The Amber Necklace I Received from Healing Hazel

New bloggers, like myself, endeavor to get their blogs noticed by reputable entities, such as publishers. However, since there are only so many publishers out there and so many bloggers, it’s difficult for a new blogger to gain the attention of a publisher, particularly if their blog has only a few email subscribers, Facebook Likes and Twitter Followers. Thus, many new bloggers hope and pray for some “sign from the Heavens”  that their writing is worthy of attention. That first sign often comes in a request for a product review.

Several weeks ago that “sign from the Heavens” finally came for MIP. I was contacted by Sophie Langlois at Healing Hazel, to review one of Healing Hazel’s amber necklaces. I am honored and humbled to do that for them. I received a very attractive all-amber necklace the next week in the mail. I have been wearing the necklace daily for approximately a week now.

Until Ms. Langlois had contacted me, I had not heard about the supposed benefits of the hazel tree or Baltic amber. Apparently, Native Americans have long used such materials for their curative properties. So, I decided to not only check out Healing Hazel’s site, but I also googled this topic and discovered the following:

1. Hazel trees do have some scientific evidence for helping with heart health, fighting obesity, fighting cancer, skin health and diabetes.

2. One study suggests that amber can reduce anxiety.

As someone who has completed a master’s in psychology, I am the very first to tell you that perhaps the reasons why many believe in the benefits of hazel and amber is because of a placebo effect. They believe what they are told about these materials and thus, the belief leads to an improvement in various ailments. And yet, if the placebo effect is the reason for the improvement, who cares? At least it works for someone, right???

As a chronic migraine sufferer, I have tried a plethora of homeopathic remedies for them. I have only found 1 such remedy that somewhat lessens the number and severity of my headaches.

On the other hand, I am also the first to say that moldy bread led to us curing lots of bacterial infections. It took medical science a while to figure this out. And one of our most favorite anti-cancer drugs comes from a yew tree and I’m sure Native Americans figured out that a yew tree had curative agents long before medical science validated it.

So, I am willing to keep an open mind about such things and give anything a try for a week or two. Here’s what I concluded about my amber necklace:

1. It’s one nice piece of jewelry (Yes, the fuzzy picture above is of what was sent to me–I’m not a photographer by any stretch of the imagination!). In fact I find myself playing with the smooth beads on a regular basis. (Yes, this would be a sign of my lack of maturity!)

2. The clasp screws together and when put together just looks like two more beads of amber. I like that feature! And yet, since the clasp beads are so uniform compared to the more natural amber beads, I can always find the clasp to take my necklace off.

3. It was a nice length and coordinated well with many things in my closet. I was surprised that its tan and brown coloration worked so well with my largely blue and black collection of summer tops. It looked good with both dressy and more casual outfits. It was not choker-length, but it wasn’t so long that it overtook tops with neckline embellishments.

4. I didn’t find any relief from my migraines. However, I found that I had less issues with my normal hip area arthritis, even though I sat in the same position for 9 hours in one weekend while wearing it. Why was I in the same position for 9 hours? I was driving to and from my son’s university to move him into his dorm. Normally, I would have been reaching for my OTC pain reliever left and right for such a trip, but it was not needed this time.

5. I started losing weight while wearing this. I’ve been trying for almost 4 months to lose weight and despite being more picky about how many calories I’m consuming and cranking up my workouts considerably, I could never budge a pound off the scales until this week.

I’m the first to say that perhaps my improved conditions are just coincidence, due to other factors, or that they are the result of a placebo effect, but either way, I felt better.

There are several things I like about Healing Hazel in particular. While the founders of the company were skeptics themselves about amber and hazel, they became believers in these products for helping with various ailments. And yet, they don’t espouse that this is going to completely heal everyone on the planet. I like that cautiousness!

Their necklaces are very reasonably-priced for most people, so even if you try the products and they don’t help you, at least you own a nice piece of jewelry and it didn’t cost you a fortune. If you feel that amber helps you, Healing Hazel recommends not subjecting it to moisture and when the beads darken, replacing the necklace. The darkening is an indication that you may not receive as much benefit anymore from the necklace. This could mean replacing it every six months or so.

There are a wide variety of lengths, styles and colors. I may very well consider getting a different necklace in a different color, quite honestly! And Sophie was a joy to work with, and the necklace arrived in a padded envelope, complete with instructions on how best to utilize the necklace. Thus, I think you will be pleased with any purchase you make from Healing Hazel.

In addition, Healing Hazel knows that it owes its success to the Native American community. Thus, they make a concerted effort to hire at least 20% of their employees from this community.

I do have a few cautions for my readers:

1. Some believe these necklaces are helpful for teething babies. Since the beads are quite small, I would be extremely careful about letting a small child wear one. It could be a choking hazard. If you choose to let your child wear one, I advise keeping a very close eye on that child at all times and following Healing Hazel’s sizing guides carefully! I’m afraid I wouldn’t be comfortable letting a child wear one to bed, for this reason.

2. As someone with allergies that send me to the ER periodically, I would be cautious with the hazel necklaces. It could be a potential allergen for some of us.

3. Healing Hazel is based in Canada. However, they also have a California office listed on their site. Given the recent U.S. public reaction about Burger King’s decision to relocate its headquarters to Canada, I just want you be aware of that! Personally, I applaud our neighbors to the north. My hubby wouldn’t have a job if it weren’t for some kind Canadians. And they, in return, would acknowledge that they’re very happy to be conducting business and employing people in the U.S. I’m sure the same is true of Healing Hazel.

Would you like to peruse their products and investigate for yourself? Go here!

Monday’s Post: Have you ever recondited?

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