Greener Beauty....

Inspired By Geeta Nadkarni!
I don't have overly sensitive skin but as I age it is getting more persnickety. I am using fairly basic non-fancy regime of non fancy products and so far so good. Then I checked these dermatologist recommended products on the Cosmetics Database and they registered as mid range toxic. Better than high range toxicity ratings but still...eeeww. Is clear smooth skin worth cancer or nerve damage etc? I think not.
One thing i have started using is organic Coconut Oil. Yes the stuff you can cook in...comes in a jar..looks like lard...you can buy it in some grocery stores and most health food stores.
This is pure oil from coconuts, not some coconut scented melange of unpronouncable chemicals. It smells divine...sweet and cocnutty. Its pretty solid in the jar, but if you work at it you can gouge some out and it starts to melt very readily in the hand so don't gouge out too much! This stuff is lovely. You can use it all over the body, and even rub it into your scalp for moisturising the scalp and conditioning the hair like a "hot oil" treatment without the heat or for speed, wrap your head in a hot towel for an hour then wash the oil out. I prefer to do it at bedtime and leave it while I sleep.
Homemade body "butters" can be made from simple ingredients that won't poison you or your body. Why pay a fortune for natural based products when you can invest in the ingredients and make your own? Oils such as olive, coconut, jojoba, sweet almond, etc are ALL readily available and can go a loooong way. Pair them up with organic beeswax and you have a pretty much uncented body/hand/lip balm just waiting for you. Add a bit of Vitamin E and/or lavender essential oil as a preservative if you make a larger batch that won't be used up quickly because natural/organic/preservative free oils can go rancid with time. You will end up with an ointment style moisturizer but is that so bad? The more wax you add the stiffer it will set.
Taking care of our skin and hair shouldn't be dangerous to us or the environment and shouldn't break the bank.