St. Agnes, the patron saint of all girls, stared down at me from the portrait on the wall at Milagros in Breckenridge. Her pure gaze reminded me that my feet had committed sins of the flesh. After a summer of Chaco wearing and barefoot walking, my cracked heels and ravaged cuticles were in the depths of depravity. They needed a savior, absolution, salvation - and they found their redeemer in natural skin care.

Luckily, angels walk among Summit County's natural beauty industry. Myra Michelle Eby of Frisco's MyChelle Dermaceuticals and Sandy Jenkins of Breckenridge's Milagros helped pull me out of the black hole of foot woes. They explained the virtues of natural beauty care over the vices of chemical-laden potions. Armed with a stockpile of information and natural beauty products, I decided to have a pedicure party with eight friends. There I would affirm or reject the beliefs of the Summit County natural beauty product industry.

MyChelle's products were first on the list. On its website, www.mychelleusa.com, the company describes itself as a "paraben-free, non-toxic, 100 percent natural, eco-friendly, cruelty-free company." There is substance beyond this list of politically correct terms: Eby says her products are not only natural, but also therapeutic.

"That aspect is often lost in natural products," she said. "True dermaceuticals contain molecular structures that can be absorbed by the skin to rejuvenate and replenish it."

MyChelle's Bare Foot Treatment did just that at the pedicure party. With boswellic acid and ginger to reduce swelling, peppermint, lavender and grapefruit essential oils to invigorate feet, and salicylic acid to soften hardened skin, the pedicure party guests felt the effects immediately.

"It tingles, and I can feel the hard skin getting softer," Summit Cove resident Kelly Epen said.

Skin absorbs 40 percent of what is topically applied to it, so it is important to make sure beauty products are non-toxic. Eby cautions against using products containing toxins such as chemical preservatives, fragrances, fragrance maskers and coloring agents, because "these ingredients are stored in the human fatty tissues and can become ticking time bombs."

Eby gives the Bare Foot Treatment to pregnant friends because of its soothing, non-toxic nature.

"With all the swelling and stress of pregnancy, it helps them to feel better," she said.

Milagros' products also utilize the healing power of all-natural ingredients. Their entire St. Agnes soap line is made with vegetable glycerin, a natural moisturizer. Lye, a traditional soap ingredient, is omitted because it strips skin of the oils it needs to stay healthy. Fragrance comes from essential oils instead of alcohol-based perfumes, making the scent long-lasting and toxin-free.

"We recommend this soap to anyone who has sensitive or delicate skin, as it's extremely safe and healthy," Jenkins said.

Copper Mountain resident and pedicure party guest Janine Prout appreciated the mild ingredients.

"It made my feet feel soft right away, and they weren't dry after the water was gone," she said.

A lotion or rub will take skin's moisture to the next level. Many of Milagros' moisturizers contain shea butter. This skin-renewing extract is derived from a nut in Western Africa.

Shea butter has been found in the Egyptian pyramids and has been a staple of West African grooming for thousands of years. Jenkins decided to bring it to her line because of it's superior moisturizing abilities.

"This stuff works miracles," she said. "Its pure form is the most effective."

Most traditional body lotions contain filler ingredients with only a fraction of shea butter. Milagros' Ablution Solution contains "four redeeming ounces" of the creamy nut extract, and the difference is visible.

"My cuticles already look better," Epen said after applying the product at the pedicure party. "It makes a difference right away."

It is not necessary to use a large quantity of natural extracts to gain effectiveness. Jenkins said "a little bit goes a long way" because there are no preservatives or chemical fillers decreasing the effectiveness of the product.

The eight pedicure party guests had soft, rejuvenated feet after using only a fraction of the regular-sized products from MyChelle and Milagros. After cleansing, exfoliating and moisturizing with natural products, I realized my feet had never felt so refreshed. I turned away from the fallen world of chemical-filled beauty products and became a convert to the natural way.



Lindsey Krusen can be contacted at lkrusen@summitdaily.com.