Dishwash Powder is so great

Another happy customer :)


"Hey the dishwasher powder is so great. I'll certainly be ordering that off you for LIFE hahahaha so when im on the last one, i'll send through another request for a couple of them again. And will do for quite sometime. Even if my son's skin cleared up, theres no way i'd go back to a chemical house. So thanks heaps. What a great discovery".

I replied to my happy customer saying that it may be quite some time before they order more as 2 kg of Earthwise Dishwash Powder will take a very long time to get through, as you only need a Tablespoon for each wash.

A little goes a long way with natural chemical free products. Thanks for the great feedback xx

Skin Irritants - very irritating

There are several ingredeints in skin care products that may irritate our skin and cause dryness, redness, itchiness and/or inflammation.

Keep an eye out for the following synthetic nasties which are known skin irritants:

Sodium Lauryl Suplphate - used to froth many products such as shampoos, shower gels, toothpastes, etc. It is a known irritant and only used in products that are immediately washed off the skin. Can damage the protective outer layer of the skin and is absorbed deeply within the skin tissue. Has a very drying effect on the skin.

Petrolatum Products such as mineral oils and petroleum jelly - these cover the skin in a layer like glad wrap, so the skin can't breath or function properly. This often casues the skin to then dry and crack.

Fragrances - 50-200 ingredients in a single fragrance, the second biggest group of skin allergens

Chemical Preservatives - parabens are one of the primary causes of contact dermatitis

These are all well known skin irritants yet are still allowed to be used as ingredients in products that are readily avaliable, are cheap and are used on our bodies several times a day.

Look at your ingredient lists of your everyday products and avoid these, for the health of your skin. Choose a more natural body product and your skin and body will thank you.

Visit the fantastic Skin Deep website and find out more about any ingredient in your body care products and assess yourself how safe it really is.

Free Facial Mist

Get a Free Herb Farm Rejuvinating Facial Mist with every Energising Gel Cleanser during September. The perfect combo to cleanse and tone. Or a spray during the day to freshen your skin.

Free of chemicals, all natural ingredients. Get your Free Facial Mist when you order your Herb Farm Gel Cleanser (125mls $20) at Red Rata.

Congratulations to the lucky Green Goddess winner

Congratulations to Glynis from Auckland who won the Red Rata prize pack from the competition on Wendyl's great Green Goddess website. Yes all of our products are made in New Zealand by many wonderful caring and health conscious companies.

I hope you enjoy all the goodies in this pack Glynis.

And a big thank you to everyone who entered. I hope you all enjoy finding out more about the fantastic natural products that we have at Red Rata and I look forward to finding just the right natural home and body care goodies for you.

Best wishes to you all.

So many bubbles!!

I really love hearing from happy customers and this email made me smile:

"Thank you so much Susan – our bubbles arrived today and for the first time in a very long time I did not have to entice my daughter to get into the bath, as soon as she saw the bubbles she jumped right in.

As for the bath, it looked so inviting I jumped in with her in the end. It was great, I feel so relaxed and warm.

Also I was quite surprised at the amount of bubbles, even having seen the photo you had posted on your website – a really great product. Thanks again."

Another happy customer who loves Herbal Selections natural bubble bath, enjoy the bubbles but without the chemicals. :-)

Green Goddess Prize Pack

HI to all of Green Goddess's newsletter subscribers who are in the draw to win a wonderful prize pack from Red Rata. Thanks for entering and welcome to Red Rata. I hope you enjoy visiting Red Rata's website and checking out our fantastic range of natural body and home care products. Our aim is to offer you the best choices in chemical free products, all tried, tested and chosen by my family and I.

Follow us on Facebook as well to keep right up with what is happening.

You may be wondering what you are in to win so here is what's in the prize pack...

The Herb Farm Citrus Body Lotion 100ml

Clean Earth Soaps Manuka Honey & Calendul 85g

Red Seal Sodium Lauryl Sulphate Free Herbal and Mineral Toothpaste

Earthwise Citrus Air Freshener 250ml

AND Tui Bug Balme 50g

A little bit of everthing for everything. A great pack to receive if you were just wanting to try out a range of natural products, or needed stocking up on the essentials.

Good luck to all of you who have entered. Watch out for Wendyl's Green Goddess newsletter next Thursday where the winner will be announced.

Are natural products natural??

A recent article in the Consumer magazine (Issue 505) tested several supposedly 'natural' cosmetics and found the majority are not living up to their claims. I find this shocking, although not surprising. Many products propose they are natural or organic but may only contain a small amount of such a product and the rest is synthetic chemicals.

Consumer tested 18 'natural' cosmetics, only some made in NZ, such as eye creams, face creams, body moisturisers, nipple creams, bodywashes, deodorant. They tested these products for synthetic perservatives and found only TWO did not use synthetic chemicals to prolong the shelf life of their products!!!

Parabens are a common preservative in cosmetics but there is concern as to their toxicity. So avoid anything saying methyl, butyl, proply or ethyl.

Many of the products tested by Consumer had phenoxyethanol in them which also has questions raised about its safety. The Cosmetic Database gives it a moderate hazard rating, with links to skin irritation and immunotoxicity, and restrictions as to its use. Avoid this in your products too.

Good news is that there are cosmetics out there that are made with natural chemcial-free preservatives which pose less of a risk to your health. Red Rata is really proud to only sell products that have natural preservatives in them, and they are all made here in New Zealand by some fantastic companies.

The Herb Farm uses a combination of herbal extracts, essential oils and colloidial silver as their natural preservative. Earthwise use sea salt and essentials oils. Essence use grapefruit seed extract in their products that contain water.

The best thing you can do is learn to read the ingredient lists on the products you use. If you cannot read the word, it is likely to be out of a chemistry lab. If it looks Latin, it is probably plant derived and usually the better option. Get wise, be informed and choose the safest products for you and your family. Don't beleive what the pretty labels on the bottle tell you, read the ingredients.

Visit Red Rata to check out our range and find out more information about a wide range of New Zealand made natural body and home care products. Treat your body to the care it deserves.

Basic Olive Bar Soap perfect for sensitive skin

I've had great success with the olive bar soaps. No worries at all - which is great. Thank you for everything you have done for me. It's very much appreciated.

This is the feedback I received from a lovely lady who suffers from Multiple Chemical Sensitivities. She reacts to numerous chemicals in our environment, along with synthetic chemicals in body care products, and even some of mother natures purest scents and additives.

She went on a search and found a great simple soap from Red Rata. The Basic Olive Bar made by Clean Earth Soaps. This very mild soap only contains olive oil, organic coconut and palm oils and water, with no scent. Therefore ideal for very sensitive skin and new born babies skin.

This and more natural body care products avaliable from Red Rata.

Spring Cleaning

Its that wonderful time of year when spring arrives. And often we look around our home and decide a good old clean is on the cards.

Red Rata make it super simple for you. We have the best natural multi-purpose spray cleaner that will do the trick. From Earthwise, it contains only 4 ingredients plus essential oils of tea tree and pine. No more harsh chemicals needed to keep your place clean and shiny.

I use it on floors, bathroom, benchtops, around the loo. A quick spray, wipe and you are done.

This month it is on SPECIAL!! 500 ml trigger bottle is now only $7 (usually $9).

We would all rather be doing other fun stuff instead of cleaning so try this great multi-purpose spray. Check out more information here.

Clean Earth Soaps are awesome

I just unpacked a big box of gorgeous Clean Earth Soaps this morning with my handy helpers :-).

These soaps are yummy, Lavender & Cocoa Butter, Manuka Honey & Calendula and Basic Olive Bar.

They are handmade in beautiful Golden Bay so probably have some sunshine mixed in with the ingredients to warm you up.

Clean Earth Soaps are totally natural and synthetic free soaps. They contain 50% Olive Oil. This is combined with Certified Organic Coconut Oil and Certified Organic Palm Oil plus a mixture of other delights like essential oils, clays and plant butters to treat your skin.

Store your Clean Earth Soap in a dry place and use a dry wire soap dish. It will outlast commcercial soaps by far.

Live, Laugh and Lather Up.

Get your Clean Earth Soap from Red Rata and get some Golden Bay sunshine for your skin.

Wanaka Playgroup's Winter Raffle

Red Rata is proud to support Wanaka Playgroup by donating a Bath Pamper Pack as a prize for their awesome winter raffle. There are loads of prizes up for grabs so if you are in Wanaka get your ticket for just $2 from Wanaka Pharmacy or the Plunket Rooms.

Playgroup is a fantastic place where families meet and children play. Especially if you are new to a place it is a brilliant way to meet others with children. And the kids have so much fun. Wanaka Playgroup meet Mondays and Thursdays 9:30-11:30 at the Church Hall on Tenby St.

Go Wanaka Playgroup and good luck to all the lucky raffle ticket holders.

Easy Cleaning

With two kiddies, cleaning my house is a mission. Its often a mess, toys everywhere, but I try to keep our home clean. I did a quick whip around the bathroom, loo and kitchen tonight and it was easy.

It makes it much easier to not have to worry about loads of different cleaning products. I just use one!! Earthwise Anti-Bacterial Multi-Purpose Spray which does everything. Spray and clean everthing. Simple and quick.

Its chemical free, cleans to a shine and keeps you healthy at the same time. Plus you then have more time to tidy up the toys, or play with them :-)

Find out more about this fantastic natural home care product at Red Rata.

NEW Baby Essentials Pack

When you have a brand new baby its so hard to know what you need to look after them. There are so many lovely sounding chemical laden products filling the shelves that you think you must need heaps of lotions and potions to keep their little bodies healthy and clean.

But you don't. And it is really simple. Ensure you choose chemical free natural products which are the kindest products and work best on your baby's body.

Less is more!! Baby really only needs three natural essentials.

1 - a good soothing and healing balm for their bottom. Tui Bee Balme works wonders and is an amazing moisturiser for the whole family.


2 - a plain cold pressed vegetable oil to massage their wee bodies. Lotus Sweet Almond Oil is perfect for this.


3 - a very gentle body wash for the bath. Actually in the first few weeks little babies only need to be washed with water and they don't even need a bath everyday. Then you will need Herbal Selections Baby Body Wash, and the smallest amount, just a pinhead amount, does the trick nicely.

Red Rata have made it easy for you and put together a Baby Essentials Pack with these three essentials for youy baby. And you save money when you get them all together.

A Baby Pack is $25 for a 50gm Bee Balm, 100ml Sweet Almond Oil and a 250ml Body Wash.

Visit Red Rata for more information and order online.

Wishing you and your baby a very special time as you get to know one another.

XX

Baby massage

Massaging your baby is a wonderful way to share something special with your little one. It is incredibly calming and soothing whilst nourishing their tender skin.

Never use mineral oils for massage. This is a common ingredient in common baby oils found in supermarkets and pharmacies.

Choose natural cold pressed vegetable oils such as Sweet Almond Oil. Infant massage therapists suggest a very plain oil such as this is a perfect medium for baby massage.

Red Rata now stock Lotus Sweet Almond Oil which is just what you need for baby massage. It is a 100ml glass bottle ($6) and for a little extra you can choose a pump lid for spill free easy access to your oil ($7).

Enjoy getting to know your little one through touch.

I love bubbles!!

Cold winter nights mean relaxing in a hot bath and what better than to add lots of bubbles. No need to worry about soaking up loads of chemicals though as Red Rata has the best natural bubble bath from Herbal Selections. Heaps of bubbles, they do as a body wash as well.

Check the bubbles out at online at Red Rata and save. A 250ml bottle of bubbles for $10!

Cancer Risk

It has been found that environmental toxins play a significant and under recognised role in cancer. The Environmental Working Group suggest 9 things you can do to reduce your risk. One of these is to avoid using cosmetics and body products that contain cancer causing chemicals. Read more here.

Check out Red Rata's great range of chemical free natural products and treat your body!

Petrolatum Products are NASTY!

Petrolatum Products are mineral oils and petroleum jelly. These are found in so many common products for skin care, baby care and cosmetics.

Why are they nasty?

They leave a barrier on the skin surface impairing normal skin breathing and healthy skin function, kind of like glad wrap on the skin

They often actually causes skin to dry and crack.

Really common in baby products to get a smooth velvety feel.

Avoid like the plague and choose natural healthy oils from plants or nuts that are actually good for your skin. Oils like sweet almond, jojoba, avacado are good enough to eat but actually protect and nourish our skin.

Look after your skin this winter.

Keep your skin soft and glowing over these cold months by hydrating yourself on the inside - drink lots of non-caffeine drinks. My favourite drinks during winter are hot lemon and honey, creamy milky milo and hot blackcurrant.

And make sure you hydrate from the outside as well – moisturise from top to toe every day. Whilst your skin is damp and your pores are open after a shower is the best time. The combination of trousers, hot showers and baths, cold dry air and warm artificial heat can be extremely drying on our skin.

Red Rata has a great selection of natural face creams for him and her, as well as two natural nourishing body moisturizers, a luxurious natural body oil and a fantastic rich natural hand cream. Your body will love you with these super moisturising natural goodies. Read more about these products in our online brochure

Free Postage

Free postage for all orders over $80, only within NZ though, or a $5 discount on postage overseas.

That makes shopping at Red Rata even easier. You just choose and pay, and I will wrap your goodies in pretty paper and ribbon, make a special unique box from recycled cardboard and get my local postie ladies to put the stamps on and off it goes to you.

Easy peasy, and you get to save money too. AND enjoy the healthy benefits of natural body and home care products. Plus its kind of like getting a present in the post since it is all wrapped up especially for you.

This offer is only for June and July.

Fun in the Bubbles

I just got lots of bottles of natural Bubble Bath in stock today. As the tempurature drops a bath seems very inviting to kids and adults alike.

And there are no yukky chemcials in the Herbal Selections Bubble Bath so you can totally relax and unwind.

Take a look at Red Rata's online brochure to find out mroe about this yummy Bubble Bath. I have plenty of bottles but dont miss out as it is very popular!!