Natural Pet Care Products for Dogs

Across the world, many of us have woken up to the harmful ingredients, chemicals and additives in our food, personal care items, and cleaning products. We diligently read labels to ensure our children’s lunches are natural and nutritious. We make our own cleaning products with essential oils and minimal ingredients, and we avoid shampoos with parabens and formaldehyde. Not only do these harmful ingredients end up in our bodies and homes, they go down the drain and into the air, further polluting our environment.

Label reading has become a critical skill in living a healthy life, but are you taking the same steps when selecting pet care products for your dog?

All too often products designed for dogs are filled with the same ingredients we’re trying to avoid using in our homes. These unnatural chemicals and fillers are just as harmful to your canine family member as they are to you. Keep reading to learn more about choosing natural pet care products designed to support a natural, healthy home and happy, active pets.

Natural Dog Food

When it comes to choosing the best dog food for your canine companion, the choice is truly personal. A quality dog food should be mainly natural protein, and experts differ on whether or not dog food should contain natural grains. Some dogs benefit for the added easy-access carbs, while others do not. Furthermore, not every dog has the same needs due to age, allergies, and breed. Your best bet is to talk to your vet about what they recommend for your dog’s unique dietary demands.

Natural Supplements for Dogs

If your pet is struggling with a specific health struggle, a quality supplement can ease their pain and improve their health and energy levels. Brands such as Pet Wellbeing carry a line of natural pet care products designed to support your dog’s unique health needs. Their products were created and tested by a team of veterinarians, naturopaths and doctors who are dedicated to natural pet care.

Daily dog supplements such as Spark, from Pet Wellbeing, provide all the things that your dog’s food cannot such as antioxidants, probiotics, and enzymes. When used on a daily basis, Spark supplements can help your dog live their best life and stay by your side for years to come.

If you have an older dog, and are looking for natural health support try liquid Old Friend. This herbal supplement uses alfalfa herb, American ginseng, and ginger rhizome to improve cognitive ability and joint function as well as heart and liver function.

Natural Cleaning and Pet Care Products

When it’s time for a bath, the ingredients in your dog’s shampoo or cleanser will get into your skin as well as your dog’s during the bathing process. With this in mind, look for reputable cleansers with ingredients you understand such as lye (or sodium hydroxide), olive oil, lemongrass, or coconut oil. These ingredients are gentle and effective for your dogs skin and coat and won’t come with a side of harsh chemicals or dryness. If you’re up to DIY an all natural dog shampoo, click here for a simple follow tutorial using easy-to-find ingredients.

What natural pet care products do you use and love? Share your favorites with us in the comments section below.

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4 Easy DIY Halloween Costume Ideas

Halloween is right around the corner, but you still have time for a DIY Halloween costume that will turn heads at your Halloween get together! The best costumes are witty, timely and easy to wear, especially if you’ve got a lot of ground to cover on Halloween night. Along these lines we’ve put together a list of DIY Halloween costume ideas you still have plenty of time to put together before the party starts.

Try These DIY Halloween Costume Ideas

Quick and Easy Bank Robber Costume

You probably have some black pants and a black and white striped shirt in your wardrobe already. All you need now for this bank robber costume is some black felt, elastic, a white drawstring canvas bag, fake money, and black gloves. To start, take your felt and cut it in the shape of a simple mask, then add two eye holes before adding an elastic strap to keep it in place. Now take a sharpie and draw a large dollar sign on your canvas bag. Fill the bag with whatever you have on hand and few fake $100 bills at the top and you’re ready to steal Halloween!

Colorful and Cheap Pinata Costume

Who doesn’t love a pinata? To get this costume together you’ll need a plain headband, five or more rolls of colorful crepe paper, a dress, and some foam or cardboard cones. You’ll want to choose a dress you’re cool with messing up as the glue from this project is permanent. Start by cutting your crepe paper intro strips and then fringing it on the bottom, do this with all your colors, you’ll need a lot of it. Next, carefully glue it onto the dress in stripes, using fabric glue and mixing up your color blocking as you go. For the headband, cover your cones in crepe paper and hot glue them to your headband. That’s it! You’re ready for a Halloween fiesta.

Cute & Cuddly Cactus Costume

You could get this cactus costume together in less than an hour. To get started you’ll need a baggy green sweater so hit the thrift stores or you’re dad’s closet until you emerge victorious. Next, take white pipe cleaners and cut them down to 3-inch pieces using a wire cutter. When that’s done, you’ll want to bend them in half and poke both ends through your sweater. Twist them once so they don’t fall off and the body of your cactus costume is complete. However, every cactus needs a peachy pink flower on top, and to achieve this you’ll need a bit of pink tissue paper and a headband. Fringe your crepe paper and roll it into a flower shape before gluing it together and affixing it to a headband.

Fake News Costume

If you’re looking for a tongue in cheek DIY Halloween costume that hits just the right note this year, why not go as fake news? For this easy costume you’ll need a white t-shirt, black felt, a black skirt, some thick black elastic, newspapers, and a stapler. Start by cutting the word “News” from your black felt and hot glue it onto your white t-shirt. Next, measure your black elastic to fit your waist and subtract 3-4 inches for stretch and fit. Staple your folded newspapers to your skirt and make sure to sew or staple your elastic closed. Slip it on over your black skirt and you’re good to go!

What are your best DIY costume ideas? Tell us about your favorites and how you pulled them off in the comments section below!

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Photo by rawpixel.com from Pexels

DIY Nail Art for Halloween

If there’s ever a month to dress up and be a little funky, it’s October. Right now the stores are filled with costumes and jack-o-lanterns, as well as festive costume makeup and beauty products. Whatever your costume you can find Halloween nail art to compliment it perfectly.

Keep reading for some of our favorite tips and natural nail care products to help you keep your nails frightfully fashionable this Halloween.

4 Fierce DIY Nail Art Trends This Halloween

Black and Orange Polka Dot Nail Art

If you’re new to nail art, it’s best to start simple. All you need for this idea is black and orange nail polish and a dotting tool (or the tip of a pen) for this look. Start with two coats of your base color and allow it to dry. Next, carefully dip your dotting tool in your secondary color, ensuring you don’t have too much on the tip and paint your polka dots. Once your dots are dry, be sure to cover with a strong top coat to protect your beautiful nail art!

For the perfect color, check out the extensive line of natural, non-toxic nail lacquers from Zoya!

Franken-Nails

For a spooky take on a French manicure, try a stitched-up frankenstein nail this Halloween. For this look you’ll nude base color, a bright nail polish color such as orange or green, and a black nail polish for your stitching. Start with your nude base coat and then carefully apply your colorful tips once it is try. Your next step is to carefully add a line of black “stitches” between the two colors and finish with a protective top coat.

Ombre Candy Corn Nail Art

For this tasty nail art you’ll need a white base coat, and yellow and orange nail polish for the true candy corn effect (check out Arizona by Zoya for the perfect orange). Start with two coats of your white base coat and ensure each coat has time to dry. Next, you want to add the stripes by using striping tape with yellow at the bottom, closest to your cuticle, followed by orange and then your white base color up top!

Ghostly Nails

Nothing says “boo!” like adorable little ghosts on your nails, and this look is far easier to achieve than you think. All you need is black and white nail polish and dotting tools in two different sizes to make the eyes of your ghosts. Start with your base color or colors (you can change it up from nail to nail if you want). Once dry, carefully paint your ghosts and spooky eyes and finish with a quality top coat.

How to Grow Stronger, Healthier Nails

Beautiful manicures start with healthy, strong nails – something you can easily achieve with the right nutrition. Brittle nails can be an indicator that your body is lacking in key vitamins and nutrient. If this is the case for you, support your nails with Hair, Skin and Nail Plus by Douglas Laboratories. This supplement is rich in vitamins A and C, as well as calcium and zinc, all of which can strengthen your nails and give your hair a healthier glow. Another quality supplement used for boosting nail health is Hair/Skin/Nails Ultra by Pure Encapsulations. This supplement contains a blend of key building blocks that work together to support healthy skin, hair and nails.

How do you bling out your nails for your Halloween festivities? Tell us all about it in the comments section below!

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Photo by Mel Poole on Unsplash