Beauty Product Shopping Guide
Dec ’06: Holiday Cocktail | Free Spa Treatments! | Holiday Shopping Party
Daily Candy | Looking Forward to January
Did you know that only 11% of common beauty product ingredients have been tested by the U.S. FDA (Food and Drug Administration)? And the unregulated term 'all-natural' can mean just about anything… natural substances can be heavily processed and still marketed as natural. Some are even toxic! (Poison oak is all-natural, but that doesn't mean you want it on your skin.)
The only surefire way to find the best skin care is to check the ingredients yourself, and know what to look for. Give safe and effective beauty product gifts to yourself and others this season with our handy shopping guide. Print it, tuck it into your purse, and take it when you shop!
What We Look For
All-natural ingredients. Non-toxic, and comes from a plant or animal source, without being chemically altered.
Organic ingredients, wherever possible. Pesticides affect the grower’s local environment, and can be a small percentage of the end result.
Fair trade ingredients, wherever possible. A win-win situation for everyone!
Vegan-friendly, wherever possible. It’s nice to find something our veggie lovers can use too.
Excellent results. It’s got to be effective. Moisturizers need to moisturize, and cleansers need to really clean your skin.
What We Avoid
Synthetic fragrance. Synthetic fragrance is toxic and can alter your skin’s pigmentation. We look instead for safe essential oils.
Synthetic colors. The color must be derived from minerals, herbs or spices.
Parabens. A preservative newly linked to cancer, which is cheap and commonly used. It’s in everything from deoderant to shampoo, and chances are, it’s in your toiletry kit right now. A few super-star manufacturers are blazing the trail for healthier alternatives.
Common allergens. Ahh-choo! A common lotion ingredient, lanolin, comes from sheep’s wool. It’s all-natural, but it’s also an allergen for a high percentage of the population.
Urea or uric acid. Belongs in your toilet, not on your face. Plus, to add injury to insult, it turns to formaldehyde after application on your skin. Believe it or not, it’s commonly found in products!
Sulfates. Detergents that cause a lovely foamy lather, but strip your skin and can cause eye irritation and blindness.
Ethyl Alcohol. Strips the skin.
Mineral Oil or Petrolium. Comedogenic and toxic.
A Note on Preservatives. We, like you, have busy lives. And we assume that you, like us, aren’t prepared to buy your favorite skin care every 5 days and keep it in the refrigerator because it contains absolutely no preservatives. We think a few small concessions, in the name of a little convenience, are a good thing.
Where to Draw the Line. Obviously, it’s difficult to find products that meet every one of these criteria. But none of the products you use should contain toxic substances, synthetic color, or synthetic fragrance. As for the rest, you may still consider a product if it has 2 or less low-level ‘offenders’, but call the manufacturer to make certain that the combined percentage used is under 1%.
Wow, I Wish Online Stores Had More Info. What a coincidence! Our newly re-launched store not only has the same products that we use in our treatments, but we list the ingredients of every product so you can make your own decisions. Exercise your right to consumer information by checking out the ‘Learn More’ link on each product to see its ingredients and its effects on you. We are adding new products as we find them, so pardon our limited selection… and tell us if your favorites are missing! We also recently joined up with Paypal, so now you can buy directly from us using your credit card.
Happy shopping!