Your Favorite Natural Skin & Hair Products (SLS/Paraben/Chemical Free)

[starchild]

Melissa I'd have to double check but I'm pretty sure you're right...well at least they smell like it LOL

[~Melissa~]

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Originally Posted by starchild Melissa I'd have to double check but I'm pretty sure you're right...well at least they smell like it LOL

Thanks hon, I appreciate that. What should I be looking for? Like what is the devil when it comes to natural products vs. synthetic products? I realize sulphates and alcohol is horrible but I don't know any other key ingredients that are killers.

[starchild]

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Originally Posted by Raeka Thanks hon, I appreciate that. What should I be looking for? Like what is the devil when it comes to natural products vs. synthetic products? I realize sulphates and alcohol is horrible but I don't know any other key ingredients that are killers.

Any artificial colors, fragrances, and preservatives aren't good. Mineral oil is not so hot. In makeup - dibutylphthalate (DBP), dimethylphthalate (DMP), and diethylphthalate (DEP) for example. Stuff like "yellow #5", "fragrance", or those random chemical ingredients aren't good in anything. Parabens are preservatives for example and when exposed to the skin over time, like in the lotion you rub in every day, it is believed to cause cancer.

Sodium laureth sulfate and sodium lauryl sulfate are in most popular products that foam up or lather - soaps/shampoos/detergents/shaving creams/toothpastes etc. They essentially break skin down and make it more susceptible to environmental damage, and have also been linked to cancer and even liver damage. You can get natural versions of all of these products.

BTW I'm no scientist and Snopes will tell you this stuff is false, but I read a lot of natural health stuff and my gut says something made in a lab that hasn't been tested since the beginning of time is not as safe as something that comes from the earth

[Birdie07]

I totally agree. I am also doing this with food and makeup and getting rid of any plastic I can. I'm about to order natural soap from someone who makes it on Etsy. I'm doing bar shampoo in conditioner. And if it works I'll let you know. It gets rid of the pointless plastic bottles it comes in. I hate plastic stuff. Especially baby bottles! Oops going off topic. I use organic tinted moisturizer for my face. It has water in it instead of oil. I'm excited to try the natural soap.

It is amazing what poison's we live with. I just read an article about how we have more pollution in our house than out. Alot comes from paint that we store and cleaning products. I try to use natural cleaning products as well. Ugh to chemicals!

[Melissa G]

What a great thread - I think we may have read the same book. I am also trying to get rid of all of these products with synthetic chemicals. I am trying to buy all "green" cleaning products, nothing tested on animals and vegan products. It is really hard to find stuff sometimes. We went to 3 stores last weekend to get dryer sheets!

 

Back to beauty products:

I really love Tom's of Maine - most of it is frangrance free, but it works well. I also love all Burt's Bees products, which are mostly paraben and SLS free. I use a bunch of that stuff and I love their sunscreen and shampoo.

 

Dr. Hauschka products are also awesome!!!

 

I check a lot of the products on this website below before I buy them. This website is kinda scary though because of what is in all of the products.

 

Skin Deep: Cosmetic Safety Database

[Melissa G]

Also - a good thing about Aveda is that they use 80% recycled plastic in their bottles and produce their products with wind power!!

[starchild]

Thanks for the info and links guys...I'm taking it all in!!

 

And yes, it can be tough to find this stuff outside of health food stores. There are 2 major supermarket chain stores near me that now have a natural/organic beauty aisle but it's been a long time coming!

[jamisoncollette]

Origins and The Body Shop will both be paraben free by 2009.

[starchild]

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Originally Posted by jamisoncollette Origins and The Body Shop will both be paraben free by 2009.

Wow, nice!!

[MarieSam]

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Originally Posted by starchild A fellow Gemini product junkie, thanks, MarieSam! LOL I use the green/yellow Alba..I think it's Hawaiian botanicals? They have so many lines! I love Palmers but I do think there is something in there that shouldn't be...but olive butter just sounds good! And the cocoa butter I want to eat by the spoonful it smells so god. I'll look into them again. I do keep those little push-up sticks of 100% cocoa butter on hand always, definitely greasy but I put it on at night. They don't smell nearly as good as Palmer's though

I must say, knowing that my obsession for products can be blamed on my an astrological thing definitely makes me feel better. hahaha! Do any fellow Geminis happen to also have a closet bursting with clothes that still have tags on them and a collection of shoes, many unworn, that would make Imelda Marcos do a double take

Ooohh, I have lots of Alba's Hawaiian line too and I love it!! And I'm covering my ears on Palmer's containing something bad ~ I don't think I can part with it after all these years