Top Shelf Skincare Favorites

Top Shelf Skincare Favorites

I am so excited to start the segment of my favorite chemical free/safe/clean and effective skincare, haircare and beauty products! Please keep in mind, this is all about progress NOT perfection! Nothing and no one is perfect but to take steps to always be bettering yourself, what you are putting in your body and what you put ON your body is what matters! Small changes go a big way so if you only take one little thing away from this blog post each week then I did my job! Disclaimer: I am not an expert and I am not a professional at this. I am researching and learning just like you and I want to do this together! I am all about hearing your opinions, thoughts, and feelings throughout this whole process. I promise to be super honest about all of the products I try and I hope you guys will give me feedback if you try something I talk about as well! Lastly, just because I am going through this process it does not mean everything I use for the rest of my life is going to be 100% clean, I am human and life happens. But like I said I am going to do my best to live a cleaner and less chemical induced environment. 

One of my favorite places to go to get amazing information about products is EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetics Database. It rates them from 1 (low concern) to 10 (high concern) and gives detailed information on what is in them. So, in general, I am trying to use products that are a 1 or 2. It also has a ton of other information! It is a site that I have bookmarked on my computer because I use it so much. If a product I talk about is on this site I will share its rating with you! 

Every Friday will be dedicated to sharing the products I have discovered, tested and love! I will be sharing the good, bad and the ugly so you guys don’t have to waste your time or money on products that don’t work! To begin, I am sharing 9 products that I have used multiple times and have first-hand experience with! Click the photos below to check out the product details and keep scrolling for my thoughts.

1. Organic, Unrefined Coconut Oil

I use this Organic, Unrefined Coconut Oil all the time! Besides all of the benefits of using it in cooking, I also use it to take my makeup off, moisturize my skin, to whiten my teeth (oil pulling), cuticle oil, a hair mask and so much more! It is so versatile and I am probably not using it in every way that I could be! I have read that it reduces stretch marks and is a natural vapor rub as well! This container is under $7 so it is perfect for any budget. How do you use coconut oil? Let me know in the comments! 

2. Beautycounter Cleansing Balm 

Sticking with the theme of something that is very versatile, the next product I want to talk about is the Beautycounter Cleansing Balm (EWG Rating: 1). This product is full of Vitamin C (to brighten) and raspberry and cranberry seed oils (to hydrate). It can also be used as a face mask (score!) and comes with a muslin cloth which is soft on the skin. Beautycounter is an amazing company (more on that later) and all of the ingredients in their products are super safe. Click here to check out ‘The Never List’ to see what you won’t ever see in their products. This product is on the expensive side but it is a best seller and lasts forever! I have had the same container for months and I use it all the time. Have you tried this product? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 

3. Honest Organic Body Oil

I started using Honest Organic Body Oil (EWG Rating: 1) after I Iearned that baby oil is not the best product (it is rated a 3 on EWG) out there. I used to put it all over my body when I got out of the shower and wanted to find a similar but cleaner product to continue to use. I mostly use this product in the summer after I am out in the sun (not while in the sun) to soothe and rehydrate my skin after I shower. It also gives my skin a really pretty summer glow when I take photos! It is also great on rough winter skin to make it soft and smooth. 

Beautycounter Hydrating Body Lotion

A great everyday use product is Beautycounter Hydrating Body Lotion (EWG rating 2). I use it all over my body and I love the consistency of it, a little bit goes a long way. The smell of it is heaven and my whole body feels so hydrated after I use it. I, personally, have very dry skin so I always used to go to the store and find the lotions that claimed they were perfected for my extreme skin:

 Jergens – EWG Brand Rating: 3-7 depending on the product

Eucerin – EWG Brend Rating: 2-6 depending on the product

Lubriderm – EWG Brand Rating: 4-7 depending on the product

Cetaphil – EWG Brand Rating: 1-6 depending on the product

For comparison sake:

The Honest Company – EWG Brand Rating: 1-3 depending on the product

Beautycounter – EWG Brand Rating: 1-3 depending on the product

If you are using any of these drugstore brands it is possible that you are using a fairly good product but it is also possible that you are using a not so great product! Check out the lotions you are using on the EWG site to find out for yourself!

Honest Even Brighter Everyday Moisturizer

I have been using the Honest Even Brighter Everyday Moisturizer for a while now and I have been loving it! It is not on the EWG (probably because it is a newer product) but it is made without parabens, paraffins, formaldehyde carriers, PEGs, steareth‐n, propylene glycol, butylene glycol, petrolatum, mineral oil, synthetic fragrances, or dyes. To me, that is a very good start and better than 90% of face moisturizers out there but I will continue to research and see if there are other products that are cleaner but still just as effective! 

Honest Everything Organic Facial Oil 

Honest Everything Organic Facial Oil is another product I use daily. I like to use a few drops of the oil along with the Honest Even Brighter Everyday Moisturizer and mix them together then apply on my face. It is made without parabens, silicones, petrolatum, synthetic fragrances or dyes and keeps my skin hydrating and very smooth. Can we also talk about the packaging, it is so beautiful! Again, it is not on the EWG (yet) so I am curious to see what the rating would be but I will continue the search for other an amazing facial oils and report back! 

Beautycounter Rosewater Mist

The Beautycounter Rosewater Mist (EWG rating: 2) is a must have, I am totally obsessed with it! I love to use it to set my makeup but it is also amazing for a refresher throughout the day. It is small enough to fit in any purse to carry around all day. If you follow me on Instagram and watch my stories you will see that I have been meditating and I love to spray the mist to calm myself before I begin! 

Honest Organic All-Purpose Balm

Honest Organic All-Purpose Balm (EWG rating: 1) is very versatile and great for spot treating dry skin and so much more. They recently changed that name, that is why my product is named differently than the header but it is pretty much the same thing. It is made without petrolatum, mineral oil, lanolin, parabens, synthetic fragrances or dyes which is great! It is made with Organic sunflower, olive, coconut oils that work with enriching shea butter, Tamanu oil helps restore and balance skin moisture, Chamomile, and calendula gently calm and soothe. 

Honest Deodorant 

I added this product to my list to talk about but I can’t seem to find it anywhere so it looks like it was discontinued. It is not a favorite of mine because it was not strong enough, I was having to double up and use it with another stick deodorant to make sure I got the coverage I needed to last all day. But two people have recommended Native deodorants to me so I am going to look into the product and possibly purchase to see what I think! More on that later! 

I know this was a super long post so thank you for hanging in there with me but I really wanted to start out with products I have tested. I hope you loved all of this information and it was helpful to you! I would love to hear your comments and thoughts below on any of these products, your clean skin and beauty journey or anything else! Below is a product that I started using last night on my lashes and brows for growth and I will let you know what I think after using it for a few weeks! I am also testing sooo many other new products too! Stay tuned! Click the photo for more details and to purchase! 

Have a wonderful weekend! xo