If you’re looking for beauty products without the toxic ingredients, here are some websites you can check out:
Natural nails
It’s summer, and everyone’s wearing flipflops or open-toed shoes, showing off their pretty toenails. But nail polish contains the ‘toxic three’: formaldehyde, phthalates and toluene, which the CDC said may cause birth defects in laboratory animals. These dangerous chemicals have also been linked to cancer and asthma. Here are some more natural nail products, which are either organic, water-based, odor-free and most importantly, phthalate-free:
According to this article, 74% of popular brands like L’Oreal, Orly, Revlon, and Sally Hansen have already eliminated these chemicals. And avoid nail polish removers with acetone.
Pure and Natural
I was looking for an alternative to Method products because Method never lists its ingredients. As far as hand soaps, I found Pure and Natural which comes in 100% recyclable packaging, is paraben-free and biodegradable. Their products are not tested on animals and use plant-based oils instead of animal tallow. The company also donates at least $100,000 annually to the World Wildlife Fund.
Not just skin-deep
For someone who never liked shopping, it has become an even longer process because I read labels more carefully now. I bought a Queen Helene Naturals body lotion recently. This line of products uses organic, Fair Trade Certified ingredients without parabens, sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates or petrolatum. So you won’t have to worry about carcinogenic chemicals being absorbed by your skin.
The Natural Dentist
One of the things that I’ve been trying out lately are different fluoride-free toothpaste and mouth rinse. I am pleased to report that my husband and I finally found one that we ended up liking. We like it enough that we bought them again after finishing them. Now that’s saying something because we tried some toothpaste that end up unused after giving it the chance to prove its worth.
What, you may ask, was the toothpaste that we have sworn allegiance to?
The Natural Dentist! We tried The Natural Dentist Healthy Teeth & Gums Fluoride-Free Peppermint Sage and The Natural Dentist All Natural Antigingivitis Rinse Peppermint Sage.
Let’s begin with their packaging. The toothpaste is a simple tube, the type that stands on its own. No box to throw away! One point for The Natural Dentist! You get a choice between fluoride or fluoride-free. Two points! It doesn’t have sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS). Three points! It’s not tested on animals. Four points!
As for ingredients, The Natural Dentist Healthy Teeth & Gums Fluoride-Free Toothpaste contains peppermint and sage oils (to stop plaque and gingivitis in its tracks…or at least lessen its impact), aloe vera gel, echinacea, goldenseal, grapefruit seed extract, calendula and xylitol. The Natural Dentist All Natural Antigingivitis Rinse has peppermint and sage oils, xylitol, menthol, aloe vera gel and grapefruit seed extract. Between you and me, the fact that those ingredients are natural makes it a definite plus, especially with all the chemicals out in the market nowadays. Five points!
I also heard that they rolled back prices back in April by about 30% to make their products affordable even with this lousy economy we’re having. Now that’s incredibly nice of them. Six points!
Last but not the least, The Natural Dentist mouth rinse plastic bottle is recyclable (#1 PETE). Seven points!
There you go, folks. If what I’m saying here makes you want to give it a try, please do so. I’d like to know if other people’s experience is similar. Oh, and the dark blue packaging is the old packaging. You might still come across it. Otherwise, The Natural Dentist underwent a makeover, so look for the light-colored packaging.
Review: ShiKai shampoo and conditioner
ShiKai Natural Everyday Shampoo
Ingredients: water, aloe vera gel (full strength, certified organic), ShiKai extract (acacia concinna – wildcrafted botanical, organically grown and sustainably harvested), olefin sulfonate, cocoamidopropyl hydroxy
ShiKai Natural Everyday Conditioner
Ingredients: Purified water, cetearyl alcohol (and) ceteareth-20, glycerin (vegetable), amla (amlica embilicus) seed oil, jojoba (simmondsia chinensis) seed oil, behentrimonium chloride, amodimethicone, panthenol, guar powder, diazolidinyl urea, natural fragrance
ShiKai has been around for 30+ years, but honestly, I never saw it in our grocery shelves. It turns out that it was in our neighborhood organic store. Now if you’re looking for a shampoo and conditioner to try, how about ShiKai?
I decided to use this product for quite sometime before writing this review. Just to make sure how using it over time affects my hair. So what can I say about it?
It smells great. It lathers nicely. It cleans well. I don’t even have to use a large amount, just the size of a quarter. Even my husband is using it. No complaints from him either. What’s great is that it doesn’t dry out the hair. I admit, I found some negative reviews elsewhere. The thing is, when trying out hair care products that are supposed to be eco-friendly, it pays not to expect the same performance that you used to get from your old shampoo and conditioner. The ingredients are different, so the experience will be different. But I was pleasantly surprised by ShiKai’s shampoo and conditioner, so yes, I highly recommend these products.
By the way, I’ll be testing ShiKai’s COLOR REFLECT® natural shampoo and conditioner soon.
Ecco Bella
Yesterday, I went to our neighborhood natural/organic market and finally came across Ecco Bella!
I’ve been hee-hawing on throwing out my old makeup stash, only because I didn’t know where to buy greener stuff. I mean, sure I can order online, but how on earth am I going to see whether or not the foundation matches my skin tone? There’s only one way to do that – to have the products physically in front of you. Or at least, that’s how I buy my cosmetics.
Anyway, thank the lucky stars, I discovered the natural/organic store in our town. And yes, they did have a makeup counter. So I kept putting on the foundation at the back of my hand to find the right shade. (And yes, I should pick natural. Linen and tan were way too dark for me.) Of course, I didn’t buy anything at that moment. But at least I know the right shade of foundation for my skin. And where to buy it.
But that’s not the end of it. When I got home, I headed straight to the sink to wash the gunk off my hand. To my surprise, all it took was water…yes, WATER…to clean it off!
Magical! Gone are the days when I have to use a greasy makeup remover. I can’t wait to give Ecco Bella a serious try.
Kiss off
Can’t go out without at least lipstick on? Lead, a known neurotoxin, has been found in standard lipsticks. You can try the Peacekeeper Lip Paint (the company donates its profits to international women’s rights causes), Burt’s Bees, Ecco bella, Aubrey Organics, or Organic Wear. And say goodbye to parabens, synthetic fragrances, petrolatum, and of course lead.