Eco-Chick · The modern girl's guide to living green & fabulous.

Top 5 Fave Natural Beauty Products for Winter

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by Stephanie Rogers · 01/23/09

During the winter, I use more products than at any other time of year out of pure necessity. In order to avoid dry, scaly skin and lips, I do a lot of scrubbing and moisturizing. This winter, I became even more of a purist (or what some may call a control freak) than ever in terms of the ingredients of the products I’m using – I wanted them all to be super simple, healthy and natural. These 5 products didn’t just live up to my expectations, they were so great I just had to spread the word about them.

Vintage Body Spa Ginger Cardamom Cream Body Bar – This ultra-moisturizing body butter smells absolutely heavenly and it was the only thing that has managed to keep the soles of my feet soft and smooth.  Cocoa butter, shea butter, mango butter, jojoba oil, and sweet almond oil lightly scented with clove, cardamom, ginger, cinnamon, orange and mint.

Mountain Rose Herbs Restorative Skin Oil – For the rest of my body, especially my hands, elbows and legs, this moisturizing and healing skin oil has kept dryness and that unpleasant itchy, tight feeling at bay. Organic calendula oil, rosehip seed oil, vitamin E and a blend of essential oils including Neroli and Helichrysium.

Aubrey Organics Blue Green Algae Rescue Conditioning Mask – Finally, a vegan protein treatment for hair that really works. Aubrey Organics combines blue-green algae and red algae extract with coconut, shea butter, aloe, and lavender water in a deep hair treatment that keeps my hair glossy and healthy looking despite harsh winds and drying indoor heat.

Josie Maran Lipstick in Rumi Joon – This might just be the ultimate flattering nude lipstick shade for practically every skin tone. It’s also ultra-moisturizing, long lasting and free of toxic ingredients, petrochemicals, parabens and artificial fragrances. The tube is recyclable, too.

DIY Brown Sugar Body Scrub – This exfoliating and moisturizing body scrub is so decadent yet incredibly easy to make with stuff you’ve probably already got in your pantry. I scoop about 4 tablespoons of coconut oil into a microwaveable container, nuke it just until it softens and mix in ¼ cup of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of honey and ½ teaspoon of vanilla extract. You could literally eat it (and I can attest that it tastes fantastic) and the brown sugar helps to gently buff away scaly skin.

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Bring It Back! Beauty Sleep Saves Money, Energy

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by Starre Vartan · 12/09/08

Strength doesn’t lie in numbers, strength doesn’t lie in wealth, strength lies in nights of peaceful slumbers so when you wake up, WAKE UP!

-Maria von Trapp, The Sound of Music

As a blogger, author, editor, ecofashion stylist and all-around creative person, I fit the late-riser stereotype. I find it almost impossible to get out of bed before 9am (usually not until 10), because, simply, the kind of thinking needed for the work I do never happens before noon. So what’s the use in being up?

But there is another reason for late slumbering. It’s because I aim to get around nine hours of sleep a night. Which seems to be an extremely shocking thing among almost everyone I’m even vaguely acquainted with when I mention it (the greatest shock always comes from my Manhattan-based friends and colleagues, unsurprisingly).

Considering that I’m known as a super-productive person, anyone who knows me realizes that my sleep schedule has nothing to do with laziness. Instead people are usually overtly envious, covertly jealous, disbelieving, or worst, think I’m terribly overindulgent. The ‘recommended’ 7-8 hours is, frankly, just not enough sleep for me. I’ve always slept a lot, and prefer a solid 9 hours (10-11 on weekends). Every body is different, of course- some people only NEED 5-6 hours a night, and bully for them. But for the rest of us, regular good rest comes infrequently, and not at all, and is, indeed, a badge of honor.

When the hell did it become a luxury to get a good night’s rest regularly? When I sleep my average of 60 hours a week, I am much more productive, have fewer mood swings (or at least am much less grumpy), catch fewer colds, AND use less energy. More time in bed, with house temps low, not using the computer, lights and phone mean energy savings- so sleeping in is green! Imagine all the energy we would save if Americans stayed in bed 30 minutes or an hour longer every day.

And even while most people would agree with the idea that we should all get more sleep, the idea that it’s generally healthier to get a good night’s rest is dismissed as some kind of old-fashioned idea.

I say, bring back Beauty Sleep! There is a strong, science-suppported connection between good skin and being well-rested. Good rest allows skin to repair itself naturally, rather than spending money and energy on Botox or plastic surgery. (Yes, I do have fewer wrinkles than most of my contemporaries, so there). And if you use fancy night creams, they only work when you’re getting proper rest, so don’t waste them by slapping them on and then sitting in front of the TV all night.

So how do I do it? I’m committed to sleeping (doesn’t hurt that I really enjoy it; some people don’t, which I’ve never understood), and cultivate my dreaming states. I keep a toxin-free, quiet bedroom free of electronics, and only sleep or read in bed- no email, no chatting on the phone, no eating! My bed and bedding is made of organic, natural materials (I prefer feather pillow and down comforters, organic cotton sheets and wool throws, but I’m not allergic to any of these materials, which might not work for everyone). I keep my bedroom very cool in the winter (about 55-58 degrees), air out the room at least once every two days (a fresh air flush every day is ideal) and keep the only air purifier I’ve invested in there.

Friends and family know better than to wake me early unless it’s an emergency. I don’t have kids, which obviously helps a lot- but I’ve also noticed many of my friends keeping their munchkins up much, much later than I was ever allowed, which is not going to cultivate good sleeping habits for them in the future AND cuts into parental sleeping (and nookie) time.

I was raised by my old-school rules grandma, which meant I was in bed by 7:30 each night, whether there was light in the sky or not, until I was about 8 years old. She then had the rest of the evening to herself and my grandpa, and I cemented great sleeping habits when I was very young.

Sleep is the foundation of each and every day, a secret to basic and sustained health, to recovering from the aging affects of life, to figuring out your psychological demons (our brains don’t sleep the way our bodies do, and REM sleep is the time when solutions to problems- personal, emotional, work-related, are figured out). Best yet? We get all these benefits for FREE! Sleeping doesn’t cost a darn thing, so stop reading Internet stories all night and get some rest.

Beauty, Natural Beauty, Skin Care, sleep

Natural, Cheap Mango Facemask: Fruitilicious!

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by Starre Vartan · 07/25/08

Starre with mango on my face (and in yummy chunks in the bowl)!

The big cosmetics companies have been slapping the “AHA” label on skin cleansers, creams and masks for a few years now, but translate that sciencey-sounding name (AHA stands for alpha-hydroxy acids) and you get simple fruit acids, which you can find in high concentrations in the skin and meat of a variety of fruits, and without the preservatives beauty products usually use.

At the recommendation of a natural facialist, I’ve been giving myself my own AHA facials with mangoes, a much-beloved fruit around my house. And I can report much smoother, softer skin after I do my routine (detailed below). Also, you get to eat the mango and it smells delicious on your skin! (Unlike my other fave all-natural beauty routine- my avocado hair mask- but hey, it works great…)

How To Make Your Own AHA Mango Facemask:

1. Start with an organic, fair-trade mango and rinse it well under the tap (you can use a teensy bit of all-natural soap if it’s sticky from other-mango juice).

2. Holding the mango lengthwise, cut the skin (but not deep into the mango) in four or five long cuts, from the top where the mango would have attached to its tree to the bottom.

3. Gently peel the skin away from the mango fruit (kinda like peeling an orange except the skin is thinner so you have to be more gentle).

4. Do what you will with the mango body- I usually just eat the whole thing from off the pit in a frenzy of mango-love but some more civilized people will cut them into chunks to eat in a fruit salad or use them in a smoothie.

5. Turn the skin inside-out so the soft yellow inside of the mango faces out, and rub all over your face (bonus! you can nibble on it as you spread it around; goofy but fun and the very definition of natural luxury- haven’t you always wanted to eat a yummy-smelling facemask?).

6. Let dry for 15 minutes or so, then rinse off using a mild facial cleanser. Moisturize as usual. Make sure to use sunscreen as the natural fruit acids leave your skin more prone to sun damage.

7. Touch super-soft skin and rejoice!

How It Works: AHA’s (fruit acids, found in high levels on the inside of mango skins and other fruits) break down the bonds between dead skin cells, so they get washed away more easily when you rinse the mask off. See Care2 for more info and ideas/recipes.

facemask, fruit, Natural Beauty, Organic

Virgin Coconut Oil – Moisturizing Beauty Panacea

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by Stephanie Rogers · 04/24/08

I’m a huge fan of using virgin coconut oil for a variety of beauty-related purposes. It’s cheap, it’s ultra moisturizing and the smell just instantly puts me in a good mood (maybe it’s the similarity to delicious tropical frozen cocktails on the beach… mmm….rum and coconut…drool). Anyway! On to the point, lest I get distracted daydreaming about hammocks and palm trees.

Unfortunately, many conventional beauty products are loaded with chemicals and are usually petroleum based. This isn’t just a health issue (because we really don’t know the long term effects of these ingredients – not to mention pthalates, parabens, etc.), it’s also a matter of petroleum usage, something we all know we need to cut back on.

Virgin coconut oil is loaded with antioxidants, protects against free radical damage and keeps the skin smooth and supple. I use it for all of the following:

• All-over body moisturizer
• Hot oil hair treatment, combined with equal parts extra virgin olive oil
• Cuticle oil
• Eye makeup remover (even works for waterproof mascara!)
• Body scrub, mixed with brown sugar or sea salt
• Overnight foot treatment (slather it on & put on some cotton socks)

If you’re prone to breakouts like I am you might think that putting coconut oil on your skin would make it even worse. I’ve found the opposite to be true. I mix it with a little raw honey (for its antibacterial properties) and use it as a face mask every now and then, and my skin ends up clear and soft.

Another bonus is that using a single jar of coconut oil for all of these things cuts back on the amount of product packaging you’re throwing away. Just keep in mind, if you want to divvy it up between different reusable containers for various uses, that coconut oil solidifies at temperatures below 76 degrees Fahrenheit.

One thing that’s important is to make sure the company you’re buying from uses sustainable growing practices. I purchase Spectrum Organic Unrefined Virgin Coconut Oil, mostly because it’s great quality but also because I know they put a lot of effort into making sure their organic farming practices are sustainable, protect the water supplies and soil and also protect us against harmful chemicals.

Coconut Oil, Moisturizer, Natural Beauty, Spectrum Organics

Tilting at Windmills

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by Starre Vartan · 12/17/06

Should women’s bodies be used to ‘sell’ environmentalism? Lots of folks have been discussing the Ecobabes calendar lately, and though I think the photos in the calendar are pretty tasteful (as I think the picture above, of model Betcee May is), and I certainly believe in celebrating women in the environmental movement, there is something that bothers me about the whole thing.

Maybe it’s not really the pictures that bother me, because I love the naked and artfully photographed nude human body, but the fact that there aren’t any naked men doing this? I guess I don’t see equality if it is only one gender shown in their skivvies all the time. While some argue that women’s bodies are more beautiful, I say that’s bunk; I love beautiful bodies, both male, female, transgendered, asexual, and I’m pretty sure I’m not the only one. Finally, if the vast majority of environmentalists are women, shouldn’t we be able to demand some fair play with the images that are used in the promotion of our cause?

I’m not opposed to natural beauty being appreciated, but honestly, I’d like to see some ecohunks too- some young, shirtless guys who work hard for the Earth…I can imagine some forest rangers, environmental scientists and maybe even bloggers (wink, wink) who would look great half-naked in a calendar whose proceeds would benefit green causes. What do you think? Would you buy an EcoHunks calendar in 2008?

Brad Pitt does drive a hybrid after all….

Beauty, brad pitt, model, Natural Beauty, nude, pictures, women, women's