Going Green with my Beauty Routine
Today I’m sharing my thoughts on some new-to-me green products I’ve tried recently. I ordered most of these through Vitacost. The sell a ton of green products. New customers can sign up for a $10 off coupon.
I used the website Good Guide to help me figure out which products I wanted to test out. Good Guide provides a 1-10 rank in three different categories: health, environment, and social. All three are great, but since I’m currently focusing on eliminating toxins from our products I’ve concentrated on the health category. For each product listed below I’ve included the GG health rank. For more information about Good Guide you can read How to Find Safe Products.
Jason Toothpaste (GG 8.0) – The flavor is good, but it isn’t as strong as my regular Crest toothpaste. I wish the after taste lasted longer, but then I wonder… Does the taste of mint really equal a clean mouth? Not really. My mouth feels clean. That is what counts.
This toothpaste lathers more than my regular stuff. I’ve been using less toothpaste because of that, which is a perk since it will last me longer.
Jason Hand Soap (GG 8.0) – I love this stuff. My favorite scent is cranberry, but I also really like lavander. The bottles are big so they last a long time. Plus this isn’t antibacterial soap, which is actually really bad for you.
I tried to use it for homemade foaming hand soap, but it didn’t work well. I don’t understand it, but whenever I try to use a natural soap for that it always ends up going “bad.” The water starts to smell like a dirty dish rag after awhile. What am I doing wrong?
Aubrey Organics Island Naturals Replenishing Shampoo & Conditioner (GG 8.0) – I used it for several weeks before I gave up on it. First of all, I was not impressed with the scent. The back of the bottles say, “All Spice: Adds an exotic, spicy scent.” It was just too manly for me.
My hair got really greasy and I developed a major flake problem. Maybe my hair was detoxing from my regular shampoo, but I simply couldn’t take it anymore. I learned that pregnancy is not a good time to experiment with hair products. Your hormones can mess things up (or at least make you very cranky if it isn’t going well). I’m curious how my hair would have reacted if I stayed with it, but not curious enough to try it again. I’m using the rest of the shampoo as shaving cream. The conditioner was very thick and creamy. I’m still using it even though the scent is kind of strange.
Burt’s Bees Radiance Day Lotion SPF 15 (GG 6.0) – The frugal chick in me has really struggled to find a facial lotion that I like. It has to have SPF, be toxin free, and reasonably priced. I’m not sure Burt’s Bees is the best choice, but it is working for me. I like the way it feels, smells, and works.
Sally’s Sweet Soaps (no GG rank & not pictured) – I fell in love with this soap after doing a review and giveaway. I love the scents. I love the feel. I love how pretty the soap is. I love how safe it is! I love it so much that I ordered some so I could pack it in my hospital bag. I took coconut lime. YUM!
Have you tried any of these products? Do you have any suggestions for my next new-to-me green purchase?
This is being linked to Green Your Way and Your Green Resource.
This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting Simply Rebekah. I was not asked to review these products by the companies. All opinions are my own.
When you refill your soap foamer, are you using tap water? If so, the yuckiness probably comes from bacteria in your water. I have not had this problem, except when I get lazy and fail to rinse out the foamer before refilling, but I live in Pittsburgh which has some of the best quality tap water in the country. I refill my foamers with Dr. Bronner’s liquid soap, which is so concentrated it’s a great value.
I’ve also had poor results from plant-based shampoos, although my partner loves Nature’s Gate. I wash my hair with white vinegar, and I transitioned into doing that while pregnant, so maybe it will work for you, too!
Becca, I am using tap water for my soap. Maybe that is the problem – but that is kind of scary! Why is my tap water getting so gross? ICK!
I haven’t tried any Jason’s products but have heard they are good. I want to try the deoderant–it doesn’t have aluminum. Give it a whirl and let me know how you like it! 🙂
I think I actually have some Jason’s deodorant around here somewhere. I’ve been avoiding using it because I really hate how much I sweat. I like an antiperspirant even though I know it is bad for me. 🙁
I was just going to recommend the Jason deoderant. Regular deoderant is REALLY BAD for you. The Jason stuff is great. I get the apricot which has a nice scent but it’s not like “hey everyone, I’m wearing deoderant!”
I also like the handsoaps, but prefer a foaming hand soap. I get the foaming Method hand soap from Target. It is also not antibacterial and comes in a bag which uses less plastic. It’s hard to find non antibacterial hand soap!
Susan, I’ve used the Method soap before and really liked it. I thought it was cool that it came in a bag!
My favorite “green” beauty item is oatmeal. I wash my face with oatmeal and use shea butter as a moisturizer at night and coconut oil in the morning. The shea butter feels oily under make-up if I use it in the morning. My skin has been AMAZING since I started using oatmeal as my only cleanser. I have really sensitive skin so I was using cetaphil before I switched. Then I tried some mineral make-up and my face broke out in this awful rash and got all scaly, so I was searching the internet for idea on how to heal my face and found a youtube video about using straight oatmeal. It really works MIRACLES. MIRACLES I tell you. Plus, it is dirt cheap.
Thanks for the heads up about the health rating availability. I’ve really been looking for a good deodorant alternative. I tried the baking soda/cornstarch mix and it didn’t work for me. Maybe Jason’s will.
Oatmeal to wash your face!?!? Seriously?? Why haven’t I heard about this? I’ll have to add that to my list of things to try.
We’re trying to take steps to be greener in our bath products too. I love my Burt’s Bees but am always open to trying new things!
Audra, I really love Burt’s Bees too, but I never hear other green bloggers talking about it. It kind of makes me wonder what is wrong with it.
Have you heard of Melaleuca? Check them out – I’d be interested in what you think!
I’ve never tried Melaleuca. Maybe they should do a review and giveaway with me! 🙂
My husband and I tried that shampoo too, and we had the same problem! Mainly the flakes! And if you’ve ever seen my husband, he barely even has hair–it’s like 1/4 of an inch long. It is strange that the product had so much buildup or whatever it was to cause flakes on his practically bald head.
I did no poo with baking soda/vinegar for 6 months, and while that created a strange kind of buildup from the baking soda, it wasn’t nearly as bad as when i used Aubrey Organics shampoo. Now I’m back to lathering every other day with a regular (yes, toxic) shampoo, but I feel better about myself because I don’t have so many flakes.
Thanks for the reviews! It helps to try new products when I can get this kind of honest feedback before I buy it.
*sigh* Thank goodness I’m not the only one who turned back to the “toxic stuff” in favor of boosting my self esteem!
Hey, I thought this article looked familiar–I was here last summer! 🙂
I wanted to add some suggestions:
Wash your face with honey!
Try this easy homemade scrub for occasional exfoliating…or household cleaning!
Tom’s of Maine makes a pretty good antiperspirant from natural ingredients. I used to like their toothpaste, too, but since they were bought out by Colgate the formula has changed. 🙁