or anything. I just know this somehow leaves my skin totally clean and supple. I recently learned that you can also use this cleanser on your makeup tools and that works really well too! I don’t know why I never thought to do that before.

You only need a teeny tiny amount to clean your face and neck so their largest size lasts me about a year with me using it twice a day, every day. I’m not saying the smaller sizes aren’t worth it; however, this is the best bargain. It’s currently 59 dollars for 32 ounces of product on their site~

Here’s an ingredient list so you can check out if there’s something you either cannot use or would prefer not to. I’m a little more choosy with my skincare than I am with makeup personally. There are no parabens, no sulfates, no phthalates which are on a lot of people’s lists of things to avoid!

Ingredients:

Aqua/Water/Eau, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, Sodium Trideceth Sulfate, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Coco-Glucoside, Coconut Alcohol, Peg-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Glycerin, Phenoxyethanol, Isopropyl Alcohol, Carbomer, Polysorbate 20, Chlorphenesin, Citric Acid, Disodium Phosphate, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Linalool, Ethylhexylglycerin, Xanthan Gum, Sodium Citrate, Bulnesia Sarmientoi Wood Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Sodium Hydroxide, Amyris Balsamifera Bark Oil, Cymbopogon Martini Oil, Rosa Damascena Flower Oil, Tocopherol, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Oil, Mimosa Tenuiflora Bark Extract, Ormenis Multicaulis Oil, Piper Nigrum (Pepper) Fruit Extract, Salvia Sclarea (Clary) Oil, Santalum Album (Sandalwood) Oil, Fd&C Yellow No. 5 (Ci 19140).

[docswint]

Purity facial cleanser

#Purity facial cleanser skin#

also blended with twelve essential oils (including rosewood, sandalwood and sage) known to help soften and soothe.

#Purity facial cleanser skin#

formulated with meadowfoam seed oil, it helps skin feel comfortable and lightly hydrated, not pulled or tight. our award-winning facial cleanser is loved by all for its multi-tasking, 3-in-1 approach to cleansing. (55) liked on Polyvore featuring beauty products, skincare, face care, face cleansers. The 1 facial cleanser in america, now formulated without parabens. Water, Sodium Lauroamphoacetate, Sodium Trideceth Sulfate, Limnanthes Alba (Meadowfoam) Seed Oil, Coco-glucoside, Coconut Alcohol, Peg-120 Methyl Glucose Dioleate, Glycerin, Carbomer, Isopropyl Alcohol, Polysorbate 20, Citric Acid, Imidazolidinyl Urea, Methylparaben, Aniba Rosaeodora (Rosewood) Wood Oil, Propylparaben, Triethanolamine, Amyris Balsamifera Bark Oil, Bulnesia Sarmientoi Wood Oil, Cymbopogon Martini Oil, Pelargonium Graveolens Flower Oil, Rosa Centifolia Flower Oil, Santalum Album (Sandalwood) Oil, Daucus Carota Sativa (Carrot) Seed Oil, Mimosa Tenuiflora Bark Extract, Ormenis Multicaulis Oil, Piper Nigrum (Pepper) Fruit Oil, Salvia Sclarea (Clary) Oil, Fd&c Yellow No. Philosophy Purity Made Simple One Step Facial Cleanser- 32 oz. follow with appropriate treatment and moisturizer. Gently massage a quarter-size amount of the facial cleanser onto a lightly damp face, and massage for 30-60 seconds. Benefits Key Ingredients Directions Buy it with Magic Makeup Removing Cloth 4. It’s very carefully formulated with natural ingredients and without any harsh chemicals or surfactants. find purity made simple facial cleanser, the #1 facial cleanser in America. Purity Foaming Facial Cleanser doesn’t just cleanse, it helps tone the skin, improve hydration, and improve your skin’s natural glow. our cleanser leaves skin feeling perfectly clean, comfortable and balanced. gently cleanses and melts away face and eye makeup in one simple step, while toning and lightly hydrating. It does a credible job of removing dirt and makeup, and left. The product has a pleasant, clean scent that comes from its essential oils, an infusion of sage, chamomile, and carrot. It glides onto the face effortlessly with a soft, spreadable feel. Wow, I bought the gift set size of the purity set. This item: philosophy purity made simple one-step facial cleanser. One of the best thing about the Purity One Step Facial Cleanser is the product’s slippage. More reviews, photos and discussions for 100 Pure. use each morning and night with a small amount of water. 5 (ci 19140).Our award-winning facial cleanser is loved by all for its multitasking, 3-in-1 approach to cleansing. deep-cleans pores, eliminates makeup buildup, and lightly hydrates and tones skin. In the United States the purity requirements for citric acid as a food. Ingredient: aqua/water/eau, sodium lauroamphoacetate, sodium trideceth sulfate, limnanthes alba (meadowfoam) seed oil, coco-glucoside, coconut alcohol, peg-120 methyl glucose dioleate, glycerin, phenoxyethanol, isopropyl alcohol, carbomer, polysorbate 20, chlorphenesin, citric acid, disodium phosphate, aniba rosaeodora (rosewood) wood oil, linalool, ethylhexylglycerin, xanthan gum, sodium citrate, bulnesia sarmientoi wood oil, pelargonium graveolens flower oil, sodium hydroxide, amyris balsamifera bark oil, cymbopogon martini oil, rosa damascena flower oil, tocopherol, daucus carota sativa (carrot) seed oil, mimosa tenuiflora bark extract, ormenis multicaulis oil, piper nigrum (pepper) fruit extract, salvia sclarea (clary) oil, santalum album (sandalwood) oil, fd&c yellow no. Citric acid is an organic compound with the chemical formula HOC(CO2H)( 2. Meadowfoam seed oil - delivers skin-conditioning benefits for a lightly hydrated, non-stripped feel. Formulated for normal-to-dry skin types and gentle enough for the sensitive eye area, it deep cleans pores while the meadowfoam seed oil extract helps condition skin. It tones and lightly hydrates in one simple step for skin that feels perfectly cleaned and comfortably balanced. Take on the dayor take the day offwith this refreshing, vibrant Exfoliating facial Cleanser that gently lifts away dirt, oil and pore-clogging impurities without. purity made simple® paraben-free cleanser is an award-winning cleanser that melts away dirt, oil and makeup. Purity Clean is an Exfoliating Cleanser that gently lifts away dirt, oil and impurities as it balances and clarifies the skin for a softer, more radiant-looking complexion. Meet the #1 facial cleanser in america, now formulated without parabens. I love this face wash Its simple, non irritating and leaves your face clean I havent used one for years because of breakouts & irritation but this Im so glad i.

[palosantoblog]

Where to Buy Palo Santo in Russia

If you want to buy пало санто in Russia, you have a few options. There are two main species: Bulnesia sarmientoi and Bursera graveolens. Both of these species are native to South America. If you want to buy palo santi in Russia, look for the Bursera sarmientoi, which grows slowly and can be found in Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Paraguay. Modern OM sells the woods and essential oils from this non-endangered tree.

The wood of palo santo can be harvested responsibly and sustainably. By using it responsibly, you'll be supporting the preservation of the species and the livelihood of the indigenous peoples. Besides burning it for incense and carving, you can also use it to treat yourself or others. Its aroma is described as piney and it does not produce psychoactive effects, but it does have healing properties.

You can purchase palo santo in Russia online, or you can visit a local Russian pharmacy. It is available in Russian pharmacies and online. It can be expensive, but it's worth it. If you are looking for an excellent source of the herb, you'll find it in the wild. However, you can't buy palo santo in Russia. You can get the best price by visiting a local shop or an international marketplace.

While most people do not think that palo santo is illegal, it's best to buy a few samples first. In order to try it, you can use it as an incense. The smell is said to relieve stress. The wood is burned for incense. Alternatively, you can use it as an infusion for massages or other activities that help you relieve stress. And as with any other aromatics, you can find it in various forms, including candles, perfumes, and lotions.

Palo santo is a medium-sized tree that can reach 60 feet in height. Its trunk has a flat appearance and has several small buttresses. The female tree produces flowers that range from pink to red. Its fruits are edible. If you have trouble breathing, it's best to purchase a bottle and burn it for aromatherapy. There are many benefits of palo santo oil.

The wood of palo santo is a beautiful and versatile scent. In aromatherapy, it has a soothing effect and is a common part of aromatherapy. It can be used to relieve stress, and is a popular fragrance in Russian markets. If you're looking for it online, you can find it at a variety of online retailers. This is a wonderful way to get your hands on this aromatic plant.

The wood of palo santo is sold in sticks, chips, and powder. It contains an aromatic resin that is both an antiseptic and anti-inflammatory. You can buy palo santo in Russia for a variety of uses, but the main ingredient is limonene. This essential oil is extracted from the wood, which makes it effective for a wide range of conditions.

[studio-b-witch]

パロサントと クリスタルのセット いいと思う！ ☆ ☆ ☆ #パロサント #浄化グッズ #浄化 #クリスタル #パワーストーン浄化 #パワーストーン #セット #楽しむ #いいねこれ #これ好き #ワクワクする #Repost @ginablack_art (@get_repost) ・・・ ✨Healing & Prosperity Bundles✨ NEW! ALMOST GONE! Palo Santo and Quartz Bundles✨ Quartz is the master Healer and Burning Palo Santo welcomes prosperity, creativity, and protection. The fabric is upcycled Indian Sari Fabric and can be used as a hair tie, headband, wrap bracelet, or fabric chain. PERFECT house warming gifts!! 👉🏻All Palo Santo materials are ethically sourced “Bursera graveolens” variety NOT to be confused with the endangered variety known as “Bulnesia sarmientoi”. Wood is harvested from naturally fallen materials. Nothing is cut or picked from the trees. . . . . . . . . . #smudgestick #smudging #natural #organic #organichome #veganhome #palosanto #teacandle #naturalcandles #florals #floral #floralcandle https://www.instagram.com/p/B9vW7d8n_6z/?igshid=1muoljdon65nk

[medicinal-herbs-en-blog]

Bulnesia sarmientoi

Wood of B. sarmientoi Bulnesia sarmientoi is a tree that inhabits a part of the Gran Chaco area in South America, around the Argentina-Bolivia-Paraguay border. Its wood is often traded as Argentine lignum vitae or Paraguay lignum vitae, since it has properties and uses similar to the "true" lignum vitae trees of genus Guaiacum, which are close relatives. Another trade name is "vera" or "verawood", which may also refer to the even more closely related B. arborea. Another common but rather ambiguous name is "palo santo" (Spanish: "holy wood"). In some places it is called ibiocaí Bulnesia sarmientoi heartwood is brown, black, and green (varying in color from light olive green to chocolate brown), with streaks. The sapwood is mostly thin and light yellow. The basic specific gravity of this wood is between 0.92 and 1.1 g/cm³. Palo santo is employed for engraving work and for the making of durable wooden posts. From its wood, also, a type of oil known as oil of guaiac (or guayacol) is produced, to be used as an ingredient for soaps and perfumes. Its resin can be obtained by means of organic solvents, and is employed to make varnishes and dark paints. Palo santo is appreciated for the skin-healing properties of its essence and also because it provides good charcoal and a high quality timber. It ignites easily despite being so dense, and produces a fragrant smoke. Natives of the Chaco region employ the bark to treat stomach problems. Small pieces of the wood are also used as a form of natural incense in spiritual rituals. More details Android, Windows

[cedarrrun]

Explore the ethics of smudging and learn about alternative plants for your cleansing rituals.

Palo Santo

Since the time of the Incas, the fragrant palo santo tree has been harvested by shamans in Peru and Ecuador, who use its essential oils or smoke to cleanse away evil spirits before initiating ayahuasca rituals or to aid the dying on their journeys to the afterlife. The very act of foraging for the wood by the shaman is a critical part of this spiritual process. Only mature plants, around 50–70 years of age, develop the “heart”—a dense, deeply resined core—necessary for distillation into an essential oil. And palo santo trees produce the finest oils when they die naturally and sit on the forest floor for several years. 

Can we get the same spiritual effect from a questionably sourced box of sticks snagged on Amazon? You’d think so: The scent of this bewitching, spicy, citrusy “holy wood” (a translation from the Spanish) is everywhere these days��infused in candles; wafting from yoga studios; for sale at mystic shops, home stores, and Anthropologie. You can buy palo santo smudge sticks from Etsy and follow along on YouTube as a woman in yoga wear teaches viewers how to cleanse a room without burning the place down.

It’s true, smudging with palo santo has reached latest-craze status. A quick #palosanto search on New Year’s Day revealed that plenty of palo santo went up across the United States as people smudged their homes to banish bad spirits and welcome in a promising new year. “Burning Palo Santo and doing some cleaning! So excited to be in a new year! I’ve got good feelings about this year!” declared one Twitter user.

See also 6 Simple Ways to Clear Negative Energy

Is Palo Santo a Threatened Species?

But some wellness bloggers have suggested that palo santo is critically endangered. If it is, your smudging ritual may be contributing to the annihilation of a sacred tree. That’s some bad juju, so I wanted to know: Are the rumors true? 

First, let’s clear up some confusion. There are actually two trees called palo santo. One, known as Bulnesia sarmientoi, grows in Paraguay, Argentina, and Bolivia; this plant has indeed been placed on the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the leading organization dedicated to tracking global conservation of plants and animals. Due to overharvesting and habitat loss, the tree is near extinction. 

The other species, Bursera graveolens, is also called palo santo but grows closer to the equator and isn’t on the Red List—yet. This is the tree often used for spiritual purposes. But just because it’s not on the watch list doesn’t mean it isn’t threatened. With its long, shallow roots, this tree thrives in tropical dry forests from Mexico to Peru, in areas that undergo severe droughts for up to seven months at a time. Because these forests have such extreme dry seasons, they are particularly vulnerable to soil erosion if the mix of flora and fauna is compromised due to over-harvesting or clear-cutting. “Only 5 to 10 percent of dry tropical forests are still intact around the world,” Susan Leopold, PhD, the executive director of United Plant told the New York Times. As these ecosystems vanish, she warns, palo santo may go with them.

See also Addressing Scent and Sensitivity in Class

In Peru, for example, palo santo forests have been ravaged for the industrial market, which has forced the country’s government to categorize Bursera graveolens as being in “critical hazard.” While the cutting of live trees is prohibited here, it’s difficult to enforce. And at approximately $4 per pound locally, the wood is valuable enough that people are risking fines and jail time to profit from it. Peru’s National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR) reported that a truck carrying nearly 10,000 pounds of illegal palo santo wood was intercepted on December 26, 2019, on its way to Lambayeque, a city known for its important archaeological remains. Just two months earlier, another 7,500 pounds had been intercepted, the wood hidden among bananas and lemons to disguise its distinctive scent.

For a more intimate look at the situation, I reached out to my friend, Lima-based designer Fiorella Yaksetig. Recently she traveled to northern Peru where palo santo grows and spoke with the farmers who cultivate it (possibly illegally). She confirmed that palo santo forests have been devastated. “It’s been planted and cut so many times that the lands where it lives can’t sustain it anymore and it just doesn’t flourish the same way it used to,” she told me. “The tree is becoming extinct."

While it’s unlikely that all of these harvested trees were bound for the wellness and ritualistic markets, demand combined with illegal and unsustainable practices may result in Peruvian palo santo forests disappearing forever. Given how high the stakes are, how much do you trust an online source to give you the straight scoop on how that tree thousands of miles away was harvested?

See also The Best Incense Bundles   

Sustainable Palo Santo

Recent international interest in palo santo as a spiritual aid is increasing the wood’s value, and in some cases, affecting how local communities regard the tree and its ecosystem. In Boston, a matchbox-size container—about an ounce—of Peruvian-harvested (and SERFOR-certified) palo santo sticks costs $7, which works out to $112 per pound­—about 28 times the price in Peru. Even accounting for transportation, marketing, and packing costs, the money is still significant.

Indeed, in Ecuador, people are beginning to use the tremendous profits from the wellness market to support sustainable harvesting practices where the tree thrives. Ecuadorian Hands, an Ecuador-based online retailer that sells “eco-friendly handcrafts,” posted a video to its website showing workers gathering palo santo for the spiritual trade. No chainsaws here. Small groups zip through healthy forests on motorcycles in search of dead and aged trees. It takes them an entire day to locate two fallen specimens. Once they do, they field-dress the trunks with machetes by hacking away at the termite-softened bark to reveal the tree’s heart, then pack the wood into woven bags, strap it to the backs of their bikes, and return to the manufacturing area. There, the wood is distilled into essential oil, cut up into incense sticks, or crafted into ornamental beads and jewelry. Ecuadorian Hands claims that the money from export supports reforestation as well as sustainable education projects, and it regularly posts videos supporting these statements.

Other suppliers, such as Sacred Wood Essence, have partnered with Ecuador’s Bolívar Tello Community Association (awarded the United Nations Development Programme’s Equator Prize, which recognizes community efforts to reduce poverty through conservation and sustainability) to extract palo santo oil from the tree’s seeds, rather than from the wood itself. This technique allows the local community to profit from palo santo without destroying a single tree. The money from the sale of essential oil pays for reforestation. Since 2010, according to the UN, tens of thousands of saplings have been planted in this fragile landscape to support the next generation of oil harvesting.

See also 5 Good Buys from Brands that Give Back

So in theory, if you are careful and do your research, your palo santo purchase may support positive development in certain regions.

Palo Santo and Cultural Appropriation

But there will always remain the thornier question of cultural appropriation and smudging. If you’re non-indigenous, should you even be using palo santo as a spiritual aid? 

For guidance, I turned to Brown University professor Adrienne Keene, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and an expert on the topic. In a 2018 essay published on her Native Appropriations blog—a forum for discussing representations of Native peoples—she penned a tremendously moving argument against non-indigenous use of smudging sticks. The piece, triggered by a “Starter Witch Kit” she heard about (since pulled from the market), is framed within the shameful context of European-American suppression of Native traditions and languages.

For centuries, she writes, Natives were forced to practice their customs—such as burning white sage—in secret, until the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978. That was only 42 years ago. Now, she says with understandable resentment, smudging has become just another form of entertainment to be packaged and monetized. “The sale of Native spirituality is easily a million-dollar industry—not even including all the culture vultures and white shamans who sell fake ceremony. Who is benefitting from the sale of these products? Not Native peoples.”

Watch Live Be Yoga Takes a Yoga Class Mixed with Native American Spiritualism

Keene argues that when choosing rituals, people should consider their own heritage. “Find out what your own ancestors may have burned for cleansing, and use that. Unless you’re Native, it probably wasn’t white sage. Sorry. I know you’re not used to hearing you can’t have something. But you can’t have this.”

Native peoples have fought long and hard for the right to say this. If Keene says don’t burn white sage, I won’t. 

That said, our individual histories often aren’t neatly packaged. The rush to decode our DNA has awakened many of us to our own complex heritages. As groups migrate to escape oppression, ecological threats, or genocide, they shed or rework their spiritual identities and adopt new ones. So if we’ve learned anything from sites like ancestry.com, it’s that culture and identity are much more fluid than we once thought. Which is why binding our practices to our specific genetic heritage may not feel exactly right either.

Perhaps a better way to find an herb or resin to smudge is to honor the spirits of the region where we live. What grows there? What’s in abundance? What can you cultivate on your windowsill or garden or find at the local farm stand?  

Peruvian history is in many ways different from US history, so I returned once again to my Peruvian friend for guidance. “Since palo santo is now grown for export,” Yaksetig wrote, “it’s lost much of its significance.” So there it is. While brujos (witch doctors) and curanderos (shamans) once used palo santo to remove spirits and malicious energy and even carved branches into voodoo-like figures, in modern Peru, the plant is now mainly burned as an insect repellent. Shamanic uses have decreased; it’s more profitable than spiritual.

See also Green Your Practice: 39 Eco-Friendly Yoga Essentials

But my inquiry did spark a discussion among Yaksetig and her family, one that she hadn’t yet had with her parents and grandparents. “After many long conversations, members of my family (all Peruvian) have agreed that using palo santo as a spiritual cleanser in any place other than Peru is a bit odd,” she told me. “Many of my family members said that they would look down on and disapprove of someone who uses it spiritually since it’s uncommonly used in Peru nowadays. It would be weird to practice it as a Peruvian tradition since it’s special and is rarely used in that way here.”

Respect for a culture’s traditions, even sharing in them, can foster deeper understanding between people. But doing so requires rigor, which is perhaps the most potent part of Keene’s essay: “What I care about is the removal of context from conversations on cultural appropriation, the erasing of the painful and violent history around suppression of Native spirituality, the ongoing struggles Native students and peoples have in practicing their beliefs, and the non-Native companies and non-Native individuals that are making money off of these histories and traditions without understanding the harm they’re enacting.” 

Grow Your Own Cleansing Herbs

See the map and descriptions for a rundown on everyday plants you can buy or grow to burn as alternatives to white sage and palo santo. If you're gardening your own greenery, choose plants that can thrive in your area. 

[amyddaniels]

Is Your Palo Santo Habit Hurting the Environment?

Explore the ethics of smudging and learn about alternative plants for your cleansing rituals.

Palo Santo

Since the time of the Incas, the fragrant palo santo tree has been harvested by shamans in Peru and Ecuador, who use its essential oils or smoke to cleanse away evil spirits before initiating ayahuasca rituals or to aid the dying on their journeys to the afterlife. The very act of foraging for the wood by the shaman is a critical part of this spiritual process. Only mature plants, around 50–70 years of age, develop the “heart”—a dense, deeply resined core—necessary for distillation into an essential oil. And palo santo trees produce the finest oils when they die naturally and sit on the forest floor for several years. 

Can we get the same spiritual effect from a questionably sourced box of sticks snagged on Amazon? You’d think so: The scent of this bewitching, spicy, citrusy “holy wood” (a translation from the Spanish) is everywhere these days—infused in candles; wafting from yoga studios; for sale at mystic shops, home stores, and Anthropologie. You can buy palo santo smudge sticks from Etsy and follow along on YouTube as a woman in yoga wear teaches viewers how to cleanse a room without burning the place down.

It’s true, smudging with palo santo has reached latest-craze status. A quick #palosanto search on New Year’s Day revealed that plenty of palo santo went up across the United States as people smudged their homes to banish bad spirits and welcome in a promising new year. “Burning Palo Santo and doing some cleaning! So excited to be in a new year! I’ve got good feelings about this year!” declared one Twitter user.

See also 6 Simple Ways to Clear Negative Energy

Is Palo Santo a Threatened Species?

But some wellness bloggers have suggested that palo santo is critically endangered. If it is, your smudging ritual may be contributing to the annihilation of a sacred tree. That’s some bad juju, so I wanted to know: Are the rumors true? 

First, let’s clear up some confusion. There are actually two trees called palo santo. One, known as Bulnesia sarmientoi, grows in Paraguay, Argentina, and Bolivia; this plant has indeed been placed on the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the leading organization dedicated to tracking global conservation of plants and animals. Due to overharvesting and habitat loss, the tree is near extinction. 

The other species, Bursera graveolens, is also called palo santo but grows closer to the equator and isn’t on the Red List—yet. This is the tree often used for spiritual purposes. But just because it’s not on the watch list doesn’t mean it isn’t threatened. With its long, shallow roots, this tree thrives in tropical dry forests from Mexico to Peru, in areas that undergo severe droughts for up to seven months at a time. Because these forests have such extreme dry seasons, they are particularly vulnerable to soil erosion if the mix of flora and fauna is compromised due to over-harvesting or clear-cutting. “Only 5 to 10 percent of dry tropical forests are still intact around the world,” Susan Leopold, PhD, the executive director of United Plant told the New York Times. As these ecosystems vanish, she warns, palo santo may go with them.

See also Addressing Scent and Sensitivity in Class

In Peru, for example, palo santo forests have been ravaged for the industrial market, which has forced the country’s government to categorize Bursera graveolens as being in “critical hazard.” While the cutting of live trees is prohibited here, it’s difficult to enforce. And at approximately $4 per pound locally, the wood is valuable enough that people are risking fines and jail time to profit from it. Peru’s National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR) reported that a truck carrying nearly 10,000 pounds of illegal palo santo wood was intercepted on December 26, 2019, on its way to Lambayeque, a city known for its important archaeological remains. Just two months earlier, another 7,500 pounds had been intercepted, the wood hidden among bananas and lemons to disguise its distinctive scent.

For a more intimate look at the situation, I reached out to my friend, Lima-based designer Fiorella Yaksetig. Recently she traveled to northern Peru where palo santo grows and spoke with the farmers who cultivate it (possibly illegally). She confirmed that palo santo forests have been devastated. “It’s been planted and cut so many times that the lands where it lives can’t sustain it anymore and it just doesn’t flourish the same way it used to,” she told me. “The tree is becoming extinct."

While it’s unlikely that all of these harvested trees were bound for the wellness and ritualistic markets, demand combined with illegal and unsustainable practices may result in Peruvian palo santo forests disappearing forever. Given how high the stakes are, how much do you trust an online source to give you the straight scoop on how that tree thousands of miles away was harvested?

See also The Best Incense Bundles   

Sustainable Palo Santo

Recent international interest in palo santo as a spiritual aid is increasing the wood’s value, and in some cases, affecting how local communities regard the tree and its ecosystem. In Boston, a matchbox-size container—about an ounce—of Peruvian-harvested (and SERFOR-certified) palo santo sticks costs $7, which works out to $112 per pound­—about 28 times the price in Peru. Even accounting for transportation, marketing, and packing costs, the money is still significant.

Indeed, in Ecuador, people are beginning to use the tremendous profits from the wellness market to support sustainable harvesting practices where the tree thrives. Ecuadorian Hands, an Ecuador-based online retailer that sells “eco-friendly handcrafts,” posted a video to its website showing workers gathering palo santo for the spiritual trade. No chainsaws here. Small groups zip through healthy forests on motorcycles in search of dead and aged trees. It takes them an entire day to locate two fallen specimens. Once they do, they field-dress the trunks with machetes by hacking away at the termite-softened bark to reveal the tree’s heart, then pack the wood into woven bags, strap it to the backs of their bikes, and return to the manufacturing area. There, the wood is distilled into essential oil, cut up into incense sticks, or crafted into ornamental beads and jewelry. Ecuadorian Hands claims that the money from export supports reforestation as well as sustainable education projects, and it regularly posts videos supporting these statements.

Other suppliers, such as Sacred Wood Essence, have partnered with Ecuador’s Bolívar Tello Community Association (awarded the United Nations Development Programme’s Equator Prize, which recognizes community efforts to reduce poverty through conservation and sustainability) to extract palo santo oil from the tree’s seeds, rather than from the wood itself. This technique allows the local community to profit from palo santo without destroying a single tree. The money from the sale of essential oil pays for reforestation. Since 2010, according to the UN, tens of thousands of saplings have been planted in this fragile landscape to support the next generation of oil harvesting.

See also 5 Good Buys from Brands that Give Back

So in theory, if you are careful and do your research, your palo santo purchase may support positive development in certain regions.

Palo Santo and Cultural Appropriation

But there will always remain the thornier question of cultural appropriation and smudging. If you’re non-indigenous, should you even be using palo santo as a spiritual aid? 

For guidance, I turned to Brown University professor Adrienne Keene, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and an expert on the topic. In a 2018 essay published on her Native Appropriations blog—a forum for discussing representations of Native peoples—she penned a tremendously moving argument against non-indigenous use of smudging sticks. The piece, triggered by a “Starter Witch Kit” she heard about (since pulled from the market), is framed within the shameful context of European-American suppression of Native traditions and languages.

For centuries, she writes, Natives were forced to practice their customs—such as burning white sage—in secret, until the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978. That was only 42 years ago. Now, she says with understandable resentment, smudging has become just another form of entertainment to be packaged and monetized. “The sale of Native spirituality is easily a million-dollar industry—not even including all the culture vultures and white shamans who sell fake ceremony. Who is benefitting from the sale of these products? Not Native peoples.”

Watch Live Be Yoga Takes a Yoga Class Mixed with Native American Spiritualism

Keene argues that when choosing rituals, people should consider their own heritage. “Find out what your own ancestors may have burned for cleansing, and use that. Unless you’re Native, it probably wasn’t white sage. Sorry. I know you’re not used to hearing you can’t have something. But you can’t have this.”

Native peoples have fought long and hard for the right to say this. If Keene says don’t burn white sage, I won’t. 

That said, our individual histories often aren’t neatly packaged. The rush to decode our DNA has awakened many of us to our own complex heritages. As groups migrate to escape oppression, ecological threats, or genocide, they shed or rework their spiritual identities and adopt new ones. So if we’ve learned anything from sites like ancestry.com, it’s that culture and identity are much more fluid than we once thought. Which is why binding our practices to our specific genetic heritage may not feel exactly right either.

Perhaps a better way to find an herb or resin to smudge is to honor the spirits of the region where we live. What grows there? What’s in abundance? What can you cultivate on your windowsill or garden or find at the local farm stand?  

Peruvian history is in many ways different from US history, so I returned once again to my Peruvian friend for guidance. “Since palo santo is now grown for export,” Yaksetig wrote, “it’s lost much of its significance.” So there it is. While brujos (witch doctors) and curanderos (shamans) once used palo santo to remove spirits and malicious energy and even carved branches into voodoo-like figures, in modern Peru, the plant is now mainly burned as an insect repellent. Shamanic uses have decreased; it’s more profitable than spiritual.

See also Green Your Practice: 39 Eco-Friendly Yoga Essentials

But my inquiry did spark a discussion among Yaksetig and her family, one that she hadn’t yet had with her parents and grandparents. “After many long conversations, members of my family (all Peruvian) have agreed that using palo santo as a spiritual cleanser in any place other than Peru is a bit odd,” she told me. “Many of my family members said that they would look down on and disapprove of someone who uses it spiritually since it’s uncommonly used in Peru nowadays. It would be weird to practice it as a Peruvian tradition since it’s special and is rarely used in that way here.”

Respect for a culture’s traditions, even sharing in them, can foster deeper understanding between people. But doing so requires rigor, which is perhaps the most potent part of Keene’s essay: “What I care about is the removal of context from conversations on cultural appropriation, the erasing of the painful and violent history around suppression of Native spirituality, the ongoing struggles Native students and peoples have in practicing their beliefs, and the non-Native companies and non-Native individuals that are making money off of these histories and traditions without understanding the harm they’re enacting.” 

Grow Your Own Cleansing Herbs

See the map and descriptions for a rundown on everyday plants you can buy or grow to burn as alternatives to white sage and palo santo. If you're gardening your own greenery, choose plants that can thrive in your area. 

[krisiunicornio]

Explore the ethics of smudging and learn about alternative plants for your cleansing rituals.

Palo Santo

Since the time of the Incas, the fragrant palo santo tree has been harvested by shamans in Peru and Ecuador, who use its essential oils or smoke to cleanse away evil spirits before initiating ayahuasca rituals or to aid the dying on their journeys to the afterlife. The very act of foraging for the wood by the shaman is a critical part of this spiritual process. Only mature plants, around 50–70 years of age, develop the “heart”—a dense, deeply resined core—necessary for distillation into an essential oil. And palo santo trees produce the finest oils when they die naturally and sit on the forest floor for several years. 

Can we get the same spiritual effect from a questionably sourced box of sticks snagged on Amazon? You’d think so: The scent of this bewitching, spicy, citrusy “holy wood” (a translation from the Spanish) is everywhere these days—infused in candles; wafting from yoga studios; for sale at mystic shops, home stores, and Anthropologie. You can buy palo santo smudge sticks from Etsy and follow along on YouTube as a woman in yoga wear teaches viewers how to cleanse a room without burning the place down.

It’s true, smudging with palo santo has reached latest-craze status. A quick #palosanto search on New Year’s Day revealed that plenty of palo santo went up across the United States as people smudged their homes to banish bad spirits and welcome in a promising new year. “Burning Palo Santo and doing some cleaning! So excited to be in a new year! I’ve got good feelings about this year!” declared one Twitter user.

See also 6 Simple Ways to Clear Negative Energy

Is Palo Santo a Threatened Species?

But some wellness bloggers have suggested that palo santo is critically endangered. If it is, your smudging ritual may be contributing to the annihilation of a sacred tree. That’s some bad juju, so I wanted to know: Are the rumors true? 

First, let’s clear up some confusion. There are actually two trees called palo santo. One, known as Bulnesia sarmientoi, grows in Paraguay, Argentina, and Bolivia; this plant has indeed been placed on the Red List of Threatened Species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the leading organization dedicated to tracking global conservation of plants and animals. Due to overharvesting and habitat loss, the tree is near extinction. 

The other species, Bursera graveolens, is also called palo santo but grows closer to the equator and isn’t on the Red List—yet. This is the tree often used for spiritual purposes. But just because it’s not on the watch list doesn’t mean it isn’t threatened. With its long, shallow roots, this tree thrives in tropical dry forests from Mexico to Peru, in areas that undergo severe droughts for up to seven months at a time. Because these forests have such extreme dry seasons, they are particularly vulnerable to soil erosion if the mix of flora and fauna is compromised due to over-harvesting or clear-cutting. “Only 5 to 10 percent of dry tropical forests are still intact around the world,” Susan Leopold, PhD, the executive director of United Plant told the New York Times. As these ecosystems vanish, she warns, palo santo may go with them.

See also Addressing Scent and Sensitivity in Class

In Peru, for example, palo santo forests have been ravaged for the industrial market, which has forced the country’s government to categorize Bursera graveolens as being in “critical hazard.” While the cutting of live trees is prohibited here, it’s difficult to enforce. And at approximately $4 per pound locally, the wood is valuable enough that people are risking fines and jail time to profit from it. Peru’s National Forest and Wildlife Service (SERFOR) reported that a truck carrying nearly 10,000 pounds of illegal palo santo wood was intercepted on December 26, 2019, on its way to Lambayeque, a city known for its important archaeological remains. Just two months earlier, another 7,500 pounds had been intercepted, the wood hidden among bananas and lemons to disguise its distinctive scent.

For a more intimate look at the situation, I reached out to my friend, Lima-based designer Fiorella Yaksetig. Recently she traveled to northern Peru where palo santo grows and spoke with the farmers who cultivate it (possibly illegally). She confirmed that palo santo forests have been devastated. “It’s been planted and cut so many times that the lands where it lives can’t sustain it anymore and it just doesn’t flourish the same way it used to,” she told me. “The tree is becoming extinct."

While it’s unlikely that all of these harvested trees were bound for the wellness and ritualistic markets, demand combined with illegal and unsustainable practices may result in Peruvian palo santo forests disappearing forever. Given how high the stakes are, how much do you trust an online source to give you the straight scoop on how that tree thousands of miles away was harvested?

See also The Best Incense Bundles   

Sustainable Palo Santo

Recent international interest in palo santo as a spiritual aid is increasing the wood’s value, and in some cases, affecting how local communities regard the tree and its ecosystem. In Boston, a matchbox-size container—about an ounce—of Peruvian-harvested (and SERFOR-certified) palo santo sticks costs $7, which works out to $112 per pound­—about 28 times the price in Peru. Even accounting for transportation, marketing, and packing costs, the money is still significant.

Indeed, in Ecuador, people are beginning to use the tremendous profits from the wellness market to support sustainable harvesting practices where the tree thrives. Ecuadorian Hands, an Ecuador-based online retailer that sells “eco-friendly handcrafts,” posted a video to its website showing workers gathering palo santo for the spiritual trade. No chainsaws here. Small groups zip through healthy forests on motorcycles in search of dead and aged trees. It takes them an entire day to locate two fallen specimens. Once they do, they field-dress the trunks with machetes by hacking away at the termite-softened bark to reveal the tree’s heart, then pack the wood into woven bags, strap it to the backs of their bikes, and return to the manufacturing area. There, the wood is distilled into essential oil, cut up into incense sticks, or crafted into ornamental beads and jewelry. Ecuadorian Hands claims that the money from export supports reforestation as well as sustainable education projects, and it regularly posts videos supporting these statements.

Other suppliers, such as Sacred Wood Essence, have partnered with Ecuador’s Bolívar Tello Community Association (awarded the United Nations Development Programme’s Equator Prize, which recognizes community efforts to reduce poverty through conservation and sustainability) to extract palo santo oil from the tree’s seeds, rather than from the wood itself. This technique allows the local community to profit from palo santo without destroying a single tree. The money from the sale of essential oil pays for reforestation. Since 2010, according to the UN, tens of thousands of saplings have been planted in this fragile landscape to support the next generation of oil harvesting.

See also 5 Good Buys from Brands that Give Back

So in theory, if you are careful and do your research, your palo santo purchase may support positive development in certain regions.

Palo Santo and Cultural Appropriation

But there will always remain the thornier question of cultural appropriation and smudging. If you’re non-indigenous, should you even be using palo santo as a spiritual aid? 

For guidance, I turned to Brown University professor Adrienne Keene, a citizen of the Cherokee Nation and an expert on the topic. In a 2018 essay published on her Native Appropriations blog—a forum for discussing representations of Native peoples—she penned a tremendously moving argument against non-indigenous use of smudging sticks. The piece, triggered by a “Starter Witch Kit” she heard about (since pulled from the market), is framed within the shameful context of European-American suppression of Native traditions and languages.

For centuries, she writes, Natives were forced to practice their customs—such as burning white sage—in secret, until the passage of the American Indian Religious Freedom Act in 1978. That was only 42 years ago. Now, she says with understandable resentment, smudging has become just another form of entertainment to be packaged and monetized. “The sale of Native spirituality is easily a million-dollar industry—not even including all the culture vultures and white shamans who sell fake ceremony. Who is benefitting from the sale of these products? Not Native peoples.”

Watch Live Be Yoga Takes a Yoga Class Mixed with Native American Spiritualism

Keene argues that when choosing rituals, people should consider their own heritage. “Find out what your own ancestors may have burned for cleansing, and use that. Unless you’re Native, it probably wasn’t white sage. Sorry. I know you’re not used to hearing you can’t have something. But you can’t have this.”

Native peoples have fought long and hard for the right to say this. If Keene says don’t burn white sage, I won’t. 

That said, our individual histories often aren’t neatly packaged. The rush to decode our DNA has awakened many of us to our own complex heritages. As groups migrate to escape oppression, ecological threats, or genocide, they shed or rework their spiritual identities and adopt new ones. So if we’ve learned anything from sites like ancestry.com, it’s that culture and identity are much more fluid than we once thought. Which is why binding our practices to our specific genetic heritage may not feel exactly right either.

Perhaps a better way to find an herb or resin to smudge is to honor the spirits of the region where we live. What grows there? What’s in abundance? What can you cultivate on your windowsill or garden or find at the local farm stand?  

Peruvian history is in many ways different from US history, so I returned once again to my Peruvian friend for guidance. “Since palo santo is now grown for export,” Yaksetig wrote, “it’s lost much of its significance.” So there it is. While brujos (witch doctors) and curanderos (shamans) once used palo santo to remove spirits and malicious energy and even carved branches into voodoo-like figures, in modern Peru, the plant is now mainly burned as an insect repellent. Shamanic uses have decreased; it’s more profitable than spiritual.

See also Green Your Practice: 39 Eco-Friendly Yoga Essentials

But my inquiry did spark a discussion among Yaksetig and her family, one that she hadn’t yet had with her parents and grandparents. “After many long conversations, members of my family (all Peruvian) have agreed that using palo santo as a spiritual cleanser in any place other than Peru is a bit odd,” she told me. “Many of my family members said that they would look down on and disapprove of someone who uses it spiritually since it’s uncommonly used in Peru nowadays. It would be weird to practice it as a Peruvian tradition since it’s special and is rarely used in that way here.”

Respect for a culture’s traditions, even sharing in them, can foster deeper understanding between people. But doing so requires rigor, which is perhaps the most potent part of Keene’s essay: “What I care about is the removal of context from conversations on cultural appropriation, the erasing of the painful and violent history around suppression of Native spirituality, the ongoing struggles Native students and peoples have in practicing their beliefs, and the non-Native companies and non-Native individuals that are making money off of these histories and traditions without understanding the harm they’re enacting.” 

Grow Your Own Cleansing Herbs

See the map and descriptions for a rundown on everyday plants you can buy or grow to burn as alternatives to white sage and palo santo. If you're gardening your own greenery, choose plants that can thrive in your area. 

[omgpoojathings-blog]

Guaiacwood essential oil Market Will Reflect Significant Growth Prospects during 2018 – 2028

Essential oils are the oils that have been extracted from a plant source, and which contain aroma compounds from the plant from which it has been extracted. Guaiacwood essential oil is derived from Bulnesia Sarmientoi plant which is found growing wild in Latin American regions. The guaiacwood essential oil is obtained from the wood of the plant, which has a strong and sensual woody fragrance with rose undertones. Guaiacwood essential oil has been a perfumer’s favorite due to its economical price point and strong performance, ever since it was brought in commercial use from the 1890’s. Guaiacwood essential oil is used in perfume manufacturing for its excellent fixative properties and a deep fragrance profile. Guaiacwood essential oil has also been reported to have multiple health benefits and is used in aromatherapy as well.

Steadily expanding global fragrance market increasing the demand for Guaiacwood essential oil.

Guaiacwood essential oil is used extensively in high-quality perfumes as a base note or a heart note for its extremely soothing and woody aroma profile. The global fragrance industry is steadily increasing owing to an increased per capita income worldwide, especially in developed countries, where consumers are enabling themselves to spend more on luxury products such as perfumes and personal care products. Due to its economic nature with a strong panache to its aroma, Guaiacwood essential oil is used by high-end perfumers as well as local perfume manufacturers. This increase in global perfume market is leading to an increase in Guaiacwood essential oil demand globally. Guaiacwood essential oil is also used in cosmetics and personal care products for skin tightening properties along with the benefit or its aroma profile.

A strong inclination toward alternate therapies is anticipated to increase the demand for Guaiacwood essential oil.

Apart from its aromatic profile, Guaiacwood essential oil is also known for its therapeutic properties. The Guaiacwood essential oil is used in aromatherapy extensively to relieve anxiety and tension. Guaiacwood essential oil scent is also known to be an aphrodisiac fragrance. Owing to increasing awareness about the negative effects of allopathic medicine, a large proportion of consumers are inclining towards alternative therapies such as aromatherapy and phytotherapy. This has surged the Guaiacwood essential oil demand in the market.

Guaiacwood essential oil is also known to be an anti-inflammatory agent and anti-fluid retention agent. Guaiacwood essential oil is used for its therapeutic properties to alleviate muscle and joint inflammation caused by rheumatism. Guaiacwood essential oil’s anti-fluid retention properties are used in the treatment of health conditions such as gout where fluid retention is a major issue.

For Report Brochure:

https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=52905

Some of the key market players in Guaiacwood essential oil market are Health and beauty natural oils, Vigon International, HYSSES, Plantlife, Inc., Ahimsa Oils., The Lebermuth Company, Beach Stone Enterprises, Lotus Garden Botanicals, Hermitage Oils., Divine Essence etc.

Opportunities For Participants In The Guaiacwood Essential Oil Market:

The opportunities for market participants in Guaiacwood essential oil market are plenty owing to the synergetic effect of multiple market drivers. In developed countries, the increasing instances of consumers opting for alternate therapies has created positive reception for the growth of Guaiacwood essential oil demand. In developing regions, the increase in per capita income has led to consumers spending more on luxury goods and items such as high-end personal care products as well as fragrances, this is anticipated to surge the demand of Guaiacwood essential oil in the market. Increased use of natural therapies for the treatment of chronic ailments such as rheumatism and arthritis also sets better prospects for opportunities in the Guaiacwood essential oil market for market participants or entrants

[phamios]

FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE: MOLLY

New Post has been published on https://nanacorner.com/finding-right-balance-molly/

FINDING THE RIGHT BALANCE: MOLLY

Tula (which in ” sanskrit” means -Balance) is a skincare brand founded by Dr. Roshini Raj.  It is aptly named as it beautifully balances the benefits of science and nature in its products.

Dr. Raj is a board certified gastroenterologist and internist with a medical degree from New York University School of Medicine and an undergraduate degree from Harvard College. She is an Associate Professor of Medicine at NYU School of Medicine, and an Attending Physician at NYU Langone Medical Center.In 2014 she launched TULA , that allowed her to apply her medical knowledge to create a patented probiotic technology which has proved to be beneficial for the healthy skin.

Why do we need a probiotic in skincare ?

Probiotics are very well known to improve the health of our digestive system. In addition, they have also been documented to improve skin conditions such as  atopic eczema, atopic dermatitis, healing of burn and scars, skin-rejuvenating properties and also improving skin’s innate immunity to fight infections.  The probiotics have the capacity to optimise, maintain and restore the microflora of the skin . Topical applications of probiotic bacteria have a direct effect at the site of application by enhancing the skin natural defence barriers. Probiotics can produce antimicrobial peptides that benefit cutaneous immune responses and eliminate pathogens causing different skin conditions

Probiotics help by  –

reducing redness and inflammation

maintaining the pH balance

even out tone and texture

maintaining hydration

What is in Tula ?

The products in the Tula skincare range contains the proprietary blend of ingredients with all the above said benefits.

Probiotic actives and yogurt extract

Rice nutripeptides

Vitamins A, C and E 

Chicory root extract 

Antioxidants, including turmeric, white tea and blueberry extract 

Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids derived from wild flax oil 

TULA ILLUMINATING SERUM

It’s a light weight creamy serum which is easily absorbed and gives skin a healthy glow.

Packaging : It comes in a beautiful turquoise colored glass bottle with a pump dispenser.

Fragrance : none or at least I can’t make out.

Texture : Creamy

Ingredients :

Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Citrus Unshiu Peel Extract, Propylene Glycol Dipelargonate, Dimethicone, Tribehenin PEG-20 Esters, Aluminum Starch Octenylsuccinate, Lactose, Milk Protein, Bifida Ferment Lysate, Yogurt Extract, Hydrolyzed Rice Protein, Cichorium Intybus (Chicory) Root Extract, Vaccinium Angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit Extract, Vegetable Oil, Camelina Sativa Seed Oil, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Tocopherol, Ascorbic Acid, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Bulnesia Sarmientoi Wood Oil, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil, Juniperus Mexicana Oil, Cananga Odorata Flower Oil, Xanthan Gum, Butylene Glycol, Polysorbate 80, Polysorbate 20, Beeswax (Cera Alba), Tetrasodium EDTA, Disodium EDTA, Pentylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Decylene Glycol, 1.2-Hexanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Mica, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891)

My Experience

My skin type: Oily/ combination /sensitive / sometimes dehydrated which gets congested easily along with post acne hyperpigmentation over the jawline and some sunspots.

How I use it ?

I have been using this from last one month . It can be used both in day and night but I prefer to use it in the mornings because not only is this light weight, it also gives me a primer like effect and never feels heavy. My skin is combination oily and I find that it provides enough hydration on its own. When needed I use a facial oil on the top but on most days I can get away with just this serum and a sunscreen. It sits very well under a foundation too and gives me a natural dewy glow. It feels nourishing and soothing and never gave me a breakout rather I would say it calms down any inflammation. It contains milk protein , rice protein and blueberry and is mildly exfoliating and it refines the texture of the skin and I feel it softens the skin. I was initially worried about the lemon and orange oil in the list and considering that they are photosensitizing but they never posed any problem for me. They are way down in the list so I don’t consider it much of a concern but it is something to be kept in mind and diligent use of sunscreen is must which you should use anyway.

PROS-

lightweight , creamy and hydrating

mildly exfoliating and refines the texture

good antioxidant serum

acts as a primer and gives a glow

helps to even out the tone

works great under a facial oil , sunscreen or foundation

doesn’t clog pores

nice airless pump packaging

CONS-

contains photosensitizing – lemon and orange oil

Suitable for – All skin types, very dry skin may need additional moisturizer.

Will I repurchase ? Yes

Do I recommend it ? Yes , if you are looking for a good antioxidant serum and you want to feel good about what you are putting on your skin than this should be your choice.

Price : 78$ for Size: 1.6 oz / 50 ml.

TULA HYDRATING DAY AND NIGHT CREAM

It’s a beautiful hydrating cream which contains the signature Probiotic Technology that combines plant-derived Squalene and extracts from watermelon, lentil and Avocado Oil. This complex claims to provide intense hydration to soften, firm and smooth the skin and visibly reduces fine lines.

  Ingredients –

Water (Aqua), Butylene Glycol, Ethylhexyl Palmitate, Squalane (plant derived), Glycerin, Caprylic/Capric Triglycerides, Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil, Dimethicone, Glyceryl Stearate, PEG-100 Stearate, Lactose, Milk Protein, Bifida Ferment Lysate, Yogurt Extract, Hydrolyzed Rice Protein, Cichorium Intybus (Chicory) Root Extract, Vaccinium Angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit Extract, Vegetable Oil, Camelina Sativa Seed Oil, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Tocopherol, Ascorbic Acid, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Citrullus Vulgaris (Watermelon) Fruit Extract, Pyrus Malus (Apple) Fruit Extract, Lens Esculenta (Lentil) Fruit Extract, Bulnesia Sarmientoi Wood Oil, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil, Juniperus Mexicana Oil, Cananga Odorata Flower Oil, Sodium Lactate, Sodium PCA, Sodium Carbonate, Polysorbate 80, Polysorbate 20, Beeswax (CeraAlba), Carbomer, Sodium Hydroxide, Tetrasodium EDTA, Disodium EDTA, Pentylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, Hexylene Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Phenoxyethanol

Packaging : open tub packaging inside the glass jar, no points for packaging. I’m very lazy with using a spatula. I do make sure to clean my hands before dipping my hands in the jar but I prefer the tube , pump or air suction jars.

Texture: Nice whipped soft cream texture which spreads evenly and absorbs instantly.

Fragrance : None

My Experience

It has a dreamy whipped creamy formula which is more emollient than the serum but gets absorbed instantly and kept my skin hydrated throughout the day. It doesn’t have any spf so it can be used both day and night. You don’t need to buy two separate products for different time of the day. I love that since I don’t like spf in my moisturizers. I feel that it clogs my skin. I like to use a separate sunscreen. But I can understand that for some ,it means adding another layer of product.

With the weather getting warm I see that it can be little bit heavy for my combination skin. Now this happens when I layer it with Tula illuminating serum which as described above adds moisture on its own. It also feels heavy when used under a sunscreen which has some moisturization benefits like Evelom daily spf 50 but it works fine with my Elta Md clear suncreen which is great for oily skin.So I prefer to use it in the night and I see such a difference on the days I use it.

The onset of spring heralds the season of allergies for me and my skin around my nostrils is perpetually red. With the use of exfoliatig serum in the night it sometimes gets even worse. But I have seen with its usage , the redness is almost gone . It has no effect on decreasing my hormonal breakouts but it doesn’t irritate or flare up the existing ones rather I find it soothing. Whenever my skin is itchy or having its own mood tantrums it provides a soft comfort and calms down my skin. The similiar product which I have used in the past is the Kate Somerville goat cream ( old formulation) but Tula is far superior to it with better ingredients and added benefits. The Kate Somerville gets point on air suction packaging though but if I’ll have to choose I’ll pick this over that anytime.

Pros-

creamy , whipped formula provides good hydration

suitable for all skin types even the sensitive

helps with rosacea, evens out the tone and calms the redness associated with acne

doesn’t clog the pores not causes any breakouts

provides light exfoliation.

Cons-

can feel heavy if you have oily skin and loves layering products.

open jar packaging

no added spf

contains the same photosensitizing lemon and orange oil.

Will I repurchase ? Yes but not in summer . This works like a charm in cold weather so definitely in winters.

Do you need it ?

If your skin is in serious need of hydration and if you are a minimalist who believes in just CTM than this should be your moisturizer. It provides enough hydration without an additional layer of serum and do much more.

If your skin is irritated due to any cause than you will find this very soothing.

It’s a healthy alternative with added benefits in comparison to  Kate Somerville goat milk cream so those in favour of that or thinking of trying that need to try this .

Who doesn’t need it ?

If you have oily skin and believes in adding layers of products than you’ll find this heavy and you should try the Tula serum with the similiar benefits.

Price : 52$ for Size: 1.7 oz / 50 g.

You can try the trial duo of the tula illuminating serum ( 15ml) and the day cream (15ml)at the price of 38$ if you are hesitant to pay the full price.( see pic below)

  TULA EXFOLIATING TREATMENT MASK

 This dual phase skin mask provides both a chemical and physical exfoliation. Lactic Acid works to gently peel away dirt and debris while Bentonite Clay and plant-based microencapsulated beads (containing soybean oil, volcanic sand and Vitamin E ) gently slough off old, dead skin cells while also releasing a boost of extra hydration, which results in a polished, hydrated, glowing complexion.

The mask I have is the sample size so I don’t know the long term benefits but I got 2-3 uses out of that sample size and I can give you my impression of it.

Consistency : Clay based

Fragrance: I can see the addition of fragrance in the ingredients list but I can’t describe it correctly, fresh linen ?? Whatever it is , it’s not overpowering at all.

Effects? I apply a thin layer of it after cleansing my face and keep it for 10 -15 min. It dries like a clay mask. While washing it off it provides manual exfoliation though the beads don’t burst. Post wash my face looks clearer , pores tightened and skin feels so soft.

Price : 54$ for 50 ml

Will I repurchase the full size ? Yes

Do you need it ? If you want a quick detox mask to get that fresh and glowing look than this mask is quite promising .

I’m overall very impressed with all the products that I have used from Tula. Though I find inclusion of some ingredients unnecessary but they don’t impose any health risk. I believe that long term usage of these products will give you a healthy and balanced skin.

Ingredients – Exfoliating Treatment Mask: Water (Aqua), Glycerin, Titanium Dioxide (CI 77891), Bentonite, Hydrogenated Soybean Oil, Kaolin, Octyldodecyl Neopentanoate, Sorbitan Stearate, Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea) Butter, Olea Europaea (Olive) Fruit Oil, Carthamus Tinctorius (Safflower) Seed Oil, Camelina Sativa Seed Oil, Beeswax (Cera Alba), Vegetable Oil (Olus Oil), Ascorbic Acid, Lactic Acid, Lactose, Milk Protein, Bifida Ferment Lysate, Hydrolyzed Rice Bran Protein, Yogurt Extract, Camellia Sinensis Leaf Extract, Cichorium Intybus (Chicory) Root Extract, Curcuma Longa (Turmeric) Root Extract, Vaccinium Angustifolium (Blueberry) Fruit Extract, Microcrystalline Cellulose, Butylene Glycol, Volcanic Sand, Tocopherol, Tocopheryl Acetate, Retinyl Palmitate, Ascorbyl Palmitate, Xanthan Gum, Decylene Glycol, Caprylyl Glycol, Polysorbate 20, Polysorbate 80, Pentylene Glycol, Ethylhexylglycerin, Disodium EDTA, Tetrasodium EDTA, Bulnesia Sarmientoi Wood Oil, Cananga Odorata Flower Oil, Citrus Aurantium Dulcis (Orange) Oil, Citrus Limon (Lemon) Fruit Oil, Juniperus Mexicana Oil, Fragrance (Parfum), Sorbic Acid, 1,2-Hexanediol, Phenoxyethanol, Ultramarines (CI 77007), Chromium Hydroxide Green (CI 77289)

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