GREEMU - A Plant Based Alternative to Emu Oil - A Schoolhouse Review Crew Review

Okay, I'm going to get right to the point on this one. When I found out that we were going to get to review GREEMU developed by Devonian  and distributed by Koru Naturals, I was excited. With all of the intricate skin problems we have with our boys and Sarah and I as well, we use a lot of natural products. GREEMU is a new plant based alternative to emu oil. It has the same beneficial qualities of emu oil is not made by the fat tissues of emus, but is made completely by plants and natural butters.

I'll give a list of ingredients later, but first I want to tell you about my dilemma. While I was excited about trying out this new product, I really had no idea what to use it for! I had heard about emu oil, and had even used some products developed for aching muscles that emu oil in them, but I had never used emu oil myself. So, I had no idea how to use emu oil - or in this case natural, plant based GREEMU. I did some research on emu oil and Greemu and found that it can be used for all sorts of things. The main uses are for aging skin, dry skin and as a hair treatment, but it can also may help with muscle aches, arthritis, sun burns, and more. When I found all of that out, I was super excited to try it.

   

As I mentioned before, GREEMU is completely plant based. Many people don't like using regular emu oil because it is animal based - made from the fat tissues of emus. GREEMU is a completely plant based alternative made from:

Macadamia Seed Oil
Palm Oil Certified Organic
Shea Butter
Sunflower Seed Oil
Rice Bran Oil

We really like using natural things when we can and we are very pleased with GREEMU. Sarah has used it for her skin and I have used if for my arthritic knuckles and we are both pleased. It really softens the skin. I have been thinking of all sorts of ways to use it this summer. Since we all have fair skin but spend a lot of time outside in the warmer months, this would be excellent for the occasional sun burn or chapped skin. My heals always get dry and crack in the summer but this year I'm going to slap on some GREEMU! Fair warning though - since GREEMU is plant based, it absorbs into the skin more slowly than regular emu oil so only a few drops are recommended for each use. We made the mistake of putting too much on at first and since it didn't absorb into our skin right away we had a little bit of oily skin. Using only a few drops, however, solved that problem and it worked wonderfully.

ALERT! ALERT! ALERT! THE FOLLOWING IS NOT A RECOMMENDED USE FOR GREEMU!

 

I wanted to add the above, because, although I haven't read anywhere that GREEMU is NOT recommended for animals I also have not read where it IS recommended for animals. Having said that, when Sarah's mom passed away we inherited her 10 year old dachshund, Wiggles. Wiggles has very dry and itchy skin. She is constantly scratching and biting. One day Sarah suggested putting a couple of drops of GREEMU on her back. It worked! It really helped her dry skin. So, while I would suggest you use great caution on pets and I repeat, neither Devonian nor Koru Naturals has recommended it for animals, it did work on Wiggles.

 

We are very pleased with GREEMU as we are all of the products we have received from Koru Naturals. I would definitely recommend it especially if you have objections to using animal based products. To find out more about GREEMU just click on any one of the highlighted links above. To find what some of the other Schoolhouse Review Crew members thought about this product click on the banner below.

 

 

   

 



Need A Facial? Ask Me About Koru Naturals! A Schoolhouse Review Crew Review.

  Many, many moons ago Sarah and I had a friend who learned how to make soap. After years of practice she decided to open up her own business which is now thriving. I remember when she gave us our first bar of homemade soap. I didn’t realize it then, but that was the beginning of a whole new way of life for my family.
It didn’t happen overnight but gradually. When I first joined the Schoolhouse Review Crew several years ago, we were asked to review other natural items. It began with homemade laundry detergent and then natural cookbooks. Many of the folks on the crew were very much into healthy eating and natural living. Slowly we began embracing that type of lifestyle as well. We saw how it benefitted our autistic kids and, really, the whole family. When we had the opportunity to review some products from Koru Naturals we were very excited. As the name suggests, these products are made with natural ingredients and, these products are from New Zealand! We were chosen to review three item – their Skin Clear Cream, Manuka Honey Propolis Soap and Emu Oil and Blue Tansy Oil Cream. We have absolutely loved them all!

  Skin Clear Cream - Okay, let me tell you my story with Koru Naturals Skin Clear Cream. When I heard about this product I wasn't so sure what it was all about. Was it a skin cream that a woman would use? Was it a cream to cleanse the face from blemishes and acne? What was it exactly? I thought that it would be perfect for either my wife to use or one of the kids who was suffering from teen blemishes. Well, I ended up using it myself and loved it!

When we first received the package and I opened up the Skin Clear Cream 4oz container of cream, it had thinned a little because of being in the mail and in the heat. Soon, however, it turned back into a creamy substance that smelled wonderful. The scent was fresh and very non-cosmetic. The main ingredients are Manuka Honey, Manuka Oil, Kawakawa and Harakeke (full ingredients can be found on the website). 

I have to be quite blunt here. About once or twice a year I suffer from cold soars that often appear on my chin. They usually go away rather quickly, but this year they were being stubborn. When I received the Skin Clear Cream I decided to try in on the sores. I was amazed when I first put it on. It comes with a plastic applicator, but, being a man, I'm not used to using those so I just used my fingers. Almost immediately I could feel my skin tighten. It really was cleansing my face. Within a couple days those stubborn sores were gone! I don't like using cosmeticy substances on my face, but, I don't mind using Koru Naturals, Skin Clear Cream. It is natural and it works. This is a keeper.

  Manuka Honey Propolis Soap - When I first got the package from Koru Naturals, even before opening it, there was a fantastic smell. I found out after opening the box that it was the Manuka Honey Propolis Soap. The soap is wonderful as well! As the name implies, the main ingredients are Manuka Honey and Proplis - again a full listing can be found on the website, but, again, it is all natural. 

We are picky about what we use on our skin and especially the boy's skin because all three of them have skin issues of one sort or another. We have had no problems with this soap. It almost looks like two bars of soap put together. One side almost looks like a glycerine type soap and the other the creamy type soap that usual bars look like. While preparing for this review, I was talking to my wife about the soap and she said she loves it. She said that it makes her skin feel clean and fresh, more so than regular soap. I have to agree. As I stated, we have tried many kinds of home-made natural soaps and this ranks right up there with the best. This one is also a keeper for us!

  Emu Oil and Blue Tansy Oil Cream - I was really anxious to try the Emu Oil and Blue Tansy Oil Cream out because, as you can see on picture above, it was supposed to be a high strength, deep penetrating and soothing formula. The claims are absolutely correct!

Being a little over middle aged with young children, I often experience many aches and pains. I hate to use over the counter creams but often do. Since this mixture of Emu Oil, Blue Tansy Oil, Aloe Vera, MSM and other natural ingredients (once again you can find a full listing on the website), is, well, all natural, I was not nervous about trying it at all. I love it and it works. The directions say to use it two or three times a day, but I use it as needed on my aching muscles and on my hands which, although not diagnosed, are suffering from a little arthritis. I am very pleased with how will this has helped and I am definitely going to continue using it! Once again, this is a keeper.

As you can probably tell, we are very pleased with Koru Naturals! If you have sensitive skin or have tried other products that don't seem to work for you, I would definitely recommend looking into their products. You can find information about the three products above by clicking on any one of the high lighted links above. These and other products from Koru Naturals were tried by other members of the Schoolhouse Review Crew and you can find what they had to say by clicking on the banner below. Happy Well Living!
     

Tim's Oral B Movie!

This should actually be called "Tim's Oral B Video - The Comedy" because, as you can tell by watching this, I am not good at making info-mercials. I would not make it in that business! At any rate, one of the requirements for reviewing the Oral-B ProfessionalCare SmartSeries 5000 with SmartGuide was to make a video describing my experience using it. Well, I can tell you truthfully that I really did love it. Can't you tell by the video! LOL LOL LOL!

Anyway, to find out more about this product, just click on the link below. You can also follow Oral B on Twitter and Facebook using the links below! And, don't forget the $10 mail-in rebate on select power toothbrushes through June 16, 2012. Happy Brushing!

 http://www.oralb.com

http://www.twitter.com/oralb

http://www.facebook.com/oralb


I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Dad Central Consulting on behalf of Oral-B and received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate

Oral B is the One for Me!

Do you remember that old TV show Green Acres. You know, the one whose theme song said "Green Acres is the place to be"? Well, since last week I have a new take on that song. My new song is "Oral B is the one for me"! Actually the "Oral-B ProfessionalCare SmartSeries 5000 with SmartGuide" is the one for me. Read further to find out why.

About six months ago I was greeted with some disturbing news. I had gum disease. Gingivitis to be exact. Not something usually discussed over a lovely meal with your friends, but something I can blog about and get the information out about proper caring of your teeth.

I had gone into the dentist because I knew I needed at least one filling. During their routine check, they tested for Gingivitis and, you guessed it, I had it. They had to do the whole nine yards - deep cleaning and everything. It was not a pleasant experience. At the end of the first session, however, the dental hygienist taught me proper dental hygiene and gave me a "professional rotary toothbrush" that cost way over $100 (I can't remember now but I think I was quoted a price of over $200). And, when you add in the cost of replacement heads every so often the price gets even higher. I'm still paying off the bill for all of my dental work and dental hygiene supplies.

Anyway, I loved the toothbrush. It really changed my dental habits. Before, my teeth cleaning habits were hit and miss. I would brush regularly with a standard hand held toothbrush but I would never floss and never use a mouth rinse. I hated flossing because I never could get my hands situated the right way to floss properly.

Now, however, I am properly flossing (using one of those disposable plastic pitch fork looking floss pics), rinsing and brushing. The new toothbrush really made my teeth feel clean and gave my gums a workout. The only problem...it took soooooo, loooong. To go through all of the steps would take well over 15 min.! I actually had to schedule brushing into my day! I would floss, then rinse for at least one minute, then use a special rotary toothbrush head that went between my teeth, then switch heads for regular teeth cleaning.  I never really knew how long I was brushing because I would count down the seconds that I was supposed to spend on each quadrant of my mouth. It was actually hard work! Still, I knew I was doing what I was supposed to do. My gums didn't bleed anymore and my mouth actually felt clean.

When I was invited to participate in a new campaign for an Oral-B ProfessionalCare SmartSeries 5000 with SmartGuide I was skeptical. Would it work as well as my dentist prescribed toothbrush? Would it actually make my brushing habits any better? My teeth are clean but not as white as I would want. Would this new power toothbrush make my teeth whiter? I decided to sign up and find out. After all, I could always go back to my old toothbrush after the campaign is over.

Well, last week it came. At first glance I was impressed. It looked like a very sturdy well built rotary power brush. I liked that it was easy to put together and that it came with a small clock ("SmartGuide") that timed how long you were brushing in each section of your mouth. But, would all of this fancy technology work? I was going to find out that evening.

I plugged it in and waited for it to charge enough to brush. A few hours will give you one or two brushes and a full 24 hours will give you days of brushing. Finally it was time to test it out. I went through my usual flossing and rinsing...but where was the in between the teeth head? It didn't come with one. Instead it had an unusual brush head with some long bristles and some short bristles. Supposedly it would clean between the teeth while brushing the surface of the teeth. Hmmm...interesting. I put the head on the toothbrush and turned it on. Immediately the small clock that was sitting on the counter changed from showing the time to counting down the seconds until I needed to switch to a new quadrant of my mouth. Neat! No more counting down in my head.

Because I am sort of a teeth cleaning nut now, I chose to switch it to the 45 second per quadrant setting instead of the usual 30 second per quadrant. Immediately the small clock switched to counting down from 45 seconds! It also has a Sensitive Mode, a Whitening Mode, and a Massage Mode as well as the Daily Clean (30 second per quadrant) Mode and the Deep Clean (45 second) Mode.



The SmartGuide also had a picture of a circle divided into four sections with one section blinking to represent the first section of teeth that I was brushing and four stars with one blinking to represent the first quadrant. When I was done brushing the circle would be complete and the four stars would all be filled in. In addition to that, the power toothbrush would turn off briefly when it was time to switch to a new section of my mouth. Very easy to follow and use. So far I am very pleased.

The true test, however, is how my mouth felt. Did my teeth feel clean? Yep! Did my gums feel like they had a good workout? Check! My teeth and gums felt just the same as when I used my dentist prescribed brush and spent 15 min. brushing. Actually, though, with the new Oral B brush, I only spent half of that time brushing! It's a winner for me. I might even have to try the Whitening Mode or the gum Massage Mode. With the really neat SmartGuide I can keep track of time and brush more quickly and efficiently. Now I feel like I have the time to brush more than once a day. This could really improve my oral care habits!

So am I going to keep using the Oral-B ProfessionalCare SmartSeries 5000 with SmartGuide? So far it's a yes but check back in in a couple of weeks for an update post to see if I still like it and to see if my teeth are actually whiter.

I really do like this toothbrush so far. Oral-B has several power toothbrushes in various price ranges and for various needs that you can choose from. Right now they are even offering a $10 rebate on select power brushes. Please visit OralB.com or click on any one of the links above to find out more.

Don't forget to also check out their children's power toothbrush section. I'm always trying to teach my children proper dental hygiene, especially after my gum disease incident. I don't want them going through the same thing I did. I may have to check into that rebate for a power toothbrush for them.

To find out more about Oral-B and their line of products check out the following links as well. Happy brushing!

 http://www.oralb.com

http://www.twitter.com/oralb

http://www.facebook.com/oralb

“I wrote this review while participating in a blog tour by Dad Central Consulting on behalf of Oral-B and received a product sample to facilitate my review and a promotional item to thank me for taking the time to participate.”