Way of Life

I love this little store, nothing can be everything, and they often don’t have the brands I use but seriously, what store that sells supplements does nowadays. There are just too many brands available! I am a fan because the staff is nice, the selection they do have of gifts, and bottles, and homeopathics, etc. is good and I just like having them local. Yay!

Amazing! I was stuck in the car with a sleeping sick toddler and they lovely staff was able to fetch all of the herbal supplies to make an herbal tea for her rash. They were helpful, fast, and provided wonderful alternative ideas along the way. Thank you, Way of Life! From a Customer for Life!

I’ve been shopping at Way of Life for many years now. I especially appreciate the free and expert advice that I receive whenever I have a particular health issue. I also like the gift section where I can usually find an appropriate gift for someone of all ages, including children… and too often, myself (ha ha). The store is also in a very convenient location next to New Leaf and my hair salon.

Let me count the ways I love this place. 1. The people 2. The remarkable selection 3. The neat gifts and extras!

I came here for one thing. My masseuse told me that they had great microwaveable wraps or your aches and pains. They sure did, I was excited to find what I was looking for very easily. They had a wide selection of organic and herbal items. I’m not sure I would come here without a particular item in mind. But, I am happy with my experience.

They are soooo knowledgeable and take their time to listen. I had stomach problems for months and was miserable! After speaking with the Herbalist I began taking a new supplement… two weeks later & I feel like a new person! Thank you Way of Life :)

I LOVED this store, but won’t shop here anymore. Before I go on, the nutritionist/​acupuncturist person that consults is friendly and has an amazing wealth of knowledge and I appreciate her and her expertise. I believe she really helps people and I would not want to discourage anyone from seeking her assistance, as I think that kind of expertise is not easy to come by.
The criticism is that the inventory of gifts is stale and predictable — nothing new or novel and management is unresponsive. Offered them a free service via email and they did not even bother to respond. Sent a follow up email — also no response. My complaint is not that they were not interested in the service, but that they couldn’t be bothered to respond — doesn’t show community loyalty or involvement, from my perspective.
And some of their prices are much higher than the same items at New Leaf or Staff of Life.
Some of the product lines they carry aren’t of the highest quality, which I would expect in a store like this (essential oils, for instance) — not therapeutic grade or weren’t the last time I looked (about three month’s ago).
I like this store — I actually LOVE the idea of it — it is just disappointing at this point in time.

Dried Seaweed! Okay, that may not speak to everyone but when one is into Miso soup like I am then finding a place that sells Seaweed is important. The Miso paste selection is standard. The organic tofu selection is pretty good. At least everything one would need to make a good bowl of Miso soup is under one roof.
Not to focus on the only place in town where one can get all the supplies necessary to make Miso soup. There is also a nice selection of organic and non-​orgainic food. The bulk item selection is pretty good.

Glad to see Way of Life is still around after they moved out of New Leaf’s area. Natural herbs, candles, clothing, earrings, you name it.

Both Erin Dawn (acupuncturist) and Shannon Juliana (Nutritionist) helped me immensely !!! I went in asking questions and these ladies suggested supplements and information that helped me right away. I found them very knowledgeable and helpful, but I was impressed mostly about how up to date they were concerning my ailments. I’m still using what they suggested and I’m happy with how well its working.

Staff is helpful but often lacks a broad knowledge base. But they do try to answer questions.

5 stars for Erin Dawn (Practioner there on Sundays). 4 Stars for the Store itself.
They have liscensend and practicing nutritionits, accupunturists, practioners of all kinds that are available everyday for FREE consultations. I’ve paid HUNDREDS out of pocket to get this service in Santa Cruz. It’s absolutely FREE here!
I really recommend seeing Erin Dawn (Sundays). I’ve been to so many different health practioners of all kinds (western, eastern, naturopathic, chiropractic, light touch, metabolic typists, etc) in SC and they have all been REALLY helpful. However, I came to the point where I felt like my resources were being exhuasted and played in SC. Erin studied in San Francisco and practices in Los Gatos. She had a different school of thought and told me SO much useful informtion that I had never heard before but knew was sound because it was inline with my body and was buildling off things I learned from others.
Great store, gem of a resource, rewards program and bulk shampoos! Staff isn’t falling over themselves to help and they look a bit bored or unfriendly sometimes but thats alright with me. It’s hard to work in customer service all day!

I loved the «old» Way of Life (next to New Leaf). This new store is too small for the diversity of merchandise, and the staff doesn’t know (*&$) about herbs or supplements. I agree with the Unilocaler who said the clothing is obscure. While you might find some unusual gift items here, the prices are way higher than they need to be (in other words, excessive mark-​ups). Also caution on returns: I bought several gifts in November that had to be returned in December due to an unfortunate circumstance. The cashier gave me some trouble about the amt of time that had passed since purchase, but looked over my receipt and finally agreed to take the items back. Lo and behold, she said she could not take back the socks (Hot Socks). Why? Because they are under «lingerie» and «we don’t return lingerie». The socks were obviously unworn, I was obviously distressed about having to return someone’s gifts, and the packaging had not even been disturbed, much less torn off or tampered with. That pretty much sums up what is wrong with this store. They no longer are a necessary Way of Life for me.

I love that this place has either a nutritionist, acupuncturist, or herbalist on staff every day.
Their bulk herbs section is mostly organic– Rock on.
They have free community classes on interesting and varied topics, an awesome selection of non-​fluoridated toothpastes (originally why I came in), and the best aloe I’ve ever used.
I’m a total prude about ingredients in soaps, lotions, salves, shampoos… and have often been able to products I’m comfortable using. Oh, and bulk lotions and soaps. They have a great homeopathic section and a library to be used for reference. Unfortunately they don’t sell any books, and being a huge nerd, that’s too bad.
The clothing is, as a general rule, not really my style, but accessories are great. In my experience, the staff has been really helpful and knowledgeable.
I’ve just adjusted to their new location, yay!

The whole feel of the new location just doesn’t make it a fun place to shop anymore. The clothing is so obscure — the prices just don’t justify the look or the fact that something is made from sustainable, recycled whatever. Still a good place to find herbs, but the aisles are so short and narrow that finding something particular or just browsing the selections, is a drag. Staff is friendly and talkative… with each other. Not too helpful to customers when I’ve been in there.

I always find nice gifts for people here. They have a great selection of body products, supplements, eco-​friendly clothes, asian dishes. I always take a peak in here after a shop at New Leaf

Dear Way of Life,
I apologize for excercising the five finger discount when I was an obnoxious punky goth teenager… way way way back when you were a wee little store behind Communist I mean, Community Foods. I accepted the discount from a lot of stores back then, but you were the only store that kept me up at night feeling shitty about how debased I had become.
Sincerely,
Me, long since reformed