Many years ago, a doctor friend warned me about the havoc chemicals can cause to one’s system. He cited himself as an example. At 35 years of age, he had aching bones and joints. He thought he had arthritis but with no arthritis running in his family genes and being still young, he thought of other possibilities. He analyzed what new things he was putting on his body. He had a new cologne and was spraying himself quite liberally with it. He was also slathering on some heavily scented body lotion. He stopped using both products and sure enough, his aching bones and joints disappeared.
We have to be very careful about the products we put on our bodies. We are what we put inside and outside our bodies. The recent melamine scare should teach us a good lesson.
The solution is for all of us to use organic products. In the last 10 years, there has been an increasing trend for all things organic. This came out of the clamor from environmentalists in first-world countries to lessen the human impact on the environment by avoiding the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides that pollute the land. The fruits and vegetables that are in stores are contaminated with toxic chemicals that we all ingest when we eat them or apply them to our skin.
Sadly, in the mainstream market, people’s understanding of “organic” has been superficial. It is used loosely to refer to products with ingredients or essences from nature. But throwing some plant extracts into a regular shampoo does not make it organic and will not make much difference to your hair because it is still full of chemicals. In its purest sense, organic products should have all its ingredients sourced from nature 100-percent, planted and processed chemical-free and pesticide-free. This makes the products very expensive as very few farmers venture into planting without chemicals or insecticides.
With the high cost of organic products (usually imported from Australia, the USA, and Europe), people would rather use cheaper products even if they are loaded with chemicals. Let’s admit that we are all budget-conscious.
But today, dynamic couple Dylan Wilk (the Englishman who gave up his great lifestyle in London by giving his resources and himself to Gawad Kalinga) and his wife, Anna Meloto Wilk, are making organic products accessible to everyone. To help save our environment and give livelihood to farmers, Dylan and Anna encouraged Gawad Kalinga farmers to go organic. GK farms have fruits and vegetables that are chemical- and insecticide-free.
The Wilks’ passion for the environment blossomed with their first baby girl, Ariel, in 2005.
After reading that it takes 500 years for disposable diapers to biodegrade and that many of the chemicals in them are toxic, they decided to use cloth diapers. Anna struggled with the decision because they were living in the USA at the time and washing those diapers was more difficult than just throwing away disposable ones. But she was convinced that it was a small price to pay for their kids to grow up in a less toxic environment. Three years and two kids later, they are still using cloth diapers for their second baby, Chloe.
With this conviction of a cleaner environment came the idea of creating organic products and making them accessible and affordable to everybody.
Anna and her sister Camille Meloto, daughters of GK founder Tony Meloto, started to experiment with products that all of us use on a daily basis such as shampoo, conditioner, body and facial wash, body lotion, perfume, hair masks, lip balm, hand and foot moisturizers, etc.
Last Nov. 26, they launched Human Heart Nature with 100-percent organic products at very affordable prices. For example, their Aloe Vera and Pearl Powder Strengthening Organic Shampoo costs only P99.75. for 220 ml. The organic shampoo I saw in a store at Glorietta costs P780. What a big difference in price for the budget-conscious! Human Heart Nature’s 100-percent facial washes cost P59.75 for a 50 ml. tube.
Human Heart Nature has lip balms in peppermint, watermelon and coconut flavors for only P49.75. Royal Jelly Day Lotion with Calendula Extracts costs P89.75, hair conditioners, P86.75 for 200 ml., and a lot of other products for the hands, feet, face, and body. Because I abuse my hair with hair dye, blow dry, and use mousse, gels, and hairspray, I bought all the organic hair products, including the Mango Butter and Natural Vitamin E Intense Moisture Hair Mask with Peppermint. After just one use, I noticed a lot of improvement in my hair. If you have dry hands and feet, the Bee Propolis and Carrot Hand and Foot Salve are recommendable.
Human Nature also has products for children and babies. They have 100-percent-organic shampoos and baby washes, all chemical-free.
At last, chemical-free products for the entire family at very reasonable prices!
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Go to their website and see their products at www.humanheartnature.com or call 408-5608, 494-3580; order by text 2963024943580. Pay by Visa/Mastercard or COD. No delivery charges for orders P500 and above.