Earth’s Berries Giveaway! CLOSED

In honor of the holiday season, I’ve decided to give away one 500g bag of Earth’s Berries!

If you haven’t heard about these, check out my review on them here.

Dr.Bronner’s Shikakai Hair Conditioner Review

As promised, I said I’d do a review on Dr.Bronner’s Shikakai Hair Conditioning Rinse.

Here’s why I decided to try it:

If you’re a consumer, the world of beauty and personal care can be extremely daunting and intimidating! have you ever bothered to read some of the ingredients in shampoo and conditioner?

Methylparaben, Propylparaben, Ammonium Lauryl Sulfate,  Butylparaben, Sodium Laureth Sulfate… no thanks! This Shikakai conditioning rinse is made without the synthetic and chemical ingredients found in most cream rinses or conditioners (yes, even the high-end, professionals ones).

Dr. B’s Citrus Conditioning Hair Rinse is certified by the same National Organic Program that certifies organic food-the USDA (look for the logo on your bottle; it means organic). You probably haven’t seen this certification on your other hair care products.

Organic Shikakai (pronounced “Shee-kah-kye”) comes from the seed pods of a small South Asian tree called Acacia Concinna. Its popular in India because it’s known for making hair soft and shiny. Organic lemon juice, used traditionally here in the west, rinses throughly and tightens hair shafts for better manageability. And my favorite, organic coconut oil and hemp fatty acids, moisturize.

Cons: My hair is naturally oily, so I don’t typically care for moisturizing hair care products. This conditioner left my hair weightless in the fact that there is no build up whatsoever; my hair always felt clean. But, its awesome moisturizing properties work a little too well; they weigh my hair down and make it a little lifeless.

So, I don’t need a conditioner that adds moisture to my hair (because it makes my hair flat), but I’m convinced that if I find a shampoo that compliments this conditioning rinse, my hair will retain its bounce.

The Pros:

The conditioner was extremely nourishing to my hair. It made my hair softer to the touch and I could tell it was protective because it visibly strengthened my hair. By this I mean, for the first time ever, I consistently have no split-ends! I could care less about the appearance of split-ends (if someone’s close enough to notice, they’re too close!), except for the fact that apparently split-ends are a sign of weak or damaged hair. Well, I’ve been using this conditioner for a few months now and pleasantly, no breakage. To me this is a sign that the conditioner works to strengthen and protect my hair (must be the coconut oil!).

Overall, my hair just seemed more nourished. And of course, I’m kinda partial to this product since it’s made from food, it smells delicious! My theory is: if the ingredients are healthy for the inside of your body, you can probably use it on the outside of your body.

All that said, everyone is unique. No matter what, the same product will work differently on each person. I highly recommend this stuff because of its countless benefits. And, moreover, it’s safe! I plan on continuing my use of it.

Enjoy! And if you try it, send me an email and let me know what you think.

Where to buy: Online, your local Co-Op, Target, or Whole Foods.

Deodorant Product Review

Deodorant has always been a product I’ve struggled to be completely satisfied with. I’ve never been a fan of antiperspirants simply because the body is supposed to perspire. However, there’s a reason why we appreciate deodorant. But for me personally, I’ve always had reservations about deodorants because of their common ingredients: meta chelant, tricolosan, sodium lauryl sulfate, synthetic chemicals, artificial colors, perfume, fragrance, and aluminum and aluminum-chloride products. There’s been a fair amount of research done on possible correlations between aluminum toxicity and health concerns such as Cancers, Renal Dysfunction, Alzheimers, Allergies, and other neurotoxicity concerns.                                                                                                                                         And so, I choose not use deodorants with these ingredients (even aside from the issues surrounding aluminum, I don’t like the other chemical ingredients).

Like most people (probably), I’ve tried many, many deodorant products and my favorite product that I ended up settling on wasn’t even a deodorant at all, in fact, it’s a toothpaste~

 Thieves Dentarome Plus Toothpaste.  You may be wondering where I came up with the idea to even use a toothpaste as a deodorant? I’ve always loved Thieves’ Brand and I first read a review about man who is an Electrician, who said he used this toothpaste as a deodorant and swore by it. Where he got the idea, I don’t know. But after reading the ingredients in the toothpaste (plant-derived ingredients, such as vegetable glycerin and ionic trace minerals, essential oils, odor-absorbing baking soda), from what I already knew, the idea actually made perfect sense to me: the essential oils the toothpaste is made out of actually act as natural antiseptics (or germ killers) and on top of that, the baking soda absorbs odor. So naturally this toothpaste would also double as a an effective deodorant.

And I have to tell you, once in awhile I’ll try other products I hear about that are supposedly awesome, but I always go back to this stuff. I’ve been using this toothpaste as deodorant for a very long time now and it’s worked better than anything else I’ve ever used and I have yet to find another product that makes me want to switch back. I would definitely recommend giving this a try.

Pros: Reduces underarm wetness, leaves no scent (like deodorants with perfumes do), kills underarm bacteria so it works as good if not better than regular deodorants, doesn’t stain clothes, doesn’t leave residue on underarms. And depending on usage, one tube will last a very long time: I would say at least 5 months.

Cons: I have pretty sensitive skin, so the peppermint/cinnamon oil and baking soda were initially harsh on my skin, but this subsided and I don’t have issues with it.

-It’s kind of odd to use a toothpaste as a deodorant, but I got over it. It took awhile to get used to the tooth-paste scent (as deodorant), but this scent subsides relatively quickly after putting it on and really, there ends up being no scent at all.

 

Shopping TIP: Did you know that a lot of products can be ordered through the health section in your local grocery store or Food Co-Op? The benefits of doing this are a discounted price, plus you don’t have to pay shipping fees. It doesn’t hurt to ask the place that you shop at to order products for you. Businesses want to make their customers happy, so often times, they are obliged to order something in for you if you ask the right person.

Find the toothpaste @ Sears,

otherwise, Get it here

or here.

*Note: I have tried using deodorants containing essential oils and they were great on my skin, but they acted as more of a lotion than a deodorant, so I wasn’t happy with those. I haven’t tried Thieves’ Deodorant, which they do have, but it’s $12 and based on my experience with other deodorants with similar ingredients, it’s been hard for me to bring myself to try, but I intend to eventually and I’ll do a comparison.                                            If you or someone you know has tried it, send me a review!

Toothpaste Ingredient List:
Baking soda, deionized water, vegetable glycerine, xanthan gum, ionic trace minerals, steviocide (Stevia rebaudiana), and the essential oils of wintergreen (Gaultheria procumbens), peppermint (Mentha piperita), and the blend Thieves [clove† (Syzygium aromaticum), lemon† (Citrus limon), cinnamon† (Cinnamomum verum), eucalyptus† (Eucalyptus radiata), and rosemary† (Rosmarinus officinalis)].
† 100% pure therapeutic-grade essential oil.

Earth’s Berries: Laundry Review

Introducing,

Earth’s Berries, Soap Berries.

If you’re searching for an environmentally-friendly or healthy & safe laundry line, search no longer. You can’t get much closer to nature than Earth Berries. Earth’s Berries successfully clean your clothes all while helping people across the world.

Economical, Eco-Friendly, and Humanitarian, it washes my clothes over and over again beautifully~

I have no reason to go back to using commercial laundry detergent. Earth’s Berries remove scents and stains from my clothes and allow my clothing to hold its color longer. One bag of Earth’s Berries lasts me months longer than a standard bottle of [Tide] laundry detergent. Not only do laundry detergents have ingredients that aren’t good for you or your children’s health, they also pollute our water systems. Using Earth’s Berries means I don’t have to worry about detergent on my skin or allergies. Plus, I’m not contributing to filling up the landfills or polluting water supplies.

Earth’s Berries has such a nice website explaining their story & philanthropy, I wanted you to see for yourself:

“I am loving the Soap Nuts! Economical, ecological, village building, planet saving, people saving! Karen’s story about a whole village being employed touched my heartstrings – a small change in my habits could mean a huge change in someone else’s life. My clothes come out clean, soft and with no fragrance and a family is able to put food on their table – it’s a win-win situation.”
-Jan

“I was amazed to discover that those natural little nuts where able to take the stink out of our our workout clothes. I have noticed that our clothes are softer without having to use a softener and keeping one more bottle of chemicals out of our home is wonderful. It’s a very cost effective way to do laundry especially with our HE washer the commercial detergent is expensive, plus no big plastic bottle to throw out every month, and it’s earth and body friendly. Everyone should try them.”
Sarah

 

Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps: A Product Review

FOR Cleaning Everything: from your dishes to your pet to your hair!

Lucky you, you’ve just hit the jackpot of Beauty World. I could write a whole book on this incredible company. Throw out all your old toxic products, because you won’t need them anymore.

Based out of Escondido California (only 1/2 hr away from where I used to live, when I lived in California!), Dr. Bronner’s is one in a million. Dr.Bronner’s uses pure castile soap mixed with herbal ingredients to give you a great all-purpose product. I use their Classic Liquid Soaps for everything! And I mean everything. Just this-morning, I used it in the shower as Shampoo and I ended up using it later to clean my entire stove after I let my pot of boiling water/food over-flow. I should have taken a before and after photo, because my oven/stove looks like a brand new appliance after washing it. This soap can clean anything and make it look better than ever.

Pros: I use the Hemp-Almond Soap in my kitchen as hand and dishwashing soap, and to clean my counters and appliances. 

I use the Hemp-Lavender Soap in my bathroom. It’s super gentle on skin. I use it for bodywash, and I also dilute it with water and have also used it for shampoo and face wash, as well as hand soap. It’s great for removing makeup, but be careful about getting it in your eyes. Castile is nature’s gold-medal winner of soaps, so it’s strong.

Moms, if you’re reading this, put your chemical Dawn dish soap down, and get this stuff. You only need 3 or 4 drops per use, unless you cleaning something large, a little goes a long way.

They’ve also come out with a new line of Shikakai Conditioning Rinse treatments for your hair. I did a review on it here.

Critiques:
If you’re using it for your shampoo, only use a few drops and dilute, dilute! Or it will leave your hair greasy. This is because a little goes a long way and if you use too much, it’s hard to wash out. This also goes for cleaning anything, make sure you wipe your counter or whatever down after cleaning to remove soap residue.

PROS:

• USDA Organic Certified & Fair Trade Certified.
•  These Soaps have 18+ purposes. Since they’re just made from castile, hemp, and essential oils, the peppermint can be used to brush your teeth or as a deodorant, you can also use any of them for shaving, as a body rub, as a pest-spray repellant, a dishwashing soap, or as laundry detergent. They also make baby soaps. You can use this soap for washing pesticides off your vegetables, for aftershave, for giving your pets a bath. Since this soap is from vegetable oil (not animal fat), there are no harmful ingredients and they’re environmentally friendly- completely biodegradable.

• It’s safe. Forget about spraying weird chemicals all over your house to clean. If you have children, pets or allergies, you’ll have a lot less to worry about when using this stuff.
• No Synthetic Foaming Agents, Thickeners or Preservatives.
• 100% Post-Consumer Recycled (PCR) Bottles and Paper Labels.
• #1-Selling Natural Brand of Soaps in North America.
• Made in the USA!
• And, as an extra bonus: I’ve found that it cleans jewelry! My jewelry looks new, everytime I wash it with Bronners. I bought jewelry cleaner awhile back and stopped using it once I realized I could just use my castile soap.
• It’s a money-saver. College student on a budget? Single & Saver? Dad or Mom and looking for a way to stretch your dollar?                                                                 Price: $15.99-16.99 for a 32. oz. Also, your local health market or store may offer a bring your own container policy where you can refill at the store instead of buying a new bottle. The 32 oz. will last you at least 2 months with daily use. You’ll be able to stop buying other cleaning & beauty products when you realize you can use this one product for everything.

Staple Ingredients: Extra-Virgin Coconut oil, organic Olive Oil, Organic Hemp Oil, Organic Jojoba, Citric Acid, Vitamin E, are mixed with different essential oils (like peppermint, lavender, natural almond, etc), Potassium Hydroxide.

* Transparency: Potassium Hydroxide is an inorganic compound; it is used in the saponification (the process of making soft soaps as opposed to the more common sodium hydroxide-derived soaps). While the process of making this soap involves the ingredient Potassium Hydroxide, this company claims that this ingredient does not remain in the product once the soap is actually made. I’ve talked a lot about companies using harmful ingredients or masking ingredients or trying to pass ingredients off as safe. I trust this particular company because they are open about their ingredients and the process in which they make their product.

Where to buy: I get mine at my local Food Co-Op and my local health food store.

Or Target.

Otherwise, get it online.

Dr. Bronners sells internationally too!

“Our soaps are available in Australia, Canada, England, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. We have listed the information for our international distributors for you to consult. Depending on the distributor, they may sell to you direct or refer you to a retailer in your area.“

Health & Beauty: Knowledge is Sexy! Navigating the World of Consumer Safety, Part V (4) A Product Review

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.