SDF: My Clean(ish) Routine

Um, for some reason this is showing up in Google Reader early, even though it was scheduled to go live on Friday. So I guess we're having a something-different Wednesday! Damn you, Blogger.

When I was in high school, one of my teachers introduced the concept of "Something Different Fridays." On Friday, instead of teaching math, he'd teach us something else he thought was worthwhile, like how to play the stock market, or Piaget's theories of development. I am stealing this concept here to indulge my occasional urges to blog about something unrelated to crafting- not every Friday, but once in awhile. Sometimes they'll be silly, sometimes serious. I hope you'll find them an enjoyable diversion!

Ok! So last time on SDF we talked about how everything is poisoning you- not least of all your beauty routine. I feel funning calling it a "beauty routine," since I'm really pretty low maintenance (working at home will do that to you) but I guess that's essentially what it is.

(Incidentally my "Morning Routine" just went up on the No More Dirty Looks blog! It's a few weeks outdated but pretty similar to what you'll read below.)

I figured I'd cobble together a list of some of the bath & body products I've found that fit the non-toxic-er criteria, since I know it can be tricky to find ones that work as well as their more conventional cousins and don't cost a friggin' fortune. Obviously, this is just the stuff that's worked well for me- I promise nothing! (And btw, I'm not affiliated with any of these companies, I just buy 'em.)


We'll start in the shower:

Giovanni Shampoo and Conditioner. I vary which one I use- I've used Smooth as Silk and Root 66 (the volumizing one) and liked both, for the simple reason that it works just as well as conventional shampoo. A lot of "natural" shampoos don't leave my hair feeling clean- I know you can get used to that feeling and let your hair balance itself out, but I don't really want to. I want my hair to feel all squeaky clean and soft, dagnabbit. This stuff also smells really fruity and yummy but it doesn't have any artificial fragrances- it's just the natural smell of whatever botanical oils are in there.

For the majority of my body I use good ole Dr. Bronners on a loofa. The maniacal rantings on the bottle freak me out, but the stuff is gentle and works well, and what more can you ask for? It comes in like ten scents (all essential oils, nothing artificial)- Peppermint is popular, and there's also Citrus, Rose, Almond, Unscented..... I usually use the Eucalyptus because steamy eucalyptus oil is a great allergy/asthma treatment, and I've always got a touch of that going on.

Most shaving creams are super nasty, and some of the natural ones either don't work very well or are greasy and sticky and make a mess- but I've found that I really like Alba Botanica's Unscented Very Emollient Cream Shave. It's sort of like a thick conditioner or thin lotion. Since I bought this thing a few years ago, I pretty much only have to shave my armpits (it hurts to much to rip out that hair) so one tube of the Alba lasts a good long time.

Most days I just wash my face with hot water, otherwise it tends to get dried out. But every few days I use Evan Healy Rose Cleansing Milk, which does a good job of making your skin feel clean without being too drying. This is one of the pricier products I use, but it goes a long way when you're not using it every day.


After the shower:

After I've dried off a bit, if I didn't use the Evan Healy, I'll use some Kiss My Face Toner. I'll also spray it on any other part of my skin that's acting up. I have no idea if it does anything, to be super honest.

I was using this stuff as a daily facial lotion (I got the one for "Aging skin" because it was the only one without fragrance) but it was very sticky and hard to rub in, so now I reserve it for days when I'm actually going to be in the sun, and otherwise use Acure Day Cream. It's super light and soaks in well even when you're still kind of damp from the shower.

For the rest of my skin, I use a combination of grapeseed oil, jojoba oil, and a little bit of argan oil (usually at night, since it's greasy.) For awhile I was using pure argan oil on my face at night because it's supposed to be great for balancing out combination skin, but I didn't notice much of a difference :-/ Now I just use the oil mix once in awhile. Amazingly, it doesn't make me break out or anything- it just soaks in and any excess rinses off in the morning shower. If you put it on a little while before you wash your face, it softens up the dirt and oils in your pores and helps you rinse it all out. The brand of oil doesn't really matter, as long as you get pure, high quality organic stuff. Fair warning: while your skin will probably look fine in the morning, any hair that came in contact with the oil will look quite greasy, so don't use it the night before if you have to go somewhere before you can wash your hair (or at least, wear a headband or something.) I'm sure it's good for dry hair, though.

The oil isn't strong enough for my super dry hands and feet, so I use shea butter before bed (either pure or this stuff) and Weleda Skin Food on my hands throughout the day. That shit is AMAZING. Pricey, but amazing. Between knitting, being a germaphobe, and having two grungy dogs who I'm slightly allergic to (ie, I have to wash my hands after I touch them) my hands get really dry, and this stuff is a lifesaver.

For my lips, I love YesToCarrots Berry Lip Butter. It's the only YesTo product that I'm still using regularly, at this point, because most of them have fragrances (saaaaaaaad.) This stuff is mostly coconut oil and it's pretty great, though I'm sure any other coconut-oil-based lip balm would be good too. Or just straight-up coconut oil.


Something else I tried recently, since I had some samples: Dr Hauschka's Signature Cleansing. Though I'll admit I don't do the stupid "roll your fingers outwards to drain your lymph nodes" thing or whatever. Maybe it works, I don't know, I'm not that patient- I just rub the shit in and rinse it off. But the products involved are nice- Lavender Bath, Cleansing Cream, Clarifying Toner. I'm realizing now that they are crazy expensive and I'll probably never buy them, but they're nice! The Lavender Bath also works really well as a bath oil- just dump a capful or two in the tub when it's filling up and it smells pretty (but mild- I usually don't like lavender but I like this) and feels nice and silky. I usually add some of my oil mixture too and swish it around. It ends up leaving a nice thin layer of oil all over you, which is nice when you don't feel like you need to slather it. (I know it sounds gross but it soaks in quickly, I promise.)


Whew, that's a lot of text. I was going to talk make-up too, but I think I'll wait til next time. I wasn't much of a make-up person until recently so I'm still sorting out what products I like, anyway ;-)

And now the fun part!

I'm going to give one reader a little sampler pack of some of the goodies I like! It's not all of them (I couldn't find mini sizes for everything) but it's a few good basics- shampoo and conditioner, body wash, lip butter, hand lotion (I love these mini tubes, I keep one in my purse) and a bottle of my trusty oil blend ;-) No artificial colors or scents, no sulfates, no bad crap.

To enter, just comment! If you've got a "clean"ish product (bath, body, makeup, etc) to recommend, please do, but you don't have to ;-) I'll pick a winner at random a week from today.