Natural Beauty Product “Shelfie”
A few years ago I was raving to my bestie Sondra about how much I loved Trader Joe’s new beauty products (I am a TJ’s fangirl), specifically their rose water spray and rose face oil. An employee of the store at the time, I thought she would share in my enthusiasm, but as best friends often do, she offered me a reality check instead.
“Yeah, those products have been popular, but did you read the ingredients? They’re full of a lot of junk.”
Shoot. She was right…
While I have always been overly cautious about what I put in and on my body, it turns out that I had gotten pretty lax. When I took a closer look at the products I was using, I was surprised that even the ones that claimed to be “natural” contained a lot of questionable chemicals.
Now, I’m certainly not an expert on the subject, but there is enough cancer in my family to make me want to steer clear of any chemicals that studies have even potentially linked to it, and as a woman, hormone-disrupting chemicals are a little concerning to me too.
Before I go any further, I should note that yes, I believe in science, and no, I don’t buy into all the fear-mongering and conspiracy theories that the FDA is trying to poison us, but…I’d just rather err on the side of caution, that’s all.
After that convo with Sondra, I vowed to clean up my personal care products. It took a few years, but one by one I weeded out anything iffy and swapped for safer alternatives by using the Think Dirty app (be prepared, this app will ruin your life) and the Environmental Working Group app. The EWG also has a list of the “Toxic Twenty” chemicals that they think should be banned from personal care products that is a great resource.
After a ton of trial and error, I’ve finally found my favorites—and I’d like to note that none of them cost more than $30 and the majority come in plastic-free packaging.
If you’re also on the hunt for natural beauty products that actually work and don’t cost an arm and a leg, these are my personal recs:
My Favorite Natural Beauty Products
Behold, my natural beauty product “Shelfie”—and yes, this is a real term, I did not make it up.
Shampoo + Conditioner: I was a diehard Lush fan forever, but their products score so poorly on the Think Dirty app—including my beloved I Love Juicy shampoo that I used for 10+ years. It was one of my last holdout products, but I finally transitioned to Plaine Products and their shampoo and conditioner have been great (I use the Rosemary Mint Vanilla scent). This brand gets bonus points too because their products come in refillable aluminum containers that you send back to them when they’re empty for a refill. Cool, right? I don’t end up using dry shampoo a lot, but when I do, I use Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve’s Fresh Locks Dry Shampoo.
Body Wash: I’ve been using Dr. Bronner’s Pure-Castile Liquid Soap for a long time and it’s great because the co-op here in town has giant jugs that you can refill your bottles from (I usually get the eucalyptus scent). I love their bar soaps too.
Face Wash: This Cream Cleanser from Mad Hippie smells lovely and feels amazing going on. It’s my new fav.
Face Everything Else: This category took me the longest to figure out but I think I finally got it. After cleansing, I use Baja Basics Rose Water spray (which is absolutely heavenly) and then follow up with 3 drops of Baja Basics Rosehip Oil mixed with 2 drops of their Collagen Booster with Vitamin C (this product is super hydrating, my skin loves it).
Body Moisturizer: Under Aurora Coconut Oil Spray is the best (something about spraying on moisturizer is kind of amazing). I discovered this brand at the Detroit Urban Craft Fair a few years ago and have been a fan ever since. Egyptian Magic All Purpose Skin Cream is really great for dry winter hands too.
Deodorant: I think this is the natural product that there is the most debate around. I used to make my own and it was pretty effective, but then I started noticing that the baking soda in it was irritating my armpits. One day I was at Whole Foods staring blankly at the plethora of deodorant options when the woman working pointed me toward Real Purity Roll-On Deodorant. She said it’s their top seller and I have to say, it works really well.
Perfume: I was visiting my friend Tara in Florida a few years ago and she brought me to a magical farmer’s market where 10 minutes in I found myself at Blush & Wood covered in 100 essential oil perfume blends in search of the perfect combination—which I found. I bought a bottle of “Yoga” and a bottle of “Cactus” and I roll a little bit of each on and it smells delightful and has become my signature scent. For perfume I also love Under Aurora’s Botanical Body Spritz (it’s nice to have a spray-on perfume option too) in “The Poet” scent.
Mascara: I’m not a big makeup person but I do wear mascara. Mascara is another product that took me forever to find a decent natural alternative for, but I was recommended ILIA’s Limitless Lash Mascara and it’s the best one I’ve tried by far.
Get-Out-of-Jail-Free Products: In the spirit of cutting myself some slack, there are a few products I love and DGAF what kind of poison is in them: 1. Trader Joe’s Shea Butter & Coconut Oil Hair Mask (there is “fragrance” in here and a few other weirdo ingredients but I only use it once a week and it barely touches my skin, sue me!) and 2. Trader Joe’s Rich Hydrating Face Sheet Masks (I glanced at the ingredient list once and it didn’t look so bad, but I don’t care to investigate further, I love these things and I’m not going to stop using them).
And that’s a wrap—phew!
I will leave you with my thoughts on anti-aging skincare: Fuck it.
Anytime I’ve used anything marketed as “anti-aging” (I hate this term), my skin has revolted, so I’m taking it as a sign to just let it be. Pretty sure at this point there is nothing that’s going to erase my wrinkles and delete my sun damage besides photoshop or an elective cosmetic procedure, so…que sera, sera.
