Green Beaver has some great products that, in addition to being toxic-free, usually contain some certified organic ingredients. I particularly like their Winter Care Lotion and Green Tea Facial Moisturizer. And Green Beaver is a Canadian company! I'm fortunate in that I work at a shop that sells natural body care products, so finding them is easy for me.

There's a store in Vancouver on West 4th called Juliet's room that has a number of bath and body products that don't contain parabens or sls. The Pineapple-Coconut body wash and sugar body scrub are both great, as is the Raspberry White Chocolate body butter. They also have face care - I've only tried the Green Tea facial polish but it was very gentle. I don't work there, so this is not a biased opinion - check them out at julietsroom.com.

If anyone knows of a daily moisturizer with SPF, please post it here - I've been looking for one and toxic-free sunscreens all seem really heavy and are difficult to use with make-up. Also, looking for any advice on make-up (concealer, powder, etc.) - there are some out there but it's hard to tell the quality and the prices seem quite high.

Thanks for the discussion!

I love the Rocky Mountain Soap Company, I think their soap by the slab is a fantastic idea.

Hi everyone,
Did you know that David Suzuki's Queen of Green has her very own soap, created by the Rocky Mountain Soap company? It smells pretty nice - Lindsay's mom bought up the last 9 bars at the store in Edmonton (smile).

I've been using Dr. Bronner's soap for a while now and I love it for the shower and as an ingredient in house cleaning products. I've been trying to simply cut down on the products I use so I don't have to worry. It's hard to give up the makeup though!

I often wash  with baking soda. Cheap, clean, makes your skin feel oh-so-soft! (It's a mild exfoliant.) And I've been using Jane Iredale make-up for awhile and just learned about Sappho, which can be ordered online at http://sapphocosmetics.com/.

I use  crystal rock deodorant which is really ammonium alum.  One of the reasons it appealed to me is that my original piece came without packaging although it seems harder to find that way now. 

Jane Iredale make-up is great, and many of the products are quite low in toxicity according to the Skin Deep website.

Hello,

This is a bit off topic since it is less about cosmetics and more about beauty products, but I have to admit that I am obsessed with non-toxic beauty products lately.  I really started to become more interested after using this website a bit:

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/

This website has helped me a lot!  I try to keep the environment and human health at the forefront of my decision making process when buying beauty care products.  At the same time I have exceptionally reactive skin...through this website I have come to use the following:

-Pure Jojoba Oil-as a moisturizer (Bought at Whole Foods)

-Distilled Water instead of toner in a spray bottle

-Badger brand sunblock (bought at Whole Foods)

-Crystal Deoderant (as mentioned above)

-Weleda Almond Intensive Facial Cream-Moisturizer (bought at Whole Foods)

As mentioned, my skin is very sensitive, oily yet dehydrated ;) so each day I ask it what it wants!

Thanks for starting this thread, I am new to this website.

Sera

Hi,

A big big cost is the shaving razors we use. I got sick of being gouged and sick of the waste. I looked into the old safety razors and the straight edge razors and decided on the safety razor. A pack of razor blades cost me 10 bucks and it should last a year.  Here in Victoria I get the razors at the Barbers supply shop on Burnside.  The next level will be using the straight razors. I have seen posts by women who have mastered shaving their legs with them! Yikes. 

As a foot care nurse and a nurse who has worked in cosmetic medicine I have some view into the world of the medical cosmetic industry. The amount of waste and pollution from the cosmetic industry is overwhelming. The botox and filler syringes come in huge amounts of packaging. Then the syringes are tossed into the biohazard disposal container. The number of syringes used per patient can be very numerous. The packaging was not recycled but thrown in to the garbage. I would like to see a documentary that focuses on the huge amount of pollution from this area of medicine. 

Any how, it was an eye opener.   I think coconut butter, or olive oil is wonderful. Pure essential oils can be used for so many things. Beeswax also.

Lemon juice for an astringent works well, and masks made from fruits have the glycolic fruit acids that lighten, and brighten the skin, and also encourage cell turn over.

Less is better I think.