Hey!

So Woody made a thread similar, but I'm not really looking for recipes or sharing them (I don't make my own stuff)...what I'm looking to talk about is natural products that you can buy in stores.

Who uses them?

I used to use all the good smelling stuff in the world until I was introduced to what is in the products I was using. So many products out there (actually I would go as far as saying most) use animal bi-products. A lot of people hear that and don't quite understand what it means. I'll give you the basic run down (it won't be 100% accurate for ALL, but you'll get the idea).

When an animal is killed (road kill, natural death or euthanasia) the animals eventually make it to a lab where they get thrown into this giant vat and get boiled. What rises to the top of the mixture is a white foamy substance. This gets put into your products (remember it's not 100% accurate for ALL things, but generally this is what happens). Of course the smell of rotted animal wouldn't be fabulous so they put things in your products to help with that too. You know that "new car smell" everyone "likes"? That same chemical is put into your products to cover up the smell of, well, animal.

So now you can imagine why I instantly stopped using my favourite Aveeno body moisturizer and my Vichy face products. All it takes is 30 seconds for a product to make it's way into your bloodstream. A lot of scientists are associating pregnancy issues with the fact that we're dousing our bodies in added animal hormones. Whether it's a fact or not is not really for this topic.

Since then I've been searching high and low for products that work but are good for your body.

The first thing I did was throw out everything and replenish at The Body Shop.

Now - The Body Shop does NOT sell 100% organic products. What they do sell however are products that have 0 animal bi-products. It's a good start for someone transitioning. Europe recently banned animal bi-products from their products and Canada is trying to do the same.

After I got the animal out, I started doing more research. So much of what we're putting on our skin is terrible...yet we do it because the media tells us to. Now I'm almost 100% organic only.

The reason for the thread?

Who else is doing this? What products are you using? While you might not be in Canada, a lot of products can be ordered online so I don't mind doing that if it's worth it.

I use a lot of Live Clean products as well as Eos (also gluten free!). I have some Arbonne in there too. I haven't been able to ditch my body butter from The Body Shop yet (who doesn't like smelling like coconuts?!) but I'm almost there! In fact apart from my body butter, deoderant and nail polish, I'm 100% organic in the products department!

There is this fancy web tool that I use to see what's in the products I use (though generally if you can't pronounce the ingredient, don't use it): Skin Deep® Cosmetics Database

So discuss, help me find new organic products and let me help you ditch the bad stuff!

Final note: You may feel that my opinion on the subject is dumb - I used to be a lover of all things good smelling and sparkly. If that's the case maybe you shouldn't post. I'm quite passionate about this as I feel like we should all be living the healthiest of lives possible instead of abusing our bodies. If however you want to learn more and help with a transition for me and for you...then please post! :D

Extra final note: Yes being "organic" and healthy goes down to what you eat too - which I'm also a big fan of, but this thread is for beauty products so let's keep it at that! ;D!

Oh I'm big on natural!

For Body stuff, I always go with Lush. They are fantastic. All natural, no animal testing, fresh fruits and vegetables, the company hand makes it's own products even down to the perfumes to guarantee there's nothing in it. I use their bath bars, body washes, creams and moisturizers, they have this awesome massage bar that gives your skin a soft glow and sparkle ^.^ So Earth friendly that most things don't come packaged, and what has too (moisturizers, sprays etc) the containers are not only recyclable but made from recycled plastics. If you take in 5 of their containers they give you a free face mask!

Hair I use Avalon Organics Rosemary shampoo and peppermint conditioner. They're fantastic on my seriously dyed hair. Go to their site and see all the things they refuse to use because of it's unnatural chemistry. I don't have nearly as much to say on them as I do Lush, but they're still pretty awesome.

I have a bit of Arbonne make up, but mostly it's Urban Decay who are completely cruelty-free and refuse to let any of their suppliers have anything to do with animals. They are currently fighting with the labs to recreate their make up vegan. As of the moment not all their make up is, but its progressing at a steady pace. They constantly have new creations that are 100% vegan and I love them for it.

Oh wow!!! I'm glad to see there are others out there on Mene doing it too! I'm going to totally google all three of those brands! Looks like they have Lush stores in our bigger cities so next time I'm there I'll have to visit!

I'm interested in trying to find this conditioner you speak of. I've been using this and while I like the smell of it and what not it leaves my hair super knotty. Brushing it is the worst thing of life @___@ I'll sometimes use their banana conditioner because it leaves my hair a lot smoother but it's not as organic...*sigh* lol

Even live clean, I love their apple cider anti-residue shampoo but I can't stand their conditioners! My hair is so thin it gets knotty super easy @___@;;

I've never heard of Urban Decay but since I wear very minimal makeup, that's probably why xD

Have you found anything for nail polish & deodorant? I found this "crystal" deodorant thing once that was vegan but it imo, didn't take away any type of odours. I didn't like it. I don't need my armpits smelling like bananas but I don't want them to have a smell at all lol

---------- Post added 10-13-2013 at 03:11 PM ----------

lmao, after typing that I looked up Lush and saw that they have deodorants 8D

Urban decay has nail polish in all sorts of colours... According to the about us, the company was founded because the owner wanted purple and green nail polish back when all you could find was red, pink, and beige.

yep, Lush has nearly anything you could need for your body. Their hair stuff is pretty fantastic, I just love what Avalon Organics does to my hair.

I used to use the Rainforest shampoo from Body Shop when I worked there. I made it about a month before the smells from all the products would send me home after my shift with headaches and my clothes stinking. X.X

I've been using some Lush products myself, too. I do like the smells and that the active ingredients are natural, as are the smells from essential oils and essences.

I've actually never heard of the animal byproducts being extracted in such a way. R a n d e h, could you link me to any reputable and reliable sources that confirm that? I think I need a wake up call to stop myself from using such products.

Codette: - I can totally see how the smells would kill it. While a job at The Body Shop sounds like good fun the perfumes would give me headaches @o@!! Thank you for the links! I'm going to be heading to Toronto in a month or so and I'm going to check out the Lush store :D:D!!

Ling: Well I suppose it all depends on what you'd classify of reputable. When it comes to the internet it's hard to believe everything. That being said, you can find a lot of articles if you google Animal Rendering Plants.

Cosmetics and Animal Rendering | Jessica Oliver
Animal Rendering Plants…SMH | Health and Beauty by Arbonne
Rendering: The Invisible Industry
Use of Animal Fats in Cosmetics Industries

Just to list a few...

Definitely good to know what you're putting on your skin as it ultimately gets soaked up into your blood stream.

Thanks for that R a n d e h, truly disturbing stuff.

My girlfriend has dragged me kicking and screaming down the world of organic cosmetics, haha. Though I'm not complaining--I've never looked better!

For my soap and lotion needs, I generally shop at Be Natural Organics. Their stuff is pricey, but the ingredients are all pretty solid and they have great stuff for problem skin like mine.

I haven't really found any shampoo or conditioner that I really like that's also organic, but Sante has some good stuff (though even with Amazon, I have the hardest time getting a hold of their products.) I'm trying out another brand of shampoo and conditioner try now, and it makes my hair soooo stiff and dry. Ugh. I see some wonderful suggestions in this thread, though, so I'm totally going to give them a shot!

Make-up-wise... I'm totally horrible and still using products with bad ingredients. But I wear make up waaaaaay less then I did before I made the change, so, progress?