(Part of
the Continuing Saga of the Search for Better Beauty Products)
Well, I
have been using LUSH Revive & Balance
Hair Moisturizer for a couple of weeks now. I gave the ingredient list a
thorough going over, and it holds up much better under scrutiny than Moroccan
Oil's (See previous blogpost scrutinizing Moroccan Oil, and see somewhat boring
LUSH R&B ingredient review at bottom of this post.) The knowledgeable manager at LUSH told
me to use just a tiny bit of their hair oil, but the first two times I used too
much. The effect seemed a bit greasy to me. Finally I dialed the amount WAY
back, and got a good result. I prefer a more forgiving product, though. And I
didn't love the smell. So, I went in search of organic argan oil. (Argan oil is
a main ingredient of Moroccan Oil.) At Sephora, I found the Josie Maran line
of cosmetics, which has organic and natural ingredients. The Josie Maran Pure
Argan Oil was $48 for 1.7 ounces. I balked at that price. Perhaps because I am
a sucker and certainly because I like to place my vote with some cash, I did
buy a $22 lip gloss. It contains many natural oils including argan and is very
moisturizing.
But I digress.
I found cheaper
organic argan oil online at Amazon.com for $9 per ounce plus shipping. I
thought I'd check my local Whole Foods too.
Voilà. There it was
for $14.99 per ounce and a convenient part of a trip I would make anyway. Also!
I met a great staff person named Mary Ramos who raved about the neighboring
organic rosehip oil. It had been recommended to her years ago by Dr.
Encarnacion in the Dominican Republic, and she said it really makes her skin
glow: $12.99 for the rosehip oil.
Both the argan oil and rosehip oil can be
used for skin or hair according to the bottles. I have the argan oil at home
for hair and the rosehip oil in my purse for my hands. They come in glass
bottles with a plastic pump top-- no box. The plastic pump is less
eco-friendly but far more convenient than the Moroccan Oil packaging. So enough
already. I'm settling in with my organic oils from Whole Foods, though I will
miss the lovely engineered smell of the Moroccan Oil.
LUSH
Revive and Balance ingredient study:
Most
of the ingredients-- including the five most prevalent-- are natural. Two of the ingredients are organic and one
fair-trade-certified.
Oat
Milk(?!) (Aqua, Avena sativa) This seems to be oats mixed with water. - natural
Glycerine-
a naturally
occurring alcohol compound and a component of many lipids.
Organic
Avocado Butter (Persea gratissima)-
Fair
for Life Olive Oil (Olea europaea) - fair trade-certified olive oil
Glyceryl
Stearate A naturally derived fatty acid,
most often used as an emulsifier
Polyethylene
Glycol 100 Stearate-- synthesized emollient.
The Environmental Working Group lists this as a "moderate" (3 out of 10) hazard based on
"limited" data. http://www.ewg.org/skindeep/ingredient/721388/PEG-100_STEARATE/
Perfume
- a big unknown
Cetearyl
Alcohol- a stabilizer and emollient mixture
of cetyl and stearyl alcohols that can come from vegetable or synthetic sources. The FDA lists it as food-safe. It may be irritaing to those with sensitive
skin.
Extra
Virgin Coconut Oil (Cocos nucifera) - natural
Cold
Pressed Organic Jojoba Oil (Simmondsia chinensis) - natural
Bay
Oil (Pimenta racemosa)- natural
Orange
Flower Absolute (Citrus Aurantium amara)- orange flower extract fragrance
Jasmine
Absolute (Jasminium grandiflorum)- jasmine flower extract fragrance
Cupuacu
Butter (Theobroma grandiflorum) moisturizing derivative of the Cupuacu plant
Candelilla
Wax(Euphorbia cerifera)- plant-derived wax
Benzyl
Alcohol- a naturally ocurring and
synthetic ingredient used as a solvent and preservative; it has been associated
with contact allergy.
Phenoxyethanol- a naturally-occurring but usually
synthetically-derived preservative that is often used to replace paraben, but
may have some of its own problems.
* Benzyl
salicylate
*Eugenol
*Geraniol
*Benzyl Benzoate
*Farnesol
*Limonene
*Linalool
*Package
note states that these occur naturally in essential oils. They are scent compounds that may be an
allergen for some.
