I actually did some research and reconnaissance last week for some new products! My latest quest in chemically cleaner living was threefold: face moisturizer, eye makeup remover and (gulp) hair color.
Last year I picked up a moisturizer by Simple (Hydrating Light Moisturizer) and liked it a lot. Light but effective. I was totally sold on the marketing, so I decided to stick with it when I was looking for something to use during chemo. I lucked out big time and didn't suffer from any wacky skin ailments as a side effect of the chemo drugs. Great. But -- as it turns out -- Simple's marketing is just that: marketing. Spin. Smoke and mirrors.
When the bottle ran low, I checked EWG's Skin Deep database, and was plenty surprised to see it rated with an overall score of 4. I was further discouraged when I saw why: scary sounding ingredients with even scarier toxicity concerns. Definitely NOT the 'Simple Goodness' being promised by the 'Sensitive Skin Experts'. Shame on you, Simple!
So I put a trip to my local Whole Foods on my to-do list. I also wanted to see what they stocked for natural hair color and eye makeup remover. After visiting my oncologist for a routine checkup, I got the green light to color my hair again. I've been coloring my hair for nearly 10 years to cover whites and grays, so I wasn't at all surprised to see it nearly completely gray when it first sprouted. But now I'm losing patience waiting for the pigment to fill in. I'm trying to rock a cute pixie look, but between the gray and the super waviness, I either look like a TV newscaster or my 70-something mother. Eesh.
I found a great henna-based color, but naturally am really chickensh*t about actually doing it. I've had too many Big Dyejob Mishaps to not be nervous, and I'm already thinking worst case scenario, like Grecian Formula Gone Wrong, that necessitates a trip to the salon for color correction and totally undermines the point to trying something chemical-free.
I'm rambling. I camped out in the Whole Foods H&BA aisle, checking brands Skin Deep with my phone, reading labels, looking at ingredients. I left WF with a lighter wallet and these three products:
I'll review the moisturizer and wipes soon, with pretty strong opinions of each, and a surprise happy ending. The henna, well, that might be a bit longer while I drum up the courage to go through with it. Thorough consultation with Google, Wiki and YouTube may be in order.
Happy Tuesday!
Jazzy