Natural (chemical free) Soap, lotion, deoderant, etc..?

[wystearya]

I've been thinking about switching to chemical free body products for a long time now, and I think I am ready to start.  Thing is, I don't know where to start!  So, I am hoping to find opinions and recommendations from you!

I am just wondering what brands you like, what ingredients to look for or to avoid.  Online stores to get these things would be great to know too.

I'm aware this is not going to be cheap, but I do hope to stay fairly reasonable on prices.. if possible.  LOL!

Anyway, any tips or products/brands you could recommend would be a great help!

Thank you!
~Wystearya

[BrightSide]

LUSH.

http://lush.com

I don't think you have The Body Shop over there, but it's one of my favourite stores..

[Kiwi]

I'd suggest checking out a local health food store at least to check out brands and products.
There are a lot of all natural products available - soups, toothpaste, shampoos, mouthwash, etc etc etc.

[kaoskat]

I have no clue! But I wish you luck! I wonder if something like this would help my overly allergic to everything mom.....

[Roccoriel]

I wear:
EcoGlo mineral makeup - I love it.  It works great, the woman who owns the company is awesome and it's cheap!
KissMyFace Deodorant- (note, this probably won't work if you sweat a lot.  I usually wear the normal stuff if I am doing a lot of field work that day or something.  It's perfect for 95% of the time for me though.  I tried Toms, but it made my underarms peel and that was gross.)
Tropical Sands sunscreen
Toms Toothpaste
Redman's or Burt's Bees shampoo
Burts Bees chapstick, sheer lip colors and daytime sunscreened face cream

[Tenar]

I've heard of Soapberries as a natural laundry detergent but I haven't tried it myself
http://www.soapberries.com/

[Eviecorn]

Alba!  Their products are amazing!  I love their lotions, lip balms and face washes especially.

I switched to chemical-free or natural products years ago, for both the health benefits and for my necessity of my products to be cruelty-free.  I'm a fan of Tom's of Maine for deodorant.  It's the only natural deo that doesn't leave me smelling like a locker room at the end of the day.  I also use Jason Powersmile toothpaste and the 365 brand body wash at Whole Foods (which is a great place to find all these products - but they sell Alba at Target as well, and Kroger stocks Tom's and Jason products.  Some Wal-Marts have them too.)

ETA: For clothes detergent, use Charlie's Soap!  You'll never need another detergent, ever.  A little goes a long way so it's pretty cost effective.  I use cloth diapers on my kid, and Charlie's even takes care of that. 

[hyenacub]

If you have a Whole Foods nearby, they often have loads of natural beauty stuff.  Or you could make your own!  There are online tutorials.  C:

[Elisto]

Not exactly a body product, and you'll still have to find a synthetic-chemical-free soap you like, but you can also make your own laundry detergent. You can just Google homemade laundry detergent (I prefer a powder type).

[teresat]

Just a note of caution, if you have allergies (like our house) be careful of individual ingredients. Chamomile is my big allergen and it's in many, many natural products.

That said, I like Tom's for a lot of stuff. Drugstore.com has them.

[kaninchen]

being a science nerd, i have to say that chemicals can be perfectly natural.

that said, i know what you mean, and absurdly second the LUSH recommendation. amazing stuff! ...unless you're a fellow naturally ringletted hair snob.

[bewilderness]

I've been wanting to do this for awhile.  There's a lot of people on etsy that sell natural products.  I've bought handmade goat's milk soap on there before and loved it.

Here's a recipe for orange-vinegar household cleaner that I made recently (haven't tried to clean with it yet though):  save your orange peels and cut them into thin strips and put in a glass jar or plastic container with a lid.  Add vinegar (the recipes I've seen online called for plain vinegar but I used the apple cider vinegar I had on hand).  Let sit for two weeks.  Remove the orange peels.  You're supposed to be able to use it either full strength or diluted with water (1 part citrus-vinegar to 1 part water).

These are some recipes I haven't tried yet, but I've been thinking about experiementing with them for gifts for Christmas next year.

Homemade shampoo (apparently this turns out pretty watery but one of the comments said you can thicken it with xanthum gum; might could put it in a spray bottle too):  http://www.instructables.com/id/Homemade-Shampoo/#step1

Homemade body butter:  http://www.rawmazing.com/homemade-body-butter-recipe/

Citrus salt body scrub:  http://www.pauladeen.com/recipes/recipe_view/corries_kitchen_spa_citrus_salt_body_scrub

[hyenacub]

I love natural stuff.  Luckily my allergies are  hay fever and animals and dust and the like--so I've not come across a natural ingredient that disagrees with me yet.  Chamomile rocks.  I make chamomile and lavender scented stuff as gifts, myself.  The girls in my life love em. (Hell I use 'em too, but I prefer sage.)

[bewilderness]

I prefer the manly smell of rose for my body products. 

[wystearya]

Wow, thank you all so much!    I have a lot of reading to do over the weekend now!   <3

Please feel free to keep adding tips, links, whatever!  I do also want to try to find natural (chemical free) make-up.   Just really foundation and blush, as this is all I use anyway.   I have sensitive eyes and cannot wear eye make-up.  My Mom is the same way.