Yummy lotions with all the good stuff, and none of the bad stuff. Here are the lotions that work and feel good — All are paraben-free.
Recommended!
Whole Foods 365 brand lotions. $1.99 for a 16-oz bottle.
This lotion wins simply because it’s inexpensive AND paraben-free. Says Girl Gone Green: “It’s a nice light grapefruit scent, paraben free and it makes my skin feel really nice…. At first, I didn’t like that it didn’t *immediately* absorb, that it took a few extra rubs to get it into my skin, but I got over it, and think it’s great. Very light, not greasy, nice smell, and my sensitive skin seems to like it!
EO lotions. EO’s signed the Compact for Safe Cosmetics; its lotions that rate pretty well (between .8 and 1.7 on EWG’s scale). Elsa of the greener side likes EO’s stuff :)
Beautiful Soap & Co. lotions. $10 for 12-oz bottle. Reader Ineluctable Moe loves the grapefruit lotion, “which absorbs well, smells delicious, and doesn’t seem to have too many scary-sounding ingredients. Not organic, but petroleum-free, or so they claim.”
Avalon Organics lotions. $9.95 for a $12 oz. bottle.
Elsa likes Avalon’s lotions. I haven’t tried them, but I like Avalon’s other stuff :) Pick from 8 different types, including aloe uncented :)
Pangea Organics Hand & Body Lotion. $15.99 for a 18-oz bottle. Jasmin of The Worsted Witch notes that the lotion gets a nice, low 0.3 rating from EWG. Of the Pyrenees Lavender with Cardamom scent, Jasmin says “The calming lavender scent is pleasing without being cloying; the spicy upper notes of cardamom—a scent chai-lovers will instantly recognize—though sharp, never veer into becoming pungent.” Yolanda Crous at Grist likes it too.
Kiss My Face organic moisturizers. $10 for a 11-oz bottle.
Reader Lisa says she loves this stuff. You can pick from 5 different scents — and Kiss My Face products are readily avaliable at many supermarkets and drug stores. I haven’t tried the lotions, but I love my Miss Treated conditioner, also made by Kiss My Face.
Bonicca lotions. $22 for an 8-oz bottle.
I LOVE the Bamboo Flower lotion scent — though you can pick from a variety of fragrances, or even an unscented version if you’re very fragrance sensitive. The packaging could be made prettier, but Bonicca makes lovely, high-quality, organic, cruelty-free, paraben-free, smooth lotion. It’s rather expensive, however — and so perhaps better reserved for special occasions. Reviewed here.
Maybe…
Aubrey Organics lotions. $12.95 for an 8-oz bottle.
This company has a hardcore green mission I love! However, sometimes the ingredients separate, so the bottles often require a vigorous shaking before use. In addition, the packaging’s unattractive in my opinion. All of that combined with the fact that the stuff’s just expensive makes me give this lotion a maybe.
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Thanks to everyone who weighed in on this lotion ranking :) Got an eco-lotion to rave or rant about? Let me know, and I’ll add it on :)
All lotions have to be paraben-free to make this list — though I’m willing to add a list of marketed-as-eco but not-actually-eco lotions to inform consumers. The general idea here’s to help green people make eco-lotion decisions that won’t disappoint them with unsavory or gross-smelling goop that might give environmentalism a bad name.
Update, 1/8/08: Katharine Wroth reviews six eco-hand lotions for Grist.
I’m going to do a post on the Pangea Organics body lotion I have soon.
Comment by Jasmin — February 16, 2007 @ 11:34 am
I love Aubrey Organics’ stuff. But you’re right, they really do need a packaging makeover!
Avalon Organics and EO have great lotions too.
EO now has an organic lavender hand sanitizer, which I use from a bottle at work although I have mixed feelings about the disposable little nappies they sell–a better option than a bigger non-organic brand, but still maybe wasteful packaging.
Comment by elsa — February 16, 2007 @ 2:27 pm
Crappy products, high price? Sounds like Aubrey should move from a “maybe” to a “no”. Expensive low quality products give the green movement a bad rap.
Comment by Rafi — February 16, 2007 @ 4:19 pm
see what ewg says about the kiss products, or rather the preservative they use (IODOPROPYNYL BUTYLCARBAMATE)
http://www.ewg.org/reports/skindeep2/report.php?type=INGREDIENT&id=2150
Comment by Anonymous — February 17, 2007 @ 7:03 am
You might check out the lotions made by Beautiful Soap & Co., although they can be hard to find. $10 for 12 ounces, paraben-free. I love their grapefruit lotion, which absorbs well, smells delicious, and doesn’t seem to have too many scary-sounding ingredients. Not organic, but petroleum-free, or so they claim.
Comment by Ineluctable Moe — February 17, 2007 @ 9:17 pm
My new favorite lotion is Trader Joe’s Revive Spa, Sage Geranium Mint. It’s paraben free, smells great, and absorbs well into the skin.
I LOVE Aubrey Organic’s stuff too. I haven’t tried their body lotion yet but I’d bet it’s great. I used to have the same opinion about the pagkaging until I visited their website and read this:
“At AUBREY ORGANICS® we don’t believe in throwing money away -and that’s what you do every time you toss an empty bottle or box into the trash. That’s why we keep our packaging simple -green and white bottles made of recyclable plastic and boxes made from recyclable cardboard. Plus all our product literature is printed on recycled paper.”
Makes sense doesn’t it??
Comment by Kristen — February 20, 2007 @ 12:17 pm
Be careful with preservatives as some of the alternatives to parabens used are actually classified as having a higher health risk ie Benzyl Alcohol & Sodium Benzoate. You can check this at www/ewg.org. Some companies who are jumping on the bandwagon are using the above or trying natural preservatives such as grapefruit seed extract (which doesnt cover a sufficiently wide bactericidal spectrum) or essential oils which will work if the correct ones are used however at the required concentration expect skin irritations. I have started working for Its Elixir (UK) Ltd and we are currently finishing testing a combination of Phenoxyethanol, Ethylhexylglycerin for a new genuinely as natural as possible skin care range and have found the combination just as effective as paraben all be it at a slightly higher concentration.
Comment by Craig — March 7, 2007 @ 11:18 am
I’m slowly adding on the new suggestions. Thanks everyone!
Rafi — I wouldn’t go so far as to say that Avalon’s stuff is “crappy.” A lot of things require a shake or two before use; I’m just not used to it for lotions.
Anon — Thanks for the link. I checked it out, but it seems to me that IODOPROPYNYL BUTYLCARBAMATE, with a rating of 1.7 by EWG, doesn’t seem so doom and gloom — mainly because compact-signing companies like EO have products up at the 1.7 level too. This makes me think that either 1. IODOPROPYNYL BUTYLCARBAMATE isn’t all that bad, or 2. EWG needs to reassess the way it does its rankings, which is something I discussed on my perfume post. But as of now, EWG rankings are the best we’ve got.
Comment by Siel — March 20, 2007 @ 10:08 pm
World’s first Certified Organic Range of Skin/Hair/Oral Care and Cosmetics. This is the only company that I have found to be of “food grade” with no synthetic chemicals. They use a bio-active cold press formulation and the certified organic ingredients preserve the product! Product of Australia.
Comment by Elo — March 23, 2007 @ 5:50 am
Try Dr. Bronners based out of S. Californina. A fair trade eco friendly family business uses only pure clean ingredients. I love the peppermint liquid soap and body lotion found at the Co-Op in Santa Monica. Less pricey than Pangea although Pangea is green and luxurious too. You can mix a little of the liquid soap and some vinegar with water in a recyled spray bottle and use it to clean up in the kitchen, wash produce, windows. mirrors. bathroom tiles, brush your teeth, laundry ect. it smells fresh and lovely and is a healthy green choice. I love this brand and have been using it since I was 10. There are many scents and uncented too. I love the lotions and have only found them at the Co-Op so far. The uncscented formula I use on my face it is gentle and non irritating. Heck I should work for this company ! But I don’t I just love their ideals.
Comment by maria c mattioli — September 8, 2007 @ 10:11 pm