This is a really cool challenge, and something I suggest you try. I personally use Skin Deep all the time to make sure products are safe and green. If you haven’t tried Skin Deep before, now is a good time to start.

The Earth Mama Angel Baby What’s Your Score? Challenge

1. Gather some of the most common personal care products you use regularly on yourself or on your baby. Personal care products include shampoo, lotions, soaps, diaper cream, stretch mark oil, etc.

2. Go to the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics’ Skin Deep database and enter a product name in the search field. Add up the Skin Deep toxicity rating for all the personal care products that you use on a daily basis to find out what your score is.

3. When you have your score, consider the following questions…

• What was your Skin Deep toxicity rating score?
• How did you feel about your score and/or ingredients?
• Were you surprised at how high the toxin score is for any products labeled “natural” or “organic” ?

I think you’ll be surprised at how high (higher = more toxic at Skin Deep) most bath and beauty products score, even those labeled “green, natural, or safe” On the flip side, Earth Mama Angel Baby products all score 1 or less (that’s an excellent rating on Skin Deep). All the more reason to try some of their products.

Read more about Earth Mama Angel Baby:

• About the company – eco-perks and more.
• Green Product Review: I Love My Mama Gift Set
• Green Product Review: Angel Baby Kit

ENTER the Earth Mama Angel Baby Giveaway!

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Today’s reader question comes from Karen, who asks…

I have a question for you. I’ve decided to start going green slowly, as you’ve suggested, and have focused first on body and cleaning products. With both of these, I am finding some difficulty in figuring out what products are actually green and which are not. Some products say they are biodegradable, some say eco friendly, some talk about fair trade, and as I’m sure you know the list goes on. How do you choose what types of products to use? Since you seem to really know about these things, I’d love to hear your point of view on this.

Thanks!
Karen.

Excellent question! I’m sure many folks going green wonder about the above. First off, as for the cleaning products part of the question, we’ve discussed how to choose or make green cleaning products in multiple posts here so for this, you can browse the following.

• How to choose green cleaners – store bought green cleaners
• 25 Safe, Non-toxic, Homemade Cleaning Supplies
• Hot Water for Cleaning – Yeah It Works
• Are Sponges A Great Green Choice?
• Reader Question: how long to keep homemade green cleaners?

WHAT ABOUT GREEN BEAUTY & BODY CARE?

To green your beauty and body care product routine use the following tips.

Read labels and learn what they mean: Anyone can write “natural” or “green” on a label and both may mean absolutely nothing. At the very least the beauty/body care products you buy should state that they are natural, free of preservatives, free of chemicals, not tested on animals, and so on. BUT to be more sure, you should look for official eco-labels such as Leaping Bunny Eco Symbol and USDA Organic. However, unlike food, there’s not a massive eco-labeling underway of body care items, so your best bet is to read the label carefully for ingredients.

Read the company’s website: Most beauty companies have an “about us” “eco-goals” or “green page” IF they’re eco-friendly. If they’re forth coming about green company policies and list all ingredients on their website and/or packaging that’s a good sign.

Try bulk: Many co-ops and natural food stores offer bulk body care such as organic shampoo, lotions, and body soap. You simply snag some refillable bottles and keep refilling them with healthy products rather than purchasing new.

Buy recyclable: If you do buy products (vs. buying bulk or making your own) buy products that come in recycled or recyclable containers. Look for the least packaging possible as well.

Buy  & use less: Buying and using less of all items is a green step. You cut down on packaging, emissions, and save money to boot. You don’t need to shampoo each day (really) or wear as much make-up. You can try using less of an item, like lotion and get the same effect. You can also use items like dry shampoos to save other resources like water (also a green move).

Score check: You can quickly find our how your favorite products stack up at Skin Deep. Skin Deep rates everything from sunscreen to baby shampoo to make-up and more. They offer a score based on issues like toxicity levels, animal testing, chemical content, and more.

Shop check: As you shop you can check out the safety and greenness of products with the iPhone app, GoodGuide. GoodGuide mobile is a free application that allows you to look up safe, healthy, and green products on the go. There are over 70,000 products and ratings included in the app.

Look for product reviews from green bloggers you trust: Assuming you trust me, you can read up on green beauty care products I’ve reviewed at my green beauty blog or check out our huge growing list of green product reviews here at THF (beauty and body care included). You can also do web searches like, “Organic soap review” and substitute whatever product you like and see what pops up.

Make your own: The best way to know what’s in your beauty and body care products is to make your own. Plus this is greener still because it cuts down on packaging. Some recipes featured here include…

• Homemade Organic Herbal Hair Conditioning Spray
• Homemade Sugar Body Scrub
• Homemade Healthy Hair Care – Hair Masques
• Homemade Organic Facial Toner
• Homemade Organic Cleansing Creams
• Homemade Organic Paint Soap for Kids
• Homemade Organic Facial & Body Cream
• Homemade Organic Honey Beauty
• Fast Homemade Organic Fresh Kitchen Face Scrubs
• Homemade Organic Liquid Handsoap
• Homemade Deodorant
• Strawberry Face Mash

Hopefully the above helps you to navigate the green beauty and body care market. If you’ve got your own tips, share in the comments.

[image via jennifer chait]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Some eco-perks of Sparklehearts:

• 99.6% natural and organic ingredients used in all products.
• No harmful toxins ingredients used. Sparklehearts uses essential oils, violet extract, coconut, Shea butter, and green tea extract in their products.
• No artificial colors.
• Never tested on animals.
• 100% post-consumer recycled packaging.

Obviously eco-body care for little girls is a good idea. Petroleum, sulfates, and other icky junk don’t belong on your daughter’s skin. In fact, recent laboratory tests by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) revealed that adolescent girls across America are contaminated with chemicals commonly used in cosmetics and body care products. Detected in the labs were 16 chemicals from 4 chemical families – phthalates, triclosan, parabens, and musks – in blood and urine samples from teen girls.

According to Skin Deep, “Studies link these chemicals to potential health effects including cancer and hormone disruption. These tests feature first-ever exposure data for parabens in teens, and indicate that young women are widely exposed to this common class of cosmetic preservatives, with 2 parabens, methylparaben and propylparaben, detected in every single girl tested.”

Currently Sparklehearts offers five yummy-girl happy products; Shine Shampoo, Rainbow Soft Conditioner, Peace Out No Knots Hair Detangler, Bubbling Blooms Body Wash, and Sweet Hearts Sparkly Body Lotion.

Sparklehearts website is super fun too. Kids can log on to Sparklehearts, learn about green beauty issues and even create their own Sparkleheart designs. The free design program allows little ones to save it to their computer to use as wallpaper, or print it onto an iron-on transfer for a one-of-a-kind T-shirt.

BONUS: SAVE MONEY & WIN SOME SPARKLEHEARTS!

Sparklehearts sent me a great sale code for Tree Hugging Family girls to use. Head to Sparklehearts, choose your fave products, and when checking out, enter the code, Blog20, which is good for 20% off any purchase. Coming up, I’ll also be reviewing one of the Sparklehearts products here (with help from two teen girls I happen to know) so stay tuned because you don’t want to miss that.

AND the best news: Sparklehearts is offering a cool prize for one lucky Tree Hugger Reader. Giveaway details coming soon!

Learn more at Sparklehearts.

[images via Sparklehearts]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Way to send the message home right? I love it. Also, it’s made with organic aloe vera juice so your bubbles will be just as ethical as your actions.

Get some Save Water Soap at Plum Party Supplies.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Today we have a special DIY homemade eco chic soap guest post from Anne-Marie, founder of Bramble Berry Inc.…

More and more families are growing increasingly concerned about their ecological footprint. In addition to taking less trips, recycling and planting more trees, there is an easy thing you can to help save the environment, improve your family’s health and save money in the process. Making your own soap is a great way to control the ingredients that go into your bath tub, onto your child and down your drain. And, bonus! It’s a fraction of the cost of store bought soap.

Eco Chic soap is the next big thing in personal care. What is Eco Chic soap? This category of personal care is all about creating yourself, controlling the ingredients and reusing common household goods. Rather than throwing away single use plastic containers, give them a new lease on life and use them as soap molds.

Making soap is an ideal creative outlet for the entire family. When you make your own soap, you choose the ingredients so you can use all natural colorants (like cocoa powder or charcoal) to color your soap and all natural essential oils to fragrance it, creating a soap bar that is naturally derived and cleans effectively.

Here’s an easy recipe to follow (hint: it’s perfect to make with children ages 4 and up with parental supervision):

You’ll need:

• Herbs, oatmeal, coffee, spirulina, clay, or food-grade charcoal
• 1 pound (16 ounces)Bramble Berry melt and pour soap, organic base
• 1 ounce essential oil (we used lavender, orange and eucalyptus)
• “Soap mold” (a clean, used plastic food dish, like an empty yogurt
• container)
• Rubbing Alcohol

How to make your soap:

1. Prep your herbs and make sure they are the right size for exfoliating gently. Sharp herbs may be too abrasive on the skin. I love using charcoal. It helps to remove toxins and impurities, similar to clay. Plus, it gives the soap a nice black hue.

2. Cut the organic melt and pour blocks into 1 x 1″ cubes.

3. Melt the soap in 30-second increments until the soap is fully melted.

4. Add .25 ounces to .50 ounces of essential oil. Remember, if you use a yellow or orange colored fragrance, your soap base will look less clear and look more yellow/orange.

5. Mix in your herbs or additives. Stir until the herbs seem mostly suspended.

6. Pour your scented and herb’ed soap into the make-shift mold
7. Tip: Don’t fill your make-shift soap mold all the way up. It helps for easy release to fill 85% of the way to the top and not the entire way.
8. Do one finishing touch of rubbing alcohol to finish off your soap and give it a nice smooth surface

Last steps: Wait for the soap to harden, get the soap out, wrap with saran wrap, label and enjoy the compliments you get on your innovative way to help save the earth, improve your household’s carbon footprint and help save the family budget this holiday season.

For more information on how to make your own soap, head to www.soapqueen.com and to buy supplies, including essential oils and the organic soap base, go to www.brambleberry.com

Some of the lovely soaps you can learn to make:

Coffee soap

Layer soap

Spirulina soap

A word from Jennifer:

First off, thanks so much to Anne-Marie for the excellent post. This is a fun holiday gift idea for sure, especially because everyone loves a good eco soap. Secondly, I visited the Bramble Berry site, and it’s amazing – well worth a visit (a long one). Not only do they carry everything you need to make delicious eco-friendly soaps, but they offer loads of tips and recipe ideas as well. This is not just a shop site, but an excellent resource if eco chic soap is your thing (of course it is!).

If you need a merry holiday reason to visit – check out this adorable Christmas tree centerpiece made of soap!

Learn about how to make this and many other beautiful soap creations at Bramble Berry.

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Product: Cinnamon & Clove Comfort Natural Aroma Shower Steamer from Verikira Naturals

Ingredients: Sodium Bicarbonate, Citric Acid, Calcium Sulfate, Sodium Borate, Witch Hazel, and Essential Oils

Basics: This product is a shower steamer, which means you unwrap the steamer, place it in the far corner of your shower (away from the water), and as the heat and moisture activates the steamer, the essential oils are released into your shower, creating an aromatherapy shower experience.

Company information: Verikira Naturals creates specially formulated products for home and body, using natural and organic ingredients, essential oils, vitamins, minerals, and extracts from flowers, herbs, fruits, leaves, and roots. Verikira Naturals products are certified by the Vegan Cosmetics Organization and they follow the Natural Ingredient Resource Center (NIRC) criteria for labeling natural ingredients and products.

Two nice company perks include their handy consumer Education Center and their Pink Grapefruit Pink Ribbon Collection which supports breast cancer research. They also won a 2007-2008 American Package Design Awards Certificate of Excellence.

[Steamers also come in Peppermint Awakening and Eucalyptus Revival]

What I think:

I really liked these shower steamers. I tested two of them. One when I was healthy and one after I caught this flu I’m dealing with. Both times the steamer was a nice shower addition, but when you’re sick, it’s REALLY nice. I’ve felt terrible for a week, and this made my shower nice and relaxing, even though I’m tired and coughing. Cinnamon is a natural flu and cold fighter, and while of course, the shower steamer didn’t cure my flu, it did relax my senses and thus help ease up the body aches.

Other pros:

Subtle scent: Because they’re made with essential oils vs. chemical fragrance, the scent is subtle, calming, and lingering, without being overpowering. I like heavy scents, actually, and while this was scented enough for my taste, it would also be chill enough for someone not into heavy scents.

Easy to use – no mixing oils, no whipping up anything, just unwrap, and place.

Beautiful packaging – perfect as is for gift giving – no wrap required, thus saving paper resources. The steamers especially are nice, because they come in a long box, that would fit nicely into a stocking OR you could place individual steamers in many stockings or gift baskets.

Bonus – it left my bathroom smelling delicious for a couple of days after I used it. Too bad they don’t make home cleaning products!

No stain – my first steamer didn’t get all the way used up, but it didn’t sit and stain my shower either, it washed away with plain water.

Product cons:

I’m not sure about the recyclable of the box. There’s no recycling label on it. The label, foil, and paper decoration inside the box are for sure recyclable, but the box is an odd material. I couldn’t find info on it, but I’ll still try to recycle it. UPDATE: After posting this I heard back from the company who notes, “The shower steamer frosted box is made with 100% virgin polypropylene which is recyclable and Verikira Naturals tries extremely hard to use recyclable packaging at all times. Also, the crinkle paper inside is also recyclable.“ Nice. So, now we know, and this con becomes a full on pro.

I think that if you’re really into green living, one whole shower steamer is too much. I take semi-quick showers to save water and the first steamer I used was only half gone by the time I was ready to jump out. My suggestion is to cut them in half. Which is a con, considering they don’t tell you this, but a pro, in that the product lasts longer. The only way you’ll get through one of these per shower is if you take REALLY long showers.

Safety note: These look like brightly wrapped candies. My seven year old son thought they were little chocolate oranges. Because my son is well-past the eat anything stage, I’m not concerned. If you have little ones though, this is a product to keep tucked away.

Cinnamon & Clove Shower Steamer score:

Five out of five pretty trees! I liked these a lot. They wouldn’t be on my list of products to buy right away, for myself, just because I have a basket full of essential oils. However, I would absolutely give these as a gift to someone. Great for birthdays and holidays. I also think that out of the box, they’d make cute wedding, or baby shower favors, along with other treats.

$24 – Cinnamon & Clove Comfort Natural Aroma Shower Steamer

+ Verikira Naturals

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Almost anything from Night Owl Paper Goods. You have to give me this, when I get obsessive, at least it’s over cool stuff. And I’m major obsessive lately over this newer line of green goodies. Because, however, I can’t just show all their goods here, I picked some items I’d want, and of course these would be the perfect gift for another green girl (or maybe the right green guy):

The Wooden Button Flower Card – Eco-friendly sustainably harvested yellow birch cards and the wood grain varies from card to card, creating a unique gift. You could use it as a card (yup you can write on it) or frame it up.

The Wooden Journal – Coccoa Rossette

AND this Night Owl Paper Goods Owl Flowering Branch Tote Bag – which I must own, or die trying.

How cute is this bag?

Next some bubbly, splashy, yummy birthday fun:

What possibly could be full of bubbles and yummy AND beautiful? Um, Bomb Cosmetics…

Just the fact:

• Committed to eco and animal ethics.
• Handcrafted soaps and other delicious items.
• Essential oils, natural ingredients like cocoa butter, and white clay harvested sustainably from Amazon rainforests.  

Just the goods please: Here are some guaranteed birthday pleasers…

Raspberry Ripple Bath Mallow:

Lavender Soap Cake:

Coffee Soap Cake – most likely what someone might get me. Just to be funny.

Rosebud Buttercup:

Pretty & tree hugging:  I love these gift ideas from The Magnolia Company. They offer gift trees that are presented in lovely ways. I really like the Living Oak Seed gift. It’s supposed to be a holiday gift idea, but it’s so darn cute; a tiny oak seed that  comes already planted with a tree ready to sprout in a recycled rice hull container. I’d want it.

In the interest of the birthday theme, I thought I’d also share one of their actual birthday gift ideas – the Party Paisley Deco. Available in oak or pine.

Finally a dash of eco-bling: My two newest eco-obsessions are with Zanisa and FaniSong. I’m totally in love with Zanisa’s whole shop, but especially with their jewelry, which is odd, because while I like jewelry, I’m more a make it myself kind of girl. In case you haven’t guessed, FaniSong is also jewelry; what’s up? Who knows, maybe I’m evolving. Anyhow, both places have some eco-bling worthy of some serious drooling.

FaniSong creates these amazing pieces (I blogged about it in depth here) but the basics are; recycled glass + infused nature photos = beautiful charms like the one below. They come with lovely cords, and there’s a huge amount to choose from.

Visit FaniSong

Zanisa has so many green pieces I like that it’s hard to narrow it down. Two of my favorites are the Beach Necklace and the Sprout Necklace. Both have plenty of eco-ethical qualities, both are handmade, and both are so, so pretty.

Visit Zanisa and see all the green and gorgeous items they carry.

Thus concludes our green & gorgeous birthday treats for the day. I hope you found some birthday green to love. If you’re really into birthdays, and want more green birthday fun, check out these birthday posts from last year…

• Happy Birthday – Have Some Organic Cake!
• Eco-Friendly Birthday Theme Cakes
• Plant That Paper!
• Birthday Cake Recipes
• Bake Your Birthday Cake & Have Your Green Too

November current events at Tree Hugging Family – themes, reviews, news, and more…

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

My pal Julie, has a friend who recently opened a new shop – Celestial Kisses. The shop specializes in homemade, natural beauty products, so I thought my readers here might be interested in the Grand Opening Give Away going on there right now.

Here’s the scoop from Celestial Kisses owner:

“To celebrate the grand opening of Celestial Kisses Homemade Spa & Aromatherapy products, I’m offering a gift basket give-away!  I will be giving away an Egyptian Sunset gift basket which includes a bar of milk & honey soap (Cleopatra Bar), a milk bath, and a bottle of oatmeal & honey lotion (Promised Land Lotion).  The retail value of this basket is $25.”

Not a bad prize, huh? Especially with the holidays coming up. You could even give your winnings as gifts (if you can give up free body products.

Company info; also from owner:

“Celestial Kisses bath and beauty products are handmade in small batches to ensure the highest quality. We use only the finest ingredients and our natural products contain no artificial preservatives, no rendered animal fat, no petroleum products, and no cheap hydrogenated oils.

We choose to make products that we wouldn’t hesitate to use ourselves, which means we prefer to use natural botanicals and pure essential oils to ensure a spa quality product you will love to use over and over.”

Learn how to enter by clicking here.

Good luck!

November current events at Tree Hugging Family – themes, reviews, news, and more…

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Gather up: 

• Handful of fresh organic sage
• Handful of fresh organic rosemary
• Few leaves of organic fresh mint
• Favorite organic pure essential oil, although I suggest one of the following: lavender (you can substitute fresh lavender as well, mix it in with the other herbs), orange, tea tree.
• Small pot

To make:

1. Rub all the herbs in your hands for a few minutes – this releases the oils and scent.
2. Place all herbs in your pot and cover with water (about a pint 1/2).
3. Cover pot, bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and let sit for 10-20 minutes.
4. Remove pot from stove top. Place pot in fridge overnight.
5. Drain liquid into a bottle, add a few drops of your essential oil. Sage can smell a little like Thanksgiving dinner, so the oils help cut that scent.

To use:

If you have straight hair, you can spritz onto, or rub the liquid into dry hair until good and saturated. Comb or brush through well. Leave it on; no rinsing.Use for a few days in a row, for silkier, shinier hair.

If you have curls that are somewhat manageable, you can spray this onto dry hair. As for wild curls me, I only use this on damp hair, or it doesn’t seem to work very well. As with straight hair this is a leave-in conditioner and can be used often with no negative affects.

This keeps well in the fridge for a week, although you can make ice cubes with this, save them, and thaw when you’d like to use them.  If you’re new to essential oils, read this post – Homemade Beauty Products – Safety 101 before making this.

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes and everything else going on at Tree Hugging Family in October 2008.

[image via stock.xchng]

Post from: Tree Hugging Family

Whether you use these sweet creations in the kitchen or to polish your skin, there’s plenty to choose from.

They’re offered for $2.99 at Eco Bags. And they’d make very cute stocking stuffers, don’t you think?

(All images from Eco Bags.)

Click here to learn about all the current contests, themes and everything else going on at Tree Hugging Family in October 2008

Post from: Tree Hugging Family