“My first advice would be to simplify. There are way too many products available, and the beauty
industry encourages you to use way too many products and to spend thousands of dollars on
cosmetics,” says green lifestyle expert Debra Lynn Dadd, whose beauty routine consists of two
products: handmade soap and natural shampoo. “It’s not what you put on your skin; it’s what you put
in your body. People have glowing skin not because they put something on it, but because they glow
as human beings.”
As you probably figured out by now, I am not going to tell you which natural or organic brand to
use. I wish it could be that simple. There are many factors involved in this decision: your budget,
your skin type, your need for convenience, your lifestyle, and your personal opinions about your skin
—everything matters. Everyone’s needs are unique, and it’s up to you to prioritize your wishes in
order to make smart beauty buys.
So how much do you need to start a reasonable natural skin care regimen? This can range from $20
(a basic system of cleanser/toner/ moisturizer) up to $500, if you aim for more expensive organic
brands such as Jurlique or CARE by Stella McCartney and include antiaging serums, exfoliating
creams, sunscreens, purifying and soothing masks, eye cream, and body and hand cream. Expect your
first natural products to last three months. On an ongoing basis, you can expect to pay anywhere from
$10 to $100 per product.
Don’t let this scare you off using organic products. Do you really need a beauty product for every
body part? Many salespeople and cosmetic “experts” insist that you should never use face creams
around the eyes because, first of all, they are not formulated for use around the eyes; second, they are
“not ophthalmologist-tested”; and third, skin around the eyes is very different from the skin on your
face, so you absolutely must use a different cream, even if basic knowledge of human anatomy tells
you otherwise.
Let’s address the ophthalmologist issue first. When a dermatologist, ophthalmologist, or podiatrist
tests a product, this usually means that this particular medical professional reviewed the formulation
to see if there’s anything in it that can cause problems for the body part he or she is most familiar
with. No one will conduct human studies where participants rub the cream into their eyes. Just like
face creams, eye creams contain fragrances (even fragrance-free versions contain fragrances that
mask or neutralize natural odors of ingredients), preservatives, and potential irritants.
The only reason you may not like using your regular moisturizer under your eyes is because of the
texture of your cream. Heavy moisturizers and face oils may creep into the eyes and cause blurred
vision and even itchiness, but they won’t make you blind. Another myth is that you must use a separate
hand cream. Body moisturizer works just as nicely, and it doesn’t have to be tested by a
“handologist” to be used on hands. Today’s organic skin care products all offer similar ingredients at
all price levels. The key is not to buy less but more of a good thing. Invest in a few basic pieces: a
moisturizer, a good soap, a sunscreen, a natural deodorant, and a shampoo that doubles as a shower
gel. You can blend masks yourself from ingredients in your fridge or kitchen cupboard, and you can
treat yourself to a luxurious natural fragrance later, as a reward for being extra good and green.
You can blend masks yourself from ingredients in your fridge or kitchen cupboard, and you
can treat yourself to a luxurious natural fragrance later, as a reward for being extra good and
green.
Unfortunately, not all of the products I will recommend in this book are readily available in your
local drugstore or supermarket. While big natural food chain stores, such as Whole Foods Markets,
offer a nice selection of organic and natural beauty brands, local health food stores prefer to rely on