To tame your tresses without stressing them, skip the sulfates, silicone and synthetics and instead look for nurturing, plant-based products. Botanical blends work splendidly on hair and are usually much less harsh than preparations full of foaming agents and detergents. Jonathan Product is a premium salon line with a difference. Their shampoos are infused with a sugar-derived surfactant to cleanse gently and any water in the formula has been deionized and purified. Ojon's Volumizing Foam uses palm nut oil from the remote rainforests of Central America to deeply condition and coddle hair without weighing it down. And Weleda Rosemary Conditioner does its smoothing and detangling job with a mixture of rosemary extract, aloe vera and calendula. (This company knows its way around kinder, gentler products — they've been doing business since 1921.) Nature's Gate also makes a great line of value-priced (yet heavenly) shampoos and conditioners, so you can go green while saving some green.
In the Mane — Hair Care
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Primitive Beauty — Face
Can we get the same bang for our buck from natural products as we do from more conventional skin care? Absolutely — and without most of the synthetic chemicals like paraben, petroleum, preservatives and animal byproducts to gum up the works. Sensitive skins will truly appreciate the Avalon Organics line — they cleanse and moisturize with lavender, white tea, chamomile and other complexion calmers. They're a conscience soother, using only 100% vegetarian ingredients. The new higher-end collection, Care by Stella McCartney, also uses 100% vegetarian ingredients that are organic and grown under strict environmental controls that omit pesticides and chemical fertilizers. For a more affordable way to bag your botanicals, try Burt's Bees. This immensely popular collection eschews animal testing and uses folksy yet truly effective formulations made from down-home stuff like beeswax, sunflower oil, orange wax and rosemary extract. To top off all that healthy slathering, consider a mineral makeup foundation: Bare Escentuals covers flaws with pure crushed minerals that provide a natural SPF 15.
