Minty Orange AHA & Walnut Body Polish

Description

Our body polish uses a combination of peppermint and blood orange essential oils, alpha-hydroxy acids (AHA) and walnut shell powder to gently exfoliate your skin and scalp. When you buff away dead skin, younger cells can shine at the surface.

My Story

I first tried AHA in a skin cream in 1998, when we returned to the U.S. from the beautiful island of Dominica (of the British Commonwealth, not the Dominican Republic). My initial impression? Ho, hum. However, I purchase the product at a dollar store. What should I have expected, especially with the few wrinkles I had back then.

My affinity to walnuts goes back to childhood. The elderly woman across the street from us had a beautiful walnut tree in her yard. Every fall she would pay my sister and me to shell her walnuts for her. We did it every year until we moved down the street. My guess is the children in the house next to us may have taken over. I have fond memories of tossing an occasional walnut to our dog. She loved them. (Now, they say walnuts are poison for dogs.)

Now, we know that walnuts are an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids—something our skin likes from both the inside and out.

This blend of walnut shell powder, AHA, aloe leaf juice and blood orange essential oil (to name just a few ingredients) is just what my skin seems to need. After years in the tropics, my forearms are especially prone to flakiness and winter blotchiness. This body polish has proven to be just the solution to restore a younger look to that area.

Body Polish with a Refreshing Scent

The claims that blood orange essential oil is sedative, tonic and anti-inflammatory or that peppermint essential oil is anti-inflammatory and insecticidal have yet to be proven. However, they smell great together, which is as good a reason to include them in this formula as any.

They may also work together to help reduce flaking on the scalp. Once a month I add a pre-shower ritual to my routine. First, I wet my hair. Then I take two tablespoons of Minty Orange AHA & Walnut Body Polish and add a little water to it. This makes it easier to work it into my scalp. Once I distribute the body polish evenly, I cover my head with a shower cap. I try to avoid rushing this step. I find that 30 minutes now, reaps weeks of benefits. The essential oils help dissolve the bonds between the dead skin (flakes) and the healthier skin beneath.

After 30 minutes, massage the scalp gently. This step clarifies the scalp further. Now, you’re ready to rinse the Minty Orange AHA & Walnut Body Polish away. Follow up with shampoo and conditioner.

Body Polish with AHA May Have Skin Renewing Properties

AHA is a fruit-derived acid that exfoliates, traps moisture and triggers collagen formation (according to the definition found at WebMD.com). When you include AHA in creams, peels and lotions, it may reduce the signs of sun-damage, which shows up in most of us as wrinkles and melasmas (darkened patches of skin). However, the use of AHA for wrinkle reduction and age spot fading produces inconsistent results in clinical studies. Thus, it’s likely the primary benefit you’ll experience from using our Blood Orange AHA Mint Walnut Body Polish is smoother skin. If you experience the other benefits, it’s a bonus.

To learn more about AHAs, visit this page at WebMD.com.

The ultimate purpose of this body polish (body scrub) is to slough away dead skin cells without drying out the skin. That’s important as our skin ages and thins. I find this scrub does wonders for my scalp, forearms, elbows and heels especially. I hope it does so as well for you.

Note: If you have rough, scaly patches on your skin that do not improve when using this scrub, I encourage you to consult with a dermatologist. Persistent flaking, waxy nodules and sores that never quite heal are signs of skin cancer. Please do not ignore them.