Let’s start with shampoo. Conventional shampoo contains ingredients that may cause asthma or other human health problems and wreak havoc on water systems when they wash down the drain. Plus, they usually come packaged in plastic bottles that many communities can’t recycle.

SHAMPOO BARS

Shampoo that comes as a bar rather than in a bottle treads more lightly on the planet – and reduces the amount of trash you throw away. Why?

* It uses less packaging.

* The packaging is probably paper or cardboard, thus easier to recycle than plastic.(If you do buy shampoo in a plastic bottle, rinse it out and recycle it.)

* Since it’s not liquid, it’s lighter than bottled shampoos and therefore uses less energy to be shipped from the manufacturing plant to the store where you buy it.

Most shampoos contain various chemicals to ensure they suds up a lot. In fact, you might not feel like your hair is getting clean unless it’s had a good lather. These shampoo bars don’t lather like liquid shampoo, but they do a great job cleaning your hair. None of them contain parabens, phthalates, or the antibacterial triclosan; they haven’t been tested on animals, either.

Burt’s Bees Rosemary Mint Shampoo Bar

Seed Grape seed enriched conditioning hair shampoo bar – unscented

Chagrin Valley All Natural Solid Shampoo Bars

Herbaria Herbal Soaps

For more online options, check the Skin Deep Cosmetic Data base. Aim for products that have a hazard rating of between zero and three, which means they contain the fewest questionnable ingredients.

Do you have a favorite shampoo bar? Please share!

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The post Earth Day Health & Beauty Countdown: Switch Your Liquid Shampoo to a Bar appeared first on Big Green Purse.

Considering how many times you lick them each day, maybe you should. Many conventional lip products are made from ingredients you’d never DREAM of wiping your tongue on, like pesticides, dyes, and parabens. Lipstick may even contain lead. Ewww!

Good news: Conventional cosmetic companies like Softlips are extending their product lines to include pure organic lip conditioners in a variety of flavors.

About the Product: Pure Softlips is USDA Organic Certified. It’s made of 100% natural ingredients, 95% of which are organic. You can get it in five different flavors, including Acai Berry, Honeydew, Papaya, Pomegranate, and Peppermint.

What We Like: In addition to the fact that Softlips uses certified ingredients, its price is comparable to conventional products (see below) and it’s easy to buy in many retail outlets. Pure Softlips is cruelty free (animal testing is not conducted). In addition, the balm is sold in recyclable materials that include a minimum of plastic and are printed with vegetable-based ink. It’s not too greasy but still leaves lips feeling soothed. The flavors are pleasant, and the fragrance is not overwhelming.

There are no dyes or tints in Softlips, so don’t expect it to impart anything more than a subtle shine – which is just fine if you’re planning to pucker up and don’t want to leave any evidence behind.

Are you are allergic to gluten? Softlips pure organic lip conditioner is gluten-free (other lip glosses may list wheat as an ingredient).

What We Don’t Like: Softlips’ entire product line needs the same make-over it’s given to its “Pure” brand. The company’s standard products contain nasty compounds like petroleum, toluene and parabens. That’s a no-no for Big Green Purse fans. We hope the company will raise its entire product line to “Pure” standards.

Plus, five of us in the office tried different Pure Softlips flavors. We all liked the tastes – but we found the applicator tube itself way too small…and not because we have big lips! Softlips could double the size of the applicator, make the product last twice as long, and reduce packaging that comes from having to buy two applicators rather than one.

Product Comparison:

Burt’s Bees Lip Balm:
“Earth Friendly Natural Personal Care for The Greater Good”
The ingredients are 95.29% natural, and include ultra-emollient lanolin, coconut and sunflower oil, and beeswax. TThe tube is made of recycled plastic.

Herbal Choice  Herbal Choice uses natural herbs and oils to moisturize lips; the color from the tinted lip balms derives from natural fruit powders to provide sheer color.
• Paraben Free, Preservative Free, Mineral Oil Free.
• No Synthetic Additives, Fragrance Free.
• Pure & Natural Formula.
• Organic Ingredients.
• Allergen Free, Non Sticky.
• No Animal Testing, Vegan.
• Earth & Skin Friendly.

Eco Lips – Uses high concentrations of certified organic ingredients like green tea and kiwi.

Dr. Bronner’s All-One Organic Lip Balm: Dr. Bronner’s lip balms are USDA Certified Organic, and are made of natural oils and beeswax. The product is not animal tested; ingredients include natural organic hemp, pure organic oils and beeswax free of petrochemically modified ingredients. Organic essential oils infuse the balms with fragrance.

Price Comparison:
Pure Softlips – Lip Conditioners priced at $3.69

Burt’s Bees: Beeswax Lip Balm $3.00

Herbal Choice: Vitamin E lip balm $3.95

Eco Lips: Free shipping with orders over $15
Eco Lips Organic Lip Balm- $1.99
Eco Tint Line $3.99
Eco Energy lip balm3.49

Dr. Bronner’s Organic Lip Balm
Lip Balms priced at $ 2.99

How Many Purses for Softlips? Two. We love the ingredients in Pure Softlips. But the applicator is too small, forcing us to buy two when one larger one would last longer. We also want to see Softlips raise the bar for its entire product line. Softlips should be “pure,” through and through.

by Sophia Bambalis

The post Environmental In-Box: Softlips Pure Organic Lip Conditioner appeared first on Big Green Purse.