Organic Lipsticks - Now Your Lips Can Be Organic Too!
Posted by natural_beauty_tips on Nov 1, 2007
Mainstream lipsticks contain such unpleasant ingredients as carmine or cochineal. Apparently the average woman who wears makeup on a regular basis, accidently ingests 5 lipsticks each year.
This may not bother you until someone (me) helpfully points out that carmine is often created by boiling dried scale insects. This is a process which releases carminic acid, a deep red pigment used in many cosmetics and beauty products. If you wouldn’t eat bugs, it’s a mystery to me why you would smear them all over your face!
Imagine my delight when I found that a The Green People, a wonderful site devoted to natural product, was carrying a full range of certified organic lipsticks in 3 great colours. No, it’s not the rainbow-like pallette offered by Rimmel, but you don’t have to eat bugs to wear it… so all good with me.
Green People’s fabulous organic lipsticks are the first ever to be officially certified as organic. The colours are derived from natural earth minerals, and when using the lipstick you can rest assured that your lips are being softened and soothed by coconut oil, Cupuaçu butter, and Jojoba oi. The Cupuaçu butter is also sourced via fair trade principles from sustainable sources in the Amazon.
A natural shine is achieved by the inclusion of organic beeswax, myrrh, and castor oil.. and your lipstick will have a minty flavour as opposed to that all familiar waxy lipstick taste you are guaranteed when using cosmetic brands containing non-natural ingredients.
The Green People’s range of organic lipsticks and other cosmetics starts at just £9.99
Homemade Peppermint Cleansing Milk - An All Natural Alternative!
Posted by natural_beauty_tips on Nov 1, 2007
You can easily make a luxurious all natural at-home spa treatment to give your skin that inner glow. All you need is some milk and a little mint. Here’s how!
- Place 10 fluid ounces of milk in a bowl.
- Get 4 tablespoons of fresh peppermint or apple mint, wash and dry.
- Chop your mint and pop it into your bowl of milk. Place in a refrigerator overnight.
- Once the mint has had time to infuse with your milk, strain the infused mixture into a bottle and store in your fridge.
- Your peppermint cleansing milk is now ready to use! Simply apply the infusion with cotton wool and rub over your face.
- Rinse the peppermint cleansing milk off with water after use. Your skin will feel soft and refreshed.
- The cleansing milk can be kept for a few days stored in the fridge.
So What Are Environmentally Friendly Cosmetics?
Posted by natural_beauty_tips on Oct 31, 2007
For a long time consumers have been aware that it’s simply not on to test cosmetics on animals any longer. As a result of this, 99.9% of cosmetics companies no longer test any products on animals.
However, with so many people increasingly interested in reducing landfill and saving our beautiful planet from global warming, people are becoming interested in products which are kind to the environment. However, with so many companies advertising products as “natural”, it’s confusing for the consumer to try and work out how to identify environmentally friendly products for their beauty regime.
So What Should You Look For In A Beauty Product To Show It’s Environmentally Friendly?
There are a number of things to keep an eye out for. First and foremost, that the product is not animal tested. Animals are, after all, an important part of our environment!
Other points to look out for: -
- Even products that are labelled as not having been tested on animals might contain animals. Believe it or not, slaughterhouse byproducts are often included in cosmetics. Look on the ingredients. If your intended purchase contains gelatine, collagen, or animal based emulsifiers, you’d be smearing yourself in dead animals. Yuk. Also look out for an ingredient called Spermataceti Cetaceum. This is a latin description of a product that comes from sperm whales. Seriously unfriendly to our environment!
- Avoid products containing petroleum byproducts. These come from unsustainabe sources, and are therefore not good for the enviroment. Ingredients to avoid include: Paraffin oil (or Mineral Oil), Propylene Glycol and Ethylene. Interestingly, many of these products block pores or stop skin from functioning properly by creating a barrier on the surface of the skin. Products containing coconut butter will do exactly the same job and will look after you and the environment.
- Make sure that your products’ ingredients don’t pollute the environment whilst they are being manufactured. A number of common ingredients are guilty of this.
- Make sure that the packaging your cosmetics come in are recyclable and don’t contribute to landfill. Make sure the containers your products come in state that they are recyclable. Avoid PVC containers as they are the most environmetally damaging. Greenpeace recommends using glass containers if possible.
So Where can we buy products that fit the environmental bill?
Increasing numbers of retailers see the need to be sustainable. The most obvious of these is The Body Shop, which was set up around solid environmental principles.
Their online shop stocks everything from lip balm to bath goodies. Check them out here.
Make Your Own Refreshing Herbal Bath Soak
Posted by natural_beauty_tips on Oct 31, 2007
All you need to make your very own herbal bath soak is the following: -
- Dried thyme
- Small square of cheesecloth.
- Small amount of raw oats
To create your bath bags, simply place a sprig of dried thyme in a 10 inch square piece of cheesecloth. Add in a small amount of oats as this will help soften the bath water. Tie the top of the bag with some string, and either hang it underneath the tap as you draw your bath or leave it to float in the bath with you.
This will create an incredibly environmentally friendly and natural herbal bath soak which will soften your skin and relax sore muscles. The cheesecloth bag can be re-used to reduce landfill, and the thyme and any leftover oats can be composted.
Natural Ingredient Shampoo & Conditioner By Ren Hair Care
Posted by natural_beauty_tips on Oct 30, 2007
Ren’s great natural range of hair care shampoos and conditioners means that you no longer need to worry that you are rinsing away nasty chemicals into the environment. Ren’s Bio Active Skincare pledge means that There Are NO petrochemicals, sulfates, parabens, synthetic fragrances and colours, TEA, DEA, Sillicones, Glycols or anything else in that nasty vein.
This means that Ren’s shampoo’s and conditioners are often beneficial for people who suffer from scalp irritation and allergies. Ren offers a luxurious alternative for many shoppers unable to find quality hypoallergenic shampoo products.
Ren’s great hair care range gently cleans, leaving hair beautifully soft with no harsh chemical build up. We found the range for sale from £21.50 at Beauty Expert. This product is worth every penny in our opinion.
Check Out The Ren Range Of Hypoallergenic & Natural Hair Products Here.
Free Skin Exfoliation With A DIY Sea Salt Scrub!
Posted by natural_beauty_tips on Oct 30, 2007
Dry Skin? Don’t have the money for an expensive exfoliant? Don’t worry, you can find nature’s exfoliant in your nearest supermarket for a fraction of the price of those designer beauty brands.
Sea Salt will remove your dry and flaky skin, leaving your skin beautiful and healthy.
Instructions For Exfoliating With Sea Salt
- Wet the area you you wish to exfoliate.
- Apply a couple of tablespoons of sea salt to the area, and gently massage with a damp cloth or the tips of your fingers.
- If exfoliating the face, keep the salt well away from your eyes. Concentrate on your T-Zone and cheeks for best effect.
- Once you have massaged for a couple of minutes, splash cold water onto your face. This will tighten your pores.
- Following this routine regularly will help moisturisers to penetrate your skin effectively, helping keep your skin healthy, glowing, and hydrated!
Natural & Environmentally Friendly Vitamin E Moisturising Serum
Posted by natural_beauty_tips on Oct 30, 2007
You don’t have to expose your skin to chemicals to find really high quality moisturisers.
The Body Shop ®, uses all natural ingredients in their range, which means you don’t have to worry about any of the alarming and environmentally harmful chemicals included in the moisturisers offered by other well known brands.
All ingredients used in their Vitamin E range are kind to the environment, and some have been sourced from fair trade schemes.
So What’s In This Product?
The Body Shop’s® Vitamin E Moisturising Serum obviously has a high vitamin E content which means it’s rich in antioxidants, nature’s very own miracle anti aging defense. Vitamin E aids the destruction of free radicals which can actually harm your skin cells. Use of this moisturiser can improve skin smoothness.
Vitamin E Moisture Serum - £10.00
The moisturiser also contains Wheat Germ Oil which is a rich natural source of vitamin e and also feeds and nourishes your skin.
Tara Bush Extract which is from a plant native toPeru and is well used to surviving in incredibly dry conditions, helps the skin retain moisture and create an element of ongoing moisture release into your skin.
Vitamin E moisturising serum is designed to be used as a pre-moisturising element of your regular skincare routine. For more information on ingredients as well as details of which elements of this product were sourced via fair trade practises, check out the product detail page at The Body Shop®
How Many Chemicals In Skincare Products?
Posted by natural_beauty_tips on Oct 29, 2007
The average female uses around 12 cosmetic products each and every day.
In the process of applying these as part of their beauty regime, beauty-conscious gals can have up to 175 different chemical compounds can be applied to their bodies. Once applied, these chemicals are often removed (with more chemicals) or rinsed off into our waterways to pollute our environment.
There’s absolutely no need for it ladies, there are huge amounts of natural products on the market that will do no harm to the environment and do exactly the same job. (Guys, we’re looking at you too here.. don’t think nobody’s noticed you lot like to cleanse, tone, and moisturise these days as well!).