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3 Free Natural Beauty Smartphone Apps

For the most part, the natural beauty world is pretty low-tech. But I’ve been keeping an eye out for some share-worthy smartphone apps, and today I have three to share! Do you have a go-to smartphone app for natural and organic beauty? —Aleigh

O&N Collective

In addition to a bunch of other features (like an in-app store that’s supposed to launch soon), this brand new app’s Toxins List tool offers a pretty comprehensive list of ingredients to avoid in both personal care products and household products. Overwhelmed by trying to keep track of the icky ingredients you want to stay away from? Just break out your smartphone and check the Toxins List. You’ll find common uses for each ingredient and their related concerns—making it much easier for you to decide on the spot if a product contains ingredients you can live with, or if you should leave it on the shelf. Available for iPhone or Android.

Organic Spa Skin Guide

The app from Organic Spa magazine, this Skin Guide offers a massive list of natural and organic cosmetics companies. It hasn’t been updated for 2012, but it’s still a great way to discover new natural and organic companies and their product lines. You can also mark your favorites for easy reference. This one seems to only be available for iPhone.

Organic Beauty

If you’re a DIYer, snap up this app for tons of skincare recipes, and even a few health remedies, like a headache fix with ginger juice—straight from your smartphone. Recipes are easy to share via email, Facebook, and Twitter. Download for iPhone.

This post was shared May 17, 2012 under Baby, Body, Hair, Makeup, Men, Skin, tagged , , , and has 1 comment

YQA: Styling products for baby-fine hair

Another month, another Your Questions Answered post! (The first YQA post, back in March, answered your questions about laser hair removal.) Here’s the request, from Katie:

i’m looking for some sort of tonic, gel, etc. to put on before blow drying. my hair is baby fine (but there is a LOT of it), slightly wavy and i live in really warm and damp climate. if i don’t use something to smooth it and provide a bit of hold it turns into a weird mass of frizzy, limp, yet somehow frighteningly bushy, hair. i would really appreciate any suggestions!

Tricky, tricky. Baby-fine hair, lots of it, plus a warm and damp climate. Here are two product suggestions for you, Katie.

First: Yarok Feed Your Roots ($18), a leave-in conditioner spray. It has lots of great ingredients like organic evening primrose and jojoba oils, but it’s a light enough formula to offer a bit of light smoothing and hold without weighing down your fine hair. It was created to protect your hair heat damage, and is meant to be used pre-blow dry.

Second: Innersense Sweet Spirit Leave-In Conditioner ($20). This is a good product for using with your hair dryer or for those days when you’d rather air dry. It’ll smooth your hair and give a little control, and it can be used on dry hair, too. Plus it has some yummy ingredients like Tamanu oil (an oil that Polynesian women have been using for many years), and a touch of honey for volume and manageability.

If you haven’t already tried it, I also recommend Julie’s apple cider vinegar hair rinse technique. The ACV will help clarify your hair without stripping it of moisture (and make it shiny). Plus, it should help with the frizz and limpness.

Do you have a question about natural or organic beauty? Ask in the comments or email me directly: aleigh AT indigoandcanary dot com.

—Aleigh

(Image via Horia Varlan)

This post was shared May 1, 2012 under Hair, tagged , , and has 2 comments

Link Love Friday: Alicia!

This week I’ve added a few new products to my covet list. Remember a few weeks ago when I interviewed Karen Behnke of Juice Beauty? At the end of the interview, she mentioned that Juice Beauty would be launching a new celebrity collaboration on Earth Day. Well, the collection is here, and the celebrity is Alicia Silverstone. (And I have my eye on the Irresistible Glow Facial Highlighter…)

Here’s what else I’m reading+enjoying this week:

Happy Friday!

—Aleigh

(Image via Juice Beauty)

This post was shared April 27, 2012 under Hair, Makeup, Skin, tagged , , , and has 2 comments

Beauty Obsession: SkinnySkinny Dry Shampoo

I have a love/hate relationship with dry shampoo. I love it for its practicality (it helps me follow Julie’s rule to wash my hair only twice or three times a week), and because it’s awesome for travel. But I’ve had a hard time finding a dry shampoo that doesn’t smell too floral or like baby powder (blech!).

Until, that is, I found the organic dry shampoos from SkinnySkinny. When I discovered that the packaging is entirely eco-friendly (the labels are biodegradable, the paper tubes are recyclable, and SkinnySkinny is a 100% carbon-neutral company), I couldn’t wait to give it a try.

What I tried: Black Pepper & Rose Organic Dry Shampoo by SkinnySkinny, $32*

First impressions: It smells delicious, in a unisex way. Slightly peppery (in a great way), only a little bit rose-y. SkinnySkinny also has Grapefruit & Cardamom, Lavender & Rosemary, and Jasmine versions—all scents I think I’d enjoy. And the ingredients list makes me happy:

Cornstarch*, brown rice powder*, white clay, horsetail powder*, baking soda, orris root powder*, essential oils *certified organic 100% Vegan

What caught me by surprise: Before I switched to natural shampoo and conditioner, I had a big problem with oily hair. I had to wash my hair every day to avoid a mess of greasy strands on my head. What I discovered when I switched was that my scalp had been over-producing oil to compensate for being stripped of moisture by my harsh synthetic shampoos. Now that my scalp has settled into a natural routine, I can go a lot longer in between shampoos—but I still have a tendency to greasy hair on my non-washing days. Just a tiny bit of this dry shampoo at my roots gives me a bit of volume and keeps my hair fresh—it really doesn’t take much.

Bonus: Without fail, people tell me I smell good when I use it. That’s never happened with any other dry shampoo I’ve tried.

What do you look for in a dry shampoo? Do you have a favorite?

—Aleigh

*Disclosure: This sample was sent to me for review, but I only write about the products that I think are truly worthy of being shared with you. View my full disclosure here.

(Image via SkinnySkinny)

This post was shared April 25, 2012 under Hair, Men, tagged , , , , and has no comments

Beauty Obsession: Acure Organics Hair Care

A few weeks ago I snapped up several Acure Organics products—including their Moroccan Argan Oil + Argan Stem Cell Shampoo and Conditioner ($10.99 each), which I’d been coveting for months.

Spoiler alert! I’m about to add one of my own.

First impressions: When they arrived, I immediately cracked open both bottles to see how they smelled. For some reason I had become absolutely (and irrationally) convinced that they would smell like coconut. (I despise coconut in just about every form.) I was relieved to discover that both the shampoo and conditioner smell deliciously almond-y, a scent I happen to adore.

The ingredients lists are delicious, too. There’s acai, blackberry, rosehips, pomegranate, aloe, sugar beets, plus argan oil, pumpkin seed oil, and sea buckthorn oil. (And no sulfates, parabens, or pthalates.)

What caught me by surprise: I know I can’t be the only person who reads the shampoo and conditioner bottles nearly every time I’m in the shower…and I love when people and companies don’t take themselves too seriously. And I spotted this little gem in the directions on my shampoo bottle: “Feel free to belt out some horrible 80s tune that you listen to when nobody’s around. Whatever, you totally do it.” 

Now that I’ve been using my Acure shampoo and conditioner for a few weeks, I can officially say that I’m hooked. I think the price is reasonable, and I love that the shampoo is foamy and the conditioner is sleek. Most importantly, I love, love, love that my hair, which has been somewhat dry and frizzy as it goes through a weird texture evolution from super straight to somewhat wavy, feels moisturized and healthy again.

Bonus: There’s an Acure shampoo and conditioner combo for every type of hair. Next on my list? The Pure Mint + Echinacea Stem Cell Shampoo and Conditioner.

Have you tried any Acure Organics products? —Aleigh

(Top image via Acure Organics, bottom image by me)

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This post was shared April 4, 2012 under Hair, tagged , , , , , and has no comments