How I Got To Know TICO*
TICO* Has Impacted Many Aspects of My Life
When asked to be a guest writer for TICO*, I’ve struggled with what to start with first. I’m a mother of two, yoga instructor, wanna-be health nut (it’s a process!), avid traveler, and a big fan of this lovely oil for my body. So instead of jumping right into my favorite healthy recipes or yoga postures, I figured I’d start by simply saying hi. My name is Tanya Smith and I love TICO* Shave Oil. And yes, I am kind of addicted.
A Healthier Shift in Life
My husband, Rayner, came up with the idea while we were on a yearlong sabbatical in Nosara, Costa Rica a few years ago. We were burnt out from the corporate world and needed a healthier shift in our lives. I decided to get my yoga teacher certification from the Nosara Yoga Institute… complete opposite of my previous life as a marketing consultant. I wanted something I could share with my family, a job that I could do that made a difference in people’s lives, something that offered the flexibility of being a stay-at-home mom, and most importantly a form of work that actually de-stressed my mind and body. My husband took up surfing and did some soul searching on what his next project would be. Enter TICO* Shave Oil.
Receiving Mail in the Jungle
We were living the simple life by the beach, taking yoga, surfing, practicing our Spanish, and spending quality time with our daughter Gillian (“Gigi”) who was 2 at the time. It was August (rainy season), so we’d spend most of our afternoons at home…reading, watching movies, making smoothies, and listening to the sounds of howler monkeys outside our windows (picture of howler monkey in our backyard). Pura Vida, the “pure” life. I remember the first batch of shave oil samples we received to decide on the perfect scent. There are really no addresses in the town we were in, so the mailman would ask around and see who knew the recipients of packages he was to deliver. I was in the kitchen making a pineapple-kale smoothie and through the window saw a guy hop off his motorcycle with a package. No uniform, just a local Tico on a little motorcycle. Rayner was so excited to test the samples that have somehow made it to the middle of this isolated beach town buried in the jungle.
Not Just for Guys
A few days go by and he’s noticing a difference in his skin–no razor burn, no red spots, and the typical 5 o’clock shadow is more like 8 o’clock the following morning. We were talking about how great this new oil is, and he asks what I think about it. I go on to say how I’ve noticed a difference in his skin, definitely no red spots as before and his skin looks hydrated and not dry. He clarifies to ask how I like the oil, for my skin. Oh. Well, I hadn’t even thought about it – I just associated it with guy’s shaving.
I Tried It. All Over
So we put a bottle in the shower for me to try. I shave my legs, using way too much oil. First thing I noticed was I could see my skin while I was shaving! That seemed to help prevent some little nics here and there. I did have to rinse the blade out a few times as the oil does clog the blade slightly. When I got out of the shower and dried off, I didn’t even use a moisturizer. (Actually at the time I was using coconut oil as a moisturizer instead of lotion). I immediately reported to my husband that it was indeed a great shave.
The next day I rode my bike to yoga, practiced for 2 hours, rode my bike back home. We went to the beach, I went back to class, and later that afternoon took a refreshing cool shower. I noticed how my legs were still completely smooth from the day before. Not untypical for me – my hair (luckily) takes a while to grow back. But on the 3rd day, I started to really notice how incredibly smooth my legs still were. I think I finally began to feel the hair grow back around day 4. Crazy!
At this point, I decided to venture on with the oil. I shaved my armpits – same amazing results. Then the true test came – bikini line. Ladies, as you know, it’s sensitive skin in these parts and shaving typically irritates this area (at least for me it did). Before TICO* Shave Oil, I would use Tend Skin AFTER I shaved my bikini area to help REDUCE the razor burn and ugly red bumps. It’s a great product, but not all natural and only works after you’ve got razor burn. Plus, it smells like vinegar. Those days were long gone. I could tell right away, the skin I shaved over wasn’t itchy or red; it was soft, moisturized, and ready for the beach. Awesome!
As the weeks went on, I decided since this stuff was so great for the skin, it had to be a good moisturizer on the hair too. So I used it once a week for a deep conditioner. Only leaving it on for about 10-15 minutes after a shower and then rinsing. Worked like a charm. I did try to leave it on overnight and took a little more scrubbing of my hair to not look oily – but it felt like silk.
My Baby Bump Loved It Too
A few months into our Costa Rican life, I became pregnant with our 2nd little girl. As my belly grew and stretched to make room for this little angel, I was searching high and low to find all those maternity lotions to help prevent stretch marks (cocoa butter, lotions enhanced with vitamin e, etc.). Since we were living in the middle of nowhere, it seemed to be a little difficult to just run to Target – and getting things shipped there were expensive and took too long. The local “Mini Super” (basically a convenience store) had slim pickings, and if they had anything worthwhile, it was well over twice the price as in the states. As I’m taking my next shower, I realize this shaving oil would be incredible on my growing belly! And it was. Every time I took a shower, I would rub a little on my belly, say hi to this growing soul inside me, and feel completely moisturized when I dried off. No more toxic lotions on this body, with this baby. And no stretch marks either! So, I’d love to know what natural products you use to moisturize or shave with?