My Favorite Beauty Products from Whole Foods

i frequent whole foods for many of my skincare products and spend a shameless amount of time in their beauty aisles reading product ingredients (and otherwise looking like a weirdo) because I like to buy products that aren't tested on animals and that are free of controversial ingredients like parabens and sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates. i don't necessarily believe parabens cause cancer, i have read much scientific literature from both sides that is ultimately inconclusive. i just try to avoid parabens (it's hard to do by the way!) as a precautionary principle and sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates (also known as SLS/SLES) are extremely irritating ingredients - i try to avoid sls/sles because i have sensitive skin and color-treated hair. sulfates strip your hair incessantly causing your color to fade quicker. 

i find a good bit of the beauty products at whole foods to be crap for anyone without genetically blessed skin. take Dr. Hauschka for example, almost all the products are loaded with oils, butters, fragrances and plant extracts which are horrible for anyone with acne-prone or sensitive skin. i think all skin should be treated as "sensitive" as repeatedly irritating your skin is a leading cause of aging. furthermore, "natural" and "organic" products are not any better for the skin than synthetic ones. many of the lines at whole foods are similar (and just as crappy) to Dr. Hauschka - just take a minute to read ingredients.

cosmetics ingredients database if you are interested here

anyhoo, there are some very good products (some i couldn't live without) at this organic shopper's paradise that are great for sensitive skin and as an added bonus are also good for the environment. some are cheap, and some others not so much!

 here goes...

SKINCARE

Whole Foods brand 365 Shower Gel- Unscented $3 - This stuff is great and CHEAP! I use it to wash my face and body. it is fagrance-free, artificial color-free, no sls/sles or parabens. it foams well too. it does not irritate whatsoever. my body & face loves this stuff...but my nose doesn't. :( it smells, well, weird. a slightly chemically smell that is pretty faint. it does not make your body smell this way though, don't worry! i wish it smelled better, but for the greatness of the product i will deal with the smell. you could add a Wyndmere essential oil -see below- so it's not so weird smelling but be careful cuz fragrance can irritate. they also have versions with lavender, herbal and citrus scents

Jason Naturals Red Elements Gentle Gel Face Cleanser $8-10 for 8 oz.

not all whole foods carry the red elements line. find it here

Avalon Organics Aloe-Unscented Hand and Body Lotion $8 for 8 oz. my "eco-chic" alternative to Cetaphil lotion

Avalon Organics Baby Gentle Tear-Free Body Wash the body wash i use most of the time, it has some citrus oils in it but they don't irritate. this one smells great!!
Desert Essence Organics Shampoos & Conditioners around $6 for 8 oz. i love the green apple and ginger thickening and volume versions of the shampoo and conditioner. they leave my fine, color treated hair silky, shiny and smelling like fresh green apples!
Wyndmere Essential Oils around $6 for 1/3 oz. (instead of perfume) the scent lasts all day! a great and cheaper alternative to expensive fragrances. i like grapefruit & mandarin
Burt's Bees Naturally Nourishing Milk and Shea Butter Body Bar $4 smells creamy, lathers well and soothes


MAKEUP

Burt's Bees Super Shiny Lipgloss $6 tube. these glosses are super emoillent and aren't sticky. these glosses won a Natural Health Beauty Award. the colors are VERY sheer.
Mineral Fusion makeup - they have really great glosses, mineral foundations and blushes with great colors. a little pricey though.

STAY AWAY FROM
the whole foods 365 brand of shampoo, conditioner and body lotion...ew!
Bur't Bees shampoos..gross!