Rule number one: be gentle with your skin. Give it time to ease itself into these higher UV days. Going to the park or beach and roasting yourself into a bright pink beetroot on the first hot weekend is an obvious no no. If you're a back yard bikini sun baker keep it down to no more than 15 minutes a day in direct sunlight. That way you'll build up a tan slowly and get your dose of Vitamin D. Sun worshipping is ok in moderate amounts. The sun is the greatest source of Vitamin D and it's vital we get enough of it as it regulates calcium metabolism and bone health, but it also regulates cell growth. That means it's good at preventing cancer. So it's a case of balance really. Just enough sunshine a day will keep the skin doctor away!

Rule number two: wear a good natural sunscreen. What you need is a good UV blocker to prevent the sun's rays penetrating the inner skin layers, damaging collagen and elastin fibers. Beware of the sunscreens laden with chemicals as these have been found to actually absorb UV rays, neutralizing them into the skin tissue. Natural sun creams block UV rays, are less irritating and are not toxic for the body. Some good natural sunscreens are: SPF8 Moisturising Sun Cream by Essential Care, Day Solution SPF 15 by Green People and SPF30 Baby and Child Sun Spray by Lavera.

Rule number three: nourish, nourish, nourish. Avoid premature aging by using a quality natural after sun lotion, rich body butter and intense night creams. If you feed your skin with moisturisers that are packed with nutrients and minerals it will reward you with a softness and suppleness sun bakers everywhere will be jealous of. Some of the best anti-aging organic creams are: Energy Sensation Moisturiser from Laveré, Jasmine Enriching Cream by Neal's Yard Remedies and Regenerative Night Cream by Madara.

Rule number four: if you can't make it, fake it. If your 15 minute quota of Vitamin D boosting, anti-cell damaging sunshine is not enough to give you the desired tanned glow you desire, fake it. There are some excellent fake tanning creams made with natural ingredients out there. The vegan Self Tan Lotion by Green People is great. As is the Self Tanning Lotion by Lavera. Follow with Silk Shimmer Lotion by Lavera for a beautiful sheen on top of your freshly tanned skin.

So Organic has been voted Highly Commended in two categories at the 2009 Natural Health Beauty Awards.

Judges were impressed by our own brand range highlighting our So Organic products in the ‘Best Value Range' and ‘Best Conditioner' categories. The So Organic Conditioner in particular was Highly Commended for leaving hair "fantastically tangle free".

We love using the So Organic products and it's so good to have them acknowledged in the natural and organic industry - well done us!

Would you like the good news or the bad news on banishing cellulite? Let's get bad out the way first - there is no permanent cellulite cure. The good news - you can reduce its appearance. Well that's kind of the point of wanting to banish it in the first place right?

Round, pear, svelte or skinny, cellulite can affect anyone. It can be predicted with two words - fat percentage. It's not about weight so much as the amount of fat that dances with the upper layers of skin. In females the connective tissue is quite inflexible so when our body fat increases our fat cells expand and the inflexibility of these tissues allows them to move nearer to the skin's surface.

Hormones, metabolism, genetics, diet and lifestyle choices are all believed to influence the occurrence of cellulite. The only way you can dramatically reduce the orange peel appearance is to use a combination of exfoliation, oils/creams aimed at improving circulation, reducing calorie intake, increasing exercise and loving your body (this last one always makes for a kinder reflection in the mirror).

When it comes to lotions and potions to reduce cellulite it's always best to go for the natural and organic variety, not least because they avoid the chemicals found in conventional remedies. Ingredients like ruscus, birch, juniper berries, cyprus and Bayberries are used in many natural formulations to combat cellulite. A few products we recommend are:

- The Organic Anti-Cellulite Body Care Set by Madara
- Body Firming Oil by Spiezia
- Active Control Firming Body Lotion by Lavere
- Triple Action Cellulite Lotion by Green People
- Perfect Peach Cellulite Massage Cream by Barefoot Botanicals
- Birch Cellulite Oil by Weleda

These products contain plant extracts to naturally stimulate the body's own regenerating processes to improve the skin's texture and smoothness.

Today we interview Sarah Gibbs, co founder of Trilogy, advanced natural skincare.

How did you and your sister Catherine go about developing the Trilogy range?
It all started with rose hip oil. We discovered the properties of rose hip oil with the manufacturing business I had and we found it was a fantastic skin regenerating product. We saw we really should be formulating with this.

Did either/both of you work in the skin care industry before you started the company?
I had in terms of ingredient supply. I ran the ingredient manufacturing company that my father owned. Cath was a fashion beauty journalist.

What do you love most about your work?
The ability to be so creative. We can sit down with a pen and a clean sheet of paper and come up with an idea and see it through to fruition. It's about creating. That's what's exciting if you look at it from my perspective but everyone would be different.

What are the most commonly asked questions you get about your products?
‘How natural are they' is the hot topic of the moment. Customers are so confused about what natural and organic means these days. So the hot question is ‘how natural and how organic are your products?'
‘How do they compare to traditional thinking' would be the other big question. To answer that we use 100% natural actives but we do use a synthetic preservative and we're happy to do that from a safety perspective. We're very attractive, functionally, to traditional thinking. There's a big shift towards making more natural choices in everything that we do. That goes for everything. It's a great alternative to what's been happening in the past.

Do you know of any other skin care range that use rose hip in such an all-embracing way?
Actually we don't anymore. When we started the first certified products we do were the closest but in actual fact probably two thirds of our range now doesn't focus on rose hip oil but other natural actives. The new age proof range for example has marula as the active ingredient. But yeah there are other ranges that use rose hip oil. I think Weleda have one, Barefoot Botanicals are another that have a rose hip focus. Even in everyday [conventional] skin care products will have a rose hip content; perhaps not as high as ours.

Where do you source your rose hip oil from?
We source our seeds and oil from two sources - one in Africa and the second in Chile. So we're buying them from both continents actually. They're certified organic from seeds to bottle.

Favourite product in the range?
Aaahhh that's so hard. It appeals on what my needs are. I guess I always have Everything Balm with me but I can't get out of bed without hydrating toner.

Best thing you've heard about one of your products or your company?
That's even harder. We get so much feedback every single day from all around the world. On our website there are dozens of them. We've posted our favourites on our website. Literally we get them all day everyday.

What is your favourite organic brand excluding your own?
I really like Today Was Fun. It's a fantastic tea brand that's carbon neutral and organic. I love that tea. We don't have it down under but it's always stood out in my mind as being absolutely sensational across the board.

"Maximum effect on your skin, minimum effect on our environment" (Trilogy's mantra) Can beautifying ourselves save the planet?
The thing we're really mindful of at Trilogy is that this category does involve packaging, it does involve manufacturing - there's no getting away from that. Hence why we have a minimum effect on the environment as part of our mantra because we are aware that we do have an impact on the environment. So can beautifying ourselves save the planet? Not simply no.

Who's your eco role model?
I still say Anita Roddick, mainly from an animal testing stance. She really does stand out. It sounds odd but I also like what Richard Branson is doing in terms of biofuels. He's looking at it comprehensively rather than in isolation. He's impressive that guy even though he runs an airline he's going to be leading the way in terms of how we develop biofuels.

You were first company in Australasia to be certified carbon neutral and use fully recycled packaging - do you have any eco-focused activities moving forward?
We would like to in the future give back in a recycling sense rather than recycling downwards. How could we be recycling upwards, I think that's the next charge for us and the next charge for everyone. We have to make it into a better thing. I think that's how we're evolving. There is always more to do on sustainability and traceability. Always. We can never let that down given that agriculture is a moving thing.

From an environmental perspective how do you envision the world in 30 years time?
30 years time? Naturally I'm an optimist so I've got to be optimistic. But there are big chunks of the world that aren't on board which is really worrying. I think some cultures will be forced by legislation to do things, which I think is perfect - that's what we should be doing. Some will be forced to come in to line but others won't. Maybe I'm a bit more of a realist on that than an optimist.

What are your predictions for the organic beauty market?
The future couple will know what they're shopping for. It will be like they're buying food. I think that will be happening really soon. It's already happening but it will become a mainstream way of buying skin care.

Natural will be successful if it's functional. The functionality aspect in beauty has got to be there and natural skin care products compete now. They will continue to grow; I think it will outgrow traditional techniques. The world will continue towards making more natural and organic choices, particularly if they become more educated.

Synthetic preservatives have been given a bad wrap... a well deserved one. Certain preservatives have been found to cause dermatitis and other skin irritation as well as stimulate allergies.

The worst offenders are from the paraben family: methyl paraben, ethylparaben, butylparaben and propylparaben. Parabens act as oestrogen mimics and can disrupt the balance of hormones within the body. What's scary is the strong link between oestrogen mimics and cancer.

All products require some preserving ingredient to ensure they are safe and stay active, that is, effective for a minimum period of time. The only way you can get around a preservative-free skin care product that works is to make it yourself and use it immediately. This is a great idea if you have mountains of time on your hands but most of us don't so the alternative is to shop with your informed hat on and read the labels.

But even these need a little help from time to time. Sometimes even the most respected organic brands use synthetic preservatives in very tiny quantities to keep their products safe and effective. Soil Association beauty standards are renowned for being some of the strictest around and even permit certain preservatives such as phenoxyethanol.

The simplest preservatives are provided by nature. Good natural preservatives to look out for are organic herb and fruit extracts, essential oils, sugar and alcohol. Tea tree, propolis and manuka are a few effective ingredients that help to preserve natural products.

Our view is that preservative free is best but rarely practical, after that natural preservatives would be the preferred option and finally synthetics if really necessary. The most important thing is that the product is safe!