Archive for Natural and Organic
Are you a botanical beauty?
Posted by: | Comments
Hello Toxic Beauty readers! I hope you enjoy this video on why and how to choose organic beauty products. It makes some great points about why it is important to delete synthetic products from your routine. The video mentions purchasing organic beauty products from the health food store but I want to remind you the Internet offers more affordable source for many beauty products, such as luckyvitamin.com. Enjoy and don’t forget to share your thoughts.
Stay natural…stay beautiful…go green!
-Robin
Go Greeeeeen Tea!
Posted by: | Comments
Green tea is not only great for your heart, but for your skin and hair too.
Did the title catch your attention? I hope so…The benefits of drinking green tea are many: weight loss, increased metabolism, inhibiting the growth of cancer cells, and improving the immune system to name a few. Green tea contains EGCG, a powerful antioxidant which kills cancer cells while leaving healthy cells alone. If green tea is not part of your daily diet, it should be.
Green tea is so healthy in our diet but what can it do in our beauty products? There are times when your hair needs a break from regular shampoo and needs a clarifying shampoo to remove buildup of styling products. Enter Aubrey Organics Green Tea Clarifying Shampoo.
It deep cleans and rinses well leaving the hair healthy and manageable. It contains herbal extracts and nutrients which make the hair easy to style and cuts down on dry time (who doesn’t need more time in their beauty routine??) Green tea and nettle extract protect hair and tone the scalp. Aloe replenishes moisture while almond protein strengthens hair fiber, fullness, and manageability. You will be so pleased when you use this shampoo as it contains so sulfates, parabens, or chemicals. It’s also vegan and is not tested on animals. Here are the complete ingredients:
INGREDIENTS: Deionized Water, Coconut Oil-Corn Oil Soap, Organic Green Tea Extract (Organic Green Tea, Organic Nettle, Natural Grain Alcohol), Organic Aloe Vera, Carrageenan, Organic Lemon Peel Oil, Almond Protein, Organic Blue Camomile Oil, Aubrey’s Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E).
You can explore the entire line of green tea products at Aubrey Organics.
Another company who have tapped into the power of green tea is Burt’s Bees. They make a collection of products utilizing this wonder ingredient. I was able to find a Green Tea set at Marshall’s (I am always looking for deals!) It contained a 12 oz. shampoo, 12 oz. conditioner, 8 oz. hand soap, and a soap bar. Burt’s Bees Color Keeper Shampoo and Conditioner uses green tea and fennel seed to help preserve color. This is a good shampoo, but when compared with Aubrey, I definitely like the results from the Aubrey collection better. My hair seems to stay cleaner longer than when I use the Burt’s Bees. If you decide to try both lines, it is up to you to decide which you like better. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the benefits of green tea or what is has done for you. Please leave me a comment.
Until next time, stay natural… stay beautiful… go green(tea!) -Robin 
Is Natural Always Good for you?
Posted by: | Comments
I recently became involved in a fascinating discussion on a beauty forum site. This particular part of the discussion was on the term “natural.” I stated that talc was not natural and was a dangerous toxin and carcinogen. In fact, talc is closely related to asbestos and has even been found in ovarian tumors. Someone replied that talc was in fact, natural, e.g., found in nature. Well I stand corrected. I never claimed I knew it all! This person made an excellent point. Talc is found in nature yet is highly toxic to individuals. This leads one to believe that natural isn’t always good for you. When you say natural you tend to believe it is safe and pure. Yet a substance like talc is found in nature and causes cancer! So everything found in nature is not necessarily safe or good for you nor is artificial ingredients, synthetics, or petrochemicals.
So what’s the difference between natural and organic? This is a question many people have. I read about a poll where people trusted products labeled “natural” more than they trusted products labeled “organic!” Products labeled as “natural” are not regulated. Your best bet to determine if this product is safe is to read the ingredients. Know your ingredients! The lesser, the better. Be sure you’re able to identify all the contents.
The term “organic” is even more iffy. The term is definitely more regulated for food products than personal care products. The USDA issues their “organic” seal if the product is made with 100% organic ingredients. It can be labeled “organic” (but no seal) if it is made with 95-99% organic ingredients. Finally, “made with organic ingredients” refers to if the product is made with 70-94% organic ingredients. Even still, be wary of petrochemicals in such products as well as synthetic preservatives. Go to the Organic Consumers Association site for more on this topic:
I hope I have cleared up the difference between natural and organic for you so that the next time you go to the store to purchase your shampoo or lotion, you are not standing there shaking your head in confusion. Any questions or comments, feel free to use the contact form or post a comment. And please remember to subscribe as there are some exciting things coming up on the blog, such as giveaways and video! Until next time, stay natural, stay beautiful…Robin.
