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Watch the video to get a little update about my life and the near future of The Love Vitamin, as well as find out if you were one of the winners of my ebook giveaway contest! Everyone’s answers to the question were amazing – thank you so much to everyone who entered!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGH8W55t1IU
What suggestions and feedback can you give me about The Vitamin, as well as video and article topics you’d like to see in the future?
Blog author Tracy Raftl used to have severe acne — now she teaches thousands of women how to take back control of their skin through natural, holistic, and mind-body methods.
The following is a repost of an interview with me by Beautiful with Brains (click here for original). Read on – I share all
This is a guest post from Jessica Gremley of the Natural Acne Clinic Are you well over your teen years and still struggling with stubborn
Hi, my name is Krista and I am a recovered acne sufferer after a 5 year battle. I have tried for months to bring myself
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23 Responses
smiling and laughing a whole video long
😀
I think you should try expanding your blog a bit more and getting the name out there. More people need to hear you and the benefits of living a as-much-as-possibly-natural lifestyle. I try to recommend your blog as much as possible, because its such a good source of concise information in one place. I wish this blog was around when I was going through my acne and general health issues since its such a handy little tool. The more readers and followers you gather, the more feedback you’ll get as to what people want to know about in regards to holistic healing and nutrition and blah blah.
Maybe also space your videos and blog posts a bit further apart? Or perhaps every other week or so you could pick a topic and expand on that as much as possible. Talk about one subject as much as possible and cover every possible viewpoint, controversy, confusion and misconception surrounding it until there’s nothing more to say on the matter.
I agree that your blog should focus more on personal well being in general rather than just acne (although that is a big aspect of it obviously.) It’s nice to read stuff about holistic healing and how it helps our bodies and minds in general, not just our faces.
Hope that gave you some ideas. 😛
Thanks for spreading the word and being such an AWESOME supporter, Sampson. I think the blog will grow at its own pace… things like this take a while to gain momentum and spread. It’ll get there, it’s only a meer 3 1/2 months old, and I think it’s doing quite well for that time span! I’m pretty stoked about its growth, actually!
You’re right, I think I may start spacing my posts out a little more.. I feel like I’m putting too much pressure on myself to have a consistent post every other day, and reply to everyone’s questions and comments ASAP… I feel like it kind of stifles creativity because I’m addicted to the computer! I’d rather make videos and articles because it’s fun and not because I feel like I must. Hahah… I won’t let it slide crazy or anything, but maybe just every 2 – 3 days or even 4 if I’m busy, instead of the consistent every other day…. and just not WORRY so much! haha
I am happy and relieved to hear that people want to know more about an overall holistic life, instead of just acne…. this pleases me 😀
Meal plans or just examples of the foods you eat in a day.
What to get when you eat out
More about meditation(Can’t remember if you’ve continued, would like to hear your opinion on Brain Sync, Holosync, etc. guided meditations)
I’ve been looking and haven’t been able to find out which products you use on your face(Wash, moisturize).
And so on, and so on
Hey Daylan, thanks for the feedback!
So I will be adding some recipes to the upcoming ebook, but also, like I said in the video, I’m getting a video camera and a tripod (and more privacy in my cabin! Without roommates, woohoo), so I plan to be making lots of cooking and recipe videos, because I know… coming up with food ideas sometimes is a real pain.
As for the meditation, I did my follow up here: https://thelovevitamin.com/?p=602
And for what I use on my face, this video will let you know: https://thelovevitamin.com/?p=327
I’m also glad to hear that people are interested in what I like and am into (videos, music etc)… it helps me infuse some personality into my videos if I know that people are interested in the “other” stuff about me as well. If you want to be my friend on facebook, it’ll give you head start! : https://www.facebook.com/thelovevitamin
i think food and cooking videos would be very helpful to some people. especially people that don’t know how to cook or are just learning. I never really cooked in my life and it was hard to teach myself when I changed my diet. I also think that talking about improving your life and not just talking about things other than acne is also a good idea.
I personally like videos/posts on the psychological effects of acne because thats the hardest area to change for me. I think the mixture you have going of blog posts and videos is perfect.
Sweet, thanks for your feedback Sarah! I’m excited to do like a… “cooking for newbs” kind of series haha. Sometimes I take it for granted that I know how to cook and other people aren’t quite as skilled in the kitchen…. yet!! (they will be after my videos muahah)
Oh I’m SO happy you’re taking in suggestions! I would love love LOVE to hear more about the psychological aspect of living life. Not just for acne-proned people, but for EVERYONE, because at the end of the day, everyone has problems that can be very difficult to deal with: financial, bereavement, rejection, homesickness, and the list goes on and on (as they say: “most men lead lives of quiet desperation”).
I seriously would love to hear more about your thoughts or tips on how to find inner peace, happiness, and confidence. I know these things are not given to you, which sucks because it takes A LOT of hard work, but the great part about that is because you nurture it yourself (as mentioned before, it’s not given to you), no one can take it from you. I think it’s imperative that everyone, especially people who suffer with self-esteem issues, realize that they matter and deserve just as much love, respect, and happiness as the “lucky” or “perfect” people they envy.
Please elaborate more on this topic! You have such an inspiring story and I’m sure you have your own tips on how to get to the optimal level of mental health.
Awesome! Thanks for the suggestions… I would definitely like to work more toward the site being about happiness and optimal mental health… I guess now in the beginning, I feel like because the topic of the blog is “acne” is that I need to cover the basics of getting rid of acne first… but yeah!! I’m glad to hear this that people are wanting to hear about the psychology side more, because I actually very much enjoy reading about and researching psychology and spirituality and mental health and things like that! I find nutrition and skin care interesting, but it can be a drag sometimes… definitely want to move toward positivity!
For non acne related things tell us more about you. Music, tv, movies, etc.
I think just do whatever you want, people will always ask questions, keep a notebook of them all to brainstorm ideas? 😀 I’d like to see any video/article that supports a clear skin lifestyle and even just healthy body lifestyle, because anything that’s good for your body, can only help you stay clear. anything really, cooking, skin care, natural products, diy, even personal video vlogs from time to time. Articles or videos don’t matter, both are good ^_^;;.
Thanks for the feedback, Danielle! 😀 hahah ‘just do whatever you want’…… that’s awesome… that’s actually exactly what I wanted to hear…. I’ve been wondering lately if people are wanting me to be a skin care guru, when I’m not a person who’s majorly into makeup/products etc. I notice there’s a lot of people on youtube like that who are very popular… so I was just wondering if that’s what people expected or wanted me to be !!
So that’s great to hear, because that’s what I wanted my site to be in the beginning… a general, broad, happy blog about how to live a healthy, natural lifestyle to supports clear skin – not about acne itself… (although acne is obviously the context). In fact, I think I may change the tagline from ‘an alternative slant about curing acne’ to something like ‘living a holistic lifestyle for clear skin and happiness’… or something.
Anyway… Thanks!!
OMG! When I saw your email “You won the e-book!” I was really shocked and excited to watch this video. Hahaha! Thank you so much. I feel so happy! I didn’t saw that coming. 🙂
Yeah!!! super congrats on winning the ebook Verna!
Maybe expand a little on other skin problems that can also be helped by diet and lifestyle. For example, I have been struggling with rosacea (acne rosacea) and scalp psoriasis…both which the doctor gave me some crappy medications that didnt work and I have now found that through eating healthy and exercise I’m slowly getting them under control. Also stress is a big factor.
Some more things on minimizing stress, i like the recipes and cooking ideas (specifically cooking on a low budget or cooking for beginners- simple meals), maybe some exercise ideas (ideas that are more fun and creative than going to the gym…i hate the gym haha)
I think just any suggestions on living life more naturally and most importantly, being happy. Your summer in a cabin sounds awesome! More info on that would be interesting. and also maybe some info on starting your own garden, or even starting a small garden using pots and stuff for people that live in apartments but still want to grow some of their own food.
Thats all i can think of right now. But I love your site, so keep doing what your doing! also I like the mix of videos and articles, and i like the length of your articles…not too long.
Good suggestions, Shannon! Thanks! 😀 I was thinking about doing exercise videos, gardening etc… yay, I’m super excited for this summer when I can be really creative with my videos.
That’s also a good idea for doing a video about other skin problems… I had eczema all over my hand that I came down with at the same time as my severe acne, and it went away at the same rate too. Glad to hear your rosacea and psoriasis are doing better!
I just wanted to add, don’t work too hard! Make sure you take some time for yourself and try not to let the pressure of getting videos/articles up weigh you down. We all need mental breaks in order to fully give what we can to others. Also, I think your articles should be whatever is on your heart to write. 🙂
Thanks E! Those words are very comforting to ease my mind a little… I just got back to my hometown yesterday for the summer, and it was a beautiful sunny day…. and I was so excited! I definitely think the summer will give me a lot of inspiration for some great posts… without forcing it! 😀
you should do a video on the importance of sleep and how it could affect you and times you should be sleeping at; all about sleep. Because I and probably many others can’t get it through our heads how important sleep is. I hear it but it just goes through my ear and out the other; and I’m the type of person who goes to bed at 4 in the morning and wakes up at 6 to go to school; so a video or article on sleep would be great! 😀
Hi Jessica!
haha two hours of sleep a night?! you’re nuts! Here, I did an article a while back about sleep: https://thelovevitamin.com/?p=496 …. you should read it thoroughly! 😀
😀 i was soooo surprised to see your email 🙂 i thank your magic hat for picking my name (you did pronounce it right).
And i thank you for sharing all your knowledge, i’m glad i found you early on my journey to clear skin 🙂 and better life….(can i tell you a secret, 🙂 i can see improvements on my face, even other people see it too).
Thank You!
Yay!! Congratulations on winning! (and me for getting your name right haha). And WAY TO GO on seeing skin improvements… ! 😀