I know I complain a lot about how a lot of so-called eco-friendly personal care products just don’t work right. But I’m happy to say I’ve found a line I really, really like: Arcona.
I discovered Arcona when I got an organic facial at the salon, which apparently has a long list of celebrity clientele, including Sofia Coppola, Jessica Biel and Adrien Brody, though I haven’t spotted anyone famous there myself –
In any case, Arcona’s now my fave place for facials — and my skin care staples are Arcona products too. Arcona has this “Basic Five” skin care method — which requires five products — though usually I only use 3 of them, mainly because I’m reviewing new products. None, however, have surpassed the 3 Arcona products I love — all of which contain no petrochemicals, parabens, sodium lauryl sulphate, perfumes, or dyes:
>> Toner Tea Bar, a daily face cleanser that’s well worth the money because each bar lasts a really, really long time.
>> Magic White Ice, a light daily moisturizer.
>> Cranberry Gommage, a few-times-weekly exfoliating scrub.
The ingredients in all of these products are ranked “low hazard” by Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database, except for the Grapefruit Seed Extract, which gets a “moderate hazard” ranking of 3, and Lecithin (only in the bar), which gets a 3-6 hazard ranking IF ingested or left on the skin.
Arcona recommends a different “Basic Five” regimen depending on skin type, but if you go in for a facial, you’ll likely leave with samples of the five recommended for you, as I did. My aesthetician’s Brandi, and I recommend her to everyone — Ask for her!
The ARCONA Studio. 425 Broadway. Santa Monica. 310.458.3800.
Update, 1/21/09: I also like Arcona Peptide Eye Serum.
i went over to arcona for a splurge facial on your rec and also ended up really pleased with their products–thanks siel!
Comment by mb — October 21, 2008 @ 8:24 am
I love Arcona – Debbie is great too – the products are well worth the extra bit they cost.
Comment by ellen — October 21, 2008 @ 8:26 am
Glad my rec worked out for you! Which beautician did you get?
ellen — I agree some products cost more, but I totally think the toner tea bar (and presumably, the other face soaps) are a great deal b/c they last SO LONG if you use them properly (i.e. don’t leave them under running water). I figure the amount of money I save on buying face wash like I used to helps offset the cost of Magic White Ice :)
Comment by Siel — October 28, 2008 @ 11:04 pm