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Published: October 14, 2017

A few months after our first was born, something happened that no one warned me about. Hair loss. One morning in the shower, as I was wringing out my hair after rinsing, I pulled a handful of loose hair away from my head. I was shocked. What the heck? I had always had thick and healthy hair and it was even more amazing while pregnant. Thank you prenatal vitamins! But what was going on? I called my mom, who happens to be a nurse. "Oh, that's very common after having babies." What?! Over the next few weeks, I started noticing a thinning spot on the top of my head that was becoming very obvious. Thankfully, around that time, my hair stopped falling out and I was hoping I would get some regrowth soon. I did start growing some back before getting pregnant a second time, but my hair never really recovered. I had been using a good quality shampoo that didn't have any toxic chemicals in it, my hair felt really soft and healthy, but felt pretty flat and lifeless.

Recently, I have been hearing about a company called "Monat" that specializes in hair regrowth, while browsing different mom groups on social media. As I looked deeper into Monat as a company, I was pleased to see they strive to provide a safer alternative to other hair regrowth options out there. I was definitely intrigued and was very excited when Emily Mogren, a Managing Market Partner with Monat, reached out to me and asked if I would review her products on my blog. 

Emily Mogren, Managing Market Partner, Monat

I love supporting fellow Catholic mompreneurs, especially when I can use my platform to share about a product that will enrich your life and/or faith in some way! Readers, meet Emily and Monat!

Emily is a Catholic wife, stay-at-home mom, and former pediatric occupational therapist turned small business owner. As life always enters different seasons, Emily has successfully embraced creating an at-home business with Monat. "I tried Monat, my hair got super healthy, and I started growing baby hairs where I was thinning. I was impressed, looked at the business, and saw it as a vehicle to create something more for my family. I was still driven by the desire to help others; it just took on a different look."

Through Monat, Emily has been able to mentor others in creating successful home businesses; to transition their homes into a toxin-free haven with clean, safe, botanical, and non-toxic hair products; and help people who are suffering from hair loss of all types. This journey has give her the confidence to launch an accessory line for women coming in Spring 2017. "For me, faith comes first and everything-from my family, to business, to home life, to my personal passions-stems from the motto that "all things, big or small, can be done with great love". I encourage everyone to be the 'bright, beautiful, you' you were created to be."

Monat (pronounced Mo-nayte), is a company that prides itself on being an anti-aging hair care company that offers naturally-based products and limitless opportunity. Its name is derived from a combination of the words "Modern" and "Nature". Like many stay-at-home businesses with missions to provide safer and non-toxic alternatives, this is a company that relies heavily on empowering its customers through education and teaching them why choosing products with less chemicals is better for the health of our families. Word-of-mouth marketing just makes sense when education is used to empower customers!

Here are some of the chemicals that Monat does NOT use in their products:

When Emily reached out, I told her that, while I was happy with the shampoo and conditioner I was using, I really needed something with more of a kick. While my hair and scalp were healthy, it needed something for volume. I also knew and mentioned to her that I would possibly be facing more hair loss soon after the birth of our second. 

Emily recommended I try the Renew Shampoo and the Smoothing Deep Conditioner. The Renew Shampoo is meant to deeply nourish and bring back strength to dry, damaged hair. The Smoothing Deep Conditioner helps fight frizz, deeply conditions and enhances shine. I warned her I have super sensitive skin as well as strict safety standards when it comes to personal care products, and would need to screen all ingredients before trying anything. She was so gracious and patient to listen to my concerns and sent me the entire ingredients lists to review.

Everything looked good, except I get nervous whenever "Fragrance" is listed within the ingredients of any product, since it can be a blanket term to cover up harmful chemicals for companies who don't want to disclose proprietary information. Fragrances that use toxic chemicals also cause reactions with my eczema. Since all the other ingredients checked out and I saw that they pledged not to use harmful fragrances or parabens in their products, I decided to go ahead and give it a try. It is always a HUGE red flag for me if I am looking into a product and the list of ingredients isn't available to customers. Thankfully, this isn't the case with Monat. If you are ever wondering about the health impact of what you're using on your body, I highly recommend looking up the product or questionable ingredient(s) at: http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/. This is such an empowering tool and helps us be more mindful consumers!

Emily was so generous to send me full-sized bottles so I could try them for a full month or more before reviewing them! Good thing she reached out when she did. I began losing my hair right around the time the products arrived!

The Renew Shampoo 

The Smoothing Deep Conditioner

My initial thoughts when I opened my Monat package were how chic and quality the packaging was. As an avid lap swimmer, I knew I would need bottles that could taking a beating in my pool bag. They haven't leaked or busted, even though they've been dropped in the shower and gotten bashed around with my swim gear.

During my first use, I instantly noticed the fragrance since I'm not used to scented products. Again, knowing Monat doesn't use Parabens or harmful fragrances in their products is very reassuring. The best way I can describe the fragrance of the shampoo is a cool, refreshing, and clean smell. It's not offensive at all and my skin and scalp did not have any reaction. The conditioner has a similar scent but it's much more subtle. The texture of the shampoo was great and lathered easily. Since I have thick and long hair, I have to double wash, but I only needed about a dime to nickel-sized portion of conditioner as it is very nourishing and efficient. 

After washing, my scalp felt very clean. Within a handful of washes, I could definitely tell I had an increase in volume! I especially notice it when I blow-dry my hair. Before, my hair would just dry and brush out into a lifeless mass of hair. Now, the texture is much more soft and voluminous, and can hold shape much better. I've also noticed how much the shampoo gets rid of the chlorine smell and harsh texture after a long lap swim session! And get this-as I'm heading into the same postpartum period when I LOST hair with my first, I'm seeing new hair growth in my hair part and along my hairline! I'll have to do a follow-up post in another month or two so you can see even more of a difference!

Here is a photo of my hair after blow drying, before I started using Monat. As you can see, it's healthy and shiny, but a bit dry, limp, and lifeless.

Here you can see how my part is starting to thin out; not just from postpartum hair loss, but also from my swim cap rubbing in this spot:-(

Here is my part from the top. It is really starting to thin out because of postpartum hair loss. And I'm only 2 months postpartum when this was taken!

Here is a photo of my hair after blow drying, after just over a month of using Monat 3-4 times a week (so really, less than 20 washes!). It is much more bouncy and wavy now. I really have to blow dry it and use a flattening iron if I want it to be flat. Its natural wave is back and I love it! (Also, I clearly need a trim, haha.)

See the baby hairs coming it?! YES!!

Are you intrigued and are wondering if this product or company can help you? You can research and browse Monat's entire collection at: emilyk.mymonat.com. If you have specific questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to Emily at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Have you tried Monat and loved it? Leave a comment or review below!

*If your hair loss increases and/or continues for a long period of time, please consult your physician as this can be a symptom of a deeper health issue.*

• Pregnancy
• Non-toxic Living
• Postpartum
• Hair Loss
• Postpartum Hair Loss
• Thinning Hair
• Non-toxic
• Non-toxic Hair Care
• Hair Care
• Monat
• Postpartum Hair Care

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Published: September 6, 2017

In 2014, my husband and I participated in a 67-day Sugar-free eating challenge. We continued this way of eating for 7 months and each lost 30 pounds. We were shocked at how easily it fell off! The crazy part was there were no expensive shakes to buy, supplements or pills to take, or exercise videos to watch. And we weren't starving ourselves! It was all through education and learning about what we were eating, how it affects our bodies, and learning how sugar is disguised under various names in our food.

The biggest tool we learned was how to incorporate this empowering knowledge into our everyday lives and to create alternative sugar-free recipes for those we had been using for years. If we got a sweet tooth, instead of just throwing in artificial sweeteners, we learned how to sweeten foods by using naturally sweet foods such as dates and various fruits. One of the best recipes I created for myself was a smoothie that tastes like a chocolate milkshake, but it's actually energizing and nutritious! It has been such a helpful recipe for me when I get a craving for icecream but am trying to watch my wasteline. Not to mention, when you're a mom chasing after little ones, you need to take care of your health so you have the energy to get through the day!

Here is the recipe!

Healthy Chocolate Shake (sugar-free, dairy free)

• 1/2 c instant oatmeal
• 1 1/2 c unsweetened Vanilla Almond Milk
• 1 tbs peanut butter
• 1 banana
• 1/2 c frozen cubed mango
• 1/2 c frozen strawberries
• 1 c fresh spinach
• 1 scoop Garden of Life protein powder
• 1-2 tbs unsweetened cocoa powder

Throw all ingredients into a blender and blend until liquified. Add more almond milk to thin texture if needed. If you need more, simply double the amounts. If you're breastfeeding and need a boost in your supply, throw in a scoop of Brewer's Yeast. If you have little ones, throw this mixture into popsicle molds for a tasty and nutritious treat!

*I do not receive compensation for recommending this protein supplement. I simply love it and wanted to share!

• Healthy Living
• Sugar-Free
• Chocolate
• Healthy Eating
• Healthy Shake
• Protein Shake

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Published: August 15, 2017

Happy Solemnity of the Feast of the Assumption!

A big thing I LOVE about being Catholic as how pro-woman The Church is. We LOVE our Holy Mother Mary for her incredible example of holy femininity and motherhood, and how she leads us closer to her son, Jesus! And how cool is it that God made her Queen of Heaven?! The Catholic church exalts the feminine body and works very hard to protect it from being desecrated and objectified. This is a huge reason why we don't believe in using hormonal contraception, which not only comes with its numerous health risks, but also the damage it can inflict on our fertility. I could write about this for several posts, but I'll just recommend you listen to Janet Smith's Contraception, Why Not?  or Jason Evert's Green Sex presentations on CD:-)

Ever since taking NFP classes during our pre-cana (marital prep), I've continued to learn as much as I can about my body and how my lifestyle choices affect my fertility. So many women out there just accept that hormonal birth control is the best and only option for them, and live their lives hardly learning anything about how amazing and incredible our bodies are; especially when it comes to our fertility. 

• Beautycounter
• Non-toxic Living
• NFP
• Natural Family Planning
• Fertility Health
• Women's Health
• Safer Skincare Products
• Eczema
• Environmental Toxins

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Published: August 4, 2016

We are coming up on the one year milestone for our little one. ONE YEAR! How?! So many fellow mommas told me this would happen-that time would fly by. As hard as I tried to capture time in a jar, it didn't work. I tried to take in every moment and absorb every precious development milestone and I wrote down every single detail in her baby book. Still. Time flew by! What a beautiful and awe-inspiring year it's been!

With her celebration close at hand, I spent some time coming up with a sugar-free-friendly and tasty cake-like treat she could smash her chubby cherub hands into. It turned out so well! It was so good that my husband and I enjoyed the extras for ourselves and for breakfast the following day! They are guilt-free and won't leave you with a horrible sugar crash.

• Mommyhood
• Littles
• Birthday Smashcake
• Sugarfree Smashcake

Details

Published: April 25, 2016

3 medium cucumbers peeled and sliced in circles
1 medium sweet onion, sliced into thin pieces
3 medium tomatoes, cut into wedges
1/4 cup Distilled Vinegar
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/4-1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 c. Apple Cider Vinegar

Directions: Combine all above ingredients into a large storage bowl with lid. Fill bowl with filtered water until ingredients are covered. Stir. Refrigerate overnight to allow it to marinate. Serve chilled. *If you'd like the salad to be more or less sour/tart, just add or take away from the amount of Apple Cider Vinegar/Distilled Vinegar listed. This recipe is perfect for summer picnics and potlucks!

• Healthy Living
• Recipes
• Sugar-Free