What is Project Natural Glow?
Project Natural Glow is similar to Project Glow except that I am challenging myself and all willing participants to try using natural cosmetic products. My goal is to use products that are safe for the environment, animal friendly, vegan, organic, and/or free of chemicals. Of course, not every new product I buy will fit this perfect bill of health, but I am going to try my best to read product labels and read reviews of new products before buying them. Things such as shampoo, conditioner, face wash, body lotion, and make-up often include many harsh and sometimes dangerous chemicals. This is a challenge to start to become more aware of what you are putting on your body, not just what you are putting in your body.
How does it work?
All you have to do is commit to try out new natural products to replace some of your current stand bys. For example, I replaced my stand-by body lotion (Nivea) with coconut oil. I also replaced my toner with Tea Tree Oil and I am starting to use all natural body wash and soap. I will be posting product reviews as well as where I got the product and how much it cost. One of my biggest challenges is going to be finding good products that don’t cost more than what I am currently buying. You won’t see me dropping a ton of cash on natural products. I will be researching and looking all around for cost efficient products that will not break the bank!
Over the next while, I will be posting information that I come across during my research. I will be posting everything I am learning as I educate myself about natural, organic, vegan, animal and environment friendly products!
What is the purpose?
I am asking myself a few questions:
- Whether I will notice a difference in my skin by using all natural products
- Whether I can find affordable products
- Whether I can find products that actually work as well as my old ones!
Leave a comment below if you are interested in trying out some natural products too!
My next product review:
I got this at Loblaws yesterday on sale for $5.99 CAD in the natural food section.
The one thing I admit that I know nothing about are the ingredient names. So confusing! I have to do a lot of research before I feel confident with what the ingredients really are. I am sure many companies claim they are all natural when in fact they are not.
Baby steps, though…
Click to enlarge:
I tried out this shower gel today after a 5.25 mile run. I was pleasantly surprised that this body wash did lather up fairly well. It didn’t lather as much as my Nivea body wash, but to be honest, it wasn’t a big deal at all. The scent was pleasant, but light and not over-powering. It left my skin quite soft and I didn’t even put any oil on after my shower just to see how it would leave my skin. I really don’t have any complaints with this product, only that I probably wouldn’t buy it if it wasn’t on sale. $5.99 for a body wash is pretty much my upper limit, if not more than I want to spend.
Have you tried Alba products? I have heard a lot of great things about them from all of your comments!
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I’m off to finish packaging the 14 batches of Glo Bars I made today! Holy moly, I am really zonked.
Eric has also been using his holiday wisely- he is currently painting over our pink walls (with primer) in the entrance way! It looks SO much better. He will be blogging all about it at some point.
We will be having a late dinner by the looks of things. ;) I think we might dine outside tonight since it is so lovely out.
Back to it…
Angela dude, what an awesome idea! I have already been all set for many years with my shaving cream and gel and lotion, as I use Aveda for all those which fully qualifies for all your earth-friendly criteria, but I am going to try switching my soap and shampoo also to project-natural-glow-compliant. thanks, you rock, what a great idea, i love it! i’ve been meaning to do this forever, but nothing like seeing it in black and white on your awesome blog to get me facing reality!
You should definitely look up www.cosmeticscop.com which I think provides some of the most honest, straightforward information on cosmetics and their ingredients – and often demonstrates that brands billing themselves as “all natural” are not in fact living up to the claim (e.g. Aveda hair dye still has chemicals in it or you wouldn’t be able to turn dark hair fair with it, since by definition that involves stripping the hair of its own colour). Anyway, it provides a good source of information on specific ingrendients.
Also, you may want to determine what criteria you use for “natural” – many chemicals do come from natural derivatives. One of my bugbears is the way people often complain about the petroleum products in cosmetics …. now, there are plenty of reasons why we should reduce use of these since they are a finite resource and contribute to pollution, BUT petroleum derivatives come from oil … which comes from the ground… which is the result of millenia of carbon degeneration (=tree and plant material) and therefore 100% natural at source. So I’d suggest a LOT of research and retaining a questionning mind ….
I’ve been using the exact same Alba product for the last month or so. I absolutely love it! I was lucky enough to find it on sale at whole foods. I am slowly trying to switch over to more natural products.
Hey Ange!
Just wanted to let you know that Shoppers has some Yes to Carrots shower gel on sale for $5. They also have Organic Surge Shampoo, Conditioner and shower gel for $5!
i just love that you’re doing this. it seems like there aren’t nearly enough information and reviews out there about natural beauty products, and i’m really looking forward to reading about your experiences with them!
I would eventually love to get to where most of the products I use are natural. I mean, I won’t eat chemicals in my food so why do I put them on my skin, hair, etc?
I can’t wait to see what you find…for me, price is a big factor but I’ve worked that out with food over the years so I’m sure with some research and experimenting, I can make this work too! Thanks ;-)
I think this is a great challenge! But also wanted to mention that you don’t have to go out and spend tons of money on “natural” products when you probably have many items already in your fridge/pantry that you can make wonderful facial & body scrubs, toners, cleansers, etc., using yogurt, honey, oatmeal, almonds, cucumber, salt, lemon juice, etc. There are many books at libraries and bookstores to help get you started. Get Glowing! ;)
i switched to some natural skin care products and started breaking out a lot. for make up it’s great but my acne flaired up without the saylic acid..maybe i just need to expeirment more
Angela, this is a fantastic idea! I have been trying to use more “natural” products as well. I really like Kiss My Face, but am still searching for a great shampoo.
Great challenge! :) I think the main thing when using natural products is to know your skin type before you buy – if you’ve dry skin/oily skin/combination/sensitive etc.
Know what works for your skin and what doesn’t – if you’ve dry or sensitive skin, steer clear of tea tree (except maybe topical application to zits, etc) but go for soothing products; but if you’ve oily skin tea tree could work well for you.
I second the Lush recommendation – they have a lot of vegan products and some great skin products. Plus you can make a lot of stuff at home – I cleanse with olive oil and grapeseed oil from my kitchen once a week! ;)
I use Tom’s of Maine deodorant plus a crystal deodorant and find them really good – although Tom’s has propylene glycol so I’m gonna look for an alternative product when this runs out.
Everyday Minerals do fantastic make up products – animal friendly, eco-friendly, and really cheap to boot! Been using them for years, it costs less to order 3 or 4 foundations/products from them and get them shipped to Ireland than it does to buy one high-end foundation product here! I have slight rosacea and it really masks it without looking cakey. www.everydayminerals.com
I haven’t tried Alba products yet but I do use Origins and Burt Bees
I just started down this road and not wanting to waste things I already have, I am purchasing natural products only when I finish something. It is a process and I just can’t justify purchasing all new products at once.
I have tried Alba’s Midnight Tuberose Body Wash (on sale at Whole Foods) and love the scent. I also have Alba’s Vanilla Mango Shave Cream and am in love because it smells so good but doesn’t irritate my sensitive skin.
Next up is finding a natural deodorant that works well, so far I have tried two without luck… and it is getting expensive.
The cheapest body wash is buying a big jug of castile soap (vegetable oil soap) and then just adding drops of essential oil. Super cheap, nice lather and you can change the scent yourself with the essential oils. Also, you can use castile all around the house for all-natural house cleaning too.
I’ve been doing it for months and my skin looks great.
Body scrub is easy too. Brown sugar, oil (grapeseed, avocado, almond, you decide) and some essential oils. Naturally and cheaply exfoliated.
Try to reuse your old product containers and you’re cutting down on packaging waste too!
Oooh! I’m excited for this project!
I am a huge fan of Jason cosmetics (specifically their peach body lotion and their Power Smile toothpaste). Great value too!
Green Beaver is a great Canadian company (I like their green tea face lotion) and Dr.Hauschka makeup is excellent and so good for your skin.
Amazing tips above!
I’ve been slowly moving towards natural products over the last few months (when my current stuff starts to run out).
I haven’t really noticed much of a difference in my skin but I think my conscience feels better. :-)
Hi Angela,
This link might help explain the confusing list of ingredients you see on bottles of shampoo, body wash, conditioner, body lotion etc.
http://www.ewg.org/chemindex/list
I keep a card in my wallet that came with a Burt’s Bees purchase which indicates which ingredients to avoid such as:
cleansers: sodium lauryl sulfate, sodium laureth sulfate, sodium myreth sulfate
petrochemicals: petrolatum, mineral oil, parrafin
preservatives: parabens (all of them), DMDM hydantoin
chemical sunscreens: oxybenzone, avobenzone, octinoxate
moisturizers: propylene glycol, butylene glycol, polyisbutene
I hope this was helpful!
Ps. Angela, I just posted on a topic that covers a list of some of my favourite things, many of them natural cosmetics.
Take a look if you want!
I’m a fan of natural and solid bath/shower products, since the lack of packaging also cuts down on waste and processing necessary to create the packaging. I absolutely adore Lush, because all their stuff smells soooo fabulous! I use their moisturizers, face masks, bath bombs, and bubble bars. They do use some unnatural ingredients, but they actually list the synthetic ingredients in a different color so you actually knwo what you’re getting! Love it! I’m switching over to Chagrin Valley Soap and Craft (www.chagrinvalleysoapandcraft.com) for soaps and shampoos. Holy crap! They are COMPLETELY natural, lather incredibly well, and also smell really good! I loves them. :) Plus, they’re super cheap! ;)