What do the Studio and the Takoma Park Co-op have in common? They don’t share a style or a coast, but they do share an overarching, all-consuming drive to carry the best quality products they can find. As it happens, they also began carrying Vivesana yesterday afternoon. We’re thrilled to be working with both of them, and love what the variety of approach says about Vivesana – stores from across the spectrum meet when it comes to strong, safe, stylish and effective sun care. Hurray!

The lovely people at Ecofabulous just made us blush.  Read what they had to say about the Vivesana approach to sun care.  We think they’re doing great work, too!

And read on, to see what scores of other reviewers have had to say…

Vivesana announces its newest retail partner, the Hippocrates Health Institute of West Palm Beach.

Standing apart as one of the most prominent wellness centers in the country, the Institute embodies many of ideals Vivesana strives to meet. Live Healthy!

We encourage all to give what they can to help. For our part, Vivesana will donate at least 50% of online sales to Haiti relief via Doctors without Borders from January 14-20.

Basking in Sunny Praise: Where to Begin?

We’re blushing.  We’ve received scores – possibly hundreds – of reviews those with the most discerning eyes of all – the bloggers.

Here are just a few notable examples of the blogs and websites that have given their thoughts.

We’ll keep posting the reviews as we find ‘em.  Click on any of the links below to see what the experts have to say…

Ideal Bite, The Style Page, Livestrong, Beauty News NYC, The Greenists, Babble, Baby Gadget, Mamaista, Cool Mom Picks, Treehugger, Quiskaeya, Mogul Baby, Nonchalant Mom, Totsnob, Smorgasbite, Beauty Snob, Re-Nest, DKmommyspot, Green Blog, Sustainability Digest, This Full House, Green Goddess Dressing, FindBuzz.com

You are what you eat. And what you put on your skin. Many skin care products are designed to permeate the deeper layers of the skin, meaning they can have not just topical effect, but also systemic impact. This is especially worrisome for infants and fetuses.

The EPA recently found that babies are 10 times more vulnerable to carcinogens, and up to 65 times more vulnerable to some synthetics. Why? In 1993, the National Academy of Sciences listed the main reasons children are more vulnerable to synthetics than adults:

(1) more exposure pound for pound (literally, more surface area to volume)
(2) immature, porous blood-brain barrier allows greater chemical exposure to the developing brain
(3) lower levels of chemical binding proteins (chelating agents) – again meaning chemicals have a clearer path to the brain
(4) organs in the development stage
(5) processing, filtering and disposal systems (like livers and kidneys) that are less developed. Babies, therefore, can’t flush their systems and detoxify as well as adults
(6) longer future life span.

Newer research also points to the fact that babies and children have far thinner, more sensitive skin, and that they are more prone to chemical absorption.

Unfortunately, not only is impact to infants and fetuses more likely, it can also be more permanent. There is evidence that exposure to various synthetics (like various endocrine disrupters commonly found in skin care) and even some naturals (like lavender and tea tree oil) can have permanent systemic impact. The Environmental Working Group has found that 82% of children are exposed to neurotoxins every week and 68% are exposed to endocrine disrupters. Meanwhile, rates of breast cancer are increasing and the age of menstruation and breast growth is decreasing. Even common packaging poses risks to babies.

What you put on your skin, and your child’s skin, might have lasting effects. Don’t be scared, just be aware. Don’t rely on marketing campaigns – read ingredient labels top to bottom. There are good guys out there, too…

Babies are what you eat…and what you put on your skin. Whether in utero or nursing, infants develop with the fuel you provide. Where would they be without all those antibodies to protect them, and all those proteins and nutrients to help build muscles, strong bones, and healthy systems. Mothers pass 75 gallons of blood through the placenta by the 4th month of pregnancy. By the 8th month, it’s more like 300 gallons a day.

Unfortunately, it’s not just antibodies and proteins. It was once thought that the placenta shielded the baby from industrial chemicals and pollutants. Unfortunately, recent studies have shown that belief was wrong. A recent study by the Environmental Working Group found 287 industrial synthetics in umbilical cord blood, and an average of over 200 such chemicals in babies. Of the 287 chemicals, 180 are carcinogenic, 217 are toxic to the brain, and 208 cause birth defects or abnormal development.

While people pay a lot of attention to what they eat and drink, there is a lot less attention paid to what goes on their skin. Many synthetics in skin care products have been shown to permeate the skin and enter the blood stream. Certain technologies like nanotechnology amplify the possibility of systemic exposure. Certain realities, like bio-accumulation, make it very hard to remove risk altogether.

Babies are particularly vulnerable to systemic reaction and long term impact for a range of reasons. They’re also resilient little buggers, but it makes sense to do what you can to stay away from synthetics and pesticides in what you eat and put on your body. Going all-natural and all-organic is one place to start…

Babies have remarkably beautiful, smooth, soft skin. It’s also far more delicate than adult skin.

Why? For one, neonatal skin is one-fifth the thickness of adult skin. The thickness of skin grows proportionally with age, reaching maximum thickness at around age 20. The thin barrier makes it harder for babies to retain moisture in their skin, and to keep bad stuff out.

Not only is it thinner, babies’ skin architecture is also less tightly packed, making the barrier function even less effective. Plus, sebum production stops very early and does not re-start until puberty. Sebum has important anti-microbial properties…without it, the skin’s ability to handle foreign agents, irritating substances, and toxins is compromised. All of this helps explain why babies are prone to dry skin, rashes, sensitivity, permeability and infection.

Babies can react to all sorts of mildly irritating topically applied ingredients that would never bother an adult, and are vulnerable to external contaminants and synthetics in many personal care products. Sana is designed to support the skin’s natural barrier naturally. That means providing heavily nourishing products containing light lipids and waxes to help keep moisture in and bad stuff out.

The goal is to help the situation, not worsen it – so Sana also avoids things found in many personal care products, including common irritants or synthetics, known as endocrine disrupters, toxins or carcinogens.