One of my new year's resolutions was to conduct my daily life in a little more environmentally friendly way. One of the changes I've made is to replace personal care products with natural versions; as I run out of my preferred brand of something, I buy a greener option. For example, I bought Tom's of Maine (ToM) bar soap, Trader Joe's hand soap, and ToM deodorant. The soaps are fine, but the deodorant sucks. I will be returning to Degree when the ToM runs out or the weather gets hot, whichever comes first.
Anyway, I now need some advice, Dear Readers. I'm about out of face lotion and scrub. I've been using Aveno Positively Radiant lotion and St Ive's Apricot Scrub and I love them both. But this website (h/t Nina) tells me that they aren't such green choices. I have oily, break-out prone skin that needs to have the top 5-10 layers scrubbed off twice a day if I want any hope of keeping the acne controlled. Any recommendations?
17 comments:
I can't help you with the facial scrub, but I had the same problem when I switched to Tom's of Maine deoderant. Rather than "waste" it, I bought my regular deoderant again and use 50-50 of each on each day. One swipe of my working deoderant and then some swirling with the Tom's. That has kept me from smelling of BO and allows me to use less of my non-eco-friendly deoderant and use up the eco-friendly-but-ineffective deoderant.
Tom's will not keep you from sweating, but it should keep you from smelling. Once you get used to sweating, you might like it.
I got nothin' on the face wash. I've tried every one under the sun and finally took Accutane b/c nothing would work.
Yeah, I never found a single non-anti-perspirant deodorant that actually deodorized for me, and most of them made me smell worse. I don't think they work well for those of us on the acidic side. As for lotions and washes, with my acne treatments and sensitive skin I've (sadly) mostly gone back to mainstream ones that were easier to regulate. I tried more eco-friendly ones for a long time and never made it really work. But I do LOVE Lush products. You might be able to work out a regimen that works for you there.
i don't know how eco it is, but i use olay sensitive skin soap free face wash. it is fragrance and dye free, but prolly still has crap. but yah, my skin sounds like yours.
re the deod: my friend found one she swears by that doesn't have the bad stuff, ie aluminum, but is still an anti-persp, it is some man's brand. i will find out b/c i've been meaning to switch...
I'm impressed with your green-mindedness. My Dove scored a 5 on that website, but it keeps me from sweatin' and stinkin' in front of my students....so I'm sticking with it.
I like Alba products. I don't really use products very often but their facial lotion is good and I'm sure they make a scrub.
As for deodorant. I pretty much stopped using it about 10 or so years ago. I'll use Tom's sometimes if I think I'll be sweating a lot (at times besides exercise, one should sweat and smell then). It does take a while to get use to but I don't think people smell as much as one would think, especially when you shower daily. You tell me. Did I smell during our blogger meet ups :)
I use Burt's Bees stuff on my face and it works really well (and they seem to score decently for environmentally friendly concerns as well - cool website!) I mostly just use the toner for my face, but they have a citrus scrub that's pretty good, a decent blemish remover, and really a whole array of good stuff by now. And they're becoming more and more mainstream as of late, so you can find them in a Walgreens or Longs pharmacy without much difficulty.
(lurker who doesn't post much, love your blog!)
DUDE. Toms of Maine deodorant sucks a**. I'm using it anyway, because like you, I don't want to waste it, but I kind of feel like it's just a placebo. When I'm done with it, I think I'm going to experiment with coconut oil which I hear is actually a really good deodorant.
As for the face wash, I cannot help you. After six months of break outs, I went back to my evil chemical Neutrogena. But my skin has cleared up!!
So I ended up buying some scrub from here. I'll let you know what I think about it when it comes.
Mel, that's a great idea. I will try it.
Volcanista, I think the ToM works far better than nothing, but not as well as I'd like. I've always been a little turned off by Lush, but maybe I'll give it another try. Lots of bloggers sure do seem to like Lush products.
JustMe, I wonder if it's Mitchum?
Em & Jennie, I'm not much of a sweater and I agree that most people probably smell less than they think, but after 6 weeks of ToM, I get whiffs of BO during the day and I don't like it (although when I sniff my pits I can't detect it - weird). Also, I used to wear my shirts more than once between washes and now I don't. And Jennie, of course you didn't smell! I'll check out Alba.
UR, as far as I can tell a 5 is pretty good. Maybe I'll compare regular brands and settle for a 5.
Puck, thanks! I haven't tried many Burt's Bees products, but I think I will now.
Ruchi, now I remember your post about deodorant and eyeliner. It makes me feel a little better to know that someone as committed as you still concessions for some things. :)
I don't see a link for the product you decided on!
I love Tom's lavender roll-on deodorant, and can't use antipersperants regularly because I break out in a rash. And because most deodorants don't help my odor, I was glad that Tom's did - but still had to use a regular antipersperant every third day or so.
Recently, though, I can't find Tom's roll-on, and their stick version gives me a rash - so I've gone with a man's deodorant: AXE fresh sharp circle stimulating mint.
It rates about 4 in the green category.
As far as facial and bath products, I have liked Burt's Bees. The small towns I'm often in don't always carry large selections of brands.
Haven't heard of Lush or Alba.
Sorry about that. Here's the link:
http://www.coastalclassiccreations.com/
I'm so with you - natural deodorant so sucks! I spent most of last year trying different types b/c I was determined to find a natural deodorant that actually worked. I tried Alba, Tom's, Alvera & two versions from Origins (both of which were highly recommended). They ALL sucked! I'm back to using Degree.
Awesome website! My deoderant (SECRET SHEER DRY SOLID ANTIPERSPIRANT & DEODORANT, SHOWER FRESH) scores a 3, which isn't too bad I suppose.
Ruchi, didn't we decide on your blog once that St Ive's apricot scrub is better than the ones that have plastic bubbles or whatever?
Don't know about the face wash, but I have to recommend baking soda as natural deodorant. It's not an antiperspirant (you'll still sweat), but no smell. You just need a little bit. I think it works better than the Secret I used to use. And, no plastic packaging!
I also used Tom's and various other "natural" deodorants for a while, and found that they did nothing to keep me from getting stinky.
Cath, yes St Ives is definitely better than evil Body Shop scrub with plastic in it. I like Lush okay, but man is that stuff over-fragranced. It drives me insane.
I am a sweaty, stinky person. But I have found two natural deodorants that work: Kiss my Face (unscented) and Nature's Path (I like Autumn Breeze). I highly recommend both. It does take some adjustment but I'm not stinky even though I work out most days and bike to and from work.
I have terrible acne. Have had all my life. Once upon a time, I took tetracycline as a daily low dose, and that helped, although I was starving all the time because I was running 4 miles a day and I had to take it on an empty stomach.
After high school, I quit taking it, and my skin repaid me nastily. The dermatologists all tell me the scars are a lost cause.
A couple of summers ago, I made heavy use of daily face wipes with salicylic acid in them, and that helped immensely.
Nowadays, I wash my face with my infant daughter's baby soap, and it really helps. During the day, I wipe off the oil with Huggies Baby Wipes, and that works quite well.
FWIW, if I wear make-up, I wear dermablend, which rocks.
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