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In her post she suggests that "If you are looking for new skincare, I highly recommend giving this brand a try. May just be your new ride-or-die-skincare line!"

She also shares why she can't be without her MMA products, explaining "I don’t know about y’all, but my skin does not like this time of year. Always so dry and dull – and nothing seems to break the cycle. I have tried almost every moisturizer or oil or scrub under the sun, but the best cure I’ve found is Medicine Mama’s Apothecary."

Thank you Alysse for the praise! We love hearing how our products help to simplify skincare and leave your skin silky smooth.

You can check out the full review Dry Skin Remedies With Medicine Mama's Apothecary here.

3 easy daily tips to keep your skin looking luscious, weather or not!

Weather changes often leave our skin dehydrated, especially our face. Facial skin can become chronically dry, chapped and irritated due to the fluctuations in humidity and temperature. Left untreated mild skin irritations and dead cell bacteria build up can turn into eczema, dermatitis and other hard to manage skin issues.

With a few simple daily adjustments to your skin care routine you can maintain super healthy skin in any weather condition no matter how extreme the climate or condition.

Medicine Mama recommends 3 quick and easy tips to keep your skin moisturized, nourished and protected no matter what the seasonal weather changes bring.

1. Keep your skin exfoliated: dehydrated skin cells build up in cooler weather this means new cell turnover is sluggish, decreasing circulation and clogging pores with impure dead cell matter. Exfoliation is a must for the entire body and especially the face during the long, cold, dry, fall and winter seasons. Exfoliation improves circulation, stimulates cell turnover, improves tone texture and leaves your skin with a youthful rosy glow. We recommend you exfoliate at least 2 to 3 times a week, if not every day with an all natural product like our Ultra Facial Scrub.

2. Keep your skin cleansed: Use a mild facial cleanser like our Zinc Facial Bar to remove bacteria, sweat, make-up and general environmental debris- dust, smog, sweat and bacteria. You may not be able to see the microscopic build up that lands on your face but it is there and it needs to be removed daily if not twice a day. Upon rising in the morning to revitalize and refresh after slumber and again before bed to cleanse away the days grime.
   
   
3. Last but in fact the most important: After cleansing and exfoliation the skins protective dermal oils will need replenishing. This is really important and can’t be emphasized enough. Oils, the right kind, are not only good for your skin they are essential barriers that protect the skin from bacteria and environmental free radicals and nourish the skin with vitally important EFA’s that keep our skin luscious, plump and glowing. We recommend using our olive oil based Ultra Beauty Balm to moisturize your face.

That’s it just 3 easy steps, cleanse, exfoliate, moisturize! No matter what the weather brings, your skin can maintain its’ naturally beautiful!

Check out our complete 3 step Skin Perfection Kit [Kit includes 1 jar of Ultra Beauty Balm, 1 Ultra Facial Scrub and 1 Zinc Facial Bar] On Sale Now while supplies last. 

Dry brushing is an ancient technique used to bring the skin to its optimum health and appearance. The skin is not only the largest organ in the body, it is also one of the body’s main forms of elimination. When the body has toxicity it is visible in the skin. Dry brushing, with a natural sisal bristle brush removes dead skin cells at the deepest level of the dermis, not only eliminating pore-clogging dead skin cells but stimulating circulation and lymphatic drainage. It has also been shown that dry skin brushing can eliminate cellulite and improve the appearance of fatty tissue beneath the skins surface. Brushing also preps the skin for the absorption of moisturizing oils, and serums, leaving your skin, smooth, clear and exfoliated. Brighter, healthier, smoother skin, is just a brushstroke away!

I've outlined a very simple 3 step process below:

1. Brush in a circular motion from head to toe covering the surface of your body twice.
   
   
2. Rinse your body with cold water. The colder the better this promotes healthy circulation and blood flow to the face giving your skin a brighter healthier complexion. Cold water also shrinks the pores!
    
3. Apply Sweet Bee Magic to your body and Ultra Beauty Balm to your face and neck. Both have a naturally high concentration of Alpha Hydroxy Acid and the miraculous powers of Propolis, a concentrated byproduct of honey found inside the hive. Propolis is incredibly potent and powerful in its medicinal healing properties. Not to mention Propolis also has super potent naturally occurring AHA which peels away layers of dead skin cells and removes signs of aging and sun damage. 

This is a magic 3 step ritual that visibly illuminates the skin. Turn on the lights underneath your skin and reveal your glow!

Here are 5 nightly beauty tricks that will have you feeling beautiful and pampered when you wake:

1. Soften
   For a Deeply moisturizing and softening overnight treatment, apply Sweet Bee Magic to the soles of your feet and put on socks before you sleep. The socks bind the moisture to your feet and you will wake up to soft, smooth soles. Now put on your cutest sandals and show off your soft beautiful beach feet, just in time for spring!
   
   

2. De-puff

   If you are consistently waking up with puffy, swollen eyes, try this easy fix: Add an extra pillow and sleep on your back. This allows the fluids around your eyes to drain and keeps the puffiness at bay. And of course, don’t forget to use a dollop of Ultra Beauty Balm on your face and décolletage and pay extra attention around the eyes to soften and smooth out fine lines.

3. Create waves

   To wake up with tousled, beachy looking waves in your hair is actually quite simple. Start by showering at night. Allow your hair to air dry until it’s barely damp, run some light styling crème through your hair with your fingers. Depending on your hair type and what kind of waves you prefer, you can sleep in braids or twist your hair into a bun. And Voila! Wake up with beautiful wavy locks, saving you so much time in the morning! And we know we are going to need every extra minute in the morning because of the time change!

4. Moisturize
   Cleanse your face with a gentle cleaner like our Zinc Facial Soap and apply a generous coat of your favorite organic all in one moisturizer like Sweet Bee Magic or Ultra Beauty Balm. This does the trick but if you really want to step your nightly moisturizing, a humidifier might just change your skin forever! Turn it on before you sleep, you can even put in some relaxing essential oils. It instills the air with moisture, which helps plump your skin and keep it hydrated!
   
   
5. Prevent wrinkles
   Sleeping on cotton pillowcases causes creases on your skin and creates wrinkles and lines. Instead, invest in a silk or satin pillowcase. It will lessen the pressure on your facial skin and help prevent hair breakage.

Make kissable lips your Valentine's Day accessory. More than the perfect dress or killer shoes, kissable lips are the most important accessory for your Valentine's date night.

Before you apply your perfect shade of soft pink or luscious red its important to soften, smooth and plump your lips. Your lips, unlike your skin, have no sweat glands, hair, or sebaceous glands to assist in locking in the moisture and our own natural body oils.

The lips are made up of only 3-5 cellular layers compared to the rest of our skin which can have up to 16 layers of skin.  Thus, your lips are so much more delicate and sensitive and require some attention.

Lip exfoliation is key to helping your lips shed off that old skin and bacteria along with preparing it for an important coat of Medicine Mama’s Sweet Bee Magic Wand to moisturize and restore them to their former glory. 

It’s best to dry-brush exfoliate in the morning before a shower. I like to use a tooth brush or a dry towel. Brushing gently on your dry skin will stimulate circulation and cell rejuvenation. After a few minutes of exfoliating in a circular motion, massage on a thick coat of Sweet Bee Magic. Your lips will be plump and pink from all of the circulation, free of dry dead skin, and extra soft!

Kissing can be quite exfoliating and plumping in itself, so get close to your Valentine and use your soft kissable lips!

Thanksgiving has become a time for food and family, for football and shopping. But first, it’s a time for showing gratitude. (It’s right there in the name.) One of the best ways to do this is giving to others. This time of year especially, there is no shortage of organizations in need of money, time and items such as food and clothing.

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Did you know that, according to a 2012 Chronicle of Philanthropy study, low- and middle-income Americans donate a larger percentage of their income to charity than the wealthiest Americans?

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Thanks to our wonderful and loyal customers, the Medicine Mama’s team is able to give back to customers, communities, non-profit organizations and even some for-profit entities we believe do good work. Our giving takes three forms:

1. Product/sample donations
2. Monetary donations
3. Donation of staff time in promoting worthy and relevant causes

Medicine Mama’s donates product to entities that can use it for healing, as well as to those who use it for fundraising as giveaways, raffle prizes or auction baskets. Since the founding day of our company, Medicine Mama’s has donated approximately 50,000 samples of product to support:

Our team members love to participate at events by giving away product while bringing awareness to the causes that are important to us: the skin health of humans and animals, and the health of the bees who are vital to the creation of the ingredients in our formulas. We have actively supported worthy causes that promote the sustainability and protection of the honey bee and bee research efforts around the globe with money, cross-marketing efforts and information dissemination.

If you would like to make a donation request, please contact us at info@sweetbeemagic.com. Medicine Mama's has a Director of Philanthropy on staff to field requests and inquiries and who seeks opportunities for the company to extend its mission to do good works when possible. 

If you would like to share in Medicine Mama’s joy of giving, please consider making a donation to one of these organizations near and dear to our hearts:

The largest Honey Bee Sanctuary in the Northern Hemisphere. The folks at Spikenard Farm are true Honey Bee Angels! We donate to them every quarter and have run fund drives with them through Whole Foods and NPR/KPFK public radio.

A nonprofit organization founded by Sarah Red-Laird which aims to conserve our bees by educating the public on their importance and through the Farming for Bees initiative, empowering and recognizing land managers who provide habitat for our bees.

We give our creams to animal shelters in L.A., for pets that have been abused, tortured, abandoned (tossed out of cars).

Thank you for sharing in the spirit of the season with us.

Be Natural. Be Healthy. Be Beautiful.

Donna Steinmann, Founder of Medicine Mama’s Apothecary

With Halloween spirited away, Thanksgiving can’t be far behind. And then it is a mere hop, skip and a jump to the full-on holiday season. When most of the natural world is winding down for a long winter’s nap, we humans are gearing up for a marathon of entertaining, party going, recitals, gift buying, decorating, cooking and baking, cleaning and traveling…

All of this activity can be great fun, but it can also be stressful and exhausting. As always, the Medicine Mama’s way is to look to nature for answers. So, we ask, what would the bees do?

Some bee species hibernate in winter, but honey bees do not. They do, however, stop working, slow down and connect in a fascinating manner.

The honey bee’s winter survival depends on their ability to stay warm. Just like we move indoors and rely on canned food this time of year, once the worker bees can no longer forage, they congregate in their colony and rely on honey stores for energy until spring. They huddle together forming a cluster around the queen and her brood. At first, they feed judiciously on the honey to keep warm. Then, they shiver to raise their body temperatures and act as insulation. As the ambient temperature rises and falls, the bees adjust by separating and moving closer together to create air flow as needed. When the bees on the outside get cold, they move to the center and other bees take a turn on the outside of the cluster.

What can we learn from this? Here is a little bee wisdom to carry you through the winter.

1. Simplify. Winter is a time to slow down and focus on the essentials. Overcommitting leaves us depleted and vulnerable to illness. It is okay to say no to at least some of the many requests for your time and energy.

2. Stay nourished. Go easy on the treats. Eat the foods that keep you healthy and strong. (That way, when you do indulge a bit, you have all the satisfaction and none of the guilt.)
   
   
3. Stick together. Unlike honey bees, we tend to hunker down in our own spaces. This time of year, connect with your neighbors, especially those who are older or alone. We really are all in this together.
   
   
4. Spoil yourself. This is the season of giving, and it is okay to give to yourself, too. Take the time to do something you enjoy, just for you. Need a suggestion… how about a relaxing bath with these simple DIY bath balls.

Here at The Apothecary, we’re making a few changes to be more like the bees. We are simplifying so we can stick to the basics of organic and effective skincare.

In this simplification, we are shifting our “Free Shipping” policy effective immediately.

Shipping is still free on orders that total $39 and higher; orders under $39 will be charged a flat rate of $6.50 for shipping and handling.

Also, through the end of the year all orders $39 and more will automatically receive a Free Sweet Bee Magic Wand (MSRP: $12.00).

Learn more about our new Free Shipping Policy.

As your partner in naturally beautiful skin, we are committed to giving you more reasons to buy direct (and meet that $39 threshold) with deep discounts and more generous offers and gifts as our thank you.

Which brings us to our last bit of bee wisdom…to kick back and relax. Later this month, we are going to help simplify ALL of your holiday gift-giving!

Stay tuned for our Black-Friday/Cyber-Monday sale that will go easy on your wallet AND delight and surprise everyone on your list.

No hype, just uncompromising pure skin care that heals and reveals beautiful healthy skin, regardless of their sensitivities, age, or complications.

The holidays can be stressful; sharing the spirit of the season should be easy.

Be Natural. Be Healthy. Be Beautiful.

~Donna

“To be the queen of a household is a powerful thing.” – Jill Scott

Our homes are our safe spaces – where we connect with family, raise our kids, and celebrate milestones big and small. It’s where we step back from the world and get to be our stripped-down selves. Home is our sanctuary and our base of operations. Because our homes are so important, we take steps to protect them in order to keep the elements out, and also to keep ourselves safe and healthy.

It turns out that honey bees do something similar, only instead of caulk and weather stripping, they use an ingenious natural substance: propolis.

Nature’s most powerful medicine
Propolis starts as a resin that comes from poplar and cone-bearing trees. Honey bees are natural experts at identifying and harvesting the purist, most biologically active resin and sap. Then they add their own bee magic to create the propolis they use to seal the hive and protect it from fungi, bacteria, and viruses.

The amazing pure organic healing properties of propolis make it the perfect ingredient from which to build our product line. We start with nature’s most powerful medicine and unlock its full potential through our unique proprietary bio fusion process ––meticulously calculated timing and temperature over a 28-day period. The result is Melexylem^TM, our honey-and-propolis powerhouse that provides extremely heightened prebiotic, anti-oxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. That is why it is so effective on a multitude of skin issues, from fine lines and wrinkles, to acne and eczema, to dry skin and rashes. 

But, wait! There’s more!
All of the ingredients in Medicine Mama’s products are carefully chosen and combined for their skin-loving properties. Here is the buzz on what else you’ll find in our jars.

Organic Honey (the other half of the Melexylem^TM power couple)
In addition to being yummy, honey has many attributes for health and wellness. (How often does that happen? Sorry chocolate cake and potato chips!)

Since ancient times, honey has been held in high esteem for a variety of ailments. Now we know why. Honey’s chemical structure makes it naturally antiseptic and antimicrobial. Scientists have only begun to unlock its healing mysteries, but we do know that honey contains the amino acids and vitamins A, C, and E that are essential for healthy, resilient and hydrated skin.

Our honey is extremely bioactive and ideally suited for use in our topical creams. Our process maximizes its ability to:

• Fight free radicals which can cause cancer and premature aging
• Heal burns
• Treat inflammation

Medicine Mama is proud to use only Fair Trade Honey from the Brazilian rain forests.

Royal Jelly
Royal Jelly is created by worker bees and used to nourish young bee larvae, especially the future queens. Turns out the same elements needed to develop strong bee royalty are also essential for repairing and maintaining healthy skin: vitamins A, C, D, E; a complex of B vitamins (B1, B2, B3, B6, and B12); biotin; niacin; folic acid; pantothenic acid and inositol. In addition, Royal Jelly contains a natural antibiotic called 10-Hydroxy-2-decenoic acid, which has roughly a quarter of the potency of penicillin, as well as a surprising amount of gelatin – a key prerequisite for our skin to produce collagen and safely minimize wrinkles.

Bee Pollen
It’s no wonder Bee Pollen is considered nature’s multi-vitamin. Created to nourish bees in the hive, it contains many essential nutrients for human health as well, including all the essential amino acids, 12 vitamins, 28 minerals, 11 enzymes and coenzymes, 14 beneficial fatty acids, 11 carbohydrates, and a high concentration of nucleic acids RNA and DNA. It is a powerful antioxidant and, when used topically, stimulates cell renewal.

Organic Cera Alba Beeswax
Beeswax is the primary substance that makes up the bee’s honeycomb. It is contains all the power and goodness of honey in a condensed form. Beeswax is amazing in skin creams because while it forms a protective coating that locks in moisture and protects skin from damaging environmental factors, it does not clog pores. This barrier also assists with minimizing sun damage. In addition, beeswax’s anti-inflammatory, anti-allergenic and germicidal properties help keep skin healthy and strong.

Extra Virgin Olea Europaea (Olive Oil)
Getting all that bee goodness to work so well for people requires a perfect delivery system. Olive oil takes on that role beautifully. Because it most closely resembles human sebum, it is easily absorbed through the skin, carrying all the nutrients and benefits of our other ingredients with it.

In addition, olive oil is an effective, nutrient-rich moisturizer in its own right. It penetrates deep into the skin and creates a porous layer of protection. It contains the compound linoleic acid, which helps prevent water from evaporating which helps skin naturally retain its moisture. Unlike petroleum products, however, olive oil allows skin to breathe and does not clog pores. It’s high vitamin E and antioxidant content assists in repairing cells and preventing cell damage from free radicals.

Sea buckthorn oil
Sea buckthorn oil, a natural cleanser and exfoliator, comes from a shrub. It can also help heal burns, cuts, wounds, sunburn, rashes, and other types of skin damage. Rich in vitamins E, A, and C, when used daily, it can help slow the signs of aging.

And it’s edible!
That’s right. Our products are so pure and natural you could literally eat them with a spoon! We wouldn’t have it any other way. Every Medicine Mama container is packed with nutrient dense ingredients (unlike others that are 99% water and only 1% active ingredients). What you won’t find are fillers, binders, irritants, or anything artificial. And in case you’re wondering, we never test our products on animals.

As winter heads our way and we spend more time in our homes and out in harsh temperatures and wind, the essential healing powers of all these ingredients become even more necessary. Thankfully, you don’t have to work as hard as the honey bees to create them! We make it easy to have them on hand, at home and on the go.

We look forward to having you in our community!

Around here, when it comes to amazing natural skin care, we believe Mother Nature knows best. Nothing happens in nature by accident; everything has a purpose. Just look at how diligently Nature prepares in fall for the upcoming winter by exfoliating and nourishing herself.

The falling leaves create protective, moisture-retaining insulation for the earth. This nurtures the newly dropped seeds and prepares the trees and plants for winter hibernation. Eliminating the old growth and drawing the vital resins inward creates the perfect environment for a revitalizing winter sleep.  

What can we learn from this? We can mirror nature’s elegant, mysterious process and keep our skin protected, exfoliated, nourished, problem-free and eternally revitalized during the cold, dry months ahead. Here are some ideas to keep in mind before the harsh, cold outdoor air and the dry, heated indoor air take a toll on your skin.

Our 7 Favorite Tricks and Tips for Beautiful Skin - Weather or not! 

1. Stay hydrated on the inside. Drink lots of water and eat fruits and vegetables with high water content.
   
   
2. Stay hydrated on the outside. While drinking water is essential for life and health, skin needs oil to heal and to maintain that healthy glow. (Water-based lotions don’t do either.) Be sure to use moisturizers made from natural oils.
   
   
3. Exfoliate. We recommend scrubs or dry brushing at least twice a week. Don’t forget to re-apply an oil-based moisturizer.
   
   
4. Limit long, hot showers. Yes, WE LOVE THEM in the cold weather, but BEWARE! Hot water diminishes the much-needed dermal oil layer and causes small capillaries at the surface to burst – (those tiny red lines that don’t go away!)
   
   
5. Pay special attention to your lips and face… and any exposed body parts when enjoying the GREAT outdoors. This will greatly diminish the risk of chapped, dry skin. We’re going to have a wonderful new kit for this!
   
   
6. Create a Spa Experience at Home. Soak a big, new kitchen sponge in water mixed with a blend of essential oils (lavender, eucalyptus and lemongrass are my favorites for winter). Lay the essential oil sponge over your forced-air heating vent. Voila! Moisturizing diffuser!
   This simple trick instantly provides three fabulous benefits for HOME, BODY and MIND. First, it purifies the stale re-circulated forced air. Second, it adds moisture to the room. And third, it brings hints of spring as well as clean, uplifting, cheerful energy to the soul.

7. Hibernate. Well, sort of. Nature begins to slow down this time of year, but the rest of us keep plugging along. Indulging in a winter nap is the perfect way to relax and rejuvenate, Mother Nature-style.

Medicine Mama’s Apothecary takes its inspiration from Nature. My driving mission, and that of our company, is finding the best solutions for obtaining and maintaining beautiful skin by looking to Nature. After all, Mother does know best!

Thank you to everyone that participated in our survey. You've been heard ...

Be Natural. Be Healthy. Be Beautiful.
~Donna

The global skin care market is projected to be worth $121 billion in 2016*. That’s a lot of options!  And the way women approach their skin care varies almost as much as the product choices.  So, which skin care personality are you?

Latest & Greatest

Tried & True

Wash & Go

Pure & Natural

Dazed & Confused

 
The truth is, most women today are super busy and taking care of ourselves often falls to the bottom of the to-do list (if it makes the list at all).  So whether you are a “Latest & Greatest” or a “Wash & Go” chances are what you’re really after is products that are safe and effective and offer a great value.

The American Society for Dermatologic Surgery offers these recommendations when choosing over-the-counter skin care products:

• Know your skin type. Whether skin is dry, oily or sensitive could greatly impact how the product interacts with your skin.
• Create a daily skin care routine and give it time.  It may be six to eight weeks before seeing improvements with over-the-counter remedies.
• Do research. Read the labels to find the active ingredients. Look up any that are unfamiliar to find out how they work.
• Our motto is; if you can't put it in your body you probably shouldn't be putting it on your body!
• Don’t be fooled by hype. Reputable product lines are the best bet and likely to be most effective and safe.
  Do yourself a favor, check the label.

We’d like to know about YOUR skin personality. Please take a quick survey and be entered to win $200 in FREE product.

Medicine Mama’s Apothecary makes finding the right skin care products so easy.  Our products take on multiple issues and uses. No hype, just uncompromising pure skin care that heals and reveals beautiful healthy skin, regardless of sensitivities, age, or complications.  Certified organic.  Dermatologist tested and approved. 

Cruelty free for both animals AND humans.

Life can be hard, beautiful skin should be easy. We guarantee it.

 

*source: www.statista.com

We recently received this letter from a customer in Colorado who has reinvigorated her love of backpacking. It reminded us that as busy women, who constantly take care of others, it is vitally important that we support ourselves in doing the things that fill OUR cup.

“Hiking is a bit like life. The journey only requires you to put one foot in front of the other… again and again and again. And if you allow yourself the opportunity to be present throughout the entirety of the trek, you will witness beauty every step of the way, not just at the summit.” –Unknown

We are honored to be in your backpack for the journey!