I’m obsessed!  You have to go buy some Inner-Eco at Whole Foods as soon as you have the chance!  It’s not expensive and it has endless health benefits.  It’s a huge boost to our immune system, which many say have been damaged by all of the antibiotics we have been prescribed.  It gives you energy and makes you feel great and balanced…it even controls the sugar cravings!  With regard to the skin, it can be considered an extra weapon in your anti-acne arsenal.  Team it with the Wonderbar, and you can’t lose!

I really can’t say enough about this stuff…try it for yourself, give it to your kids and pets, and you won’t be sorry!  Read more about it here!

This is the first “product swap” that I’ve agreed to, and boy, am I glad I did!  I live in Houston, Texas, where the norm is hot and humid.  If it’s drizzly outside and you have someplace to go, you can forget feeling cute.  You can, however, count on your hair to do whatever it is you don’t want it to do…full becomes stringy, straight becomes frizzy, bouncy goes flat.  Charming.  Anyway, after living here your whole life you just sort of accept that unless you have a standing appointment at a salon (not the norm for anyone I know), then it’s just another bad hair day.

Two weeks ago, I got an email from the PR rep for Alterna Hair Care in Beverly Hills, who had just gotten back from an editor day in New York (just like the one I had in January- really fun).  She went on to say that her favorite question to ask the beauty editors is, “What is your favorite new product?”  She posed the question to one of the editors from a well-known weekly, and the answer she got (very thankfully) was “the Wonderbar”.    The editor went on and on and raved so much that Lauren from Alterna wanted to try it immediately!  She sent the email suggesting a product swap and I have to admit, I was hesitant at first.  Caviar Anti-Aging Shampoo?  Whatever….shampoo is shampoo.  I’m not that into products, really.  I don’t really like spending money on creams and serums and lotions and potions…OR, shampoos, conditioners, hair spritzers and sprays.  I DON”T!  I’d much rather spend money on some great new workout pants.

Well, thankfully I accepted the product swap and thankfully I was wrong again (I know, that’s happening a lot lately, but it’s OK, I’m learning a lot lately too! )  My mistake?  Shampoo is NOT just shampoo, or at least not THIS shampoo.  On a side note, I remember a time in North Carolina when my husband and I went trolling for pizza places.  We went in and sat down and the first thing I said to the waiter was, “Is the pizza good here?”.  His response was, “I don’t know, pizza is pizza”.  I got up and walked out.  The people at Alterna get it.  They take this hair thing seriously, because my hair seriously looks good today.  TODAY!  It is miserable outside!  Sprinkly, wet, hot, humid, muddy.  We got up early to go to my little boy’s T-ball game…we get to the parking lot and I’m finding myself wanting to hop out of the car.  I think I was feeling kinda cute.  You should see my hair!!??!!  It’s totally smooth, shiny, bouncy…..like it’s not humid outside.  Like, I’m in Los Angeles or something.  I love this stuff and I recommend that you go on the website and find a location near you and go buy some.  I don’t think you will be sorry.  Here’s what she sent: Caviar Anti-Aging Moisture Shampoo, Caviar Anti-Aging Moisture Conditioner, Caviar Anti-Aging Rapid Repair Spray and Ultra Fine Brushable Hair Spray.  I already called a meeting this morning with my four monsters to issue a warning.  ”Look closely and just know that the four bottles I am holding in my hands are not to be touched, held, opened, looked at, sprayed, hidden, eaten, or used as weapons under ANY circumstances and if they are, I’m coming after ALL of you, without any regard to who actually did it.”  I don’t think they were listening, but we’ll see….

Click on the picture above and it will take you to the website.  Just so you know, Alterna did not ask me to do this and if you think I’m doing it just so they’ll send me more, you might just be right.  It’s my new favorite thing and it looks very nice next to Wonderbar-ed skin !

Guess what?  We have our first completely unsolicited video review / testimonial of The Wonderbar!

The other day I opened my email and received the message you will read below along with the video review of Aubrie’s experience using The Wonderbar. I didn’t even ask her to do it!  Thank you, Aubrie!!!  We really appreciate the feedback!

“Wonderbar how do I love you. Let me count the ways!! You have cleared up my skin in every way. The texture is smooth and crystal clear. Even my Melasma is gone!! I could not believe it. I have tried everyting to clear that up. But my skin is so sensitive I could not use anything strong enough. I even went to a dermatologist and she said that there was nothing she could do for me. I have spent countless amounts of money on products claiming to clear up my troubled skin, but nothing held true. I first tried the Tiny bars and were hooked. I have since ordered the Mini bar and I think I am going to get the four pack next. I did go through a healing crisis, but it was more dryness than anything, and who would have known that it was only where my Melasma was!! It is gone now.

My huband looked at me yesterday morning (with no makeup on and my hair all lopsided) and said “you look BEAUTIFUL!!”. He asked if I was using “that bar of soap you ordered”. I first said that its not a bar of soap and second yes I am (religiously!!). ALL he reply was “wow, it must be a miracle bar because your skin looks perfect”. I almost broke into tears. It has been too long since I have had my skin. I have always had great skin. It was my hormones during pregnancy that took it way.

All I can say is THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! THANK YOU!! I will be your loyal client forever!!!   –     Aubrie”

Aubrie you made my day!!  Want to hear more from Aubrie and her experience using The Wonderbar?  Watch the video below!

Skin Softener: L’Oreal Paris Go 360
Clean Spa Facial: Biore Steam
Activated Cleanser For Dry and Sensitive Skin: Aveeno Ultra-Calming moisturizing cream cleanser
Best On-the-Go Cleansers: Glacial Cleansing Cloths
Natural Wonder: St. Ives Naturally Clear Green Tea Cleanser
Best All-in-One: The Wonder Bar

Check out this short video from the New York’s  WPIX New Station featuring Shape Magazine’s Ellen Miller singing the praises of The Wonderbar as “Best All-in-One” facial cleaner! (It’s also interesting to note that Wonderbar is the only product featured that isn’t an advertiser!)

BEAUTY IS WELLNESS

“That’s right- this little grey bar with its minimalist brown packaging is my first natural beauty hero of 2010! Don’t you love when good things come in small packages?

In the few weeks that I’ve been trying out Wonderbar, I’ve seen changes in  my skin that support all of the product’s promised benefits: overall balance in oily/dry spots; smaller pores; soft, glowy skin and reduced redness and breakouts. Which leaves me wondering, what makes Wonderbar effective where other products are not?

Quite simply, the genius behind Wonderbar seems to be its pH level. The Wonderbar has a pH of around 5.65- a perfect level to maintain the natural acidity of our skin, which has a pH between 4 and 6. What does pH have to do with beautiful skin anyway? Regular bar soaps and cleansers (that commonly rate between 9 and 11 on the pH scale) are likely to make the skin more alkaline-  resulting in an environment suitable for acne-causing (p. acnes) bacteria. Maintaining the skin’s natural pH  strengthens its defenses against environmental stressors and keeps away dryness and irritation.

Wonderbar also boasts some notably wondrous ingredients, specifically Chlorey’nahre, an algae extract blend, and Heilmoor clay, a 3,000 year-old therapeutic clay from Austria that detoxifies and heals beyond the skin’s surface.

It’s important to note that Wonderbar is not a soap. It’s essentially a treatment that you apply for a few minutes after cleansing and removing makeup.”

About Jolene Hart

Jolene Hart is a freelance writer and natural beauty and health editor, and in 2010 will become a certified Holistic Health Counselor via NYC’s Institute for Integrative Nutrition. She has worked in fashion and beauty editorial at People and InStyle and currently contributes to publications like Natural Solutions, Healing Lifestyles and Spas, Coco Eco and Organic Beauty View. Jolene has long been fascinated by the link between health and beauty and is passionate about natural beauty and the influence that our daily choices have on our appearance.

3-in-1 facial product: the Wonderbar

Let’s be honest: some beauty products are utter crap. They’re all smoke and mirrors and ancillary-offshoots, with few benefits and costing way more than they’re worth. But, because they’re released by XYZ company with a huge R&D and marketing budget, we all hear about them, and sometimes because we’re bored and looking for something new, we fall prey to the hype.

To borrow one of my favorite phrases from the French: c’est normale. Who could blame us?

The Wonderbar is not one of those products.

As a beauty blogger, it’s exciting when I’m able to direct readers toward something not only new but actually worth your attention—and here we have Exhibit A, the Wonderbar. It looks like a soap, but is so much more: a beauty treatment bar that acts as cleanser, mask and moisturizer rolled into one. And while the benefits—fewer breakouts, brighter, healthier, simply better looking skin—are not immediate, taking about 2 months to see as your complexion’s pH adjusts, they are definitely dramatic. I’ve been using it for over 3 months now and jaded ol’ me has been very impressed—I think you’ll be similarly amazed.

Pros: The product works: you’ll see fewer breakouts, clearer, brighter skin, fewer fine lines. Because it acts as a cleanser and a moisturizer, it will simplify your regimen (all you’ll need is an SPF during the day.)

Cons: The price tag, $105 for 80gm, is steep. (There’s also a $40 bar for 25gm, however.)  You’ll have to use the bar for 2 months before seeing benefits. Some mineral makeup users might experience temporary breakouts (as the bar draws up deeply buried impurities.)

Verdict: Worth it for acne-prone skin, for oilier skin, for ruddy complexions and for those looking to simplify their routine.

A skin-refining slab that’s truly wunderbar

Posted Tuesday, December 29, 2009 by Marci Robin Zitner, NewBeauty Senior Online Editor

Every now and then, a new product shows up on my desk, and I can instantly detect its cult-following potential. It had been a while since those alarms went off, but then, the adorable and very aptly named wonderbar arrived.

I have a weird obsession with bars of soap, and before doing my research, I gladly assumed that the wonderbar was just another block o’ cleanser. In my defense, its charmingly unassuming presentation makes that an easy misinterpretation. But even though it lathers and cleanses, the wonderbar is way more than soap. In fact, it’s not soap at all.

There are two key ingredients in the wonderbar: chlorey’nahre and moor. The former is a special algae derivative, and the latter is an expensive Austrian mud (clay) that encompasses the essences of more than 700 herbs. Together, this blend is said to improve skin in almost every conceivable way: firming, minimizing pores, moisturizing, brightening, balancing, softening, fighting free radicals, controlling acne, lightening discoloration, reducing rosacea redness—you name it.

If you’re like me, you’re thinking, There must be a catch. And in fact, there is. Wondeux, the brains behind the wonderbar, are open about that catch, because it’s all part of the beautifying process. The catch is something called the “healing crisis,” a period of true detoxification of the skin that may result in temporary dryness, itching, or a breakout. But once those toxins are out, the next phase is remarkably radiant skin.

Not everyone goes through the “healing crisis,” but knowing my luck, I definitely will. That’s why I haven’t started using it yet—I don’t want to be broken-out on New Year’s Eve! But the very next day, I’ll be making the wonderbar a major part of my skincare regimen, and I’ll keep you updated on my skin’s evolution!