Please read Part I of this series here.
Some readers have emailed me with interest in what type of products I use and can I make recommendations? While I do buy products, I’m pretty picky. And I also try to make my own. And you can too, I’ll show you how.
I always thought the hardest part about switching over and throwing out all my old products was the mentality of it. When one has spent 15 years using things like Skintimate Shave Cream and Neutrogena Face Wash, I thought it would be hard to say goodbye. But in the end, it wasn’t. I’m so much happier I made the switch. For me, the hardest part about all this was just the time and experimentation. Luckily, in the end, I’m not really buying that many products at all. And maybe you’ll have an easier transition than I did, because I had to do all the research myself. I wish I could have had someone point me in the direction of what was safe to use. It would have saved me the trouble of buying and trying products that made claims, only to find out after bringing them home and researching their ingredients, these claims weren’t true.
Here’s one of my favorite Bodywash & Lotions:
Shea Moisture Organic Shea Butter Lotion & Body Wash in Coconut + Hibiscus/African Black
Pros: These lotions & Bodywashes/bars have improved the look of my skin dramatically. I can’t say enough good things about Shea Moisture’s Brand. The best part is, these lotions and bodywashes smell amazing and there aren’t any parfumes or fragrance in them.
*Beauty Secret: I’m obsessed with Coconut. My skin loves it. I boil down coconut oil and add extra coconut oil into the bodywash. This gives my skin extra nourishment and extends the life of my bodywash.
Price: $ 9.99-$15.99 for 13 oz.
Critiques: I wish they made larger-sized bottles!
*Organic certification is not on the bottle, but they are fair trade certified and this certification label is coming soon.
BONUSES:
- NO parabens, phthalates, paraffin, Formaldehyde, propylene glycol, mineral oil, synthetic fragrance, PABA, synthetic color, DEA, or animal ingredients.
- Ethically traded ingredients, sustainably produced.
- Cruelty free, no animal testing.
- Plant based ingredients.
- And it’s made in USA; which means we’re not importing, we’re supporting jobs/the economy when we buy Shea Moisture.
Ingredients:
Cocos Nucifera Oil (Coconut), Deionized Water , Butyrospermum Parkii (Shea Butter) , Stearyl Alcohol (Palm Kernel) , Vegetable Emulsifying Wax , Theobroma Cacao Seed Butter (Cocoa) , Vegetable Glycerin , Olea Europaea Oil (Olive) , Essential Oil Blend , Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice (Aloe Vera) , Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride, Tocopherol (Vitamin E) , Hibiscus Sabdariffa Flower Extract , Papain (Papaya Extract) , Allantoin (Comfrey Root Extract) , Lonicera Caprifolium Flower (Honeysuckle) , Lonicera Japonica Flower Extract (Japanese Honeysuckle) , Songyi Mushroom Extract , Cocos Nucifera Milk (Coconut).
* Transparency: -Stearyl alcohol is a compound produced from stearic acid, a safe, naturally occurring fatty acid, which can be derived from animal fats OR plant or vegetable sources. Shea Moisture claims to be free of animal ingredients, so in this case, the stearyl alcohol ingredient is coming from plants.
-Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium Chloride is an organic compound/fiber derivative of guar gum (of the guar plant). I’ve heard positive and negative things about the consumption of guar gum in food diets; I personally, would stay away from it when it comes to ingestion and I think you should too. And there is research, but not extensive, on this ingredient in cosmetics. It is used as a binding agent in shampoos+lotions. This is an ingredient I would really like to see more information on, so I continue to watch for research on it.
-Also, a common ingredient in ‘cosmetic products’ is Tocopherol, which is Vitamin E, which is safe and good for your skin. But take note: if your product includes the ingredient *Tocopherol Acetate, this is different, and is an ingredient that I won’t use. The acetate is a chemical compound that consists of a mixture of the two: acetic acid and tocopherol (vitamin E. So it’s not just vitamin E).
Where to Buy: I buy mine at Target (it’s a Minneapolis, Minnesota-based company and I’m a native Minnesotan).
Otherwise, online @ SheaMoisture.com tells you where to find their brand.
