Woman Divine proudly amongst 15 Sustainable Low-Waste Canadian Skincare Brands

A big thank you to The Eco Hub and Candice Batista, the award winning Environmental Journalist and one of Canada’s leading eco advocates for including Woman Divine Skin Care in her recent article. We are very proud to stand amongst many beautiful Sustainable Low-Waste Canadian Skin Care Brands. Thank you Candice!

15 Sustainable Low-Waste Canadian Skincare Brands

by Candice Batista | Aug 6, 2020 | Beauty Buzz, Style + Beauty

When I began my green journey 20 years ago, there were no sustainable low-waste Canadian skincare brands on the market, most of it was packaged in plastic. Fast forward to today and it’s a different story! Here are 15 Sustainable Low-Waste Canadian Skincare Brands you NEED to know about.

I’ve never really been a major skincare junkie. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good body butter or face serum, but my skincare regime is very minimalist and it’s been that way pretty much my whole life. When I began this “green” journey 20 years ago I learned so much about toxins in skincare it made me even less likely to get hooked on the latest product.

Today, all these years later my routine consists of washing my face with a good cleanser, using a good serum/moisturizer and of course sunscreen, which has always been an important part of my skincare regime.

You will notice I did not use the term zero-waste, simply because there is no such thing as zero-waste. All products whether eco-friendly or not create some form of waste. Nothing is waste-free! I have chosen products that use glass packaging and eco-packaging that can be reused or recycled. All of these brands are sustainable, low-waste and made in Canada.

Woman Divine Skincare 

I adore this brand and its founder Magdalena Tomczak (a skincare therapist) so much. She’s given me so much insight into clean skincare. She’s taught me about oil cleansing and how to help my skin during stressful times.

I’ve been using the face balm for years, it’s my go-to in the winter and the summer. It’s super healing and I just love it. I also use the cleansing oil which effectively removes pollution and makeup without disturbing or stripping my skin.  The whole line is inspired by Polish pharmacies of her childhood and prepared with all-organic healing and nourishing cold-pressed vegetable oils, nut and seed butters, essential oils and premium quality herbs. Magdalena has a gorgeous studio in Ottawa, which one day I will visit.

Read the full article to read about the other Sustainable Low-Waste Canadian Skincare brands HERE

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Visit and follow The Eco Hub for eco living inspirations. Candice has been doing an amazing job in the realm of eco advocacy. She brings forth invaluable information related to sustainable, low waste, eco friendly living. She has created a very special Canadian Brand Directory: “Our Brand Directory is a curated list of Canadian businesses that have been handpicked for you based on our Ecological Criteria. Our ultimate goal is to provide you, our readers, with the resources you need to find chic, stylish, sustainable, affordable, made in Canada alternatives to everyday items.”

You can also find The Eco Hub on Instagram Here

You can follow Candice Batista on Instagram Here

Love and light,

Magdalena

What makes us who we are.

Not so long ago, I have realized that my connection to nature and love of health and simplicity began with the long summers spent at my grandpa’s farm. 

Today, I know that those days filled with the smell of hay, fields of wheat and rye, plum picking right off the trees and pulling carrots out of the ground were so formative yet I almost missed noticing that.

I loved spending time at grandpa’s. He was kind and gentle, very much like my mom. 

Grandpa practiced organic farming although at that time nobody called it organic. 

He lived a simple, honest life and I loved him very much.

I felt very free while there. Maybe it was because even as a little girl I could wander around all by myself through what at the time felt like vast fields, I would sing made up songs to the cows as I looked into their big beautiful eyes. Yes, I did:)  And maybe because I watched baby animals being born and then sometimes I watched the animals die. 

And then there was that freshness in the air and food tasted so real and pure and full of flavour and at night silence sounded beautiful and the sky was covered with the stars. 

I watched plants being seeded, witnessed them sprout from the ground and grow and then there was the harvest time and what was harvested was food.

Thanks to my childhood experiences, I have always had a very strong connection to the animals and plants. 

I have always felt the most comfortable when I can stand barefoot on the ground. I guess there is a bit of the peasant girl in me and I absolutely love her.

She is the part of me that can recognize beauty in plants and herbs and all living beings. She is the part of me that wants to tell the world about eating healthy food, about treating all animals as sentient beings that they are.

She also gets the cycle of life and death, and knows that living with cycles of nature is a key to being healthy and happy.

Simple, honest and healthy life is how I like to live. I may have had moments of confusion in my adult life but I always come back to simple, honest and healthy:)

My work and my products are infused with these qualities. My business is driven by the vision of life in harmony, life which supports the earth and each being on the planet. Life which recognizes that we need nature to survive and that we are here just for a brief moment. May we live life fully and respectfully and in community with beauty that surrounds us.

Time to juice! Meet the Maker!

I don’t know about you but after a long winter I really crave green juice. Not just any green juice but a fresh pressed, organic and as green as it gets juice. My body literally calls for it! And this year it has been calling extra loud. I normally wait for my spring juicing until the snow is gone but since this winter has been extra long I’m already juicing:).

Photo by Ellina Rabbit.

 It always amazes me what a green, nutrient packed drink can do not only for my energy levels but also for my mind. Every single time it gives me a noticeable boost  (and way better than coffee ever did), it makes me feel lighter and clearer and it simply feels good. 

Juicing has been with me since I was little and I will never forget the carrot + apple juice that my mom made. I  didn’t really like it at the time but mom was very determined to keep us healthy so she made it and we drank it. Today, I love her for it because let’s be honest pressing your own juice is not much fun and a rather messy affair. It is a commitment!

Since juicing is so amazingly beneficial to our health and we are approaching the optimal time of the year to do a juice cleanse, I want to encourage you to do this for yourself. Do it for your health, do it for that extra glow to your skin and do it to smoothly transition from winter to spring. Fresh veggie juice contains loads of vitamins, minerals, enzymes, proteins, carbohydrates, chlorophyll (green veggies) and vital water beautifully distilled by nature in the plants. No question, freshly pressed organic juice is health building!

 I know that most will never commit to pressing their own fresh juice, but hey luckily making your own is not your only option. I’d like you to meet Julien THE juice guy.  Julien runs the juicing show for Pure Kitchen Ottawa. Since he is the person with all the juicing knowledge let’s get to it.

Julien with Hydrate - his every morning drink.

Hi Julien, can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

My name is Julien Boyce, juice production manager at Pure Kitchen Ottawa. I started with the company from day one in February 2015, with the intention of working specifically in the juice department. A typical day includes taking inventory and organizing juice shipments, putting together juice cleanses, blending, mixing, and chopping a ton of fruits and vegetables! I’m fortunate to have the best staff and co-workers that make coming into work fun and exciting. 

How does one become the manager of the juice lab at the hottest vegetarian restaurant in town?

I became the juice lab manager pretty early on after landing the job at PK. Only me and one other person even mentioned in our interviews that we were interested in juicing. I had spent a few years working in kitchens, but I wanted something different. At the time, juicing was something very new to me, and my knowledge came from what I was juicing at home. We were all pretty inexperienced with juicing, however we learned very quickly and found our groove within the first few months. So much has changed since, new machinery, a larger space, and it’s only gotten better with time. 

Are PK juices organic? How freshly are they made?

All of the juices are made with organic produce and sourced locally whenever possible. We press around 1000L of juice per week, so we are constantly pressing every day. It can be difficult to keep up with the demand sometimes! Any juices we make have to be made with juice that is as fresh as possible, that means within 1-2 days of pressing. Some juices, such as lemon, have natural properties that allow it to have much longer shelf life than something like kale.

How do new recipes come about? What inspires you while you create?

I’m lucky to have such a creative team. We are constantly bouncing ideas around for new juices. One of the most challenging aspects of coming up with new recipes is getting the right colour. Sometimes flavours will work well together, but they won’t have an appealing colour. I love finding new products to use with our juices that make them original. 

Rowan (team PK) pouring the Lush

Do you offer juice cleanses? Can you tell us a little bit about them? 

We offer a standard juice cleanse of five juices per day and one nut mylk, which amounts to 3L of juice. They can range from a one-day cleanse, up to as many days as you and a trusted health professional can agree upon (we had one woman do 21 days). We can always accommodate specific preferences and allergies with different juices. 

How does a juice cleanse differ from other types of cleanses?

Juice cleanses give your body a chance to recover by reducing the amount of energy it usually uses just digesting food all day. The benefit of a juice cleanse is that you can still ensure your body is getting nutrients and minerals it needs to function at its best. 

Any tips to follow a successful juice cleanse?

Ease into the cleanse and ease out of it. You should taper off how much you’re eating 24 hours before you start the cleanse and ease back into eating regular whole foods 24-48 hours afterwards. That’s for most cleanses from 1-5 days. You don’t want to start binge eating the day you finish your cleanse, that can lead to digestive issues.

I really crave green juices at this time of the year. Any favourite recipes for a great Spring green juice? 

I prefer green juices to be very strong with no sugars to mask the flavour of the greens. My favourite green juice is on our menu, called Lush. It is just kale, cucumber, spirulina, and a splash of lemon.

If you had to drink the same juice everyday what would it be?

I actually do drink the same juice every day! I start every morning with a glass of Hydrate. I get to work early and before I eat or do anything, I make sure I have some Hydrate with extra sea salt. This keeps me hydrated. I think that staying properly hydrated is the key to so many health problems and it’s something people tend to ignore. 

Any plans for writing a juice book?

I personally don’t have any plans to write a juice book. There are so many juice books available already, but I don’t think it’s that complicated of a process to need a book. I would be more interested in writing a book about healthy lifestyles/personal development that would certainly include juices and the role they can play in a healthy lifestyle. 

Squeezing lemons:) This used to be done by hand.

If there was something you wanted everyone to know about juicing, what would it be?

One thing about juice I always hear as a warning is that they aren’t good for you because you don’t get any fibre. It is true that most insoluble dietary fibre is removed during the juicing process; however, the soluble fibre is still present. Soluble fibre aids in good bacterial growth in the gut which helps the body in so many different ways!

Thank you so much for taking the time to chat with us Julien!  And thank you for all the great tips and info. I am always grateful to know the people who make my food, grow my food or juice my veggies . Thank you for what you do!

Ok Ottawa, I was really impressed to hear about the 1000L of fresh juice a week being pressed at Pure Kitchen. That’s a lot of juice! We are definitely on the right path. This makes me super happy:)

I am very lucky to have Pure Kitchen right around the corner from Woman Divine Studio. You can often see  me  running down Richmond Road in between my clients to grab a bottle of pure green energy that keeps me going and going. Pure Celery and Lush are my favourite :)

Pure Kitchen Ottawa, is run by the nicest people you can find and they offered us a 1 day juice cleanse as a GIVEAWAY. Head out to  Woman Divine Instagram to find out how to participate . I hope you’ll win. Make sure to take a look at their Juice Cleanse options HERE and start juicing asap. Now is a great time!

Remember what I always say? What you do to your skin you do to the rest of your body and what you do to your body, you do to your skin. Your skin will absolutely love it!

Pure Kitchen has four locations in Ottawa:

ELGIN

340 Elgin Street, Ottawa ON
+1 613 233 7873

WESTBORO

357 Richmond Rd, Ottawa ON
+1 613 680 5500

KANATA

499 Terry Fox Dr #55, Ottawa ON
+1 613 435 8492

PRESTON

345A Preston Street, Ottawa ON
+1 613 422 0115

Pure Kitchen also offers customized cleanses. So if you have special wishes and/or want to organize your cleanse, you can e-mail: juice@purekitchenottawa.com

Happy juicing,

Magdalena xo