Pharmaca physical store locations are a natural beauty lover's playground!
I often get asked by people who would like to switch to
less toxic beauty and personal care options, “Where do I start? How do I know
if a natural brand will actually work for me? How do I know whether I will have
an allergic reaction?” Well, trial and error is one way to go about it. But
what if you could sample and try various natural beauty products, so
that you could commit to buy the right ones for you? What if you could talk directly
to a licensed esthetician and / or herbalist with whom you could
consult, and who could help you choose the best and most effective products for
you? Pharmaca stores offer these services, and more!
As a long-time online shopper
with Pharmaca.com, where I personally find most of my natural beauty and non-toxic personal
care products, I was always interested in the physical locations that Pharmaca
offers around the country. So I ventured out to the La Jolla Pharmaca
location, located near San Diego California, earlier this month to find
out what this company offers in their stores that might attract local customers
in the San Diego area. I am always a fan of online discounts and the
convenience of ordering at the computer (hence my love of Pharmaca.com), but
there are many attractions to visiting a Pharmaca store in person, and it’s
well worth a trip if you have a physical Pharmaca location near you.
Pharmaca is an integrative pharmacy
that offers the typical pharmaceutical prescription-filling services, but the
company is also a retailer of natural and homeopathic products – everything
from raw foods, to herbal supplements, to the best natural beauty and natural
personal care brands on the market. Of course my favorite Pharmaca offering is
the natural beauty and non-toxic personal care selection! And here is where the
fun part of an in-person visit comes in: much like Sephora, visitors are free
to sample the various natural beauty brands, including makeup, natural
perfumes, creams, hair products, and various other natural brand goodies. There
are also licensed estheticians and herbalists on premise to help customers with
whatever questions they may have about beauty products, skincare and herbal
supplements.
I met with one of Pharmaca’s
La-Jolla-based senior estheticians, Amy Rellstab, who assists customers in
finding the right makeup, skincare and personal care products. She emphasized
that an in-person visit is beneficial for anyone who would like expert
consultations on color matching, makeup application, and product information. A
licensed esthetician may also offer you samples of some products, such as
facial creams (which are often culprits when it comes to facial allergic
reactions), so that you can try out a product in a few applications, before
buying a full-size tube.
Although Pharmaca does not yet offer
daily spa service (and I’m hoping they one day will!), the stores do offer spa
days every month, where customers can enjoy beauty treatments, makeovers,
presentations from visiting brand representatives, and other fun beauty-related
offerings. Attending one of these spa days is another great way to familiarize
oneself with various amazing natural brands on the market! Advertisements for
these spa days are available in-store, but you can also give your local
Pharmaca a call to see when the next spa day will be.
I asked Pharmaca’s esthetician Amy
Rellstab why it is beneficial to consider less toxic brands, such as are
available at Pharmaca, over popular brand-name personal care products that
contain more chemicals and synthetics. Afterall, most people tend to assume
that since a product is on a store's shelf, it must be safe to use. Amy
explained that although many of those popular brand name personal care products
appear to be effective, they will contain chemicals that are known to be
carcinogenic. There just is not enough government regulation currently for the
cosmetic market that would ban corporations from adding potentially dangerous
substances into their cosmetic products. Amy also mentioned that the list of
ingredients for many of these popular brand name products are so extensive and
chemical-ridden that she will often have to look up the complicated names of
various chemicals present in products, even though she has been working with
beauty products for years!
One rule I go for is: if there are
more than two or three incomprehensible ingredients in a product, it’s probably
too chemical-ridden to be honestly safe for my skin. And if it has parabens and other obvious
culprits in it – forget it! Esthetician Amy Rellstab also highlighted parabens
as one of the worst toxic culprits she finds in popular brand name
products.
Pharmaca, as a company, is very
selective in the brands they choose to represent and to sell, and I certainly
feel much safer purchasing from them than from most other stores. The brands
that Pharmaca represents do not contain any of the worst carcinogenic
ingredients found in most popular brand name products.
So, take a drive over to a Pharmaca
store and start trying some less toxic options for your skincare, beauty and
personal care needs! Your body, both externally and internally, deserves the
safer options, with fewer chemicals and fewer synthetics. Check out the Pharmaca
store locator to see if you have a location
near you!
Just one of many isles
of non-toxic, delicious, effective, natural beauty selections offered at
Pharmaca's La Jolla location. A tester for sampling is available for most products!
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