Natural/Organic Products for Your Skin and Hair - A Review

So, I've written in previous blogs (here1, here2, and here3) about my search for more natural face and hair products with fewer ingredients so that I can reduce the amount of chemicals I am using. I hope that I haven't been driving you crazy with the many posts about this, but it really is a trial and error process! Here is what I've learned so far:

Bionsen Deodorant

 I liked this product. It had a nice smell and worked! This is something to buy if you are looking for a deodorant that is paraben and aluminium free. A search on Google Scholar will provide you with several articles about the relationship between antiperspirant use and breast cancer development including research that reports a high rate of occurrence of breast cancer diagnosis in areas of the breast that come in contact with antiperspirants (Darbre, D. 2003,  McGrath, K.G. 2003, Darbre, D. 2005). Anyway, all in all, I like this product, but for simplicity, I would pass because it still has quite a few other chemicals in it.

 Argan Oil

I really like the argan oil. It smelled nice and one bottle lasted a year for me. I used it on my face before make-up, on my cuticles, and a drop or two on my hair sometimes when things were dry. One ingredient. I'd say that is pretty simple! It can also be used to remove waterproof mascara, which brings me to one of my complaints. If you use this, be careful that you don't put it under your eyes or your mascara will rub off on your skin. Also, I felt like I wasn't getting enough moisture from this (I have pretty dry skin), so in the end, I started applying it a second time during the day. Perhaps it would be better for those with oily/combination skin? I'd like to give Jojoba oil a try.

£13 at Holland and Barrett.

 dr. organic

I like the dr. organic line. It's good for people who don't want to try to make things themselves or are perhaps just trying to switch to simpler, more organic products. dr. organic offers a wide range of products for each of your beauty needs, and they strive to use all organic products with the fewest ingredients "possible." If they can't get an organic product, they state on their website that they ALWAYS use something that was sustainably sourced (Some photos and previous information from: www.drorganic.co.uk and www.hollandandbarrett.co.uk). With that said, here are some things I've tried:

I did not like this. I had to create some serious friction by rubbing my finger in it to make it soft enough to smooth onto my lips. In the end, it just got gross in that little container.

This was good, but not my favorite. It felt a bit too much like jelly and not so much smooth. £5.79 at Holland and Barrett.

I LOVE this body wash. It smells good and doesn't dry out my skin. One of my friends picked it up in the store and liked the smell so much that she kept opening it to smell it again! £5.39 at Holland and Barrett.

I just bought this today. I've used it once and it felt pretty good! It left my face feeling clean, but not dry. £6.39 at Holland and Barrett.

This was okay, but the tea tree oil gives it a pretty strong smell. It did it's job though. £5.49 at Holland and Barrett.

No-Poo Method

I have to say that this really works. I even tested being on it and going back to my expensive Aveda products to see if I'd notice a difference. My hair was smoother, shiny, and had less fly-aways using the no-poo method than the Aveda products. I'm sold. More information on my blog here.

From: http://becomingpeculiar.com/why-i-ditched-shampoo-and-how-you-can-too/

 Good Things

I've used some of their face-wash products and haven't been impressed so I won't list them. They smelled really good, but for me, break-outs were not controlled, and my face felt very dry after washing. However, their body butter is lovely. It smells good and feels good. What more could you want? Oh right...It's free from parabens, animal ingredients, mineral oils (which give a false sense of shine and softness), and sodium laurel sulfates.

 OLIVA

Pure olive oil soap with only three ingredients! That's pretty simple, eh? 

I really liked this soap! It felt great on my skin and was a terrific moisturizer. Unfortunately, it left a bit of residue in my shower (easily cleaned though), and thus, it may have been responsible for clogging the drain. I need to buy it again to test this theory, or you can tell me! £1.15 at Holland and Barrett.

References:

Darbre, P.D. 2003. Underarm cosmetics and breast cancer. Journal of Applied Toxicology Vol. 23 Issue 2. pp. 89-95.

Darbre, P.D. 2005. Aluminium, antiperspirants and breast cancer. Journal of Inorganic Biochemistry. Vol. 99 Issue 9. pp. 1912-1919.

McGrath, K.G. 2003. An earlier age of breast cancer diagnosis related to more frequent use of antiperspirants/deodorants and underarm shaving. European Journal of Cancer Prevention. December 2003, Vol. 12 Issue 6. pp 479-485.