Zerran Reform
Zerran Reform is a patented, botanically-based method for straightening hair safely, permanently and naturally without harsh chemicals. This 100% vegan formulation contains NO thigoglycolates, sodium hydroxide, or guanidine hydroxide. It also has NO formaldehyde. NO aidehydes, and NO objectionable odors.
Fragrance free, scented with natural essential oils. Safe for use over color, highlights and perms. Reform is also highly effective on ethnic & resistant hair. Benefits are that its: vegan, gentle, not a relaxer, it’s permanent, contains NO Keratin and NO formaldehyde. See video below on Zarran Reform:

2011 Natural Product Expo, Anaheim, California

First off, I’m delighted to see an ever so slight increase in organic companies/products compared to last year. A number of these companies are small organizations with lots of innovation and new energy. I only hope they can prosper and make a go of it. Though one of the on-going drawbacks is the lack of samples, making it difficult to compare products (when will they ever learn). This year I focused more at seeking out organic skincare/make-up line products (organic hair products at this expo have been limited).

To begin with, we hit the oxygen bar to clear our heads. Appropriately named “Air Heads Oxygen Bar”. This is where people breathe a 90% mix of oxygen with various aromatherapy scented oils through their own disposable nasal cannula for about three to five minutes or until they reach some sort of exhilarated plateau. The guy next to us was getting a bit obnoxious, so we weren’t sure if he had been breathing too much or needed a breather. Subsequently, we moved on after reaching our own nirvana. You can find them at http://www.airheadsoxygenbars.com

From down-under “Zuii” a great organic (USDA) make-up line made from rose petals, Chamomile & Jasmin flowers. The line includes powder or liquid foundation, a collection of nice color tones, mascara, eyeshadow, lipstick and lip tints. The make-up has a light and clean feel to the face and won’t irritate the skin like so many chemical based products. I love it and have been using it! You can reach them at:

https://www.zuiiorganic.com/

Organic Indulgence is another (USDA) quality product from a South Carolina company that covers the spectrum of skin products: body wash, lotions, body & lip balms, and liquid hand soaps. They focus on four scents: white nectarine & orange blossom / sweet cherry & almond / french lavender & plumeria / orchard pear & fig. Reach them at:

http://www.myorganicindulgence.com/

Pana Organics is a company that has developed its own organic community in Chiangmai, Thailand that includes their organic products, massage spa and organic restaurant. They are not USDA, but do carry the IFOAM organic quality certification and Bio Agri-Cert product quality certification. With scents of Lemongrass, Tea Tree, Lavender and Kaffir Lime, they carry a full line that includes a shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, sugar scrub, body lotion, hand cream, massage oil, lip balm and ten organic Thai bar soaps. The scents are wonderful even though I’m not a big fan of bar soap. Check them out at:

http://panabotanicals.com/

The Badger Company is a family owned business out of New Hampshire where the majority of their products are (USDA) organic. Their focus in on all kinds of balms, oils and sunscreens. Balms seems to be their pinnacle product. Whether it’s a lip, sleep, chest rub or headache balm, Badger seems to have an endless selection. There are multiple choices of scented or unscented balms, oils and moisturizers. Search them at:

http://www.badgerbalm.com/

Larenim is a full line natural mineral make-up company founded in 2004. Though mineral based products can’t be considered organic (not plant based), Larenim makeup contains no Gluten, no Nano-size Particles, no FD&C Dyes, no Parabens, no Bismuth Oxychloride, no Talc, no Phthalates, no Chemical Preservatives, no Petro Chemicals and no Sulfates. They offer a wide variety of colour selections to choose from, even a Goth Collection -who would have thought. The makeup has a clean feel to it and the colours avoid the glitter effect, but does give one the appearance of a refined luster which refracts light. For more info Google them:

https://www.larenim.com/

Honorable mention is a wonderful sunscreen by Goddess Garden Sun Care. The product has a 30 SPF with 82% organic ingredients. This sunscreen is smooth to the skin, not sticky,and is unscented. See them at:

http://www.goddessgarden.com/

All in all, the show seems to improve a little every year. Maybe too much organic junk food and too little everything else (especially beauty samples), but they all gotta make a buck! Most products above are available at your local health food or vitamin stores. Check the links for specific locations.

2010 Natural Products Expo – Anaheim, California

Natural Product Expo Experience was definitely a fun day but the world of hair and beauty organic presenters didn’t exactly show up in droves. My sister who is an Esthetician and myself were on the hunt to find any and all organic skin, facial and hair products in the house. Ran across a number of Natural and Free of fill in the blanks products. Some impressive and some not so much. We found only a handful of products that carry the USDA Organic seal of approval: Organic Essence, Dr. Bronner’s Magic All-One, Aubrey Natural Spa & Aubrey Treat’em right Lip balm. That said, there were a number of natural products that had an impressive list of ingredients despite not having a USDA seal and I’ll look at a few of those too.

Organic Essence Shea Butter - Grapefruit

Let’s talk about Organic Essence, a wonderful line of shea butter, soaps and lip balms. Their shea butter line not only feels great on your skin but come in incredible scents: Grapefruit, Lavender, Lemongrass Mint & Vanilla Orange. Additionally, all their products use completely biodegradable packaging and contain no plastics. We tried to convince them to produce a USDA shampoo, but as we’re finding out, it’s not easy coming up with acceptable ingredients that can live up to the USDA seal. In fact, there was not one USDA organic shampoo at the Expo. I’d say the only Con with Organic Essence is that I would prefer a typical stick lip balm as opposed to their Eco tube lip balm. Catch there great line of products at http://www.orgess.com .

Aubrey is a hair, skin and body commercial line out of Florida that’s been in business since 1967. They are committed to using a majority of organic ingredients and in NOT using synthetic chemicals and petrochemicals. They’ve recently developed a Aubrey Organics line where some of their products meet the USDA seal. They are also the only American manufacturer to receiving the European BDIH seal for guidelines in manufacturing of natural cosmetics. Additionally, every bottle is stamped with the PETA bunny seal for no animal testing. I can’t yet comment on their organic line as no samples were available at the Expo, but look forward to seeing how their hair products stand-up to their impressive ingredients. Stay tuned for that experience. You can check them out at http://www.Aubrey-Organics.com.

For rock steady USDA products, you can’t go wrong with Dr. Bronner’s Magic “All-One”. All their products are organic: soaps, soap gels, lotions, balms, hair conditioning and hair rinse products. No shampoos (like I said, a hard USDA nut to crack) but great body products. I personally use and love their Pure-Castile Soap. Their products are now certified fair trade, and carry the famous bunny seal. http://www.drbronner.com.

Another mention is Hugo Naturals out of California which also had some impressive ingredients and amazing scents. They have about 15 different soap scents, not to mention shower gels, deodorants, bath scrubs, shampoos and conditioners. No parabens, alcohols, petroleum, artificial colors or fragrances. http://www.HugoNaturals.com.

One of the best discoveries at the Expo was a company called WaterWorks4U. They have devised a unit that creates water from the humidity, stores, filters and creates high alkaline drinking water from what looks like a typical water cooler without the water jug. It tastes great and if you haven’t heard about the health benefits of eating and drinking alkaline food and water, check out their site to get a real education on preventing disease and promote good heath. http://www.WaterWorks4u.com.

Avatar water Ionizer

Last but not least, another great find was a bottled water called AquaHydrate. This is the best bottled water I’ve ever tasted! It is purified, high alkaline, with electrolytes and trace minerals. For further details, see http://www.AquaGenus.com.

16.9 FL OZ AquaHydrate

To sum up the Expo: It was short on true organic product but the water discoveries were an eye opener. A number of beauty companies seemed reluctant to give out samples, making it difficult to review their products. Most companies that didn’t have samples, would not even sell their products on the last day of the Expo. From samples I did acquire, I was able to test a number of natural hair products, but so far nothing stands-up to the quality and feel of organic and semi-organic professional products I already use in my salon. As in life, the search continues.

 

 

 

Ciao Baby, Sanotint for Sensitive Skin

This is an Italian hair color that has been especially formulated for people with sensitive skin. Being dermatological tested, it has an extremely low allergy risk. Sanotint contains NO PPD (para-Phenilendiammine), NO preservatives, metals, Paraffines, Silicones, Formaldehyde, Nickel, Paraben, Ammonia, GMO (Genetically Modified Organisms), Alcohol, and NO Derivatives of animal origin.

Natural ingredients include oil extract of Golden Millet, olive, birch, grape seed as well as Biotin (vitamin H), Calcium Pantothenate (vitamin B5) that ensures silky, shiny and long lasting color. This natural product produces great results and is also excellent for covering gray.