Texas Beauty Labs

Avocado Oil

Teri's Thoughts

Mmmm.  I love avocados.  They make every sandwich, taco, or dip better.  They can also make every lotion, hair conditioner and scrub better too!

Avocado trees originated in southern Mexico and can be traced back as far as 7000 B.C.  They moved into California in the 1890s and were a huge crop for growers by the 1930s.  The famous “hass” avocado was patented in the 1930s, but became the most popular in the 1970s.  Now California produces 90% of the nation’s avocados.

There are amazing “green” properties to growing avocados.  The trees use the least amount of pesticides of all fruits and two mature trees can provide enough oxygen for a family of four.  There are other great facts about the fruit on www.avocado.org.

Avocado Oil is known for its vitamin-rich properties.  It is high in vitamins A, B1, B2, D, and E and in lecithin, beta carotene, and potassium.  It works exceptionally well for sun damaged skin, and helps to reduce age spots.  It is very light oil, making it ideal for use in hair care products.

We can work Avocado Oil into almost any creation you can think of – I encourage everyone to substitute some avocado oil in their favorite lotion or cream.

Going Green

Gretchen's Thoughts

It seems like everything these days is about “going green,” and here at Texas Beauty Labs, we too realize the importance of being environmentally responsible. Like any beauty product manufacturer, we have certain byproducts of production – used cardboard boxes, empty plastic jugs and glass bottles, used computer paper – all of which we take the time to package up and take to our local recycling center. 

There’s this great website called “Earth 911” that we used to find the best recycling center for our assortment of recyclables. You can search by zip code (and what you want to recycle, if you like) and it will find the center closest to you and tell you exactly what kinds of recyclables they accept. 

David Orr, environmental educator and writer, briefly states why we should all take the time to recycle: “When we heal the earth, we heal ourselves.”

Floral Arrangements - Customized for You!

Teri's Thoughts

When it comes to amazing floral design with a green mentality, our friends at Installation Floral are raising the bar.  They run a new floral shop in the Bishop Arts District in Dallas, Texas.  Party and wedding arrangements are customized for clients, and they are willing to work with you to find the arrangement that fits with your event.  They will create an arrangement for you using anything that inspires you, which is so cool!  Check out the website, the pictures are awesome!

The Plastic Bag - Friend or Foe?

Mary's Thoughts

I was reading People Magazine (guilty pleasure) while relaxing in the bathtub last night (another guilty pleasure) and there was an article on the plastic grocery bag ban in San Francisco. This comes on the heels of Whole Foods discontinuing the use of plastic bags at all of their stores. 

I know that sometimes I'm a little late to catch onto trends, but I wondered, "Why hate the plastic grocery bag?" They carry your groceries to the car. They can double as lunch sacks. You can use them on dog duty during your evening run. They are great for small trash cans. I know my dad can think of at least 50 more great uses for these modern-day bags.

So I did a little research. Did you know that 12 million barrels of oil are used for American plastic bags annually? And also that 96% of plastic bags end up in landfills and, according to Oprah (and who is to argue with her), it can take decades for them to degrade. Also, annually over 100,000 birds and marine life animals are choked to death by the bags - they think they are food.

So, join Texas Beauty Labs and the Berry household in banning plastic grocery bags from our lives. They are one guilty pleasure that we can live without. 

PS.  Want something cute to help you quit your dirty habit? Try Neela bags. As they say, "Being green never looked so good."