Favorite Natural Products - Page 2 « Back to Group Discussions

[KayPea]

• Shampoo/conditioner- Either a natural shampoo bar or Dr Bronners and lemon juice rinse (ACV darkens my light blonde hair). I use the soaps about once a week or ten days, and just do the rinse the rest of the time.
• Body soaps: shower gels, soaps, face soap, etc.- Dr Bronners or natural bar soap.  I don't wash my face, just a rinse with water.  Once a week I do an oil/sugar/honey scrub (olive or coconut oil). I used to have awful skin, but since I stopped washing it, I have average skin.  Now I'm curious if some of your methods might bump me up to NICE skin. I haven't ever had nice skin.
• Shaving cream- don't shave. If my leg hairs start to bug me (I dislike the feeling of socks pushing up leg hair) then I sugar my legs. I haven't touched the hairs under my arms since high school.
• Deodorant-I use a crystal - an when I am extra stinky (postpartum or premenstrual) I add a half-drop of grapefruit seed extract per side.
• *Lip balm- Badger orange flavoured beeswax and coconut oil lip balm. Some kind of expensive eco-brand tinted lip gloss for when I want to get fancy (I'm bad with brands)
• *Sunscreen - I don't often use it (I try to use hats and parasols and light clothing, and UV suits for the kid) but when I do (we are beyond fair over here) I use Badger SPF 30.
• Make up, nail polish, etc.- I have Physicians Formula mineral face powder, and Mineral Mascara, both of which I break out only for special occasions. Oh, and I bought some PF eye shadow for a wedding this summer. Because I use makeup do infrequently, I can't justify buying spendy eco-makeup.  Wearing mascara more often is something I'd like to try to do in an effort to spend more time on myself, but right now I don't really care if the other moms at playgroup notice my pale pale eyelashes.
• Hair products, coloring, etc.- Does it count that I finally found blonde-tinted bobby pins? No? I'd like to find a good non-chem hairspray as well. I use coconut oil for the frizzies (I have very very very thick hair, so using oil on my hair doesn't make me look greaseball, yay.)
• Feminine hygiene- I use a Diva Cup, and Natura pantyliners, though I have a pattern printed, and the flannel waiting for me to sew up some cloth pantyliners. I also do "Family cloth" though right now it's just me and the baby using my flannel wipes (I just bought an old flannel sheet from the thrift store and ripped it into little wipes. No serging or sewing of edges. I just pull off the fray when I fold them.) DD is still attached to the idea of using the toilet and getting to use TP. And DH thinks I'm nuts.
• Dental care: toothpaste, floss, mouth wash, etc.  We don't use mouthwash.  Regular floss.  Green Beaver toothpaste, though for a while I was just doing baking soda and cinnamon.
• Vitamins and supplements- I don't remember brands, and it doesn't sound like they'd be the same in the states anyway. 
• Dish soap, dishwasher detergent- no dishwasher.  I think we have Seventh Generation soap right now, but we just get whatever's cheapest and biodegradable when we need new stuff. I once had a bar of handmade dish soap which was amazing for getting a little extra soap on the dishcloth for extra greasy things, but haven't seen anything like it since. I miss it.
• Household cleaners: counter/sink cleaners, floor cleaners, toilet cleaner, etc.- we use vinegar/water for almost everything. Borax in the toilet, and for all-purpose as well (with some castille soap) Baking soda in the kitchen, and lemon juice for greasy things. And that's it.
• Laundry detergent and other laundry products-  Nelly's laundry soda. Love. And Ecover oxygen bleach for stains. And dryer balls in the dryer. I will often add baking soda to the wash and vinegar to the rinse as well. I've used soap nuts too, they were good.   
• Baby products: Dr Bronner's baby for soap (though we only soap diaper area and scalp, the rest is just water) and coconut oil for moisture. I have a Badger calendula diaper cream right now, and another all natural zinc one, and they're fine. 

If I think of more, I'll post later. I love talking this kind of stuff. 

[jill the pill]

• Shampoo/conditioner- Aubrey Organics...I've tried all of the different formulations and I have come to love the Rosa Mosqueta shampoo and conditioner the best. 
• Body soaps: shower gels, soaps, face soap, etc.- Aubrey organics sea buckhorn bar soap for face and body, baking soda for exfoliation on face, homemade sugar body scrub
• Shaving cream- I use hair conditioner...works great and moisturizes
• Deodorant-I've never had BO!
• Make up, nail polish, etc.-Aubery Organics mineral powder when I look a little greasy
• Hair products, coloring, etc.-I get bleach highlights twice a year...bad I know! Aubery makes a great certified organic hairspray!
• Feminine hygiene-Seventh Generation
• Dental care: toothpaste, floss, mouth wash, etc.-Tom's and baking soda, grapefruit seed extract diluted in water for mouthwash
• Vitamins and supplements-Rainbow Light Prenatal and Multistars
• Dish soap, dishwasher detergent-Seventh Generation or Planet
• Household cleaners: counter/sink cleaners, floor cleaners, toilet cleaner, etc.-Bon Ami for toilet, steam mop for floor, homemade cleaner for counters and sinks made with grapefruit seed extract (it kills every germ and bacteria) and lemongrass and tea tree oil, vinegar for windows
• Laundry detergent and other laundry products-Sun and Earth but I think i'm switching to soap nuts

Baby products: soaps, lotions, diaper cream, diapers, etc.-California Baby lotion and fragrance free shampoo, burt's bees diaper cream but will switch back to Weleda when it is gone,  Seventh generation diapers.

[mommy2sage]

• Shampoo/conditioner- JASON brand
• Body soaps: JASON brand
• Shaving cream- use whatever body wash I have, but I do not shave that often.
• Deodorant- ISO one that works.  My left armpit stinks even after showering.
• *Lip balm- Badger brand
• *Sunscreen -  Badger brand
• Make up, nail polish, etc.- don't wear it.
• Hair products, coloring, etc.- don't color my hair.
• Feminine hygiene- going to sew my own mama pads.
• Dental care: toothpaste, floss, mouth wash, etc.- JASON brand
• Vitamins and supplements- just prenatal
• Dish soap, dishwasher detergent- no dishwasher. Use Method brand dish soap.
• Household cleaners: counter/sink cleaners, floor cleaners, toilet cleaner, etc.- Dr Bronners, Method brand cleaners
• Laundry detergent and other laundry products-  Method and soap nuts
• Baby products: Badger and California Baby

[KayPea]

Oh, and I forgot to mention diapers!

We use hand-me-down prefolds and Bummis Superbrites covers. We have a few MotherEase Onesize diapers in bamboo and organic cotton too - we used these with DD for nighttime, though with O we use a disposable in the night for now. 

We get Earth's Best disposables if we have a little wiggle room in the budget, otherwise President's Choice "Green" diapers (which basically means no chlorine, but they still use the gel, I'm pretty sure they are greenwashed, oh well.)

And I mentioned our wipes above, but I just use plain water on them, no wipes solution or anything. I take them out premoistened in a little mini wet bag.  Like a snack bag. I got it on Etsy,

[jbk21]

Sunscreen!  I saw that you added that one, Kaypea.  I'm still conflicted about sunscreen.  I'll look for the Badger brand- are there any other good ones?

[jbk21]

Answering my own question.... I looked up sunscreens on EWG's Skin Deep Database and here are a few that I found (I just picked out brands that I had seen before- there are other safe options)

Nature's Gate

JASON brand
 

Alba Botanica for kids

Alba Botanica

Beyond Coastal Kids

Aubrey Organics Face

Badger

California Baby

Another California Baby

Aubrey Organics
 

Green Beaver

Anyone have any experience with those and could lend some insight re: how they hold up during swimming, towelling, etc?

And I thought these would be really great for kids:  

Wipes

Stick 

Dora!

And colored sticks: 
White

Pink

Blue

[Jaimee]

• Sunscreen: We've used California Baby and Jason's.  I thought All Terrain was another good one, but I can't remember.  EWG puts out a sunscreen guide every year and I usually check that out before purchasing for the summer.  I'm a believer in sun exposure without sunscreen in moderation.  So I'll let the kids outside without protection for 20-30 minutes, but if we're going to be out during the peak hours for longer than that, I'll put some one their faces at least. 
• Lip Balm: Desert Essence Lip Rescue
• Household Cloth: we use cloth "paper" towels and family cloth.  If you're cloth diapering and cloth wiping, family cloth is no extra work!  I challenged my skeptical dh to try it for one week and after that he never went back.

[jbk21]

I wouldn't mind family cloth- what about when guests are over?

[LunaLady]

We do family cloth, too! I really like it. I also used a flannel sheet to make ours. I serged the edges.

I keep some paper on the dispenser for guests.

[Jaimee]

Originally Posted by jbk21 

I wouldn't mind family cloth- what about when guests are over?

I have baskets on the backs of all our toilets where I keep the folded wipes and a bottle of wipe solution.  I also keep a roll of toilet paper in the basket in the guest bathroom.  This actually works out well b/c ds1 likes to pull the paper off the roll if I leave it on the dispenser.
 

Those guests that are into the idea of family cloth (like my in-laws) are invited to use the cloth if they'd like, otherwise I stock up on TP when we have out of town guests.

[jbk21]

You must have the most amazing in-laws ever, Jaimee   Pretty sure our parents (both sides) would think we had literally gone insane to use family cloth.  

[Jaimee]

Yeah, my in-laws are pretty great.  Of course, we have our drama at times, but over all I can't complain.  And things got better and deeper after having my MIL here for Avery's birth.

[Abraisme]

I've used California Baby (available at Target, so it's easy to get) and it works fine.  All 'natural' sunscreens that I've tried leave a white film where ever it's applied.  Honestly, I hate feeling greasy and applying anything that's greasy.  Mostly we just don't wear sunscreen (which freaks some family members out).  Both of my older kids can be in the sun for a couple of hours without getting burnt, so basically we only wear sunscreen if we're outside all day.  I really think that taking lots of omega fats and d3 really helps your body handle sunlight better.   
 

Originally Posted by jbk21 

Sunscreen!  I saw that you added that one, Kaypea.  I'm still conflicted about sunscreen.  I'll look for the Badger brand- are there any other good ones?

[KayPea]

We use cloth instead of paper towel too. Though DH likes to keep a roll of paper towel around for things like bacon. And I will admit to using it for pet messes, because cat poop just grosses me out. I'd like to keep them in the kitchen with one of those plastic bag dispensers (saw this tip on Pinterest) right now we just have a cupboard full of "cleaning towels" which are just the towels that I got for my homebirth kit, plus any old bits of fabric etc that could prove absorbent.

The inlaws could not get over us not having paper towel (we didn't have any at the time, and we often don't) so I didn't even bring up family cloth (though sometimes I like to bring up things like that just to shock them. They are hilariously conservative. 

[jill the pill]

What is "family cloth"?  Is it washable toilet paper?  We use a bidet and I will never go back to TP!  Be careful with Aubrey sunscreen because some of it has paba in it and I got a really bad rash on my face from it. 

[Jaimee]

Jill, yep family cloth is using fabric toilet "paper" that you wash like you do cloth diapers.  It was a natural transition for us since we were already using cloth wipes for dd.  When she started potty training, I continued to use cloth wipes with her and realized, what's the difference using it for her vs. us?  I had heard of others doing this (after I had researched cloth menstrual pads) and decided to give it a try.  Dh was highly skeptical, but I challenged him to use it for one week and he's more of a proponent of it than I am now!  We also use it for kleenex.  I bought my wipes from a lovely WAHM on diaperswappers.  So cute and inexpensive!  She even sells to co-ops for cheaper than her listed prices!  Check her out: http://www.diaperswappers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=656999

[jbk21]

What fabric are your family cloth wipes made of?   I could make my own if I knew what the best material is (both for cleaning the, uh, bum, as well as for laundering)

[Jaimee]

My favorite combo is micro terry on one side and flannel on the other.  But I know that others prefer sherpa, bamboo velour, or cotton velour instead of terry.  Seriously at the prices that the above WAHM charges, it may not even be worth it to make your own wipes unless you already have fabric.

[jbk21]

I do have some flannel and some terry, also some fleece.  We have a huge fabric store by our house that has great stuff on clearance, so I'll look, otherwise I'll just order some :-)

[wellforth]

Jaimee, could you share your process for using family wipes?  Do you have some sort of wet bag in your bathroom?  How often do you launder, etc.?  Once I got cloth wipes for Luca, I realized, what the heck?  Why am I still wiping with tp?