Going Au Naturale: My Take on A Few Organic Beauty Products
Thursday, April 1st, 2010A month or so ago, my friend Chrissie wrote a Facebook post about her allergies, including one to sodium laurel sulfate (SLS). Our friend Val chimed in that she had the same reaction to SLS. I don’t have many traditional allergy issues, but I do have sensitive skin and wondered if SLS might be the culprit. I’ve also always wondered about products with petroleum … how healthy can they really be?
After a little online research and a query to Chrissie and Val on the SLS-free products they use, I made a trip to Whole Foods (WF), which is one of the only places in the ‘Lou that I can find organic products.* Here’s the scoop on my experiments so far:
- Overall … I’ve always felt WF was ridiculously over priced (hence the nickname … Whole Paycheck), but I do believe you get what you pay for and I don’t think my local grocery store would provide half the customer service I get at Whole Food. Proof positive … testers as WF aren’t just something to experience in the store. If you ask the extremely helpful employees, you’ll get a generous sample to try at home.
- Face – Val recommended Dr. Hauschka’s. It’s not for the faint of heart … it’s pricey and figuring out which products to use is a bit daunting. But I was willing to give it a try … partly because the approach made sense to me and mostly because I was a bit desperate. As a teen, I had pristine skin, but the second I hit college … bam … breakouts galore. They haven’t stopped since … even though I’m nearly 40. After a few days of Dr. Hauschka’s, my skin cleared up. My staples are the Cleansing Milk and Facial Toner at night and the Cleansing Cream, Facial Toner and Rose Day Cream Light in the morning. The Cleansing Clay Mask once a month is fun, but in my honest opinion, the Facial Steam Bath and the waaaay-over-priced Rythmic Night Conditioner aren’t worth it … although I’ve only tried them once and may give them another shot.
- Hair – Check your shampoo and SLS is likely the first ingredient. After switching to organic shampoo, my hair seems healthier. I have lots of fine curly hair that I can wear curly or straight so I like to have a few shampoos to choose from. For curly days, Kinky-Curly Come Clean shampoo works great. I pair it with JASON’s “thin to THICK” conditioner, which I swear is doing its trick on my mane. On days I straighten, the JASON’s conditioner with the “thin to THICK” shampoo is a good combo. Unfortunately, Avalon’s nourishing lavender shampoo is a bit too heavy for my fine hair, but I know Chrissie’s daughter Michaela loves it … and it smells awesome.
- Body cleanser – I discovered L’Occitane Shea Butter Milk Soap at little shop in Winter Park, Fla. It is a bit pricey, but smells wonderful, lasts forever and does good things for my sensitive skin. Trader Joe’s had a similar version at a lower price, but hasn’t stocked it the last few times I’ve checked.
Up next … facial SPF, lip balm and body lotion testing. I’ll keep you posted!
*My beloved Trader Joe’s offers organic products, but they seem to have become a little stingy and are only stocking their store brand. I’m sure their “key message” on this “store brand” thing is that it keeps prices down. But as I dip my toe into the Au Naturale waters, I’d like to be able to compare the higher-priced versions with the store brands and make my own decision … which WF allows me to do.
