Are lush products safe?

[Proudmom2Teeg]

I have gone green in my house with success expect shampoo and body products. DH hates natural shampoos however has fallen in love with Lush soaps. I feel Lush soaps are less toxic then most but I am not convinced they are not all natural as they promote. I am in the process of learning to read labels so kinda clueless when it comes to all the ingredients.

Will you label geeks school me on how toxic Lush products are? They promote using natural ingredients but I think its just good marketing. Are they really that bad or do you think they are ok.

[ShadowMoon]

I was psyched when I received a bunch of LUSH products for my B-Day until I read their ingredients. I avoid parabens and their products had them in everything. (At least the things I received as gifts).

I like that they're vegan, but I don't know why they still use harsh ingredients. I haven't looked at all their stuff so maybe there are some products that are ok? The soaps are probably ok, just stay away from the lotions.

[syd'smom]

Lush are not all natural at all (but oh I love the smells when I walk by) . They are full of parabens, sls, propylene glycol, etc. And their scents are likely artificial as well (not EO anyway). Not sure if they are in the ewg cosmetics database, but one look at the ingred list means they don't come in this house!

[leaves]

here is a website i LOVE. skin deep cosmetic safety database. i found a brand called "lush" but not sure if it's the same one, i just clicked the first one that popped up. if it's not, you can do a search:

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/browse.php?comp_id=870

[JessicaS]

Lush's soaps are made with Melt and Pour soaps and some of their things contain parabens.

If you want to avoid those sort of things you need to learn a bit about how ingredients are listed on things like that.

A lot of their scents are quite nice. They use a lot of absolutes and essential oils. Some of their stuff is fragrances but again, you just have to read the label. If it says "perfume" then it contains artificial scents. They use methylparaben or propylparaben and the things that contain those state it on the label.

Things like bath melts, massage bars and bath bombs will contain more natural ingredients than the soaps, shower gels and liquid shampoo.

I cannot use fragrances but essential oils don't bother me.

[JessicaS]

Originally Posted by leaves

here is a website i LOVE. skin deep cosmetic safety database. i found a brand called "lush" but not sure if it's the same one, i just clicked the first one that popped up. if it's not, you can do a search:

http://www.cosmeticsdatabase.com/browse.php?comp_id=870

Those items listed are Lush products.

[Proudmom2Teeg]

Thanks everyone!

Sadly I must say goodbye to Lush ;( I really love the fun variety but would like to find a company that avoids all toxic ingredients.

Anyone have any suggestions on shampoos they love? Hubby is not loving the natural shampoos.

[jemar]

Would he try a solid shampoo bar? A lot of MDC folks like this company:
http://www.chagrinvalleysoapandcraft...hampooinfo.htm

[blizzard_babe]

Originally Posted by jemar

Would he try a solid shampoo bar? A lot of MDC folks like this company:
http://www.chagrinvalleysoapandcraft...hampooinfo.htm

Ooh, I've been eyeing up their bar shampoos! Might have to get a few sample bars.

[Shakti77]

Originally Posted by jemar

Would he try a solid shampoo bar? A lot of MDC folks like this company:
http://www.chagrinvalleysoapandcraft...hampooinfo.htm

I looooove them too! Ida is very helpful!

[babywearer_anon]

some of their products are more natural than others. Unfortunately I think (as others have said) their soap is not so natural. They use Sodium Lauryl (Laureth) Sulfate as foaming agent, among other things.
I have used their massage bars (which work as solid moisturizers too). I'd have to double check the ingredients but some of the bars might pass.
They probably have other products that are ok, but you'd have to check out the ingredients - which they make easily available and I appreciate as not all companies do.
I love lots of their products and wish they were more natural than they are!

[zoebird]

i think your DH is nuts.

fair trade shops often have all natural, hand made, naturally scented (essential oil) soaps usually for a very low cost (here, about $2.50 per bar). the ingredients are very basic such as "olive oil, lye, and essential oils of X and y." you might also find a local soap maker.

for hair care, it's much harder. in NZ, we can't get shampoo bars from that company (listed above), and lush was the only company that made a nice shampoo bar that didn't make my hair feel weird (waxy/dirty). i tried other, locally made bars and it was terrible. so, we switched to giovanni's organic shampoo which has been nice.

we shall see how it works out for us long term. a lush bar is $15 for 2 months of washes (i wash every 3rd day, dh washes every day); giovanni's costs $19 for the bottle, and that could be for 2-3 months of shampoo or less. i don't know yet. it used to take about 3 months to get through a bottle of shampoo for us. so, i hope it does, because then it's less expensive and a better project than the lush bar.