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5 Lotions That Are Good For Your Skin and the Planet
The winter can take a toll on your skin, drying it out and making it thristy for moisture. Audubon editors reviewed five organic or natural lotions that will nourish your skin and get it silky smooth in time for summer. In addition, all lotions received low hazard scores in the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep cosmetics database, so you can rest assured that the product is safe.
The Rainforest scented body lotion, a mix of wood, berry, and spice, is delicious, yet subtle. This is a light, slightly runny lotion, but it makes skin feel silky smooth and soaks in quickly. You can feel good about putting this on your body, and about doing a good deed for the planet: One product equals one acre of rainforest saved for a year.
When my skin is cracked and dry, this thick and soothing hand and body lotion, in Lovely Lavender scent, is the perfect fix. The smell is relaxing and the moisturizer keeps my skin feeling smooth and hydrated. It has few ingredients, isn't tested on animals, and has a hand-written expiration date displayed prominently on the front, making you both comfortable and aware of what you're putting on your body.
Using Dr. Bronner's patchouli lime-scented "magic" lotion makes me feel like I've just walked into a new-age store with the scent of incense hovering in the air around me. I enjoy the strong patchouli scent (the lime is not particularly noticeable), but I am sure that it isn't for everyone. It absorbs into the skin quickly and although it isn't greasy, it does leave behind a light protective layering. It gets bonus points for making nails shiny!
As you might guess, the lotion bar is solid, like a bar of soap. But after gently moving the bar in your hands for a few moments melts the rich, yet light-scented formula of raw organic shea butter, sweet almond oil, beeswax, and vitamin E. It's a heartier product than a lotion and takes a few minutes to absorb, but it treated my dry skin better than anything else I tried.
The lavender hand and body lotion from Avalon Organics smells like a dream and feels like one, too. Like the crushed flower, this cream calms you, and its marriage with oils and the other ingredients helps relieve the uncomfortable effects of dry skin. As an added plus, the company supports sustainable agriculture.