This month’s column will focus on Beauty Products…be a Green Queen! Did you know that Health and Beauty products need only 1 percent natural ingredients to be called “natural?” Darn it, me neither! And don’t get me started on the packaging! Geez, Louise! We CAN look gorgeous AND save the planet:

• Speaking of natural ingredients: Items that claim to be organic on the label may not really be organic, since no official agency checks every product. Look for a USDA Organic seal, which means a product has been certified at least 95% organic.
• The average woman swallows four pounds of liptick in a lifetime. Yuck! Time to search for lip color made from plant-derived ingredients instead of synthetic oils, paraffin and toxic dyes. Girl Friday uses only Jane Iredale make-up and lipsticks.
• You know those lovely smelling “body wash” products and the nylon puff/sponge you apply it with in the shower? Don’t buy it anymore. Bar soap uses much less packaging (buy the paper-wrapped kind) and that silly sponge is made from non- biodegradable, petroleum-based nylon. Use a natural loofah or washcloth! Ah….much better…for you and Mother Earth.
  
• A Girl Friday favorite ‘green’ company is Aveda. They are beauty industry leaders using post-consumer recycling in 89% of their packaging. And their plant-based beauty products are legendary; I LOVE their “Pure-fume” too!

Lastly, Girl Friday long ago threw away all of her expensive, department-store skincare products. They’re full of chemicals, cost a fortune and most are not earth-friendly! I now use a locally-made (Petaluma) line of skincare products called Bennedetta. Product ingredients are Certified Organic, made in small batches, and come in recyclable glass packages. One work: FAB. U. LOUS! Their Hydrating Elixir is the only product I use on my face as a moisturizer. It’s a WONDERFUL spray (nope, not a cream) that soaks right into your skin, is refreshing and cool, and smells good enough to drink. LOVE it! (And no, Girl Friday does not work for Bennedetta…she’s just a big fan!)

Posted in: Green Tips for Home and Office