Our next give-away will be posted soon.

Exfoliation removes dry skin cells for a healthy, smooth look. Enter to win JASCO Organics' Renew Exfoliating Cleanser this month!

As cold weather sweeps the nation, your beauty regiment may need some winter-proof adjustments. Here are a few tips on protecting your skin from harsh conditions.

1. 1. The cold outdoor air and artificially heated indoor air leads to dry skin. Use a heavier moisturizer than you use during more temperate weather conditions.
2. 2. Carry a lip balm and apply often to avoid chapped lips.
3. While hot showers and baths are tempting during the cold months, they result in further dehydration of your skin. Try to avoid prolonged exposure to hot water and moisturize after every shower.
4. Exfoliate regularly to remove dead cells and keep your skin looking healthy. Wearing layers of clothes and little or no sun exposure can lead to clogged pores around the neck and shoulder area and décolleté as well, so you may want to exfoliate more than just your face. Using a dry brush on your entire body is a great way to exfoliate and get your blood circulating!
5. If you use mineral make up, make sure your skin is not dry when you apply, because it will make dry areas more visible. Moisturize beforehand or mix a little mineral powder with a dab of moisturizer and apply as a cream.
6. Your skin will tend to look rosy in the cold and pores close, so a little make-up goes a long way. Winter is a great time for cool colors, too, such as blue and silver, for example.
7. Hands are always exposed to the elements and need extra care. Moisturize heavily at night and wear cotton gloves. High quality oils, such as organic extra virgin olive or organic nut oils (macadamia or almond, for example) are excellent for this purpose. You can treat your feet this way as well!
8. Wear sunshades and use a quality, moisturizing eye serum to avoid lines around the eyes, which become enhanced through squinting in the bright sun light and dry skin around the eyes.
9. To sum it all up, exfoliate more than usual and moisturize, moisturize, moisturize!

JASCO Organics is giving away another bottle of Renew Exfoliating Cleanser to help keep your skin beautiful and healthy during the cold months. Just leave a comment below (related to this post or sharing some of your own winter beauty tips) and you are automatically entered for our drawing on February 1.

Thanks to everyone who entered. Our next Give-Away will be posted on January 2, 2010.

This holiday season, JASCO Organics is giving away a $50 Gift Certificate to our store to one lucky winner. Two additional contestants will receive our popular Vanilla Lips Organic Lip Balm.

In order to enter, just leave a comment below. Share holiday ideas, winter make-up suggestions, or give mention to a favorite charity.

Our drawing will take place on December 17, so your prize will arrive by the 24th. Keep it for yourself or give it to a loved one.

We’d like to thank all our patrons for their loyalty throughout the year and wish everyone a happy, healthy holiday season!

Look out for our upcoming combined November-December Give-Away, which will be drawn just in time for Christmas delivery…

Here’s some additional information on lavender:

A well-loved Mediterranean herb, lavender has been associated with cleanliness since Romans first added it to their bathwater. In fact, the name comes from the Latin lavandus, meaning to wash. Essential oil of lavender is now known to have many applications in aromatherapy.

 Today lavender remains a favorite for scenting clothing and closets, soaps, and even furniture polish. Lavender was traditionally inhaled to ease exhaustion, insomnia, irritability, and depression. In the Victorian era, women revived themselves from faints caused by tight corsets with lavender-filled swooning pillows.

 Two related plants called spike (L. latifolia) and lavandin (L. intermedia) are produced in greater quantities; but they are more camphorous and harsher in scent, with inferior healing properties, although they are useful for disinfecting. Less expensive to produce, they are commonly sold as lavender.

 Principal constituents of lavender: Linalol, linalyl acetate, geranyle, eucalyptol, pinene, limonene, cineole, phenol, coumarins, flavonoids

 Scent of lavender: The aroma is sweet, floral, and herbal with balsamic undertones.

 Therapeutic properties of lavender: Antiseptic, circulatory stimulant; relieves muscle spasms and cramping

 Uses for lavender: Lavender is among the safest and most widely used of all aromatherapy oils. It relieves muscle pain, migraines and other headaches, and inflammation. It is also one of the most antiseptic essential oils, treating many types of infection, including lung, sinus, vaginal, and especially candida infections.

 Lavender is suitable for all skin types. Cosmetically, it appears to be a cell regenerator. It prevents scarring and stretch marks and reputedly slows the development of wrinkles. It is used on burns, sun-damaged skin, wounds, rashes, and, of course, skin infections.

Lavender also treats indigestion, including colic, and boosts immunity. Of several fragrances tested by aromatherapy researchers, lavender was most effective at relaxing brain waves and reducing stress. It also reduced computer errors by almost one-fourth when used to scent the office.
(Adapted from http://health.howstuffworks.com/aromatherapy-lavender.htm)

Mineral make-up is an excellent choice for anyone who would like to avoid synthetic ingredients and reduce the chance of developing allergic reactions. The JASCO Organics make-up line contains no parabens or bismuth-oxychloride, the ingredient usually responsible for the itchiness resulting from the use of mineral foundations and bronzers.

We are giving away a blush, an eye-shadow and a lipstick, all in the color of your choice, a value of $45, just for leaving your comment below. Please be sure to add solutions@jascoorganics.com to your address book. If we notify you via email and you do not get back to us, the products will go to someone else.

Please visit http://shop.jascoorganics.com to explore our available make-up colors. Our foundations, blushes, powder and bronzer are on sale throughout the month of September and orders over $75 ship FREE!

Our facial contains equal parts of organic Icelandic Kelp, Moroccan Rhassoul Clay and organic blue-green algae. You receive the powder and deionized water (this is a highly purified form of water, most frequently used in scientific applications) and mix them just as you are ready to apply the facial. This makes for a powerful at-home treatment that would easily run upward of $60 per application at a spa and each bottle of Essence contains two applications! Some of the benefits of this product include:

Minerals released at application

Sea salts have been used for centuries in the treatment of various skin conditions, including dryness, eczema and psoriasis. Additionally, seal salts are known for their excellent detoxifying qualities. The combination you can win here contains Hawaiian Red Salt, Himalayan Pink Salt, Mediterranean Salt from the French Riviera, Dead Sea Salt and Icelandic Geothermal Brine Salt. The mineral content of these salts in combination is very diverse and will make for a beautiful skin-softening experience in hand and foot soaks or a relaxing bath.

The middle of the year is customer appreciation time at JASCO Organics. On top of our Summer Sale specials, we have decided to give away our exclusive, best-selling moisturizer. Learn more about this amazing product, then leave your comment and you’ll be automatically entered to win.

Silk is packed with nourishing vitamins and infused with silk peptides to give your skin the elusive glow. It contains pure organic honey to protect from the elements and organic Bulgarian Rose Oil to naturally reduce wrinkles and keep skin looking healthy, youthful and supple with the added benefit of uplifting aromatherapy. Studies have even shown that Rose Oil helps improve the state of mind of people suffering from depression after tragic life events. Unfortunately, it is extremely expensive, particularly the organic oil, which is why it is not widely used in natural therapies.

Here are Silk‘s ingredients, in case you are curious by now:

Aloe barbadensis (Organic Aloe Vera) Juice, Persea Americana (Avocado) Oil, Aspalathus linearis (Organic Rooibos Tea) Extract, Simmondsia chinensis (Organic Jojoba) Oil, Emulsifying Wax NF, Elaesis guineesis (Organic Palm/sustainably harvested) Oil, Kosher Vegetable Glycerin, Palm Stearic Acid, Tocopherol (Vitamin E), Ascorbyl Palmitate (Vitamin C Ester), Calcium d-Pantothenate (Pro-Vitamin B5), Allantoin (Ureidohydantoin- Comfrey), Xanthan Gum (Polysaccharide gum), Retinol Palmitate (Vitamin A), Salix nigra (Organic Black Willowbark) Extract, Rosmarinus officinalis (Rosemary) Oleoresin, Azadirachta indica (Neem) Oil), organic Honey, Hydrolyzed Silk, Rosa damascena (organic Rose) Oil.

No ingredient in this formulation is synthetic, including the organic preservative system. This moisturizer definitely has its fans in Hollywood circles…

Good luck!