While there are a lot of great natural bar soaps on the market, Dr. Bronner's is the one both Spunt and O'Connor turned to first. "It's a brand that's been making clean soap for a long time," says Spunt.
Here's the thing about bar soaps: "They're supposed to get rid of the muck on the surface of your skin, but they end up being so loaded with surfactants that strip all of your skin's natural oils, it necessitates you to buy more products to rehydrate," says Spunt. "There's literally nothing worse for your skin than being 'squeaky clean.'" Dr. Bronner's soaps don't have those surfactants or other irritating ingredients (like fragrance), so you don't get that itchy, dry, stretched-out skin feeling when you get out of the shower.
O'Connor and Spunt both love this lip balm. Why? First, "It's super pretty. The lip balm reminds me of Clinique's Almost Lipstick -- just a lot less expensive," says O'Connor. Second, the ingredients are great. The first three are plant oils, which are readily absorbed into the skin and are very nourishing -- a lot of lipsticks can cause incredible dryness that this balm doesn't do. And the colors come from mineral-based pigments.
O'Connor adds that some of the reds have carmine in them, which is a red dye that comes from crushed beetles. Carmine, however, is so widely used in both natural and mainstream products, that it would be a difficult ingredient to avoid. She says if you have a moral problem with it, you should avoid all reds; however, it's not harmful for your skin.
"Shaving creams are notoriously toxic," says Spunt. "You can kind of imagine how many foaming agents and synthetic fragrances they would need, so there aren't a whole lot of options when it comes to natural shaving creams." And it's imperative that your shaving gel is natural, says O'Connor. "When you're shaving, you're in warm water with your pores open and vulnerable," she says. That coupled with a razor blade that's scraping off the top layer of your skin, applying a toxic shaving cream can be dangerous.
She says this product is a happy medium between using a "hippie" soap and a more mainstream shaving gel. Plus, the fact that Dr. Bronner's products are USDA-certified organic means that it is filled with super-pure ingredients, like white grape juice (an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory), and oils like coconut, olive, hemp, and spearmint.
Most self-tanners are usually brown or orange in color -- that's a 100 percent dye, says O'Connor. And they almost always use synthetic fragrances to make them smell like coconut or "beachy," which is an absolute deal breaker when it comes to greening your beauty routine. Consider "fragrance" another word for "chemical."
However, the Lavera cream is clear, void of chemicals, and doesn't have any synthetic fragrances. The fragrance is derived from essential oils, and it's non-irritating, says O'Connor. Plus, with aloe vera and jojoba oil, the self-tanner soothes and moisturizes skin. After just three days of use, Spunt says she sees a beautiful, natural-looking glow.
Don't be fooled by packaging, says Spunt. "A lot of mainstream lines know that more women want cleaner products, so they'll throw their products into green-colored bottles, put leaves on them, and talk about how they've removed one ingredient -- but that doesn't mean the product is much cleaner than its original formula." You don't need to be an expert in this stuff, she says. Just turn the bottle around and if you see a lot of X's, Y's, and numbers, you're not looking at a clean product.
For example, CoverGirl NatureLuxe sounds like a great organic line -- but when you read the ingredient list, you'll find the products have synthetic fragrances and talc -- both of which are not natural, says O'Connor.
Their pick? Almay Wake-Up Hydrating Makeup SPF 13, a powdered mineral-based makeup. "Just be careful of the application," says O'Connor. "Mineral makeup has titanium dioxide, which is a carcinogen, so it can be harmful if inhaled. It's OK to use on your skin since it doesn't absorb through the skin at all. But if you're putting it on with a big fluffy brush, you're going to be inhaling more than you're wearing."
The solution: O'Connor and Spunt recommend mixing the mineral makeup with your day cream, and applying it on your face with your fingers. "You still get incredible coverage, but it won't look chalky," says Spunt.
These days, it feels like everyone (and everything) is getting an eco makeover. Celebs are swapping their Porches for Priuses; plastic bags are becoming obsolete at grocery stores; hemp is becoming a food and fabric staple; heck, you can even buy organic yoga mats. But while we may shop, eat, and even work out in a more eco-friendly fashion, there's one area most of us don't bother to greenify: our beauty products.
Why? Because Tata Harper's amazing organic face moisturizer will set you back a whopping $100, and the natural and organic body washes, lotions, and makeup lining "Whole Paycheck's" beauty aisles are also pretty pricey.
So what's an eco- and budget-conscious beauty maven to do? Call Alexandra Spunt and Siobhan O'Connor, co-authors of "No More Dirty Looks," an investigative book that looks into the hidden chemicals and toxins in our favorite beauty products. They're two everyday girls who had a big "ah-ha" moment.
"Studies have shown that what we put on our skin gets absorbed into our bloodstreams and circulates through our bodies," says Spunt. "So we realized that while we were doing yoga, living a 'clean' lifestyle, and putting all this attention on what we were eating and drinking, we were missing a huge component."
What happened when they started using eco-friendly beauty products? They were more than pleasantly surprised.
"The natural products performed better [than our old go-tos], improved our looks, and made us feel better," says O'Connor. "My skin looks better than it did three years ago -- and I'm now in my 30s. While there is no such thing as a miracle product, we really have noticed significant differences."
Spunt and O'Connor say they know giving up mainstream beauty products seems impossible, and that's why they gave us this list of the 10 best natural beauty products you can find at the drugstore. There go your excuses. So, grab that reusable tote and start shopping.
