Tag: clean living

Behind the Scenes: What I Actually Do Each Day in My Direct Sales Business

raisingcleanLeave a comment

When people hear I work in direct sales, they often assume I just post on social media and wait for orders to roll in.
But the truth? There’s a whole rhythm, purpose, and heart behind what I do and it’s so much more than sharing pretty graphics or product photos.

So today, I wanted to pull back the curtain and show you a real look at what my day-to-day actually looks like in this business I love. Whether you’re curious about what I do, considering a similar path, or just want to know how this kind of work fits into real life (especially mom life), this is for you.

💌 Building Relationships First

At the heart of everything I do is service. I’m not here to sell a product and disappear. I’m here to help people feel better, naturally and confidently.

That looks like:

  • Checking in with customers after they receive their orders
  • Recommending personalized product routines
  • Answering questions about ingredients, clean swaps, or how to use CBD safely
  • Sending thank-you messages and reminders so people know they are seen and supported

These little touches matter. They build trust. And they remind me daily that this business isn’t about sales… it’s about impact.

📚 Educating Myself to Better Serve Others

Every day, I carve out a little time to learn. That might mean listening to a podcast while folding laundry, diving into product education, or brushing up on ingredient research.

In the world of wellness, clean beauty, and natural solutions, there’s always something new to explore. And the more I learn, the better I can simplify it for others, especially other busy moms who don’t have time to research every label or trend.

📲 Creating Content That Matters

Yes, I post on social media, but it’s not random. My content is rooted in what I’ve personally learned, used, and believe in.

Each week I create posts that:

  • Educate (think: CBD myths, ingredient swaps, wellness tips)
  • Inspire (real-life mom moments, freedom stories, encouragement)
  • Invite (sharing promotions, events, or how others can join me)

It’s never about pressure. It’s about offering value and helping someone take one step closer to living a cleaner, more empowered life.

🧠 Staying Consistent with Systems (Even as a Busy Mom)

Some days are chaos. Between homeschool, dishes, and unexpected meltdowns (from the kids… or me 😂), my business happens in the in-between moments.

That’s why I lean on simple systems:
✔️ Daily task lists
✔️ Weekly planning sessions
✔️ Dedicated work time
✔️ Content batching when I can

These help me stay on track without burning out and give me space to still be fully present as a mom.

💬 Engaging and Connecting

Social media is social. I don’t just post and ghost. I genuinely connect with people. That looks like:

  • Replying to DMs and comments
  • Celebrating wins with customers and teammates
  • Answering wellness questions
  • Connecting with other like-minded mamas and women who value clean living

These conversations are what fuel me most because they remind me I’m not just talking into the void. I’m building community.

🎉 Supporting My Team

One of my favorite parts of this business is locking arms with others who are building something meaningful too. I mentor others who are just getting started, lead team challenges, answer questions, and cheer people on every step of the way.

Seeing others find confidence, freedom, and success in this business *on their own terms* is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever been part of.

This Business Fits Into My Life… Not the Other Way Around

What I love most is that this business doesn’t require me to sacrifice my values, my family time, or my sanity.
It’s flexible, fulfilling, and allows me to work in alignment with my heart, on my own time, with my own voice.

If you’ve ever wondered if you could do something like this: whether for the discount, the community, or the impact, I’d love to chat.
No pressure. Just an open door.

Because if I can do this in the messy middle of motherhood, you can too.

💛 Jessica

Hydroquinone

raisingcleanLeave a comment

Hydroquinone is a topical skin-lightening agent commonly used to treat skin conditions such as hyperpigmentation, melasma, and certain types of dark spots. It works by inhibiting the production of melanin, the pigment responsible for skin color.

A nutrition company known for being clean and toxin free recently posted “Must have skincare ingredients” which is interesting because they don’t carry skincare and after seeing this post it’s clear that skincare is not in their wheelhouse. Which is fine, but maybe don’t share must have ingredients because one they shared, Hydroquinone, is very toxic…

A couple of benefits of Hydroquinone are:

  1. Effective Skin Lightening: Hydroquinone is considered one of the most effective ingredients for lightening dark spots and evening out skin tone.
  2. Treatment of Melasma: Melasma is a common skin condition that causes dark patches on the face. Hydroquinone is often prescribed to help fade these patches.

But… are the benefits worth the risks? 🧐

🥴 For me, it’s a hard no.

Check out this chart that compares Hydroquinone with Crunchi’s Brightening Complex Technology and let me know your thoughts below!

http://ltl.is/sky3rcd

Like what you see here? Make sure to join my clean living community over on Facebook!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/raisingclean/

We have an awesome promo coming this week for anyone who is ready to detox their makeup and/or skincare, info will be shared in the Facebook group!

Organization Series

raisingcleanLeave a comment

For those of you who don’t know me yet, my name is Jessica DeRico. I’m a hippy-ish mama to one 3 year old girl and another baby on the way, I’m into all things clean living, holistic health, and I’ve always thrived with structure, routines, systems, and organization. Like most of you, I’m just trying to get the most out of my day so I can be productive, present, happy, and healthy. Staying organized helps me do that!

This blog is typically about all things toxin free, but in honor of Spring cleaning time, I thought we could chat organization. I was recently asked to do a short series on this topic for someone else’s business group and everyone really enjoyed it. I do consider this a kind of “detoxing” because you’re detoxing your mind and environment to allow you to live healthier!

I’ve always been picked on (in a friendly way) by family and friends because of my strict schedules and organization techniques and I know what I do won’t work for everyone, but if I can help you organize your day/life at all, that would bring me joy!

I’LL START DROPPING TIPS SHORTLY, BUT TONIGHT I’D LOVE TO KNOW WHAT IS HARDEST FOR YOU:

🧥 Organizing Clothes/Household Items

🤯 Organizing Your Mind

📅 Organizing Your Day

Looking forward to getting to know you all better ❤ Feel free to share your struggles in the comment section. I’m sure every person struggles in some way with organization (I’ve been working on it my whole life and still have struggles).

Like what you read on this blog? You’ll LOVE the Raising Clean Facebook Community -> https://www.facebook.com/groups/raisingclean

The Chances Not Taken

raisingcleanLeave a comment

“Original thinkers feel fear. They’re afraid of failing but they’re even more afraid of failing to try. They know you can fail by starting a business that goes bankrupt or by failing to start a business at all. They know that in the long run, our biggest regrets are not our actions, but our inactions. The things we wish we could redo, if you look at the science, are the chances not taken.”

I heard this quote on a Ted Talk I was watching and knew it was one I wanted to remember. 

I don’t know if I’ve shared much about where we were at in our lives when I hit the join button on to partner with an incredible clean beauty company, but it was terrifying! 

We had just spent a large chunk of our money to move across the country from Arizona to New York. We were pregnant and had the huge expense of raising a human being on the horizon. We had ZERO income coming in… We were both teachers. It was June. Neither of us had paychecks coming in. Then there was the fact that Christopher hadn’t even gotten a new teaching job yet and I wasn’t planning on going back to teaching so our financial state was very up in the air. We didn’t have our own place. We were living with my parents. Our life was seriously so unpredictable at the time when I sat down and talked to Chris about this opportunity after it was presented to me and we both knew it was the right choice. It was a massive risk and we really did not have the extra money to put into my initial investment, but we made it work because we knew it would be worth it. 

So watching this Ted Talk and hearing that quote, made me think to myself, what if I had not become a clean beauty advocate…

*I would not be home with my daughter every day.

*Adeline would be in daycare with a person we don’t know.

*I would be working a job that is not in my field or a passion of mine while I spent all my free time getting my NY teaching certification.

*If we did decide for me to still stay home with Addie, we would be pinching pennies trying to make ends meet.

*We wouldn’t have been able to buy a house and would still be in a tiny apartment we hated.

*I wouldn’t know all I do now about ingredients and toxins.

*I would probably still unknowingly be using incredibly harmful products and putting them on my baby.

*I wouldn’t have hit a new leadership promotion last month and started bringing in real, career level income.

It’s amazing to me how much this opportunity has changed and blessed my life and I know there are still so many more blessings to come. Don’t be someone who looks back and regrets the chances you didn’t take. Very few people start businesses because they have more than enough money to or because they have all this extra time to. They do it because they NEED the financial freedom or they NEED the time freedom. I needed both if I wanted to be home with my daughter every day and both are what I have received. 

I’m an open book for anyone who has any questions!

Hair it is…

raisingcleanLeave a comment

Let’s talk hair care.


I’ll be honest, I’ve only tried one toxin free shampoo and conditioner but because it took me SO long to find it, and because I was greenwashed twice before finding a truly toxin free brand, I knew I needed to share!


I found an article from January of this year listing “The Best Shampoos for Every Type of Hair” and dug into these recommendations a bit and you can imagine that what I found wasn’t pretty.


Some common ingredients were:
🚫PEG – While PEGs can be mild irritants, they’re less than desirable primarily because they help traffic funky chemicals across your epidermis, including a slug of impurities they’re often contaminated with. 😱According to a report in the International Journal of Toxicology by the Cosmetic Ingredient Review, pollutants found in various PEG compounds include ethylene oxide (used to manufacture mustard gas), 1,4-dioxane, polycyclic aromatic compounds, and heavy metals (lead, iron, cobalt, nickel, cadmium, arsenic).” 😳
❌ Phenoxyethanol – used as a preservative in cosmetic products to limit bacterial growth. Skin exposure to phenoxyethanol has been linked to allergic reactions ranging from eczema and hives to anaphylaxis. Infants exposed to phenoxyethanol can experience a depressed central nervous system leading to a decreased appetite, difficulty waking, skin color change, damaged DNA, and limpness of extremities.
❌ 𝙎𝙇𝙎 – often contaminated with 1,4 dioxane, a byproduct of the manufacturing process that is “possibly carcinogenic to humans” and may also cause negatives effects in the kidneys, liver and central nervous system, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
🚫 Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA): This preservative is used to help foods retain color, but it also irritates the skin, causes skin rashes and even asthma. It is on the FDA’s toxicity watchlist, which you know can’t be a good sign (especially considering how many other toxins they let slide).


If you want to hear what I use in my hair or simply want to join the discussion on cleaner living, follow this link https://www.facebook.com/groups/raisingclean/ to the Raising Clean Facebook Community 🙌🏻