Erika's Blog

Someone recently asked me how she could determine what were "safe" products to use on our hair, body, skin, and teeth. It isn't always easy. If you go to www.cosmeticdatabase.com and put in the product name, you will, if the product is catalogued (and most things in our stores are rated here by the environmental working group - www.ewg.org) get a toxicity rating for it. The problem is that most of us don't go to the store with ready access to a computer hitched to the internet.

So, these are the steps I follow in looking for products:

• First, I read the ingredients' label carefully. If there isn't an ingredients label (which is illegal, but does happen), I don't buy it. I look for ingredients that I know and can recognize. When I see certain words (and they sometimes are a part of a larger word), I steer clear of the products. Some of the words on products that I don't buy are: -parabens, pthylates, sodium laurel sulfate.
  
• Second, I look for some parts of the labeling that matter to me. I want no animal testing. I like when the product is USDA organically certified, and am glad when a product has individual ingredients labeled as organic, or a percentage of the product identified as organic. The integrity of the company can sometimes be seen by the ingredients in the products.
  
• Third, I look for companies that I like, know, and trust. Examples of some of these are: Avalon, Alba Botanica, Aubrey Organics, Burt's Bees (sometimes), Dr. Bronner Soaps, Tom's of Maine (sometimes). I don't look as a first step for the companies because there are a lot of good little companies (like mine, for example!) that are putting out high quality, sometimes higher quality products, than the bigger and better known ones. But some companies are safer than others. Companies, like people, have varying degrees of integrity.
• Fourth, I tend to, initially, buy small sizes to try the product. If I like it, I then will buy large sizes and often tend to stay with the same product for a long period of time.
• Fifth, I don't buy much. Keep it simple. It's easier and better for you.
  

HAPPY and SUCCESSFUL HUNTING!