When I first started to look for more sustainable options in body care, I wandered down the aisles of several natural foods stores, and was surprised to find a number of brands touted as “natural” or “organic” that still had some pretty nasty ingredients in them.  There are several good resources online to help guide you on what to look for to keep toxins out of our water supplies and off our body.  Treehugger.com has a well-rounded list.  Terressentials has a comprehensive list that, imho, goes a little too far in some cases, but it’s a good read for purists.  Hopefully you can save a little time yourself by taking advantage of my research.  Here are some of my personal favorite products and brands.

Skin Care

I’ve been fortunate to try a lot of brands of facial care products both from personal purchases and as samples from the national wholesale show Natural Products Expo West.  In the end, I’ve narrowed down to a few favorites that have very clean ingredient lists and feel fantastic on my skin.

Grateful Body

This affordable, luxury skin care brand has lotions and potions for every skin type.  Their eye cream works so well it actually got a rid of an eye rash I had that prescription eye cream couldn’t help.  Sign up for their e-mail to get regular discounts.

Terressentials

The maker of my favorite deodorant is also one of my go-to brands for basic moisturizers and skin care.  They don’t have an eye cream in their line, so I add 100% Pure Coffee Bean Caffeine Eye Cream to this regime.

Eminence

This professional spa line is truly delicious (and pricey).  They have links to local spas that use their line if you’re looking for a treat.  You can find most of their line for sale on Amazon.  I keep this on my wish list, but don’t buy it often due to the price point.

Skin Care Tip: No matter how good a facial care system is, they each have a limited number of good-for-your-skin ingredients.  One way to maximize the benefit from your skin care, is to use two completely different lines with varying ingredient mixes.  Alternate them either every couple of weeks or use one regime in the morning and one the evening.

Hair Care

In an interview with Green America, I was asked what product, that I don’t carry, could I not live without.  My answer was Terressentials Pure Earth Hair Wash.  It’s an odd product that doesn’t invoke confidence at first glance.  It’s a brown, muddy color and it doesn’t lather at all, so you really have to work it through your hair with your fingers.

I have always had dry, brittle, thin hair.  Initially this product made it feel greasy and odd.  Terressentials talks about a hair “detox period” when using this, and it’s true.  You’ll likely not be impressed with your first “wash.”  However, after a couple of weeks my hair completely changed from using this.  It went from dry and brittle to soft and silky.  I used to shampoo and condition my hair every other day.  Now, I only use my “mud” once every 3-5 days (depending on my workout level that week) with no need for conditioner at all.  My hair has never looked better, and the scents are delicious.

If you’re not quite ready to take on a whole new hair washing experience, my favorite brand of traditional shampoo before I switched was Aubrey Organics.  They have a fairly clean ingredients list and enough variety for nearly any hair type.  Also checkout the links in Facial and Body care, as many of them offer shampoos.  While I haven’t tried any of them, I feel comfortable recommending these brands.

Soap

I have to admit that despite all the wonderful body washes out there, I still love a good soap. Soap is the “saponification” of an oil with a base, usually lye.  Modern soaps that you purchase at a grocery store generally use either petroleum as their base oil or slaughterhouse tallow because both are very inexpensive.  In addition to the environmental and animal issues, both of these oils are very drying to your skin.  Almost any cold processed, vegetable oil soap scented with essential oils rather than synthetic perfumes is an infinitely better option.  Jojoba and Almond Oil soaps are my favorites, though they tend to cost a tad more.

After my favorite handmade soap company went out of business, Faerie’s Dance started carrying palm-oil free, essential oil soaps in a variety of scents that are now my go-to.

Dr.Bronner’s makes a nice castile soap that’s easily found in stores if you prefer to smell your soap in person. They do use organic palm oil though.

Soap making has become a handmade cottage industry.  Check your local farmers market or craft fair for cold-processed soap. This is my favorite way to buy since you can sniff them all to get a scent that speaks to you.  It also supports small business and local communities.

Body Care

Almost all of the brands I’ve linked above have body washes and lotions as well.  I also like Nubian Heritage, particularly for their philosophy and work in underdeveloped areas.  Click and explore…

Note: I have not received or been offered free products, gifts or compensation for any of the items or brands listed herein.  My reviews are completely unbiased.

Earlier this week, I announced the beginning of a new blog series: A Year of Green Living.  I’ll be sharing my personal research and testing of a wide variety of eco-friendly products. We won’t address organic and natural clothing in this series since that’s been the mainstay of the blog to date, and there are already over 100 posts on that topic. OK, let’s get started!

First up in the series is Natural Deodorant.  As an athlete who tends to sweat a lot, finding an all-natural deodorant that actually worked was more than frustrating.  I tried brand after brand only to find that half way through the day I had developed a noticeable aroma and/or that in the middle of my workout I didn’t want to lift my arms anymore.  For almost 6 months, I felt like I had a ripe stench nearly every day.  Eventually, I did find a deodorant that works, even for sweaty athletes.

Here are the criteria by which I judged the deodorants I tried:

• It had to last all day and night.  If I put it on after my shower in the morning, I wanted to wake up the next morning without underarm odor.
• If I was working out that day, the deodorant had to cover underarm odor throughout the full length of the workout (no matter how long that was.)
• It had to be free of aluminum, parabens and phthalates.  (This article explains the worst chemical offenders in deodorants and why they’re bad.)
• It had to smell nice using only essential oils or natural fragrances, no chemical perfumes.  (Most of the brands I tried offered a fragrance free option for those who may have sensitivities to any type of fragrance.)

The Winners

#1: Terressentials Super Protection Deodorant

Pros: This is my go-to brand and I was so happy to finally find it.  I mostly use Zen Spice, which smells amazing, but occasionally also get Lavender Fresh just for a change of pace.  This deodorant got me through marathon training this summer.  While my whole body smelled of sweat after a 4-5 hour run in 80 degree temperatures, my underarm odor was completely diffused with this fantastic roll-on.

Cons: It does leave white lines on your clothing when it’s wet.  So if you get dressed right after putting it on, you have to be careful about not touching the outside of your shirt.  It has always washed out, though.  Also, this brand hasn’t really broken into the natural foods markets yet, so it has to be purchased online unless you live in Maryland.

#2: Schmidt’s Deodorant

Pros: For those who prefer a solid stick deodorant over a roll on, Schmidt’s is my second choice. I’ve only used the Lavender Sage, but the Bergamot Lime smells divine – a great choice for men, too.  It keeps odors at bay for a full 24 hours, and works almost as well at the gym as Terressentials.

Cons: I find it a little sticky going on, which is why I favor Terressentials, but otherwise it’s a close second.  I tried the deodorant jar and found the application absolutely ridiculous.  I still have 3/4 of a jar sitting in my cabinet, so I don’t recommend that variety 

#3: Crystal Deodorant Stick

Pros: I wasn’t really expecting the crystal deodorant to work.  It seemed more like a gimmick than a real solution.  But I was pretty shocked at how well it kept odors at bay.  It might also be a great choice for someone with chemical sensitivities.  The trick with this is that you have to add a little water to the top to loosen it up before using.  Then you really have to be sure to rub it on for a while, about 10 full seconds under each arm.  This is also the cheapest solution to natural deodorant that I found, because it seems to last forever.  It’s also easy to find at drug stores, grocery stores, online and even some department stores.

Cons: It has no smell at all, which might be great for some folks, but I personally prefer an essential oil scent.  While 10 seconds per arm is really no time at all, it’s a little more effort than the normal swipe and go of a roll on or stick.

#4. North Coast Organics Deodorant

Pros: This brand is similarly effective to Schmidt’s at #2.  The AL SOL scent is very refreshing.

Cons: I found it even more sticky going on than Schmidt’s so I don’t ever buy it myself.  However, everyone has different preferences and this brand does work.

The Losers

I did the big deodorant sampling many years ago, and I no longer have the complete list of brands I tried.  There were so many from my local natural foods store, it’s ridiculous.  Here are some of the ones that I remember and/or still have in my bathroom because I only used them once or twice and hated to throw away the whole thing.  Some of these would last most of the day, but have me getting up in the morning smelling like I hadn’t showered in 2 weeks.  Others were so bad that I was embarrassed before I’d even left work.  In some cases, I tried more than a few scents of the same brand.

• Hugo Naturals Solid Deodorant
• Tom’s of Maine Solid Deodorant
• Aubrey Organics E Plus High C Roll on
• Jason’s Natural Solid Deodorant
• Via Nature Stick Deodorant
• GeoDeo Detox Deodorant – this one was marginally effective and smelled nice, but had a lot of questionable ingredients for a “natural” deodorant.

I should mention that I like other products from some of these brands, so this is not meant to dis the whole brand, just their deodorant.  Also, I imagine that deodorant effectivity may depend on each person’s personal chemistry, but hopefully this will provide a good place to start.

As I mentioned in my last post, I’ve been getting a lot of questions about sustainable products other than clothing.  I’ve been asked about organic bedding, natural cosmetics and body care, chemical free cleaning products and a host of other things.  The assumption is that someone who cares about the effect of clothing on our bodies, the environment and the people who make them, might also take the time to research other commonly used items.

As it turns out, as part of my turtle approach to greening my whole life, I spent years (literally) doing research and trying new products.  In a few cases, I wasted some money trying to find effective natural alternatives to commonly used items.  This year, I thought I would share some of that “off-topic” knowledge to my customers and followers.  Since my business is organic clothing, not blogging, I don’t have sponsors or get free items from vendors.  I am able to provide truly unbiased assessments of products currently on the market that I personally use or have tried.

That said, I’m starting a new blog series called “A Year of Green Living.”  I’ll provide everything from tips on natural deodorants to reviews of books and movies.  I hope you’ll follow along and let me know what you think and maybe offer up tips of your own along the way.  Let me know what topics you’d like to hear more about and we’ll add them in.