Last month I wrote this post about how I've decided to switch over to organic for all my personal care products. Some of them, like soap and shampoo, will include my husband. But most, like my face lotions and sunscreen, are for myself. It seems I use a LOT more personal care products than he does.
I received such a wealth of information from reader comments that I made a list to keep in my purse, and I thought I'd write up a post as a sort of "organic roundup" that will hopefully be helpful for all of us. I'm including the categories I most need to replace, along with some of the reader suggestions, plus where to purchase if they included that information.
So if you want to go organic, but don't know where to start, here are the tested recommendations of my very smart readers:
SOAP:
Dr. Bronner's tea tree bar soap
L'Occitane
Publix pure castille soap
Organic, homemade soap sold in specialty shops or online
Alaffia shea butter soap (Whole Foods)
SUNSCREEN:
Badger
Burt's Bees
Alba Botanica
Keys (online)
LOTION:
Giovanni (drug stores, Target, Whole Foods)
Nature Clean
Burt's Bees
L'Occitane for hand lotion
Skinbiology
Renew lotion from Melaleuca
Skinceuticals
Earth Mama Angel Baby baby lotion
Terresentials
SHAMPOO:
Organix (drugstore)
Desert Essence
abba (salon)
Dr. Bronner's
Kiss My Face
Ligett's bar shampoo
Aubrey's organics (Whole Foods)
Lavera
MAKEUP:
Burt's Bees for lips
EyesLipsFace.com
everydayminerals.com
Physician's Formula organic (Walgreen's and Target)
Dr. Hauschka
GENERAL BRANDS:
Brittaniesthyme.com
Weleda
Mountain Rose Herbs for organic jojoba oil for bath, moisturizing, and massage lotion
Melaleuca for all products including Nicole Miller makeup and Renew lotion
The website Saffron Rouge carries many organic brands, including Badger, Dr. Bronner's, Weleda, and Dr. Hauschka
The products and brands that got the most raves and multiple mentions were Aubrey's organics shampoo, Burt's Bee's, and Badger lip balm and sleep balm. One reader wrote that she'd been using the sleep balm on her eye area for a short time and her crow's feet had entirely disappeared.
I'm working on switching over our soap first, and so far I've tried Dr. Bronner's, but it got a thumbs-down from my husband, who isn't a big fan of peppermint. I'm not too worried about finding organic soap, but I do need to find a brand that's affordable for everyday use.
And here's another category: a product that isn't specifically labelled or marketed as organic, but which doesn't have any of the offending parabens or other ingredients listed by Vanessa in this post. The facial moisturizer by Bioelements that I've been using for the past few years falls into this category.
You can check the toxicity of a product at Cosmetics Data Base. Also, if you want more details about any of these suggestions, go back to my original Going Organic post and look in the Comments section.
Thanks again to everyone for contributing your knowledge and experience, and if you have more ideas you just have to share with us, feel free to leave them in the Comments section. I'll post updates on products I've tried over the next several months.
UPDATE: L'Occitane is NOT organic, and Origins and Bioelements both score relatively poorly at the cosmetics database, so I'm going to have to switch facial cleansers and find a new face moisturizer. I'm learning every day!
Showing posts with label organic. Show all posts
Showing posts with label organic. Show all posts
April 6, 2010
March 17, 2010
Going Organic
This is a baby-steps challenge of sorts. After reading this post by Vanessa at Green Ness, I'm determined to switch to organic personal care products. Over the past few decades, I've tried to buy products that don't test on animals and that practice fair trade and are good for the environment, but it seems I've put my health at the end of the list of these purchasing considerations. Because of a few changes in my overall health picture as I get older, I'm more determined than ever not to buy products that have been linked to cancer.
So this is a baby steps challenge, but I'm giving myself the rest of the year instead of one month. To be honest, I simply can't afford to replace everything all at once. So I'll be replacing products as they run out. And let me tell you, some of them are going to be hard to give up. I'm very attached to a few. It's taken me years to find things that work for me, and I hate the trial-and-error process that's ahead. It's bound to yield some waste. But it must be done, so ONWARD!
Here's the list of what I need to replace:
Shampoo- I use Paul Mitchell, and have for over 20 years. I don't think it's easy to find organic shampoo, because the ingredient that makes it suds up is the toxic one.
Sunscreen- I found one I love about fifteen years ago, and it's going to be tough to give up because it works so well, is non-greasy, and doesn't show. It's called Peter Thomas Roth and unfortunately it contains some of the dreaded parabens.
Moisturizer- I use Jergen's body lotion, Bioelements facial moisturizer, and Clarins hand cream. I'm pretty sure they all have to go.
Makeup- I don't wear much makeup, just lipstick and sometimes eye shadow and eyeliner. I've been using Clinique for decades, but I don't think they're organic.
Soap- We use Yardley for every day.
Deodorant- I switched to Tom's of Maine years ago and it works fine for me. I know it doesn't for a lot of people, so I guess I'm lucky. This is one item I don't need to replace.
I used to buy more products from Origins, and I still use some of their facial cleansers and a few other items. I think I'll see what else I can find there, their prices are pretty reasonable. I'm also going to investigate Aveda, which I've flirted with a bit in the past. And I'm really excited about a brand that's new to me called Weleda. They've got a great all-natural philosophy and their products don't seem to be exorbitantly expensive. But I can't recommend it until I try it. I've also just checked online and learned that L'Occitane is organic, and I've always loved their hand cream as a splurge. I especially adore it when it's a gift, because it's hardly a frugal purchase.
Do you use organic personal care products? PLEASE share your favorites with us in the Comments section. I could use recommmendations in any of the above areas, and I'm sure we'll all benefit from each other's research and experience. I'm particularly interested in finding a good facial sunscreen that's not greasy, at least 30 SPF. And I'll report on my progress as I slowly replace my bathroom drawers and cabinets.
So this is a baby steps challenge, but I'm giving myself the rest of the year instead of one month. To be honest, I simply can't afford to replace everything all at once. So I'll be replacing products as they run out. And let me tell you, some of them are going to be hard to give up. I'm very attached to a few. It's taken me years to find things that work for me, and I hate the trial-and-error process that's ahead. It's bound to yield some waste. But it must be done, so ONWARD!
Here's the list of what I need to replace:
Shampoo- I use Paul Mitchell, and have for over 20 years. I don't think it's easy to find organic shampoo, because the ingredient that makes it suds up is the toxic one.
Sunscreen- I found one I love about fifteen years ago, and it's going to be tough to give up because it works so well, is non-greasy, and doesn't show. It's called Peter Thomas Roth and unfortunately it contains some of the dreaded parabens.
Moisturizer- I use Jergen's body lotion, Bioelements facial moisturizer, and Clarins hand cream. I'm pretty sure they all have to go.
Makeup- I don't wear much makeup, just lipstick and sometimes eye shadow and eyeliner. I've been using Clinique for decades, but I don't think they're organic.
Soap- We use Yardley for every day.
Deodorant- I switched to Tom's of Maine years ago and it works fine for me. I know it doesn't for a lot of people, so I guess I'm lucky. This is one item I don't need to replace.
I used to buy more products from Origins, and I still use some of their facial cleansers and a few other items. I think I'll see what else I can find there, their prices are pretty reasonable. I'm also going to investigate Aveda, which I've flirted with a bit in the past. And I'm really excited about a brand that's new to me called Weleda. They've got a great all-natural philosophy and their products don't seem to be exorbitantly expensive. But I can't recommend it until I try it. I've also just checked online and learned that L'Occitane is organic, and I've always loved their hand cream as a splurge. I especially adore it when it's a gift, because it's hardly a frugal purchase.
Do you use organic personal care products? PLEASE share your favorites with us in the Comments section. I could use recommmendations in any of the above areas, and I'm sure we'll all benefit from each other's research and experience. I'm particularly interested in finding a good facial sunscreen that's not greasy, at least 30 SPF. And I'll report on my progress as I slowly replace my bathroom drawers and cabinets.
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