Healthy Beauty Products I Love

In a recent post I briefly touched on David Suzuki’s Shopper’s Guide, which lists the “Dirty Dozen Ingredients to Avoid in your Cosmetics,” and I promised I would share with you my healthy beauty regime.

I’ll have to admit, when I first saw the “Shoppers Guide” a few months ago, and realized that almost every product I used had these ingredients in them; I felt discouraged and overwhelmed. How am I going to find replacements for all my favourite products? Where can I start? What are the most important products to replace first? How much is this going to cost? Well, over the last few months I’ve been busy researching, and replacing most of my unhealthy beauty products. Here’s a list of the products I now use that are safe & don’t include any of the “Dirty Dozen” ingredients:

Shampoo/Conditioner:
Avalon Organics
Kiss my Face Shampoo & Conditioner
(can purchase both products at health store or Superstore in their organics section)

Face & Body:
Bert’s Bees Face Cleanser (can purchase at pharmacy, Walmart or The Bay)
Organic Moroccan Argan Oil (purchased this from Scentuals through ethicalDeal)
Olive Oil soap from Bulk Barn (they have so many options for natural soap, and they’re only .99 cents/bar)

Make-up:
Bert’s Bees Lip Balm & Gloss (can purchase at pharmacy, Walmart or The Bay)
*Scentual’s Tinted Lip Moisturizers
*Well People Foundation, Bronzer & Multi-Use Lip/Cheek stick in Creamy Peony
*I bought all of these items through ethicalDeal – it’s like Groupon for healthy beauty products. Deals always come up for these companies, and I highly recommend that you subscribe. It’s a great resource for learning about Canadian companies that make healthy beauty products, and you can purchase them on sale!

Hand & Body Moisturizer:
J.R. Watkins Naturals Apothecary Hand & Body lotion (can purchase at Shoppers or Rexall)
Grapeseed oil (yes the kind you use to cook with!) with drops of Grapefruit Essential Oil for my body moisturizer. I simply pour some grapeseed oil (from my giant Costco container – only $10) into a smaller container, and add drops of grapefruit essential oil (can purchase at health food/supplement store), and voila – I’ve made my own healthy moisturizer with a delish grapefruit scent (you can buy any scent you like: lavendar, vanilla, etc.). Your body naturally craves oil, so why purchase lotion that only has a small amount of oil, and loads of chemicals? Grapeseed oil is also high in essential fatty acids, and vitamin E, which are great for your skin.
Coconut Oil: amazing for face, body or hair. It absorbs quickly, and has an amazing coconut scent.

Exfoliant:
I used to use a puff with body wash to exfoliate, but yes, body wash is also full of chemicals that your body doesn’t need. It is important to exfoliate your skin (good for circulation, de-tox, appearance of skin, etc.), but you can do this the natural way. Visit your local health store (ex. Nature’s Emporium) and purchase a ‘dry brush’. Use your dry brush like you would your puff, but do it before you get in the shower, and voila – natural exfoliation!

Deodorant
Kiss my Face (can purchase at Superstore in their organics section)
Nivea naturals (can purchase at Shoppers or Rexall)

Toothpaste
Nature’s Gate natural toothpaste

Ok, so hopefully my suggestions made you feel a bit less overwhelmed, and inspired you to start making some healthy beauty changes. That being said, don’t try and change everything all at once. This process took me 3 months because I wanted to make sure I did my research, and I didn’t want to spend crazy amount of money. Overall, I’ve found that I spend less at Shoppers (my husband is happy about this), and I feel great knowing that my beauty products are not harmful to my health.

A couple other healthy products I’m loving right now:

Pur Gum: a healthy alternative to gum that is full of aspartame (can purchase at health food stores)
Chimes Ginger Chews: I LOVE THESE. They are perfect for an after dinner sweet, and totally natural. I bought the mango flavor, but they are available in lots of flavors (can purchase at grocery store in health or organic section)

Good luck with your healthy changes, and feel free to share your favorite all-natural companies!