I’ve tried lots of natural lip balm flavors, but the most exotic flavor to date has to be mango. Bath By Bettijo Ripened Mango Organic Lip Balm combines organic jojoba oil, organic coconut oil, organic palm kernel oil, organic beeswax and mango butter in a 100 percent recycled plastic tube for a satisfying, moisturizing lip balm. It also has hints of organic olive oil and vitamin E for extra nourishment to dry, chapped lips. 

Bath By Bettijo Ripened Mango Organic Lip Balm comes in a 0.15-ounce, 100 percent recycled plastic tube. Photo Courtesy Bath By Bettijo.

Mango butter comes from the seed kernels of the fruit of the mango tree, which is native to India and the tropics. Mango butter is perfect for natural lip balm because of its vast hydrating and healing properties. Mango butter’s soft, delicate scent is an added bonus for any mango fruit lovers. 

Bath By Bettijo Ripened Mango Organic Lip Balm has a silky, slippery consistency, similar to Yes To Carrots C Me Smile Lip Butter and Shea Terra Organics Lip Butter. It’s hydrating and slick and makes a great base for your natural lipstick or lip gloss. 

Bath By Bettijo proudly lists all ingredients on its products and website. Bath By Bettijo stays away from the bad stuff—dyes, fragrances, TEA, DEA, sulfates, parabens, petroleum, mineral oil, silicone, formaldehyde and carbomer—that finds its way into many conventional beauty products. 

Bath By Bettijo Lip Balms are a little more expensive than some other natural and organic brands, but if you’re a lip balm junkie itching to try new, exciting products from eco-minded small businesses, the $8 price tag won’t bother you too much.

I’m continuing my search for the best natural shampoos. I’ve been using Eco Nature Care Natural Hair and Body Wash this week. 

Eco Nature Care natural shampoo appeals to the masses and is priced accordingly—$10.99 for 10 ounces. Photo Courtesy Eco Nature Care.

Eco Nature Care’s packaging is neat. This natural shampoo is housed in a thick aluminum, cap-topped container that adds an industrial look to your shower. The labeling is thorough, though the type is tiny. I appreciate Eco Nature Care’s willingness to list all ingredients on the label. 

While I admire the sleek design of the container, I do find the material choice inconvenient because this thick aluminum container is not squeezable—how will I get the natural shampoo out of the bottle when it’s running low? This also isn’t a container that is conducive to storing upside-down to let the natural shampoo slide to the opening for easy dispersal. The twist-off cap is a nuisance to me—it may seem hypercritical or lazy, but a pump would be more convenient than a twist-off cap. But, as Eco Nature Care points out on its website, pump tops are difficult to recycle, and making a product in easy-to-recycle material from top-to-bottom is more beneficial to the earth.

Eco Nature Care’s natural shampoo formula is pure. Eco Nature Care pledges that its products contain no parabens, phthalates, SLS or petroleum-based ingredients (what we like to call “the bad stuff").

“Natural aroma” is low on the ingredients list. This “natural aroma” consists of benzyl alcohol, limonene, citronellol, geraniol, linalool and citral. Benzyl alcohol is linked to allergy concerns and is a common ingredient in hair color, mascara and shampoo. It has a “high hazard” score of 7 from the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database. (The EWG also scores products as a whole, but Eco Nature Care has not yet been submitted for review.)

Though this is shocking, Eco Nature Care makes no attempt to mask this—the ingredients that are potential allergens are marked with an asterisk. The other ingredients in the “natural aroma” are perfuming agents that may irritate sensitive skin. Use caution when considering products that contain perfumes and fragrances, but remember, even natural and organic essential oils can be irritating—and the ingredients in this “natural aroma” may occur naturally in essential oils.

Eco Nature Care has a convenient ingredients list and descriptions online that details possibly irritants. Eco Nature Care points out that benzyl alcohol is on the UK Soil Association’s list of preservatives approved for use in organic cosmetics. (Check out the Soil Association’s list of non-organic health and beauty ingredients to get an idea of what ingredients to avoid.)

Overall, I think Eco Nature Care Natural Hair and Body Wash is a good, green product for a new company (founded in 2008). This company’s puts the health of the planet and the consumers first.

How do you choose your natural beauty products? What ingredients are you allergic to? Tell me your standards for evaluating personal-care products.

I've come to terms with my oily skin. For years, I swore by oil-free face washes and drying, alcohol-ridden toners. These products initially left my skin tight and dry, only to cause my oil glands to overwork themselves later to produce even more facial oil.

I guess stripping my skin of its natural facial oils was a bad idea.

When I first saw John Masters Organics Pomegranate Facial Nourishing Oil, I immediately dismissed it. Why would I put more facial oil on my face? That seemed like a open invitation for breakouts. But after reading more about natural oil cleansing, I was intrigued. Treating oily skin with oil seems to balance out your skin's oil production (and softens your skin).

John Masters Organics facial oil is loaded with 13 essential oils and is certified USDA organic. Photo Courtesy John Masters Organics.

After giving the John Masters Organics facial oil a try, I was impressed. It's a USDA certified-organic blend of olive oil; evening primrose oil; pomegranate seed oil; sweet almond oil; carrot oil; lavender oil; ylang ylang oil; geranium oil; rosewood oil; petitgrain oil; sage oil; tangerine peel oil; and rosemary leaf oil. I applied it at night before bed—a few drops went a long way. After massaging it onto my face, I let it sit for five minutes while I inhaled its aroma. Then, I took a damp, warm wash cloth and massaged my face a little more to stimulate my pores and take off a little excess oil.

In the morning, my skin felt soft and smooth. Every other night, I use this facial oil to give my oily skin a relaxing treat. I haven't tested the facial oil in the morning because I wear sunscreen daily (and I'm still a little scared to use oil during the day), but the evening facial oil cleansing is fantastic for my oily skin.

John Masters Organics Pomegranate Facial Nourishing Oil costs $30 for 2 ounces. If you purchase it online before July 31, 2009, you can get 20 percent off! Enter discount code "usda" at checkout. You can also get 20 percent off the Organic Sea Salt Spray, too. John Masters Organics always offers free ground shipping. Don't forget to check out Shine On, Rose and Aloe Hydrating Toning Mist and Eucalyptus and Tea Tree DogPoo dog shampoo for your green dog. Time to stock up!

Have you ever tried facial oils? What was your experience? Tell me about it in the comments section!

After a week of using Caudalie Gentle Conditioning Shampoo, I’ve moved on to testing a new natural shampoo: Yes To Tomatoes Tempting Tomato Volumizing Shampoo. 

This natural shampoo has a faint scent and a soft lather. Photo Courtesy Drugstore.com 

Yes To Tomatoes Tempting Tomato Volumizing Shampoo has a big challenge with my medium-length, baby fine, oily hair. Shampoos (natural shampoo and conventional shampoo) loaded with heavy conditioning oils and thick proteins weigh my hair down, but without some kind of moisture, my hair gets unruly. 

Yes To Tomatoes Tempting Tomato Volumizing Shampoo strikes the perfect balance. Laced with ginkgo biloba for light moisture and Dead Sea mud and mineral natural cleansers, this natural shampoo provides an equal amount of moisture and natural cleansing ingredients to produce a smooth lather and baby-soft locks. Yes To Tomatoes Tempting Tomato Volumizing Shampoo is also packed with vitamins from tomatoes (obviously), rooibos tea and watermelons—namely lycopene, vitamin C, vitamin E and carotene. These rich vitamins and antioxidants provide protection from harmful free radicals and pump up your hair’s strength. Yes To Tomatoes Tempting Tomato Volumizing Shampoo is a great choice for oily hair that needs volume and strength. 

Besides all the good stuff in Yes To Tomatoes Tempting Tomato Volumizing Shampoo, let’s talk about what’s not in this natural shampoo: parabens, SLS, animal byproducts, or phthalates. This natural shampoo line contains only the best natural and organic ingredients and boasts a 99.6 percent natural seal. 

One of the most exciting things about the entire Yes To line (Yes To Carrots, Yes To Tomatoes, Yes To Cucumbers) is that it’s easily accessible to everyone. Buy Yes To Tomatoes Tempting Tomato Volumizing Shampoo for about $9 at Walgreens, Target, Longs Drugs, Ulta, Duane Reade, Safeway, Rite Aid and other national stores. Too often, natural shampoo and other natural beauty products cost upwards of $20 a pop (believe me, I read your comments and price complaints every time I review a pricey new natural beauty product) and isolate conscientious consumers who want to bring healthy personal-care items into their homes, but also need to be conscientious about their budgets. I think this is a win for us all—natural beauty products are becoming more and more affordable without compromising quality.   

Have you tried anything from the Yes To line? What did you think about it? Where did you buy it? Share your natural beauty reviews with me in the comments below! 

Next week: Billy Lowe natural shampoo