Blog Update!
For those of you not following me on Facebook, as of the Summer of 2019 I've moved to Central WA, to a tiny mountain town of less than 1,000 people.

I will be covering my exploits here in the Cascades, as I try to further reduce my impact on the environment. With the same attitude, just at a higher altitude!

Friday, December 31, 2010

Top 5 crappy eco-beauty products of 2010

I've been meaning to write this post for weeks now, but I also wanted to take a few weeks break from writing and blogging to spend the holidays reading and hanging out with the kids. I've managed to read through quite a few books in the meantime and it's been difficult scraping myself together to get back to blogging.

I have some exciting things going on in the book writing arena, which I'll discuss shortly, but in the meantime I wanted to tell you about the crappy eco-products that I tried this year and have been swearing at them ever since. So, without further ado, here's my top list of junk:

1. Vidal Sassoon Ecostyle Hair Dryer: I bought this hair dryer with much excitement because my previous dryer died a terrible death. I know many of you will argue that I shouldn't be using a hair dryer, etc. etc., but I have long, thick hair and live in a cold house with high humidity and don't like torturing myself more than necessary. Unfortunately, in spite of being all environmentally friendly, using less electricity (35% less!) and all that (made from recycled plastic!) it, too, died a miserable death after using it only for about 7 months. Not very environmentally friendly, that one.

2. Physicians Formula Organic make-up: Oh, how I wanted to love this stuff. This product line is easily accessible at the drugstore and inexpensive, all thing considered. I blogged about it in 2009 and used if for a few months in 2010, but came to the dramatic conclusion that this stuff is generally unusable. I just heard that Cover Girl is coming out with their own line of "natural" makeup which I'll try once my non-toxic book project days are over in a month or so.

3. Naturally Bare Hair Removal "honey wax": I reviewed this over on my other blog, Green Goddess Dressing, in January and was upset to find out this product, which was touted as "natural" wasn't all that it claimed to be. The ingredients they included weren't all inclusive and, after reading the fine print, ended up being chock full of parabens.

4. Brazilian Blow-Out: In spite of claiming up and down (and still claiming) that this hair straightening product is formaldehyde free, the manufacturers are still full of shit and this product will alternately straighten your hair and scorch your lungs and eyes at the same time.

5. Aveda hair care products (in general): I have to admit that Aveda is making strides in trying to remove some of the more egregious ingredients in their make-up products, but they are still coy about what's included in their hair care products and oftentimes, a quick peek at the listing on the bottles shows some less than savory ingredients. A special request for the ingredients listing in their salon hair coloring products last month unearthed some spectacularly nasty chemicals that I can no longer convince myself aren't deleterious in spite of the "97% naturally derived" claim. It's the 3% that will bite you.

Hopefully 2011 will bring less crappy eco-products past my door step, but I somehow expect that not to be the case.

What heinous eco-products did you hate in 2010?

10 comments:

Robj98168 said...

Not sure I tried any "eco products" this year. Although I must have being that I am a big sucker for green washing. I did try a few products that I loved- the Pet-zzz-pads that my animals love soooo much- don't knoe if it is "eco friendly" or not- made of PVC and uses electricity but keeps the pets toasty in cold house without over powering my electric bill...other than that- going to buy a drying rack now that the reason for not using one is no longer valid.

Amy in Tacoma said...

What's the issue with Physician's Formula products?

Anonymous said...

Thanks for the dryer review....
I use the physican's formula mineral powder on the rare occasions I wear makeup. I've had few problems and will never give up my Body Shop mascara though...

You were right - that Naturally Bare wax stuff SUCKED! I hated those tortuous little strips! Wished I'd read the review before buying...

Unknown said...

I hate bamboo rayon. Just because a company says it's "sustainable" doesn't make it so. It takes very little looking to find out that rayon made from bamboo cellulose is just as problematic as rayon made from petroleum. And, I don't think we need synthetics when we have cotton, wool, hemp, silk, and flax.

I also can't stand "green" disposable products. I suppose it is a slight small smidgen of a half step in the right direction, but all it seems to do is make people feel fine about being wasteful and consuming too much stuff. All disposables have a durable counterpart which is not only better for the environment but nicer to use.

Lisa said...

Have you tried Everyday Minerals? It's VERY affordable, the company was started by a mom in Texas and I LOVE IT. It's much better than Bare Minerals and cheaper.

Brenna @ Almost All The Truth said...

I have loved Everyday Minerals too, but also just discovered Alima Pure which is an Oregon company and lovely!

I have to admit that I have been burying my head in the sand regarding Aveda. I just haven't found any hair care that my hair likes, but is good for my health and the environment. :(

Anna @ Blue Dirt said...

I too have the vidal sasoon hair dryer. However I'm not too demanding and only use them on my bangs. It does a good job and is more powerful than I expected.

I would say that Tarte Lash Hugger mascara might be my let down this year. It's not the most clean mascara I've tried, it's hard to wash off, and sometimes clumps. I'll just have to keep looking. Christina's Natural Qualities has a good mascara, but I found out it has to be fresh. If it's a bit too old it flakes throughout the day and falls on my cheeks.

Laura Kaeding said...

Good to read reviews of these, I'm always suspicious of a product that feels the need to advertise it's eco-friendliess so blatantly. Keep the reviews coming, they really are helpful.

gabrielle said...

Found you through researching my decision to offer the BB. I too agree that these little researched known chemicals are a little frightening but the popular culture loves the results. . And no different than the sulfur that was used in the 70's to break down hair or the ammonia that was used in the original development of hair color glamour girls everywhere are going to bed with the BB on their heads. Thanks for the fun and informative blog. Please check me out i am a newbie trying to gain some exposure and jus learning the ropes. Ps props for the detox!!!

skin care reviews said...

Eco friendly beauty products may arguably the latest trend because of its safe natural ingredients and price but in reality, most of these eco-friendly beauty products are not good in terms of quality.