• Skin Aging Process

    Understanding the Skin Aging Process of Different Skin Layers Introduction Our skin is the body’s largest organ. Yes, it is an organ that undergoes aging at different levels and in different ways. The human skin is a complex organ composed of multiple layers with distinct functions. As we age, the skin undergoes a gradual and intricate process of aging, which can be attributed to both intrinsic and extrinsic factors. This article aims to delve into the intricate mechanisms behind the aging of different layers of the skin, shedding light on the cellular and molecular changes…

    Read More

  • Good Good Hydration 🎶

    The Importance of Good Hydration for Anti-Aging Skin Good hydration is essential for maintaining healthy, youthful skin. It plays a crucial role in various aspects of skin health, including texture, appearance, and overall tone. This article will explore the importance of hydration for anti-aging skin and discuss how to maintain optimal hydration levels for a radiant complexion.  Benefits of Hydration for Skin Health Prevents wrinkles and aging skin: Well-hydrated skin is less prone to the premature appearance of wrinkles and acne. Adequate hydration helps maintain the outermost layer of the skin, which flushes away toxins…

    Read More

  • The Mythical Origins and Evolution of Acidic Skin Treatments

    The Origins and Evolution of Acidic Skin Treatments: From Historical Curiosities to Modern Skincare The Origins of My Interest Recently I got into a squabble with the author of a paper published on NIH PubMed. The author quoted the basis of their paper on two dudes that I would have to categorize as snake oil salesmen from the 1890s as a basis for why people need to use acid treatments on their face to balance the skin. Basically, the two dudes were pitching apple cider as a toner for women to use for a more…

    Read More

  • Benefits of Alkaline – Healthier Skin from Diet

    The Benefits of Alkaline Balance: Nurturing Health and Vitality Overview Dietary experts say that if you want healthier, alkaline balance skin, you first must start with an alkaline diet. I agree that our societal diet trends are turning us into a more acidic species. We promote alkalinity balancing using our Castile soap for the skin. Ideally, when we consume a more alkaline diet, the skin follows. It is, in part, a study of the ends justifying the means.  Introduction In pursuing optimal health and well-being, many people have focused on the pH balance within their…

    Read More

  • Features, Benefits and Advantages of Castile Soap.

    Castile soap is a type of soap like Keys® Island Rx, Island Rx Foaming Wash, Windsurfer, and MetaClean originated from the Castile region of Spain. It is traditionally made from olive oil and is known for its mildness and versatility. The higher alkalinity of Castile soap have benefits for the skin and face, but it’s essential to use it properly and cautiously. Most Castile soaps border on harsh, meaning their pH is higher than we recommend. When Keys® makes our version of Castile, we blend olive, coconut, avocado, and Jojoba oil to more fully saponify…

    Read More

  • Collagen Restoring Oils For Youthful Skin – A Keys® Tradition

    Collagen-restoring oil is a type of moisturizer that contains collagen-rich ingredients like avocado oil, black seed oil, carrot seed oil, and other plant oils-rosins. It is designed to improve collagen production in the skin, giving it a smooth and youthful look. Collagen restoring oil can be used on the face or body and is known to restore elasticity, tightness, and even tone. Some collagen restoring oils also contain additional ingredients like Vitamin C, Omega 3’s, and Glycerin to restore lost elasticity and firmness. Collagen restoring oil can help soothe and nourish “stressed” skin, promote collagen…

    Read More

  • Keys® Regimen for Dog Lick Granulomas and Hot Spots

    The Back Story Our mascot, a Bichon Frise named Jasper, is sometimes an ironclad mess of compulsive behavior in the form of a lick granuloma. Driven by allergies, neurosis, or the spring weather, he starts incessant liking that creates one or more lick granulomas. Sometimes it is on a leg and sometimes in a challenging area like on a hip. Then there are those ever-present hot spots that need to be looked after before becoming a granuloma. All dogs can be tricky hiding their licking, and Bichon, like Jasper, is extra crafty. First, What is…

    Read More

  • Mendacious Trends or Just Plain Lies

    UnNatural Trend In The Natural Products Industry.  “Smiling Faces Sometime Tell Lies.” Mendacious and lying have similar meanings, but the two are not interchangeable.  Mendacious is more formal and literary, suggesting a deception harmless enough to be considered somewhat bland.  Lying is more blunt, accusatory, and often aggressive. You might yell, “You lying rat!” in an argument, but you would most likely stick to the more diplomatic, “Aren’t you being somewhat mendacious?” in a business meeting.  Mendacious can also imply habitual untruthfulness, whereas lying is more likely to be used to identify specific instances of dishonesty. It is hard to be funny about what appears to…

    Read More

  • Keys® Product Formulations – A Formulators Perspective

    I receive a lot of very interesting questions every month that are escalated to me by our customer service. A question often enrobed in suggestions is in regard to Vitamins and the benefits of ingredients in our products. I am pleased and amazed at the complexity of the questions from our customers and the suggestions I receive. First, please remember that my team are engineers and not chemists. Every product starts with a clean slate based on the functionality we are trying to achieve. So, each ingredient may look like a single add, but each…

    Read More

  • Phthalates – Diabetes + Hair Loss

    So what are Phthalates?  The Everywhere Chemical Phthalates are perhaps the nastiest chemicals found in personal care products. The FDA banned them for food, but not personal care. Perhaps the FDA has forgotten that skin absorption is the same as ingesting chemical In my book, Chemical-Free Skin Health®, I spent much time explaining Phthalates. Here is a quick summary What are phthalates?  Phthalates are a family of artificial chemical compounds developed in the last century to be used to manufacture plastics, solvents, and personal care products. They are colorless, odorless, oily liquids that do not…

    Read More

  • Keys® VaporJel & Eye Butter for Chapped Lips

    Why Invent Something New When It Already Exists Over the years, we have received hundreds of requests for lip balm for chapped and cracked lips. I have resisted because we already have two great products that do the job better than any waxy lip balm I could design. Keys® Eye Butter and VaporJel are those two solutions. They both work wonderfully in two distinct ways. Eye Butter is a Shea butter and cucumber extract-based balm/cream with effective oils to soothe soft tissue around the eyes. It also works so well for the lips that we…

    Read More

  • May for Melanoma Awareness

    May is Melanoma Awareness Month  Skin cancer is the most common cancer in the United States. It affects more than 5 million people each year. Skin cancer: cancer you can see. Be proactive. Do skin exams monthly: they visually remind you to pay attention to your skin. Note any new or changing moles or unusual lesions. I am a melanoma survivor and grateful that early detection saved my life. I understand the ABCDEs of melanoma. It is essential to spot any potential skin cancers early. I just had my annual total body skin exam with my…

    Read More

  • Psoriasis Decoded

    Psoriasis Has A Community NIAMS is a research community of the US National Institutes of Health. The NIH is one of the most elite US government institutions dedicated to human health research. It honors both pharmaceutical and natural solutions to disease. The mission of the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases is to support research into the causes, treatment, and prevention of arthritis and musculoskeletal and skin diseases; the training of basic and clinical scientists to carry out this research; and the dissemination of information on research progress in these diseases.   The…

    Read More

  • Nextra® NeoRetinol for Psoriasis & Eczema

    Nextra® Help with Psoriasis & Eczema Your skin is your largest organ. 80% of people have skin problems. At KEYS®, we create clean, safe, natural products without chemicals that solve these problems. KEYS products make you feel and look better. Articles like this are meant to help you in your journey for clean clear skin, Naturally. Factoids: Since the introduction of Keys Nextra® NeoRetinol last summer, our customers have reported extra fast relief of symptoms from Psoriasis and Eczema. National Institutes of Health studies have outlined a combination of oral vitamin D supplementation and Retinol…

    Read More

  • Keys Made in America

    Are Keys Products Made in America? YES! A few years back, a disabled American soldier wrote the book “Buy American.” Alex Nelson said it was our duty to buy American to preserve our manufacturing place in the world. Today more than ever it is even more prescient and meaningful to buy American because all those toys, electronics, and skincare made in China are just not going to be available. Do Your Holiday Shopping Now Freight Waves News reports, “Amazon announced it has started its Black Friday deals on October 4th this year in an attempt…

    Read More

  • Autoimmune Skin Disorders – The 80/20 Rule

    In life, there seem to be consistent numbers that play out. One set is commonly called the 80/20 Rule. In tech, it meant that 20% of the people do 80% of the work. In the science of skin, it seems that 80% of autoimmune skin disorders are caused by just one thing. Recently some science has confirmed that trend. A recent study I have read suggests that 80% of skin disorders are autoimmune related. In my book, Chemical-Free Skin Health®, I connected some of these to chemicals in everyday skincare products. The most notable are…

    Read More
  • Breanne Parhiala

    Breanne’s – Keys Video Reveals Her Regimen

    Hi All, Well, Bre is at it already telling her fans about her love affair with Keys.  This YouTube video is about her favorite Keys regimen. I already knew that Bre is a huge Tortuga fan.  In her video, she reveals that she uses it as a facial moisturizer.   True!   We have always let people know that Tortuga is an everywhere lotion.  Many actors and makeup artists have found that the constant makeup on and off really dries the actor’s skin.  Tortuga is a fast deep conditioning lotion and facial moisturizer. Bre had…

    Read More

  • Breakthrough Routine to Revive Winter Skin

    Winter is tough on our faces. Dryness, rapid changing temperatures, and chapping happen. There is a regimen that I use to fight off the effects of winter skin. So, herein I will share what I learned and what I use. Read on to learn more. Do better when you known better.

    Read More

  • Greenwashing and Vaporware – Naturally (OpED)

    The natural skin products industry has never been regulated since the invention of the snake oil salesperson. The industry operates under the 'GRAS' banner, which means "Generally Accepted As Safe." Simply, this means that there is a lot of good in the industry and some bad.

    Read More

  • “Best Of” Are Fake News

    Those full page "articles" in magazines and eZines showing products strewn about with the headline Best Of xxx.  Many say "editors choice or editors pick."  The one thing they all have in common is they are fake purchased advertising. They are not editor picks, they are bought positioning.

    Read More

  • Keys Feet & Hands Video Testimonial

    Problem:  Dry Cracking, Bleeding Skin Breaks Solution: Keys Feet & Hands Avocado Jelly with Natural Skin Restoring Ingredients Keys Feet & Hands vegan jelly to the rescue.  Living at 7,000 feet in the very environment of Los Alamos New Mexico, it is common to get dry cracked fingers that bleed. This short animation is a 72 hour time-lapse of my cracked thumb. Using Keys Feet & Hands twice a day at waking and at bedtime, shows the quick restore of my cracked thumb. Keys Feet & Hands uses the avocado jelly as its base replacing…

    Read More

  • Are We Aging Faster?

    7 Reasons People Are Aging Faster by Bob Root – the Author of Chemical-Free Skin Health & Keto Plus I was recently asked in an interview if people are visibly aging faster or slower than ten years ago. The answer is both yes and no. Kudos to some big companies that followed the wallets of knowledgeable consumers. Ten years ago, there was a handful of us screaming that chemicals in everyday products were harming people. You agreed and started buying your laundry detergents and personal care products from reputable natural product companies. Nowadays, Natural products…

    Read More

  • Keys Origins and Pedigree. Thanks for your support and loyalty

    Dear Keys Patrons 2001 was a historical year around the world. Keys parent corporation, Orion, was in the mode of expansion from our Washington DC-based operations to Amsterdam. 9.11.01 Terrorist Attacks dashed that plan, but what bloomed out of that was a much stronger relationship with our US clients like Pfizer, Qualcomm, and the motion picture industry. 2001 was the origin of Keys products in their early prototype form. Some brilliant people at Pfizer urged us to promote our first products’ natural benefits as natural medicines. We are forever indebted to these bright minds. Almost…

    Read More

  • Give Blood – The Benefits are Yours & Theirs

    Our business is your skin health.  A big part is your general health and periodically, we see or hear things that need repeating.  In this time of C-19, the need for blood donations is at an all-time critical level.  So we offer the following as a rational of how you benefit health-wise and spiritually by giving blood.  Please consider donating today for your benefit and the unseen faces who need it.  This is probably the only donation you will give that you know exactly where it goes.   Beer for Blood When I was in…

    Read More

  • Smizing – Smiling with Your Eyes is the Cure IMS

    So the topic of this article is a kind of RBF story or to be more specific, IMS. Irritable Mask Syndrome is genuine and seems to be caused by various things. Some have told me that masks are an invasion of identity or uncomfortable. One said having to wear one is unconstitutional. Some feel self-conscious while others seem to like that they can hide behind one.

    Read More

  • Online Grocery Shopping – C-19 A Grocery Shopping Game Changer For Me.

    Funny as it may seem, the one thing about C-19 that I enjoy is not shopping. I hate to grocery shop, so Bob does it most of the time. He hates shopping as well and has been an online buyer since the first eCommerce stores began in the '90s. He was one of the first subscribers to eBay and Amazon knows him by his first name. With the stay at home orders, it was the impetus for me to embrace online grocery shopping. InstaCart, Sprouts, and Wal-Mart have facilitated this change in a good way.

    Read More

  • Jams World Making N95 Masks and They’re Cool.

    N95 Mask with Attitude – Mahalo I only collect one thing. They are Jams World Vintage Hawaiian shirts. Can you imagine my surprise when I got an email saying they were making and selling a mask to ward off viruses? Before you jump to confusions, these masks are the real deal and look very cool. Let me explain! Tight Weave and Carbon Fiber Much of the principle of a good mask to ward off viruses is a tight weave. Jams World uses a rayon that is the tightest weave because they want to have the…

    Read More

  • Lights! Camera! Action! – Megan and the Teleconference Crisis

    "Urgent"- Respond Immediately! She is an executive with a mega-company, and I worried that something was very wrong. So, I popped open the email and began to laugh out loud. Here was the first line. "Bob, holy shit, I need your help now. I am working from home and have to teleconference every day next week, and I look like shit on camera." "What should I do?"

    Read More

  • The Handshake – A Ritual That May Have Just Ended

    Handshake Ritual Seem Odd Now A friend of a friend told me that the “Handshake” began in merry old England. It was supposed to show the other person that you were without a weapon. It seems to me that it might not have worked if your enemy was left-handed.   Anyhow, I decided to look this up, thinking it might be right or just another urban myth. Well, it turned out to be partially true and interesting. The Origin of the Handshake The history of the handshake dates back to the 5th century B.C. in Greece.…

    Read More

  • Grocery Shop Smart – Not Often!

    The Center for Disease Control, The President and State Health Organizations, are asking us to stay out of the grocery stores for the next two weeks. Why? The reason we are being asked not to treat grocery shopping as entertainment is that smart people know that we can cap this virus by exposing fewer people to other people. So, where do we typically go when we are being asked to stay at home? Of course, we go grocery shopping. It is allowed, right!

    Read More

  • “Blue Babies” Therapy May Help!

    Using a regulatory pathway that allows patients with life-threatening conditions to use unapproved therapies, the FDA has granted “emergency expanded access” to Bellerophon Therapeutics’ inhaled nitric oxide delivery system for treating the novel coronavirus. Also known as compassionate use, the agency’s policy is typically administered on a per-patient basis—at times when clinical trials are infeasible, the benefits are seen to outweigh the risks, and there are no available alternatives. According to Bellerophon, the FDA’s decision now opens up its INOpulse system for use at high-doses in ventilated COVID-19 patients, immediately.

    Read More

  • Get The Facts – Please – PubMed!

    Get The Facts! - Please! Living with an engineer scientist, the common phrase I hear is, "Where Are Your Facts?"  When it comes to your health, Dr. Google is an excellent resource as long as individuals do not have an intention for themselves. So, where do we go for HealthLine facts so we can make good decisions? You are responsible for your personal and family health. Having a resource that you can count on is paramount. National Institutes of Health Enter the National Institutes of Health PubMed. NIH is the health arm of the US…

    Read More

  • Our New Hand Sanitizer – And A Few Heroes

    Keys has a new interim product and it is a maximum strength hand sanitizer. Our Extra Strength Hand Sanitizer took just 20 minutes to develop and seven days to manufacture, market, and start delivering. Seven days total from concept to delivery with lots of heroes to thank along the way.

    Read More

  • Craft Distillers – Covid Heroes of a Different Kind

    Recognizing Craft Distillers – They May Just Have Saved A Lot of Lives Our new hand sanitizer can be refilled at home. The lead article shows you how to make it. We are a small company and are selling our extra strength sanitizer near cost, but another feel-good story is the distilleries around the world that are stepping up to the cause to make hand sanitizers or sell/give away grain alcohol to make your own. First, recognize that the two biggest fighters of Covid-19 and any other virus are hand washing with simple soap and…

    Read More

  • Alert! – Extra Strength Hand Sanitizers Now Available from Keys

    We are making a single short run of Extra Strength Hand Sanitizers for our customers. Here are the details: We have allocated a supply of fine-mist sprayer bottles that we had in stock that we can use for hand sanitizers. We have decided to make a short run of extra-strength sanitizers made from 75% ethanol alcohol that we have in inventory that makes some of our extracts. We are dedicating the alcohol to use as a sanitizer that we will make available to our online customers only at a little over our cost at $9.47.

    Read More

  • Branch Basics – Truly Natural

    Branch Basics is a company that is on purpose and walks their talk. They have developed a natural concentrated cleaner that reduces biomass without harming the microbiome of your home or your family. To be clean without harming the good bacteria we live with is of paramount importance to me. It would also seem that it is crucial to Branch Basics.

    Read More

  • DIY Hand Sanitizers – That Really Work

    Time for Hand Sanitizers. It is important to be effective and know what you are putting on your hands.   There are a number of natural commercially available products that work.  Right now, they are hard to find in the stores.  So, it is time to make your own.  It is simple and done right, just as effective as the store-bought sanitizing products. DIY Sanitizers Formulas So here is a formula for creating the world’s best hand sanitizers. Use 98% of 99% Isopropyl alcohol and 1% spearmint essential oil. Can’t find Isopropyl Alcohol? Turn to…

    Read More

  • Just Wash Hands

    Yes, it is flu season, and traveling is getting to be a more significant concern. It is the time of year to write about not only how to wash your hands, but why doing it the wrong way can hurt. Many years ago, we researched the University of California Irvine on proper handwashing as a means to stay healthy during flu and virus outbreaks. The study formed our opinion, which I will share here. The primary purpose of washing your hands is not to spread viruses to your face. The average person touches their face…

    Read More

  • Debunking Hand Sanitizers

    Hand Sanitizers, The Right Way, and the Wrong Way. Where to begin? My article, “Just Wash Hands,” has brought a lot of comments. Lots of thank you’s, a few questions and some opinion. Cool, that is what is supposed to happen. Most comments address a short paragraph I wrote about “Hand Sanitizers.” There is a wrong way and a right way. Most of us do it the wrong way. So, I cruised into a Wal-Mart to buy a pair of new windshield wiper blades. I noticed two sanitizer stations at the entrance. One was the right kind,…

    Read More

  • Keys® Story – About You and Us

    I have never told my story. Most of everything we have written is about Wendy's fight with Cancer and stupidity in the skincare market intermixed with how I created our products. So, since it is 15 years in business this year, I just felt like writing down my perspective of who we are. In 1994, I met the woman of my dreams. In 1997, I nearly lost her to Melanoma cancer. Dr. Hugh Greenway at Scripps in LaJolla, CA saved her life. The prescriptions so severely hurt her that the experience became the basis for…

    Read More

  • Skin Pairings – Keys Guide to a Youthful Look (Discount Extended)

    Keys Skin Pairings by Wendy Steele Pairing fine skin care products for anti-aging and beauty is like pairing fine wines with great food. Our products are great. Often they are greater together.  This article by Wendy Steele points out the Keys product pairings she uses.  Wendy offers a discount coupon for you to try and believe.

    Read More

  • InfoGram™ – New Keys ‘Quick-Reads’ Mini-Blog

    In keeping with the times, we created a new area of Clean Green Cafe blog for quick informational bites. Infograms™ are focused on helping you understand our product applications. Infograms will offer tips and tricks as well as educational information. We will bring you industry news and our perspective on various important subjects. Clean Green Cafe will continue to have in-depth content while Infograms will be quick short bits of information. Often there will be crossover content where Infogram's will link to larger more profound article on the Clean Green Cafe Side.  Click Here to…

    Read More

  • Why Daily SPF and Moisturizing?

    One of the markets top moisturizers is Solar RX Moisturizer SPF due to its UVA-UVB protection minimizing the chemical burden on the skin.  This article was written by Ashley Parker about Keys Solar Rx

    Read More

  • Galleyon Antibacterial Foaming Soap is Now Supercharged

    Galleyon Natural Antibacterial Foaming Soap has been a cornerstone of Keys for near 15 years. Galleyon is an alternative to soaps that contained Triclosan. Unlike antibacterial soaps, it is not a biocide, so it does not kill our skin's natural Probiome. It reduces the levels of harmful bacteria without harming the natural colonies of bacteria on our skin. Galleyon is now supercharged! Try it now.

    Read More

  • Keys Tortuga Exfoliates, Moisturizes and Removes Makeup

    In the 1950’s virtually every woman owned a jar of Pond’s Cold Cream.  They removed makeup, washed their face, moisturized and exfoliated with it.  The problem was that it was full of chemicals and today’s natural woman wants something safer and healthier.  Tortuga to the rescue!

    Read More

  • Tips – Thinning Lotions

    At Keys, we receive lots of questions and this weeks dominant question deals with thinning our lotions in colder weather and to have a lighter finish. We share a few tricks in this short article.

    Read More

  • Cold, Flu Bronchitis? Keys VaporJel To The Rescue!

    Cold, Flu Bronchitis? Keys Vapor Jel To The Rescue! In the not so long ago past if you wanted some fast relief from congestion you took the vapors from Smelling Salts. The problem was that you would have been killing your lungs and smell nerve receptors.

    Read More

  • FDA Bans Triclosan – EPA, Your Turn

    In my book Chemical-Free Skin Health published in 2010, I pointed out the health risks of Triclosan including cancer, hormone disruption. Now it is time to look at the vast amount of other products that us Triclosan. EPA, your next!

    Read More

  • Avo Jel vs. Petroleum Jelly for Sports

    Keys Avo Jel is just a couple of months old and it has already taken the triathlon, running, biking, swimming and surfing community to a new level. Replacing petroleum jelly, our customers have shared with us how they use Avo Jel. In this article, we talk about over a dozen of the most popular uses.

    Read More

  • Super Lice – RediCare Works!

    There are reports all over the US of a resistant strain of super lice that are not controlled by convention lice treatments. I have been aware of this for a couple of years, but without someone raising the warning flag, my words have fallen short. Our customers have reported that our RediCare is not only highly effective at repelling initial lice infestation, but also kills the lice.

    Read More

  • Safe Cosmetics Campaign & Keys – Red Lists

    Safe Cosmetics has recently done a great job of updating their website and social media efforts. What we are especially pleased with is that they have come up with a great visual reference of what chemicals to avoid based on product function.

    Read More

  • Balding? Hair Re-growth? – Keys Island Rx!

    Years of customer testimonials point to hair regrowth by using Keys Island Rx liquid soap as a shampoo. This article breaks down what might be the reason Island Rx works and explains some of the reasons Island Rx has a lot of fans. We are offering a discount code to try Island Rx....

    Read More