Safe Cosmetics

I've never been a product junkie, but when I was pregnant with my son (didn't know if it was a he or she at the time) I swore off all beauty products with harsh or harmful chemicals.  I moved to buying simple, natural, and chemical-free products and making my own at home.  Once my son was born I searched out natural and chemical-free baby soap and massage lotion for him.  I was doing all of this because I didn't want my baby exposed to harsh chemicals, but it made me rethink what I put on my own body. Enter my new motto, shamelessly taken from my favorite brand of body oil (Heather Lorain Cosmetics Apricot Oil), "If you wouldn't put it in your body, don't put it on your body".  After all our skin is our body's largest organ. While living by this motto isn't completely feasible, it is an excellent goal to work towards. And it's not as hard as one might think.  Apricot, almond, avocado, grape seed, and jojoba oil are wonderful body oils that can be used in place of lotion.  You can make body/face scrubs and conditioners out of items found in your pantry (salt, sugar, olive oil, avocados, honey, yogurt, milk, berries, watermelon, lemon, etc.).

For the products that I do buy, I try to find ones that I can use for multiple purposes. For example, I use Dr. Bonners soap for body wash, hand soap, and as an all purpose kitchen and bathroom cleaner.  I use apricot oil as a body oil, for taming my frizzy hair, and I put a dash in my son's bath water to keep his skin nice and soft.  The added bonus of all of this is that I save money and I have significantly cut down on the number of products cluttering my bathroom cabinet.  Here is a list of my favorite products.

• California Baby (Calendula cream, shampoo/body wash, and sunscreen)
• Acquarella (water-based nail polish)
• Dr. Bonners (soap)
• Weleda (skin food cream)
• Heather Lorain Cosmetics (Apricot Oil)
• Keys (Solar Rx Sunscreen)
• Marie Veronique Organics (Face Screen)

If you have any home made recipes or products that you love and recommend let me know. I'm still on the hunt for a good mascara (the one makeup item I use on a daily basis).