As I welcome you to another Weekend Read, I think we should go straight in, but before we do that I just want to say that we are constantly being challenged with any number of issues pertaining to the health and beauty landscape.  Raw ingredient shortages still remain and the industry is increasingly being monopolised by certain conglomerates, which is far from ideal for niche brands who really don’t stand a chance of recognition because they, and we, refuse to pay for such recognition.  Not least because they, and we, can’t afford to. 

I will take the consequences of that, whatever they may be, because it strengthens my resolve to remain independent, no matter what.  And whilst it is all a bit ‘David and Goliath’, the freedom to be able to make informed decisions, for the better good of all, is the single most important thing here.  Of course I will not compromise on this, I think you mostly know that, so although I am completely and utterly disillusioned with the health and beauty industry in general, they can go their way, and I’ll go my mine.  Whatever happens, happens, that much is out of my control, but at the very least, I will stand my ground.  And I find that exciting.  Actually.

What I don’t find exciting, as you also know, are wait lists.  Most especially the wait lists that occur immediately after we have launched a new product, where the demand exceeded the supply quite considerably.  In this circumstance I am talking about Essential Youth L-Ergothioneine, and at the time of launch I wrote that it was quite a rare thing when an exceptional, thoroughly researched ingredient came to the fore.  Ergothioneine is an important amino acid that cannot be manufactured by the body. As a naturally occurring antioxidant, it is being hailed as a next-generation longevity nutrient, which has the capability of helping to restrict inflammation.

With inflammation being the enemy of many age-related concerns, including making our cells age faster, studies have observed that higher levels of Ergothioneine are linked to several age-related concerns, such as heart disease and poor brain function.  I think it is important to note that in those same studies, the recommended dosage of L-Ergothioneine is 5 mg, which is the same strength used in Life Extension’s Essential Youth L-Ergothioneine capsules. 

I realise that I have more or less just re-launched this supplement, but never mind that because once again I am going to refer you to Shabir’s article and because I feel bad about the wait list, I am reducing the price of Essential Youth L-Ergothioneine from £20 to £18 across the weekend.  I am not anticipating any further Ergothioneine famines in the foreseeable future, but I will just say that we are well aware of the recent extensive marketing of many longevity supplements, but in reality, and in our opinion, they offer little benefit.  So we’ll ignore them.
VH Editorial: Is Ergothioneine The Next Longevity Nutrient; Essential Youth L-Ergothioneine Capsules by Life Extension £18 for 30 Capsules (offer ends at midnight BST, Sunday 24 April)

When we launched Ergothioneine, I went on to say that many of you may ask whether Ergothioneine was as important as supplementing with Hyaluronic Acid.  My answer to that was yes, but I was very clear that Ergothioneine was not a replacement for HA, it sits alongside HA as an enhancement.  And so because I have absolute trust and belief in HA, I have taken another supplement that I have absolute trust and belief in, namely Fulvic Acid Elixir, and put them together as a treat.  And of course we are now talking about two of our bestselling supplements.  To date.

So this is what we are going to do.  With every bottle of Fulvic Acid Elixir, we will automatically throw in the travel size Hyaluronic Acid Capsules (300 mg) free, which will last for fifteen days and is worth £17.50.  And whilst there are no restrictions on how many each of you order, I will just say that we are restricted by volume on the HA Capsules.  I wish I had an HA tree in my garden, but I don’t, so all I’m going to do here is refer you to Shabir’s article on Fulvic Acid Elixir just in case your mind needs refreshing on what I believe is a crucial supplement.  But then I believe they are both crucial.  In differing ways.  If you can.  Always if you can.
VH Editorial: The Elixir Of Life; Fulvic Acid Elixir £30 for 480 ml + Travel Size (15 capsules) Hyaluronic Acid High Strength Capsules (300 mg) Free (whilst stock lasts)

I recently wrote a few words about warts and verruca’s, so I am returning to that subject once again because there is a new product I want to tell you about and Shabir has updated his article, linked below, to reflect this.  Warts are caused by a viral infection often arising as a result of broken skin, or a compromised immune system.  There are several methods for the treatment of warts, which include the freezing of warts, known as cryotherapy.  And having had cryotherapy, I find this product very interesting, not least because it is an over-the-counter medical device.

The product is called Forwarts Wart Remover Precision Freeze Spray and it works on the principle of cryotherapy, which means that the wart is frozen during treatment.  Using a unique, patented dosing system, a precise jet of cooling gas is sprayed onto the wart and with the process taking between ten and fifteen seconds, the wart will literally fall off after approximately two weeks, and the same applies to verruca’s, which are the most frequent and common types of warts.  To the best of our knowledge, there is no other OTC product that uses this direct freezing method and we believe it to be a powerful innovation in the field of wart treatments.  Solution led.
VH Editorial: Treatment Of Warts And Verruca’s; Forwarts Wart Remover Precision Freeze Spray by Pronova £16.99

Staying with new product launches, CurlyEllie have just released their Intensive Treatment Mask which has been specifically formulated for frizzy hair, but can also be used for dry, damaged or coloured hair.  Loaded with Quinoa and Meadowfoam seed oil, you can also use this as a leave-in treatment, most especially if you use heat on your hair.  CurlyEllie is a small niche brand where the focus has been thrown on those who have curly hair.  Thus the name.  Of course.
Intensive Treatment Mask by CurlyEllie £18.49 for 250 ml; CurlyEllie Products

I have written many times over the years how notoriously difficult it is to find products which specifically work on compromised skin conditions such as eczema, psoriasis and dermatitis.  Of course the market is flooded with such products, but they don’t all work, and what will work for one person, does not necessarily work for another.  It has always been this way and another issue is that these products can, after a certain period of time, stop working as we become immune to their efficacy.  This has happened to me countless times, so I am really careful when I write about this subject because there is no absolute.

So I want to talk about Hope’s Relief which was developed after 35 years of research and formulated as a natural alternative to steroid creams and other medicated treatments.  The brand is not new, but after thoroughly researching, Shabir wanted to list their products, so that’s what we have done in the hope that they may help many of you.  Formulated with Active NPA10+ Manuka Honey, Liquorice and Aloe Vera, this award-winning brand hails from Australia, where it is bestselling in its genre.

There are four products in the range, namely Goats Milk Body Wash, Intensive Dry Skin Rescue Cream for angry skin, Nourishing All Day Long Moisturiser for maintenance, and Topical Spray for Dry Itchy Skin, which will help save us, in the moment, from scratching our skin to the bone to help alleviate irritation.  And I’ve done that one too.  At this point I am not going to write about each individual product, otherwise I will be here forever, so I will refer you to each of the product pages, as below, and I have discounted them, for the interim, to celebrate their arrival.  On our site.  And on your skin.  Perhaps.
Goats Milk Body Wash £12 (drops from £13.99) for 250 ml; Intensive Dry Skin Rescue Cream £16.95 (drops from £18.49) for 60 grams; Nourishing All Day Long Moisturising Lotion £14.49 (drops from £16.49) for 145 grams; Topical Spray For Dry Itchy Skin £14.99 (drops from £16.99) for 90 ml; All by Hope’s Relief

However tempted I am to predict which of the above will be the bestselling product, I think I will refrain because I always seem to get it wrong, and although I think I know what it will be, I am staying silent, as I did last weekend when I wrote about the four new shower bars launched by Weleda.  So let’s talk about those shower bars as I reveal, in order, the most-wanted.  Geranium and Litsea was the bestselling shower bar, followed by Ylang Ylang, Lavender and Vetiver and finally Ginger and Petitgrain.  I’m not totally surprised because Geranium is so uplifting.  In continuation, I am keeping the prices static at £4 for each of the shower bars, instead of £4.95.    
Geranium and Litsea Cubeba Shower Bar £4 for 75 grams; Ylang Ylang and Iris Shower Bar £4 for 75 grams; Lavender and Vetiver Shower Bar £4 for 75 grams; Ginger and Petitgrain Shower Bar £4 for 75 grams; All by Weleda

I’m not quite finished writing about Weleda products because I recently received an email asking which product I would recommend to help tone and firm the body after several bouts of illness throughout the winter months.  I think there are many of us who feel like giving our bodies a good tonic, which is why I recommended Weleda’s Birch Cellulite Oil to her.  Look, we all know that since the demise of Dior’s Svelte, there is not one single product on the market that gets rid of cellulite, but notwithstanding that I think that Birch Cellulite Oil is amazing to help tone and firm skin.  So let’s drop the price from £27.25 to £23.  Long live Birch Cellulite Oil.  Such an iconic product. 
Birch Cellulite Oil by Weleda £23 for 100 ml (offer ends at midnight BST, Sunday 24 April)

Given that most of us are magnesium deficient, I would just like to take a moment to talk about this mineral superstar which is involved in nearly 300 biochemical reactions within the body.  Its benefits are wide and varied, ranging from energy production through to brain function.  With that said, there are so many forms of magnesium available and because each of these different forms have different therapeutic actions in the body, we do need to make sure that you are taking the correct form of magnesium, for efficacy.

And because this is so very important, Shabir does the lowdown in his article, linked below, where he looks at the role of magnesium in its varying formats.  With a whole section on Magnesium L-threonate, an ultra-absorbable form of magnesium to help support cognitive health and memory performance, Shabir recommends two products, one of which is Neuro-Mag and with nothing to add, I am dropping the price of Neuro-Mag down from £32 to £28 across the weekend.
VH Editorial: Which Magnesium Supplement Should I Take; Neuro-Mag by Life Extension £28 for 90 Capsules (offer ends at midnight BST, Sunday 24 April)

Hay Fever.  There is no escaping it and for those who suffer, all I am going to do here is refer you to another one of Shabir’s editorials where he seems to have the subject matter covered, which negates the need for me to write chapter and verse.  However, there is one thing that I will say and that is that you may wish to try Triple Allergy Defense, which provides multi-symptom allergy relief from sneezing, runny nose, nasal and sinus congestion, itchy and water eyes, headache and fatigue.  Quite a list, but in Triple Allergy Defense we trust, which just happens to be the sibling of Triple Flu Defense, which, over the years, has worked minor miracles for so many of us.
VH Editorial: Hay Fever Relief For The Family; Triple Allergy Defense £22 for 55 ml (drops from £25 whilst stock lasts)

From health to beauty we go, and as we do so I am going to tell you about a new product launch from Derma E, Vitamin C Weightless Moisturizer SPF45 to be precise.  Being multi-purpose it works to help brighten, hydrate and prime skin, while providing UVA/UVB sun protection and it can also help with hyperpigmentation.  I think it is pretty obvious from its name that this is a lightweight formulation and because Derma E has rather a large following, I am dropping the price down from £22 to £18.  For the interim.  And for launch. 
Vitamin C Weightless Moisturiser SPF 45 by Derma E £18 for 60 ml (whilst stock lasts)

Right, let’s have a bit of fun and do three treats in one paragraph.  Always rather difficult because I have a tendency to over-write, so keeping it tight, the very fabulous Everything Cleanser from Non Gender Specific drops from £25 to £19; RoseRage and GodSmell candles drop from £35 to £29 respectively, and Aduna’s Organic Moringa Oil drops from £16.99 to £14.  And before anybody tells me I can’t count because there are four products listed, I have put the candles together as one treat, with a choice of two fragrances.  Not quite sure if I should have done that, but I wanted to share some of the things I love.  And I really do love.
Everything Cleanser by Non Gender Specific £19 for 237 ml; RoseRage by RoadScents Candle £29; GodSmell Candle by RoadScents £29; Organic Moringa Oil by Aduna £14 for 100 ml (whilst stock lasts)

Enough for one week, so into the Saturday only treat we go and with every order placed for £30 and above, excluding p&p, we will automatically include Temple Spa’s Drift Away (30 ml)*.  As a perfect antidote to stress, this relaxing bathing oil is formulated to emulsify in bath water, although you can of course use it as a massage oil, if you wish.  Further product details listed below.
Drift Away by Temple Spa £26 for 100 ml

Finally, I did have to smile last week when several of you suggested that I took my vision of an evidence-based movie to Netflix, although looking at the headlines this week, Netflix appear to be losing rather a lot of subscribers, but they still have far more than we do, which really isn’t difficult.  On balance, and given that I am a consumer too, I do take great exception to the fact that we are being duped by nefarious activities in and around the health and beauty industry.  There are times when I think I should just keep my mouth shut, but I can’t because I know too much, and I have experienced too much.  To be continued.  

This song seems appropriate.  For so many of us.
I’m Still Standing by Elton John; The VH Playlist

With love

Gill x

 

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*Free gifts will only be granted if the items purchased are physical products and your total basket value exceeds the required amount noted.  Saturday only treats are subject to change should the specified gift run out prior to your purchase and are only included in orders placed between 7.45am (GMT) and Midnight (GMT) on the Saturday the Weekend Read is sent.  VH Addicts membership is a digital product and therefore will be excluded from the basket value.  Some gifts are blocked from international shipping due to local limitations imposed based on the country destination.  If this is the case, we will replace the gift with one that is able to be shipped to your destination.