A couple of months ago I decided to ditch my usual minty toothpaste for natural alternatives from Olgani. I’ve tried charcoal toothpastes before, but chocolate? Now that sounded interesting!

Olgani toothpaste: ditch the mint for some chocolate or charcoal goodness

Why Olgani? Olgani Naturals believe that natural ingredients can help to maintain and improve health. Sounds too good not to try.

Chocolate toothpaste?!

Olgani recently introduced their new Mighty Cocoa Toothpaste. They combined their signature NutrireB base with raw Cocoa which is rich in Theobromine, minerals and vitamins. This offers a more natural and healthier alternative to generic fluoride toothpaste.

Surprising results of studies conducted at The University of Texas, discovered that Theobromine, a component of cocoa, is more effective than Fluoride in restoring and repairing tooth enamel, ultimately eliminating hypersensitivity in just seven days!

Mighty Cocoa also contains turmeric, liquorice extract and charcoal which protects against common oral health problems. Now that we know why it’s good for us, what about the most important question? How does it taste?

Oh my word… it’s divine. It takes a few uses to get used to it, but then you get hooked. I am. The delicious chocolate flavour is enhanced with a blend of Sweet Orange and Peppermint essential oils. That makes my heart happy; I love essential oils.

Black toothpaste for whiter teeth

I adore charcoal toothpaste. If you’ve never tried one, the Olgani Detoxifying Charcoal Toothpaste is brilliant. The non-abrasive and bleach-free formula leaves your teeth sparkling and squeaky clean.

Olgani Detoxifying Charcoal Toothpaste

The well-known ability of activated charcoal to absorb tannins and toxins in its millions of tiny pores makes it an ideal ingredient for natural oral care products. It has been used as a natural remedy for millennia, it has no side effects and it is environmentally friendly. It not only whitens teeth but also regulates the pH in the mouth, prevents cavities, bad breath and gum disease.

Olgani Detoxifying Charcoal Toothpaste contains their signature NutrireB base, coconut shell activated charcoal, bentonite clay and Peppermint, Spearmint and Tea Tree essential oils.

Olgani products are available at select Clicks stores nationwide, Wellness Warehouse, faithfultonature.co.za, select pharmacies and Health stores around South Africa. Visit Olgani’s stockist page for more details.

Happy brushing!

xoxo

I never thought that I’d be open to getting a neurotoxin injected into my face. I mean, it sounds crazy, doesn’t it? So many people do it though, so when I got the chance, I decided to try Botox and today I want to tell you why I regret getting it at 40.

What is Botox?

After telling my husband that I was getting Botox and his reply being ‘why do you want to get your face pumped up?’ I realised that not everyone knows exactly what Botox is and what it does …

Why I regret getting Botox at 40

Botox® is the trade name for Botulinum Toxin, a neurotoxin in the form of a purified protein. The mechanism of action for Botulinum Toxin (Botox) is really quite simple; it is injected into facial muscles but really doesn’t affect the muscle at all. Botulinum Toxin (Botox) works by blocking the transmitters between the motor nerves that innervate the muscle.The areas typically treated with Botulinum Toxin (Botox) for wrinkles are the forehead, between the eyes (glabellar region), around the corners of the eyes (crow’s feet) and around the lips (smokers lines or gummy smile). There is no loss of sensory feeling in the muscles. Once the motor nerve endings are interrupted, the muscle cannot contract, causing wrinkles in the skin to smooth. The effects of Botulinum Toxin (Botox) last approximately three to four months, at which time the patient will require retreatment.

Why I regret getting Botox at 40

If you skipped the part above I don’t blame you; I know you’re here to find out why I regret getting Botox at 40. Confession: I don’t regret getting it at all. But I do regret only getting it now. If I knew how painless the procedure is and how effective it can be, I would have tackled these 11’s years ago.

Below is a super attractive before and after. In both I do my best to give you my meanest squint. Apologies for the poor selfies, but I think I get my point across.

Botox before and after

The difference is amazing, don’t you think?! I love that I still have movement, but the fact that I don’t have this permanent worried look on my face is fantastic. The treatment I received focused on my forehead, the ’11’ wrinkles between my brows and my laugh lines. I was worried that getting Botox would change my facial expressions as I talk with my whole face, but there is still enough movement for me to look like me. My smile lines are still there, just not as pronounced. What I am most impressed with, is the smoothness of my forehead, which was actually quite unexpected…

Botox treats dynamic wrinkles (essentially those that you see when you ‘pull a face’). Static wrinkles are the ones you see when your face is at rest. I have quite prominent lines on my forehead and they are always there. Botox won’t get rid of static lines and wrinkles, but you can hardly see my frown lines anymore. Nice!

I really wish I started Botox earlier on. I don’t really have a problem with ageing. I’m 40 and I have wrinkles. More than I would like, but, ja, they are here to stay. If I started treatments in my 30’s though I may have avoided being asked questions like ‘why do you look so worried’ at every turn.

Lately I’ve been told that I look rested. And after the year I’ve had, it’s very nice to hear.

Now that I’ve done it once, you’re probably wondering if I’ll do it again? I think you know the answer… hell yes! In a heart beat.

The most valuable piece of advice I can give you if you do decide to go for Botox, is to go to someone you can trust. You don’t want to end up with Spock eyebrows, do you?!

I had my procedure done by Dr. Gideon Maresky at Chris Barnard Memorial Hospital in Cape Town. Dr. Maresky has all the know-how, expertise and experience (plus he’s a member of The American board of Plastics and Reconstructive surgeons, The American board of Surgeons and The American Society of Plastic Surgeons). He is also a great guy who put my mind at ease from the get go – he answered all my questions and made me feel super comfortable literally putting my face in his hands.

Visit www.drmaresky.co.za for more info or contact the practice on +27 (0) 21 423 9422 or email info@drmaresky.co.za.

Thank you Dr. M for making me look rested (and a teensy bit younger). I’ll definitely see you again.

Have you tried Botox? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!

xoxo

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