Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Ecostore USA, Plant Based Products Review


Have you ever actually read the ingredients label for your body wash? Who the heck knows what Guar Hydroxypropyltrimonium is? Eco Store does and they know that this stuff can hurt us.Eco knows that petroleum, otherwise known as petrolatum or labels as natural mineral oils, is in almost every bottle of shampoo, body wash, conditioner, and make-up on the market. Along with sodium lauryl sulfate. Sodium lauryl sulfate is cheap to manufacture but can cause itchy scalp, skin, rashes, stunted hair growth, severe skin irritation and allergy-like symptoms. It has recorded properties for denaturing (to deprive of its natural character, properties, etc.) proteins in young lab animals, resulting in permanent eye and skin damage. The process for making petroleum and sodium lauryl sulfate also result in a by-product of nitrosamines, which are highly carcinogenic (known to cause cancer). Petroleum is also cheap to manufacture, and is considered to be an effective moisturizer. It evenly coats the scalp and hair strands to form an impenetrable barrier of softness and shine. Sounds great, but in truth the penetrative oil deposits in your hair, in the long-term making it more susceptible to breakage and damage. It has a coating effect which blocks out true moisture, water, and blocks the pores and hair follicles, which can cause stunted hair growth. Pore-blockage can also occur naturally with your own Sebum, which can be treated with regular washing, yet the reverse is true for petroleum. It is amazing to me because petroleum is used in many various beauty products, but it can  lead to oily skin and acne.

"WELL," you might say "If this stuff is everywhere, what do I do about it?"
Try switching to an all plant-based shampoo, like the one I was just introduced to.As soon as I tried it I fell in love with Eco Store U.S.A.and their products. Eco makes a wide variety of surprisingly affordable, and lovely smelling shampoos and conditioners, body washes, hand soap, baby care products, pet care products and cleaners. All of them are biodegradable, plant-based chemicals that contain absolutely NO petrochemicals (petroleum), Lauryl sulfates, propylene glycol, cocamidopropyl betaine, cocamide DEA (carcinogen), parabens, dyes or synthetic perfumes! And right now is a great time to try out new great for you hair products because Eco just added them to their store!

I got to try their rose and cardamon body wash (which I doubled as a shampoo). I brushed through my hair with coconut oil before I showered and now have the softest, lightest hair I have had for a very long time with a very lovely light flowery scent (which even my husband remarked on) with such a delightful shine I can't get over it. I have extremely long hair, and normally I have to attack my hair with a paddle brush and half a bottle of detangler. I was greatly surprised when I was able to brush through my hair with no problem at all!
I also reviewed a sample of their product, Pure Oxygen Whitener, laundry booster. I experimented hardcore with some of my brothers laundry (WHEW!). My mother used to call him Stinky Feet for a reason when we were growing up. I didn't think anything could get his socks looking bright again. However, not only did Eco's Pure Oxygen Whitener turn his socks white, with only 2 tablespoons of  Pure Oxygen Whitener, his socks were completely neutralized  of all odors.  I loved the neutral fresh scent so much I used this in almost all my loads and it had the same results, stains came out, colors were brighter and it was safe with my whites and my colors!

Eco is giving away a gift basket each week in March so be sure to enter to win one on their Facebook page! You can also follow them on Twitter!


Disclaimer: I did receive these products for free so I could review them. Even so I only like to do reviews on products that I enjoy so much I want to tell everyone about it, with a cause I can take a stand by. I would never say I liked something I thought would hurt any of my readers. All opinions are my own.