Do as I say ...

You know the old adage ... do as I say; not as I do.

Obviously I have driven my two sons crazy with that over the years, but now I am telling all the thousands and thousands of people I have trained on the proper way to take care of your skin in the sun and all the tens of thousands of customers over 18 years, the same thing. Do as I say!

I, Charley Richards, owner of Absolutely Natural Sun care (the world's best), got a bad sunburn recently on my face, neck and shoulders. Of course, I have taken a merciless ribbing from just about everyone that knows me with copious offers to "sell me some sunscreen" etc etc. All well deserved.

Circumstances were understandable (at least to me). An enjoyable outing on the boat; I thought she had the sunscreen, she thought he had it, he thought she had it and she was sure I had it. No sunscreen.

The point to this besides a living definition/example of "irony", is a certifiable, testimonial on how incredible our Absolutely Natural aloes are. By Sunday afternoon at 4pm, my face was a glowing red that would put Rudolph's famous nose to shame. The heat coming off me could be felt several inches away from my face. Uncomfortable, of course, but the potential embarrassment was worse. You see, I had a presentation to do in front of a few dozen business leaders gathered in Melbourne from across the Southeast. How much credibility would I have if my face were still in this condition when speech time came around?

Desperate, I turned to the aloes. I applied (smeared) the Pure Aloe w/ Tea Tree on all affected areas and let it sit until it went into the skin. Then I applied (coated) the Rosehip Aloe lotion on immediately afterwards. I repeated this dozens of times over the nexttwo days.

Immediately the heat left my face and other areas. And, slowly, the red turned to my version of brown (as a red head of Irish descent, my "tan" is sort of a reddish one to begin with). By Tuesday morning (fewer than 48 hours after my folly), I looked healthy and my version of "tan" instead of like someone who needed to go to the emergency room.

I DO NOT suggest you try this at home as I am a professional (yea, a professional that doesn't bring sunscreen on a boat outing in Florida!).

At any rate, I always try turning a negative into a positive and thus the story of the face saving aloes (double entendre intended) .

Best regards,

Charley

Home, Sweet Home

I am happy to be back in Melbourne. Since September 2nd, I have been to Hawaii, New York City, West Virginia and Austin Texas in addition to a trade show in Orlando. Hawaii was sales training for the pool and beach personnel and meetings, meetings, meetings. NYC was a trade show for the Health & Beauty Association; West Virginia was to see my old college for the first time in many years and visit Mom; Austin was the I-Spa Show where Absolutely Natural exhibited for the first time and Orlando was a trade show for our tattoo products. Quite an eclectic mix!

The I-Spa show in Austin was particularly gratifying serving as a barometer for just how far our spa division has come since inception in 2003. This was the first time we had exhibited at I-Spa although I have been to several shows and gave seminars at a couple on natural products and private labelling. As a first timer, you really can't expect to be highly recognized by show attendees, but we were! Despite being in the back corner of the massive hall, we were busy the entire three days. In fact, we were described by one attendee as the "darlings of the show". Quite high praise when you consider we had a 10x10 booth (nicely done thanks to Todd and Lindsey) next to some of the bigger company's huge islands and elaborate displays.

Why does our tiny company garner such attention? I think the answer is simple. Our absolutely, 100% dedication to making the finest natural and organic formulas possible. We always use the best raw materials and never cut corners for costs consideration. Couple that with innovative ideas, excellent formulators, unparalleled service and the extras that we bring to our business partnerships... effective sales training, help with marketing and even fulfillment from web sites and 800 numbers.

Finally, we can do every aspect of a resort's needs. Sun care, amenities, spa products, personnel care, locker room amenities, professional sizes and retail. We were the hit of the show in Austin and I want to thank Suzanne Clements for the awesome graphics for the booth as well as Absolutely Natural staff, Lindsey Pushman, Todd Anderson and Bob Hamner for a job well done.

Best regards, Charley