Natura Review & Giveaway!

There are so many ways to go ‘green’ during the day but what about going ‘green’ at night? Honestly, this is something I had never considered before coming across a company called Natura, which focuses on creating all natural bedding and accessories.

Natura was founded by a father-son team that was on a mission to discover the secret behind how getting a better quality sleep could contribute to having a “healthier, more abundant lifestyle”. Together, the father and son team decided to develop a line of products that would allow people to sleep better while tackling various ailments such as back pain, restless sleeping, tiredness, etc.

From the start, Natura realized that all people sleep differently and have different sleep preferences. Because of this, Natura started using Naturlatex™ Talalay latex in their products. By adding Naturlatex™ Talalay latex to a variety of their products, it helps to conform to head, neck, and spine, to provide for the most comfortable sleep possible.

Natura’s Mission Statement is, “To help our customers achieve a superior night's sleep, alleviate pain, and increase comfort through unique and exceptional sleep systems that aid overall health and well-being. With our commitment to excellence in service, quality, and attention to detail, we will serve our customer with the greatest care, with the intention of helping them sleep better and live better.”

Review
Recently, Julia (Communications Director for Natura) offered to send me one of Natura’s pillows to try out for myself. The pillow Julia sent me was the standard sized Natura Aloe Dream Mate pillow. This pillow combines an aloe enriched cover with a Natural Smart Wool™ Lining and a granulated Talalay latex core to provide a truly luxurious pillow.


The aloe enriched cover provides your skin with lasting moisturizing qualities while you sleep.

The specially formulated Natural Smart Wool™ Lining provides an insulating layer, which allows you to regulate your body temperature naturally. Maintaining your temperature at a consistent rate will consequently allow you to sleep for longer periods in deep sleep. In addition, the wool in this pillow wicks away any moisture allowing your pillow to remain dry while repelling allergens and bacteria.

Finally, the latex core “mimics the feel of feathers and down but provides springy support that won’t pack down.” The latex in this pillow allows you to move freely throughout the night while keeping your neck and head supported perfectly. By adding latex to Natura’s pillows, it allows them to ensure good air circulation and eliminate moisture, therefore decreasing the presence of allergens and bacteria.

When I first noticed that this pillow was made of latex, I was immediately concerned about latex allergies. Since I have past experience studying in the Faculty of Nursing, I know that latex allergies are becoming more and more prevalent in our society. After talking with Julia about this concern, she explained to me that Latex allergies are a touch allergy. This means you have to come into direct skin to latex contact to have a reaction (to have an allergic reaction). Because Natura’s pillows use latex particles as the core with each being surrounded by wool, the possibility of actually coming into direct contact with the latex is extremely rare. After hearing about this, I was put a bit more at ease. If you are concerned about a latex allergy, please read the information page provided by Mayo Clinic. Please note this information is hearsay. Because I am not a doctor, nor am I an expert in latex allergies, I cannot guarantee that Natura products will not cause problems for people who suffer from a latex allergy.

Recapping the important qualities of Natura’s pillows:

“-All of our products are natural so there is never any off-gassing.

-Wool naturally wicks away moisture and humidity, leaving your pillow free of allergens that are attracted to moist, dark environments.

-Wool is antimicrobial, which means dust mites, bed bugs and other bacteria are naturally repelled and cannot survive.

-Aloe Vera has so many healing properties including cell regeneration (think wrinkles) anti-bacterial (think acne) and it makes your hair shiny.

-Aloe Vera lasts about 5 years and only comes out through the case when the pillow is scratched – it’s done by encapsulating aloe into the fibers – and it comes through a light pillowcase.-Latex is hypoallergenic which is great for allergy and asthma sufferers.

-Shredded latex provides a spongy, cushioning experience.-We shred our own latex from ends of mattresses – which means it doesn’t end up in landfills like other manufacturers.”

When I first received this pillow, I immediately noticed how soft it was, both in the texture of the filling and the feeling of the pillow cover. After sleeping with this pillow for one night, I noticed a couple things. First of all, I did manage to sleep throughout the night which I imagine was due to it’s temperature controlling properties. Second of all, unfortunately, the next morning, I woke up with a kink in my neck. I didn’t connect this to sleeping with the new pillow and figured I had just slept the wrong way. However, after sleeping with the pillow the next week, I noticed that my neck was continuously sore after waking up each morning.

After talking with Julia about the issue, she let me know that she had the exact same issue the first time she tried this pillow. She told me to try it again for another week and see how I felt. Julia explained to me that getting used to a new pillow can often be difficult and it takes a different amount of time for everyone. She added that after using the same pillow herself for a couple of weeks, the feeling of a sore neck diminished.

So…I was off to try the pillow again. Unfortunately, I was still having the same issue. I had a sore neck in the morning and additionally, I was having trouble getting to sleep. I just couldn’t get comfortable. I started to wonder if it might be because I was worrying about having a sore neck the next morning. It is really hard to say. Once again, I talked to Julia about my concerns. She went on to tell me that sometimes this can happen with a pillow has too much stuffing in it. Since I am used to a thinner pillow, this could easily explain my predicament. Julia told me that Natura offers customers the chance to bring back or send back their pillow to have some of the stuffing removed. This service is free of charge; however, the customer would be responsible for covering the shipping costs.

Finally, Julia explained to me that picking a pillow is a very personal experience. She suggests that before purchasing a pillow, you try it out in the store….touch it, lay down with it, etc. Picking a pillow sight unseen and without touching it, can be difficult. Luckily, after going to Natura’s dealer locator page, I was able to find five stores (all less than 10km’s away) that sold Natura products!

What can you win? One winner will receive two (2) standard sized Natura Aloe Dream Mate pillows.

To enter, take a look around Natura’s website, then come back here and tell me the name of a specific product you’d like to try. This question must be answered to gain an entry in the giveaway.

Each of the following will give you one extra entry in the giveaway. Please make sure to leave a separate comment for each thing you do:
-Naming one store near you that carries Natura products. Please visit Natura’s dealer locator page.
-Visiting Natura’s Sleep Tips page and telling me one thing you learned.
-Following Julia Rosien – Communications Director for Natura on twitter (@JuliaRosien). Please leave your Twitter name.
-Tweeting about this giveaway (with a link to this page) on Twitter. Please leave a link to your tweet. You can do this once a day.
-Blogging about this giveaway on your blog. Please leave a link to your blog post in your comment.

This giveaway will end on Thursay, March 5th at 11:59pm (Central Standard Time). After the giveaway has ended, the winner will be picked randomly using random.org. EMAIL RULES: In order to win, you must provide a valid email. I will be notifying the winner by email only. Please make sure your blog profile includes your email address and make sure that it is visible. If you do not have a blogger account, please make sure you have included your email address in your post. If there is no email address provided, to contact the winner, another person will be chosen. The winner will have 48 hours to respond to the winning email notification with their complete mailing address (I will be forwarding all this information to the sponsor), If this information is not received within 48 hours, a new winner will be chosen. This giveaway is open to residents of North America only!

Good Luck!

Are you looking to purchase a new pillow? Do you think one of Natura’s might be the right one for you? When you make an online purchase and enter the coupon code ‘Pillow Talk’ during checkout, you will receive a free 8oz. aromatherapy spray! Offer expires February 28, 2009.