Best natural beauty products?

[ellangirl]

I have been thinking recently about making steps to avoid chemicals in shampoos and other products. Are natural and/or chemical free products as good? Which ones would you recommend?

TIA!

I use the daycream from www.purenuffstuff.co.uk/ which I like. You can customise it too.

I like the seaweed shampoo and hair conditioner from www.faithinnature.co.uk/. I am less keen on their shower gels as I find them a bit too 'diluted'.

I also have the white rose toner from purenuffstuff but I don't use toner much, so I cannot compare it to others really.

I sometimes try to avoid stuff with SLS in it. I like Liz Earle stuff. I do use other ones as well though, some 'organic' type bath products have still got nasty detergents in them even if they have got a bit of organic lavender or whatever in them too.

You may notice that they don't foam up so much though - purely a cosmetic thing, I have found they still work fine you just don't feel like they are washing thoroughly.

I use Aveda. I buy the massive bottles and they last me a whole year.

I have also bought this face wash which I liked.

Green People shampoos are brilliant. Not yet found a 'natural' conditioner that cuts it though.

I use Grape Seed Oil lots - with castor oil for OCM (cleansing), on it's own or with essential oils as body oil or massage oil (great for babies and kids too).

I stopped using soaps/body washes etc about 10 years ago - my skin is very happy for it.

oooh... Forgot to say that purenuffstuff soaps are lovely (and make nice presents too).

HipHop What do you wash your body with?

Here you go: yumetc.blogspot.com

am currently preparing a whole feature on Balance Me skincare, the cleanser is fab!

I love anything from Neal's Yard (shampoo, conditioner, deodorant) but just now have been using Weleda (would use Dr Hauschka but £££). Just now using their Sweet Almond cleanser and their Calendula baby face cream as a moisturiser.

I share Burt's Bees Baby Bee wash with DD but will go back to Earth Friendly Baby as they use natural oils to fragrance instead of 'parfum' and much cheaper!

Olive oil soap is a good cheap option, Holland & Barratt sell it for about a pound.

Agree with moaningminnie, you have to read ingredients. Labels that say 'natural' or 'organic' don't mean much in themselves.

If you find a couple of brands you trust then it makes shopping easier. I usually look them up online and read their 'about us' or 'mission statement'.

water

Meals yard here too. Fabulous stuff. Green baby and naked range in boots are ok too. Dh loves the men's meals yard and bull dog range too

Definitely definitely check your labels. There is no regulations covering organic beauty products. An organic product could have only 1% organic ingredient and market themselves as organic and contain lots of other horrible things.

Neals - silly phone!

*hiphop have you tried the Neals yard rosemary and cedarwood hair treatment? It's fabulous

Have never quite 'got' Neal's Yard or Weleda. Have tried several NY products- a camomile cleanser that was horrible to use, you needed loads for it to work and it was abrasive and didn't smell of anything, a body cream (both on sale) that didn't rub in properly and left white marks and a power berry moisturiser (free with a mag) that sort of bobbled and beaded rather than sinking in and also smelled a bit meh! Same with Weleda's wild rose face moisturiser, that kind of went bitty and didn't sink in.

I want to stick to natural skincare too but haven't been impressed so far....

I agree with minnie and also miserablemum about reading their statements online Purenuffstuff seems v good and no fussy packaging. i have shampoo and conditioner both customised for dry scalp and the squeaky clean body wash too.

Look on www.theremustbeabetterway.co.uk to get an idea of ranges and quality and price -they will let you have up t o 10 free samples with an order i have bought some lavera face moisturiser from them - its nice and creamy but there's little bits of white in it like it it hasn't been properly mixed.

I only use products that are paraban free and pref sls free. I find health food shops (not holland and Barrett!) the best source for products, they often have testers or samples. Find your local independent shop.

Brilliant, thank you so much for all your tips. I am lucky to have a good health food shop and an organic skin care shop in my town, so I will go and see what they've got. I wanted to hear your ideas so I wasn't buying blind though. Good tips re. The 'organic' and 'natural' labels not necessarily meaning a lot though, I will be sure to read the labels!!
Thanks again everyone

millon I find the ny cleanser works best if you massage it in then take of with toner on a cotton pad. Which is not the directions on the pot. If you like more of a milk then the star flower one is great and lasts ages. Best body moisturiser they have that I have tried is geranium and orange butter. Their wild rise elixir is supposed to be brilliant too. Best face moisturiser is their frankincense. Something to try.

I sell Nyr at pamper parties which is a great way to test lots before you buy.

I tried weleda too before Nyr and didn't like it either. All personal taste I guess

Also for a v natural product - try 1 teaspooon of cornflour added to a whisked eggwhite and used as a facemask - it mops up oil and really tightens the skin- great before a night out. You can also add brown sugar or seasalt to olive oil for a really gorgeous body scrub. These may sound odd but both give v v good results.

I didn't like Weleda shampoo. Love Green People - been using their shampoo, conditioner and shower gels for several years now.

I use Neals Yard rosewater toner but was unimpressed by one of their shampoos I was given as a pressie.

I do OCM too. Mainly because it's cheap as opposed to natural :) I do love Liz Earle stuff too though.

I use stuff from two organic skincare companies in Cornwall.
Inlight www.inlight-online.co.uk - their organic floral face tonic is lovely and smells gorgeous
Trevarno www.trevarno.co.uk - their lip balms and the day cream are brilliant

I think that Trevarno do some small trial size skincare sets.

YY to Aveda Shampure.- 1 litre bottle can use a pump.
We usually buy a bottle at Christmas and it lasts a year. I don't need conditioner after.

allpassionspent I reviewed Inlight's products, their cleanser is fantastic!