Product Development
When I started Balance Health Products, I never dreamed how much I would lean on my journalism degree. Through it I had learned the most effective ways to research. I had learned how to take large and complicated amounts of information and distill it down to its purest form and render it accessible to the average person. I learned that you can’t look for the answers you’re hoping for, you must seek truth at all times; even if the truth isn’t what you want to hear.
That love of research and learning went into every single product we carry. Even if I liked the idea of it, if it wasn’t effective, that was the truth I had to accept, and it never made it to market. When something worked but it wasn’t perfect, I reworked it, seeking truth at every turn.
When I was developing the product line for Balance Health Products, I knew what I wanted. I knew I wanted something that was consistently effective. I had so many bad experiences with lower quality CBD and even different batches from the same company.
Our first product was our Nano CBD softgels. They are, hands down, the most effective way to get CBD into the bloodstream other than vaping or smoking. By breaking down the CBD into nano particles, it makes it more bioavailable for the body to utilize. The molecules are smaller so the body can use it more effectively. I was happy with our product. I used it on a daily basis and I saw a huge change in my mood stability and my anxiety. It was a life changer. This was our cornerstone product.
About a year into product development, I started having severe pain in my neck and shoulders. I was carrying my stress in a new way. I was proud of myself for my stress not manifesting in panic attacks, but it was causing me pain in my daily life. So I added RELIEF cream to our line. The RELIEF cream, along with acupuncture and cupping and some physical therapy took the pain away and really helped me to be able to push through while creating the company.
At the same time, I knew my pain was from inflammation. My naturopath prescribed curcumin for me in high doses and that helped, but I found when I combined the curcumin with the CBD, they worked together and were even more effective, so BODY was born.
During that time of pain, I was having a hard time sleeping because I couldn’t get comfortable. I started having anxiety because I was so fatigued. It didn’t turn into panic attacks like it would have, but it was an underlying anxiety that had me on edge. When I went to my doctor for a physical therapy referral, he also prescribed muscle relaxers. He told me he just wanted me to take them for a couple days so that I could actually sleep and reset. I took 1/4th of one and finally slept through the night. It was glorious. I finally had a new day rather than one long continuation of the previous days. The second night I took 1/4th of one and when I woke up the next day, I realized I couldn’t drive my kids to school. I felt drunk. In reality, I was high. It was a horrible feeling. I had my friend drive my kids to school and I haven’t taken them since.
I immediately did what I do best; I researched. CBN has been found to be effective in helping people fall asleep. With the addition of melatonin and CBD, they all work together to help you fall asleep and stay asleep and not feel groggy in the morning. I needed something gentle where I could still function if my youngest had a bad dream or didn’t feel good. I needed to know I could still get everyone out if there was a fire. I was scared to take anything, but once I started taking the SLEEP softgels, I was able to get myself back on a healthy schedule and have energy during the day. So I added SLEEP to our line because, well… sleep is important.
The last product added was MAGIC SALVE. It was summer and our house gets the worst mosquitos, and I was having a horrible time. They can smell my blood a mile away. I’m like a beacon for those little vampires and no amount of B vitamins changes that. I can be in a group of 50 people and they will choose me every single time.
My youngest stepped on a bee and was screaming so I grabbed some lavender essential oil and some baking soda and made a paste and put it on his foot. By the time he had finished a popsicle as a distraction, I couldn’t even see where the sting was and he was off and running in the grass again (this time with shoes). I put the remaining paste on my bug bites and the itching and inflammation stopped. But who wants to walk around with white paste all over their body? I looked like a leper.
I knew lavender and CBD together would help with inflammation and help to soothe irritated skin. What I didn’t realize was all the other uses I would find for it. I began putting it on my oldest son’s cystic acne and it disappeared. I put it on all my bug bites and the itching stopped. I use it on my hands and lips at night to soften them and I use it on my cuticles and hangnails to keep them moisturized. I named it MAGIC SALVE because it really is magic. It’s like Windex in My Big Fat Greek Wedding or duct tape. There’s just a never-ending use for it.
I chose broad spectrum instead of full spectrum because I wasn’t convinced that there was a need for THC in CBD to make it effective. I read about the entourage effect and I do believe it has some merit, I believe broad spectrum is better than isolate because I think the other cannabinoids are important. But I don’t think the THC is necessary and I didn’t want to be giving my son anything with even a little THC in it.
So that’s the story behind each of our products. I didn’t choose them arbitrarily. I chose them because they were what I needed in my life so I knew it was something other women needed in theirs. As always, it was a labor of love. A gift to myself and my customers which is the founding principle behind Balance Health Products.
We’re still in the process of developing some other products. I’ve been taking a variety of supplements for hormonal balance and we’re working on combining them all into one single product so there’s no need for 10 different pills.
We’ve recently launched our skincare line, Grace & Balance Skincare, that I’m really excited about because good skincare is something I think we all need in our lives. The toxic load from skincare products is sickening and there’s very little regulation for it. Our skin is our largest organ, and it absorbs anything we put on it which is why I wanted our skincare line to only be things that will help the body. I wanted it to be chock full of vitamins and nutrients with no toxins. I wanted it to be like a daily supplement for the body along with nutrition for the skin.
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