Wednesday, May 21, 2008

I've Tried Them All So You Don't Have To

My quest for "Green" body products has continued. The process has been somewhat laborious and at times confusing. But fear not I've got a few recommendations to make (and yes I'm positive that all these products are completely SAFE):

Kids:


Adults:

Oops almost forgot this little baby:


And yes you are reading that right... I bit the bullet and bought the "crystal". I (like everyone I presume) had been somewhat hesitant to forgo deodorant for the magical crystal power... but people...people... it worked. It is the only "deodorant" to rank as completely safe by the the cosmetics database. Today was my first trial... and even after a 60 minute cardio session my pit (yes I only applied it to one) remained odor-free... while the other was... um... not as fresh. Don't be turned off by the $6.99 price tag, it lasts for an entire year.

I'm still searching for some good hair care products... but I have a lot of those to use up before I start buying new products. Stay tuned.

Want to know more about the crystal deodorant and my other choices (and what not to buy)...

37 comments:

STACI said...

I was SO excited to see this post this morning!
We are using up our toxic products and have been hunting for safe replacements! Thanks for all the leg work! :)


Question though...The California Baby shampoo & body wash...would you suggest this for boys 11 & 9? Will it be strong enough?

Thanks for your help! :)

Mrs Furious said...

Interesting question....
Well it has a "calming" scent (lavender) which I think would be a strong enough to cover up any boyness with out actually being too girly.

They've got it for a good price at Target.

Andrea said...

Just wanted to say I ditched all the Johnsons crap and have been using the california baby products for a couple of weeks now and LOVE them my only problem is I can only get the small bottles at Target and nobody has the sunscreen and the detangler baby girl has curly hair so Im going to have to order online the funny thing is I found out the Mr. has been using the C.Baby stuff too he loves the smell apparently!(also do you think it would be so inapporpriate of me to take the C.baby stuff to the hospital when I have baby#2 and request they not use the Johnsons crap)

Mrs Furious said...

Andrea,
lol about the Mr!

Yes take it to the hospital... I think that is a great idea!

Heather said...

Yay! I'm going to weigh in with my faves too, just cause:

Method Almond Flower Body Wash. So moisturizing and foamy and bubbly.
Alba Leave In Conditioner -- a dream freaking come true. Seriously.
Giovanni hair wax - kickass.

I'm using the last of my deodorant and plan on switching to the crystal shortly.

Andrea, awesome idea about the baby products -- maybe I'll do that when Little Girl arrives in September.

Mrs Furious said...

Heather,
Yo, do you know if that Method body wash is SLS free?
I ended up buying and returning Method hand soap because it did have the SLS.

STACI said...

Well, if it's good enough for Mr. Andrea than I think it would be good enough for a couple of stinky boys. It's not a B.O. problem...just that dirty little potato head smell they seem to get after a day of playing outside. :P


Thanks! I'll be looking for it the next time I hit Target. :)

Robin said...

So dissapointing about the Method hand soap. I wonder what that is about. Makes you wonder if their cleaning products are really safe.

We just started using the Method Baby product (because they were less expensive than California Baby.) We have the Squeaky green bubbly bath and the Squeaky green hair and body wash. They both say on the back "conatins no animal by-products, numbing agents, SLS/SLES or parabens." So I am thinking they are ok, right? They smell nice and make the kids' skin really soft.

Great post!

Robin said...

Sorry about the typos!

BTW, the california baby sunscreen says tear free. Do you find that to be true? Kara has a really hard time with sunscreen getting in her eyes. They get all red and swollen, and we haven't been able to find sunscreen that doesn't do it. (Even the ones that say tear free)

Mrs Furious said...

Robin,
yep that's good. Why do they put the SLS in the damn hand soap?!?
It also made me question the cleaning products... but I figured I was just being paranoid ;)

Mrs Furious said...

Robin,
I have had no problem with it getting in the kids eyes.
They do make a sunscreen stick... that might be easier to apply around the eyes.

Robin said...

Hmmm, thanks for the tip on the sunscreen.

I found this on Method's website about SLS. BTW, the wash that Heather uses does not have it.

Man, I hope the link works. I have more trouble with those.

Julie said...

Staci,

I have 2 boys ages 6 1/2 and 8. The california baby is great, but too small of a package for my dirty boys. I buy a big ol' bottle of Alba body wash. My kids are old enough to deal with the tears if they get soap in the eye.

I buy nature's gate shampoo for the boys, too. I won't get rid of the Redken All soft shampoo and conditioner for me. It is the best stuff for my hair. I tried other stuff. Won't do it.

On the deoderant front, I have decided to stay toxic at the rating of 3 on the cosmetic safety database. I hate feeling wet under the arms and usually the natural deoderants only take care of smell. I know it is natural to sweat. I just don't want to be that natural.

Plus, I have been using the Kiss My Face products now for about 20 years. I have always been happy with them. Plus, they seem more reasonably priced than some others.

Heather said...

Thanks Robin for the detective work! Annoyingly, when I try to get to the Method site over here it keeps taking me to the UK site, even if I type in .com and they don't have the body wash in the UK. Or here, for that matter.

Mrs Furious said...

Julie,
Today I'm testing the right pit... I'll let you know. So far not sweaty. And I can sweat through even regular stuff... although it is not hot today.. so possibly not a good test day.

STACI said...

Thanks Julie!
No worries about tear free here. My boys are too old for that. :)

Do you buy the Alba and Natures gate products at Target?



Mrs. F~
I'm loving the pit testing! I'll be checking in to find out the results! :)
I bought TOM's natural deoderant and it does only take care of oder...not wetness. :P

Mrs Furious said...

Staci,
I will let you know!



Also ALL MOMS:
I'm going to be writing something about kids caloric intakes... do you know how much your kids are eating? If interested track it for the day and then let me know tomorrow.

Chrissy said...

I've used the crystal deodorant before - my tree huggin' Auntie Lee from Vermont got me to buy some from the co-op about 8 years ago. Love it for about 4 months and then on an unfortunate plane ride from Charlotte to Chicago realized that the "oh-my-gawd-who-didn't-take-a-shower-this-morning" smell was actually me! Pits don't fail me now, but YES they did. It never worked for me after that. I'll have to risk my pits - they have to be well protected!

I've tried the Burt's Bees Super Shiny Shampoo and Conditioner - I have lots of really fine hair that grows big in humidity. I liked the smell but felt like my hair was being stripped or something. Perhaps it's because it doesn't have all the bad stuff in it - maybe it was just clean??? Anyway, not sure what was going on there.

My favorite products are Alba and Jason although I do like a lot of the Burt's Bees stuff.

Thanks for the rundown on the products.

Mrs Furious said...

Chrissy,
Bwahahahah.... that is hilarious!
Mental note: wear real deodorant on plane... just in case!

Julie said...

Staci,
I bought those 2 products at a regular grocery store in the "natural foods" section. I know they carry them at Whole Foods, too. I have also been known to buy stuff online at mothernature.com.

Deb said...

Thanks for doing so much homework!

I'm kind of excited about the caloric intake thing for the kids. The Ambassador is going to a food clinic shortly, and I've had to keep a diary of his food for the past week. It's fascinating to see that he eats WAY more than I thought, but it only confirms that he's the pickiest toddler I've ever known.

Nutmeg said...

UGH Mrs. F about the caloric intake.

Yesterday we got a real weight on E and he is <5th percentile. I am really struggling with my desire to build life long healthy eating habits in him and my real need to get some serious calories into the kid, at all costs.

I'm going to have to keep good track one weekend.

Mrs Furious said...

Nutmeg,
Oh I'm sorry. Angie our neighbor went through that with her son.
Yeah my kids are not thin... Kid has had a higher weight % than height % since about 3 years old... and I actually have to sit with the opposite feelings.


Deb,
food clinic... what's the story with that?

emmyjw said...

I have always wondered about the crystal, I am anxiously awaiting your full report after a few days of one pit application ;)

Mrs Furious said...

emmy,
I just made Mr F smell 'em... the crystal pit is odor free.

emmyjw said...

LOL, I am dying picturing the sniff test ! I am so ready to get one now! I will need it tomorrow, landscaping on the agenda, but hey if Julia can go au natural why not me? um, because I don't look like her....

hicktowndiva said...

I use that same crystal deodorant! And I freakin' love that crazy stuff. Totally works.

Mrs Furious said...

Hicktown Diva,
Yes! I love the back up. Tomorrow I'll test it with a serious workout... but really my right pit is odor free. And the best part is that I'll no longer have that weird deodorant build up I have in my workout shirts.
(am I the only one to experience that?!)

Amy said...

surprisingly, i've been using that crystal for many, many years. let's say about 10 years. and i love it! oh, and in that 10 years, i have only had 3 of them (yes 3). the last one started crumbling and i was using this tiny little piece but it worked as well as the big one so i just kept at it. normal deodorant makes me feel gross now!

STACI said...

What is the brand name of this crystal?

Kiki said...

Is there any anti persiperant that is safe, or do I have only an ordor control option...I feel like a sweaty monkey a lot of times, its so hot and humid here that staying dry is kind of de rigeur.(sp?) I'll try the crystal, but I'm scared....it might have to be my back up plan to my "I forgot to buy deoderant, I have to use Ken's" days.

Deb said...

Dietician, out-patient clinic session, etc. to see what's up with the kid's lack of desire to eat anything that might shove him over the 0% threshold. Not really my idea -- I figure he's a toddler and he has food issues. He'll outgrow them. Our ped wants to make sure, so I figured what the heck. Could be educational.

Mrs Furious said...

Staci,
click on the image of the products and you can read the label perfectly.
I did it and then got distracted and now can't remember...

Brenda said...

I was wondering if the crystal works both as a deodorant and anti-perspirant. Odor-free is great, but is there still wetness? Inquiring minds want to know.

Anonymous said...

If you get a chance, can you repost the link on where you look up the chemicals in stuff? I've been searching the comments for the past posts on this topic, but BOY do you get a lot of comments!! And, of course, I didn't bookmark the link and now I want to look it up..

Mrs Furious said...

Marie,
Sure... go HERE

Mrs Furious said...

Gigs,
my pits are perfectly dry... it was unseasonably cool today though.
I'll keep you updated.

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