Polly Blitzer, editor-in-chief of BeautyBlitz.com, provides us with key beauty tips for traveling. The all-around style guru’s Web site is dedicated to keeping its readers in check with insider trend advice. If one thing is for sure, looking great should never take a back seat — even at 30,000 feet in the air.
944: What beauty essentials should you pack in your carry-on at all times? PB: I’m all about disposables on the plane. Colgate Wisp toothbrush, lavender-scented antibacterial wipes, Binaca breath spray (so old school, but I love it!), Emergen-C vitamin powder for my water bottles, packet of hand cream, tinted lip balm, bronzer and a blush brush.
Article by Samantha
Dr. Fresh -The Teach Brush
My son loves to brush his teeth, but for him to know how long to brush is always a little hard.
With the new Dr. Fresh-The Teach Brush lights up to show them how long they need to brush. It fits perfect in their little hands and he absolutely loves it! My son actually looks forward to brushing his teeth so that he can get his toothbrush to light up. Of course I do brush them first for him and then he does it on his own. He knows not to stop brushing until the light stops blinking.
The Iconic FireFly is more than just the best selling children's toothbrush in the country. With its light-up timer that flashes for sixty seconds when activated with a gentle press. The FireFly makes sure kids brush their teeth thoroughly as recommended by dentists. Since cavities in baby teeth are reaching epidemic proportions in the U.S., thorough brushing-from an early age-is more important than ever!
Here is a little video of my son using his adorable little Teach Brush from Dr. Fresh
What else can be learned from this dynamic little toothbrush that's priced just right at .98 cents. Showing not telling: Many young children are "show" a child rather than tell him, how to brush her teeth. Plus, it eliminates the need for nagging, which doesn't teach anything except avoidance! Small motor skills: The FireFly's Flashing timer must be activated by the child to work. The simply press the bease of the toothbrush and is rewarded with the colorful blinking light. Plus, they get batter and better at the small and precise movements necessary to cleanse teeth. Independence: Although parents should help young children brushh their teeth at first, FireFly is designed to encourage independence and let them feel good about something they can eventually accomplish all by themselves. Developing independence at home will help kids get ready for school. Staying on task: FireFly teachers persistence and uses its fun light up timer to keep kids on task until the job is done. This is solely the opinion of As They Grow Up. Other people may have different experiences with the product.Thank you to Dr. Fresh for providing a product to test.
Parent-Tested: Toothbrushes
June 3, 2009 at 8:00 am by Jennifer Gish, Staff writer
The bottom line: Highly recommended.Getting your kids to brush their teeth may be just about as difficult as getting them to clean their rooms, but several toothbrushes marketed toward kids are designed to make it a more appealing task.
Ginnie Farrell, a stay-at-home Albany mom of three, reviewed several new kids’ toothbrushes sent to the Times Union by the manufacturers. Here are the results: FireFly Boppin’ Backyard Musical Timer Toothbrush by Dr. Fresh
The pitch:
Now kids can brush to their favorite tune with FireFly Boppin’ Barnyard! This musical toothbrush plays “Old MacDonald” for 60 seconds. Children should brush for 60 seconds on the top teeth, when the music stops, brush another 60 seconds on the bottom teeth. The handle is ergonomically designed for easy handling. The brush is available in four different colors.
The cost: $2.49
Where to find it: Target, Wal-Mart, Walgreens and other large retailers
I think as parents we get stuck in certain mindsets, and it’s easy to look at products especially with a distinct bias. I have a definite bias against any noise-making child product. When I heard this toothbrush singing, I confess I cringed. I would have been shocked to discover that of the toothbrushes we reviewed, this by far would be my favorite. After pressing a button on the toothbrush, it sings “Old McDonald” for one minute. This way, children of any age can easily time themselves to brush their teeth for the proper time. My 3 year old has been brushing her teeth for the allotted two minutes each time she brushes her teeth since she got the toothbrush. Even when she wants to use her princess toothbrushes, she still uses the Old McDonald song timer and happily brushes along. We’ve gotten light-up timing toothbrushes, and a musical timer is much more effective, somehow by dancing along, the time seems to go faster and all three kids have found themselves dancing along to Old McDonald. Since reviewing this, I’ve seen other musical toothbrushes in slightly more hip versions, including High School Musical and Camp Rock. I have yet to see superhero versions of it, but if I did, my sons would go crazy brushing their teeth to Spiderman! That would be the only issue that I’ve seen with this kind of toothbrush, I haven’t found any boy-focused musical toothbrushes.
The bottom line: Highly recommended.
May 27, 2009 by the IE Mommy
Rylan and Skylar could not wait to brush their teeth the “moment” they received their Firefly toothbrushes by Dr. Fresh!
The funny thing was they did not quite understand the light timer. Skylar rushed upstairs…started brushing her teeth and in less then a minute ran downstairs and proclaimed “I Won!”. She decided that the light flashing timer was a time for her to beat! So as long as she was done before the timer…she figured she had won and did a great job!
Rylan on the other was brushing her teeth f-o-r-e-v-e-r. So long that I had to check on her. When I did she said “Mama, this thing won’t ever turn off”. It seems she was holding it a the end and was pushing the timing switch so the light was staying on for a lot longer then it would have normally done.
All chuckles aside…my girls have loved these toothbrushes. Since receiving them they have proudly proclaimed. “I brushed my teeth for the whole light Mama”.
As a parent we understand the importance of good oral hygiene. We know that in the long run…what our little ones do now will affect their teeth later in life. Kids just think “Why?”. For most kids teeth brushing is something that they endure and not something they enjoy. The Dr. Fresh Firefly toothbrushes give children a bit of fun in the morning. A little excitement to wake them up for the day and a piece of mind to parents that their children are brushing for the right amount of time. Dr. Fresh carries a lot of brands that have become household names like Aim, Pepsodent, Binaca and Close-up. With a large line of characters like Shrek, Peanuts, Barbie, Carebears and Disney… children will find a perfect toothbrush and moms will find them affordable. Firefly toothbrushes are perfect for little hands and little mouths. They add a flair of fun to the rather boring, but necessary chore of teeth brushing. I plan on putting them in all the gifts I give out for birthdays this year. Firefly tooth brushes are fun, affordable and effective. Great teeth? What a great gift!
May 26, 2009 by Susan
I am so happy to share with you some of the information on the Firefly toothbrush that we had a chance to review. The people working for Dr. Fresh have been so nice to send us a toothbrush to try for ourselves and see how it works with our son.
With studies showing that childhood decay is reaching epidemic level in the U.S. And it is well documented that cavities in baby teeth set the stage for cavities in adult teeth. That's why I feel that the Firefly toothbrush from Dr. Fresh is a great way to encourage children to want to brush and to brush longer. In order to get them to brush a little longer, there is a little button placed on the toothbrush. As soon as I hand him the toothbrush I push the button. The button makes his toothbrush start blinking. It blinks for 1 minute - the recommended time for brushing each arch. So he can easily know that he has brushed long enough!
The Firefly toothbrush also reminds you when it’s time to change your child’s toothbrush. Toothbrushes should be replaced every 3 months, but we do forget sometimes. The Firefly toothbrush will remind you, because the light stops working after 3 months. Firfly’s bristles are soft and individually rounded so it won't cause microscopic cuts to the gums. (Dentists even recommend it for adults for that reason.) But they resiliently spring back into shape! See the Firefly in action! Priced at only .99, why not try one!!
May 21, 2009 by Beth Bender
For anyone who loves to kiss this is the perfect opportunity to win somthing amazing for it! How about a trip to Paris for five days, and four nights! The actual birthplace of the french kiss, Paris, France, and the romance capitol of the world is just a kiss away. That’s right! Binaca your favorite breath spray, is giving away an all expense paid trip to one lucky couple, and all you have to do to win is send in a photo of you and your mate smooching. You can enter as many times as you want, but it must be a different picture each time.
Click here to enter the contest (please have a photo ready to upload).
5/19/2009 Posted by Melissa from the "Now What Baby" Blog.
Dr. Fresh (www.drfresh.com) has a toothbrush perfect for getting that super hero loving child in your life to brush their teeth. My son loves to brush his teeth. So much in fact that we had to start locking him out of the bathroom when it wasn't the appropriate time. The toothpaste mess was getting out of control. The only struggle we seem to have is getting him to brush his teeth long enough. He likes to put it in his mouth and then pull it back out instantly.
Dr. Fresh's Spiderman Light Up Toothbrush will light up for 60 seconds when your child presses it. It's easy to teach them that they brush up top till the flashing stops and then press again and repeat on the bottom. My son understood it quickly and then came up with the idea that he should be allowed to brush his teeth in the dark. Surprisingly, this idea works really well with the Spiderman toothbrush because he thinks it is really fun and the glow allows us the ability to still be able to supervise his progress. Dr. Fresh is giving away 10 Spiderman Light Up Toothbrushes! To enter to win visit Dr. Fresh and then fill out the form below. The deadline to enter is Wednesday May 26th at midnight EST. As always you can double your winning chances by subscribing to Now What Baby. This contest is open to US residents only.
May 7, 2009: When it comes to Little Music Man brushing his teeth, we usually have to help him hold his toothbrush to make sure he doesn’t stop brushing after two seconds.
Seriously--two seconds!
Fortunately, thanks to Dr. Fresh, we now have the Firefly Toothbrush, which makes brushing fun and encourages good dental hygiene!
The Firefly Toothbrush (ARV $.99) is one of the most innovative products I've seen when it comes to kids’ dental hygiene. When you squeeze the bottom of the Firefly Toothbrush, a flashing light will go off for 60 seconds. Initially, the flashing red light distracted Little Music Man. He’d keep pulling the toothbrush out of his mouth to play with it and watch the light, but I had to remind him that it wasn’t a toy. This happened a couple more times after the initial use.
However, once he started to get used to the flashing light, he started to understand how brushing each dental arch doesn’t stop until the light goes off (first he brushes the bottom teeth, then he turns on the light again to brush the top teeth).
I no longer struggle with him to continue brushing after two seconds, and he looks forward to using the Firefly Toothbrush while he brushes his teeth.
Another great thing about the Firefly Toothbrush is how it will “remind” you when it’s time to be replaced. I never remember to replace toothbrushes after the recommended amount of time, but you’ll know when to replace the Firefly once its light no longer works.
I wish I had the Firefly when I was a kid…maybe I wouldn’t have gotten so many cavities!
The Firefly is one of the neatest, most affordable inventions in dental care for kids, and I know it will help Little Music Man practice good hygiene so he won’t end up with a lot of cavities like his mommy!
Shop: You can purchase Firefly toothbrushes at various retailers online and nationwide.
May 7, 2009: These toothbrushes are fun. They are big enough for little hands to grip and are sparkly, with what Punk referred to as a “squishy spot” at the end, that activates the light. Not only does this toothbrush make it easier for kids to know how long they need to brush for, it’s fun! Punk always closes her mouth around the toothbrush and watches her cheeks light up in the mirror. Hey, at least she’s brushing her teeth! I definitely recommend these to anyone with children.
My son loves brushing his teeth and he really loves picking out a cool toothbrush. He recently had the opportunity to review a Spiderman toothbrush that he loves! This toothbrush is a Dr. Fresh Firefly toothbrush. With studies showing that childhood decay is reaching epidemic level in the U.S. And it is well documented that cavities in baby teeth set the stage for cavities in adult teeth. That's why I feel that the Firefly Toothbrush from Dr. Fresh is a great way to encourage children to want to brush and to brush longer. The Spiderman character on the brush itself, makes it appealing for my son and he wants to use it more (all the time). Here is the trick though. In order to get them to brush a little longer, there is a little button placed on the toothbrush. As soon as I hand him the toothbrush I mash the button. The button makes his toothbrush start blinking. It blinks for 1 minute - the recommended time for brushing each arch. So he can easily know that he has brushed long enough! And the light will stop working in about 3 months - just when it's time for a replacement toothbrush.
Mom who was frustrated by her son's dislike of brushing finally hit the jackpot with the Dr. Fresh Firefly light-up toothbrush. She said that "when they sent me the Dr. Fresh Firefly toothbrushes to try, I was very skeptical...my son...hates brushing his teeth." Her frustration was the result many unsuccessful experiments with superhero, cartoon and musical toothbrushes, so she reported that she thought that she had tried them all, and only gave the Dr. Fresh Firefly toothbrush as a last-chance effort. "What the heck mabe this will finally work. IT DID!!!"When the four-year-old heard that he was going to try another toothbrush, he gave his mom "one of those looks." Once mon started the lights on the toothbrush, there was "no fussing...when we got up in the morning, he actually brushed his own teeth without complaining."
Firefly Toothbrush Review And Giveaway
April 18, 2009 by Firefly Filed under Review/Giveaways
As a Mom of a toddler I know how hard it can be to get your child to brush his/hers teeth every day and for as long as needed. We have gone trough many excuses on why Princess doesn’t feel like it.
What I’ve realized is that as with everything else children need to be interested. The task itself has to be fun.
I am so happy to share with you some of the information on the Firefly toothbrush that we had a chance to review. The great people working for Dr. Fresh have been so nice to send us a free toothbrush to try for ourselves and see how it works with our child.
What I liked about Firefly toothbrush is how is designed for little hands so there is no slipping out and it’s very easy to hold and work with. Other favorite thing in my book was the price. This little toothbrush is only $0.99 very affordable.
Princess on the other hand enjoyed the most the flashing feature. She was so excited when she realized that her new toothbrush flashes while she’s using it.
The Firefly toothbrush flashes for a minute and lets your child know for how long to brush upper teeth, than you can press it for another minute to finish with the lower set!
Firefly toothbrush also reminds you when it’s time to change your child’s toothbrush. Toothbrushes should be replaced every 3 months, but as we all know with the hectic schedules we do forget. Well Firefly toothbrush will remind you, because the light stops working after 3 months!
This toothbrush really worked well for us. It is made perfect for kids, and my daughter likes it a lot. I am happy that she is looking forward to her teeth brushing now and it makes me feel better that now she can brush long enough on her own without me always telling her more. Click here to read more...