Skin and Hair Care

A major project of mine over the past year has been to find safe and preferably sustainable skin and hair care products.  Luckily, it's easier to find information on cosmetics than on clothing, so I've definitely found a few products that I love!

My search began with these criteria:

- safe ingredients (I gauged this by looking at "skin deep" on www.ewg.org.  Love that database)

- easily accessible (I wasn't going to pay huge shipping costs, so it either had to be available locally or on Amazon with Prime elegibility!)

- gets good reviews (a lot of organic/safe products are crappy...trust me, I've tried many of them.  Either they are cakey, smell horrible or don't do what they purport to do)

- fair price (I don't expect these products to be cheap, but they needn't be exorbitant)

- fair trade certified if possible!

After searching for awhile, I found this brand that matched ALL of my criteria with flying colors:

Acure Organics

I love love love this brand (click on the link to see more about the company, their ingredients and mission).  They are fair trade certified and get some of the best safety rankings on EWG's website.  The kicker: they are on amazon and get RAVE reviews on there.  I decided to try a few things and see for myself:

Argan Oil (from Morocco)
I was looking for a night cream - my skin is so dry and I needed something to replenish it overnight.  Most night creams are pretty awful in terms of ingredients, so I was excited to find this product!  Acure also makes a specific night cream, but based on reviews for this oil, I wanted to try it first.  I have loved it!  This is the first week in years where I haven't had to pick dry skin off of my face!  It has a very subtle smell and soaks in by the time I'm done brushing my teeth (so I don't get oil on my pillow).  My face has never been softer or more hydrated - and it's only $14 on Amazon :).  I use about 6 drops a night, so this bottle is going to last forever!

Lemongrass Shampoo and Conditioner
This stuff is awesome.  Lathers well (most organic brands don't) and it smells so, so good!  My hair stays nice and soft - I only wash it once every two days.  All of their shampoos and conditioners get great reviews and for $12, you can't go wrong!  Be aware that only certain bottles are prime eligible - I bought the shampoo (which was not prime), but it was only $2 shipping.

I am excited to try more from Acure now that I've seen how great their products are.  The only product I hope they make in the future is a day cream with SPF.

Shampoo for Kids

You already know that I love Trukid sunscreen and now I also love Trukid Silly Shampoo!  At first I wasn't sure if $8.99 on Amazon for one bottle was going to be too pricey, but we have had the same two bottles (one for each of my boys) since Christmas and they are still going strong.  True, my boys don't have much hair...but a little of this product goes a long way!   Trukid is not fair trade certified, but they use responsible packaging, their products are biodegradable and non-toxic, they get a great safety rating on EWG and only use essential oils for scents in their products.  The products and company were started by a Mom of 6 kids :).

Foundation

I use Bare Escentuals and have for many years.  Their stuff isn't cheap, but it lasts for a long time and I have never had a problem with breakouts or irritation.  I was hesitant to look it up...for fear that I would find out it was bad and have to switch!  Luckily, the products that I use get great safety ratings.  I only use their powder foundation (only to cover blemishes and eye circles), mineral veil and "warmth" on my cheeks.  Those are all ok, but stay away from any of their "buxom" products or basically anything that "lengthens", "plumps" or "minimizes".  They all have looooots of junk in them :).  As for the company, I haven't been able to find much on them in terms of where they get/make their products.  They are not fair trade, so the research is ongoing to see if I can find a better alternative.

My mascara is almost running out, so that will be the next search.  Let me know if you've found anything you love :).