Your most popular questions answered

We love receiving letters from our customers (both good and bad, good because we love to hear how fabulous we are and bad because it helps us improve our services and products). The most popular enquiries are; where you can buy our products, suitable products during pregnancy and our policy on animal testing.
Hannah, (who’s looking very demure in this photo) who is our lovely Customer Care Assistant and answers all your letters and calls has given us a brief explanation to your most frequent questions:

Where can you buy our products?
Customers in the UK can buy our products in Boots the Chemist, online or over the phone by calling 01442 430 330. Internationally, customers can order any of our products via the website, where we offer shipping to other countries.

Products during pregnancy – which products are suitable?
Our entire range of products are suitable for use during pregnancy, apart from 1 product from our Skin Care range, the Perfectly Polished Hot Cloth Cleanser due to the ingredient of Basil Oil. Customers should also avoid using our Trim and Tone Wrap on their tummies whilst pregnant.

Animal Testing – What is our policy?
We are very happy to clarify that The Sanctuary Spa is against animal testing and our manufacturers never test ingredients or our final Sanctuary Spa products on animals. The only testing that we do is user-trialling our new products on a number of women to ensure our products are of the highest standard and continue to meet our customers’ expectations.

Our 1st Baby Scan…

13 weeks – 6.7cm long (about half the size of banana!)

We’ve had our first scan! It was amazing to see and hear our baby’s little heartbeat. I’m  sure no-body else can make it out but they’ve all been much too polite to say!
I’ve started to feel more like in the land of living which is great. I’m still having some sickness but no longer look like death and even have a bit more energy. I still crash out by 9pm but its great to feel even marginally better.

Its all started to feel a bit more real I can suddenly think ‘my life is going to change FOREVER ’ and freak out a bit but then I think about the amazing thing that’s going to happen and it puts a smile back on my face.
There’s so much to think about, scans, tests, what to buy, what not to buy, not to mention the birth (eek), that you can feel a bit dazed as a first time mum. There’s lots of websites out there with loads of advice and forums www.babycentre.co.uk is a good site and you can even sign up to weekly emails which update you on how your baby is growing and of course there’s no advice like the first hand advice from women that are already mums!

Whilst my skinny fit jeans have been made redundant for the next few months I’m still clinging on to a few of my ‘normal’ clothes before I face fact and join the world of elasticated waistbands.
A great site for gorgeous maternity wear is www.IsabellaOliver.com. The clothes are middle of the road on the pricing stakes but you can see that they’ve been made with a pregnant woman’s shape in mind, the clothes have been made for this shape, not adapted for it which makes them lovely to wear. Otherwise lots of high street shops are now offering something in the maternity department, Hennes, Next and Asos all have maternity wear now which is great.

My sense of smell has finally dimmed down slightly so I’m back able to use all the products I love so much.
One product I’m absolutely loving is our Mum to be Body Butter as the generously sized tub allows you to scoop the product and slather your skin in it. Restoring skin elasticity and boosting collagen synthesis with cocoa butter, almond oil and rosehip seed oil this is a fabulous everyday moisturiser to keep your skin and supple and stretch marks at bay. Apply generously on a daily basis and your skin will thank you for it. If you’re looking for a cheaper option then olive oil will work just as well but won’t smell as lovely! All of The Sanctuary Spa’s products are ok for pregnant women to use with the exception of the Perfectly Polished Hot Cloth Cleanser due to the basil oil ingredient so you can happily pamper away to your hearts content.
Now my sickness has almost disappeared its been replaced with ‘baby brain’. This is my own terminology but almost every mum I’ve met has said it’s a common symptom of pregnancy where constant forgetfulness becomes  part of daily life.  Luckily my boss is so far finding fairly amusing as my desk and home is filled with post-it-notes with instructions and reminder notes. According to babycentre.com, several small-scale studies have suggested that the size of women’s brains can actually alter during pregnancy! So not only do us pregnant ladies have to contend with the following symptoms of pregnancy; greasy hair, weakened teeth, increased body hair growth, back ache, nausea, constipation, tiredness and going to the toilet every 5 minutes (hopefully you won’t have all of these symptoms at the same time!) we also have to contend our brains actually altering shape! It’s hard being a woman I tell you!

As a first time mum I’m keen to do everything I can to make sure I have a healthy baby and ‘do the right thing’ which means taking care with my diet. Just the ‘do’s and don’ts’ of your diet during pregnancy can give you a headache.  You should receive a leaflet which has handy tips, do’s & don’ts for your diet with your Bounty pack when you go for your 1st scan which has a handy tear off sheet you can pop in your handbag and take on the go. If you’re unsure visit thebabycentre.co.uk as this has loads of advice for you to check what’s best for you and your baby.

Bargain of the week!

For those of you who are getting in early for Christmas or for those who just love a bargain, head to your nearest Boots store between the 9th-16th October and get your mitts on a fantastic deal where you can pick up our Deluxe Beauty Gift Box (usually priced at £35) for only £17.50.

It’s brimming with an abundance of Sanctuary goodies and even includes a cute shower cap to keep your tresses looking lovely.

For those of you who want to kill lots of gift birds with one stone the gift is also available on the 3 for 2 offer so you can get three £35 gifts for the price of one! We have also found some great gifts for women here.
Bargain!