by Julie Gabriel

Created on: January 19, 2009

Green beauty today is so diverse, it suits any budget. The best thing about converting to green beauty products is that you vote for green and eco-friendly with your dollar. You opt for products that are safe for your health and are good for our waterways and land. And the best thing, with green and truly organic products, you are getting the real deal, the undiluted product that is free from synthetic waxes, fillers, and other junk that costs money but does nothing for your looks or health.

When shopping for organic beauty products, consider these three basic rules:

1. REDUCE: buy less but choose the higher quality. Organic beauty products contain no synthetic fillers such as silicones and mineral oil, and they are more concentrating, so you need to use less to see the great results.

2. REUSE: use one great multitasking product to tackle numerous beauty woes. An organic massage oil can become a hand moisturizer, a hot oil treatment for hair, a base for your own sugar or salt body rub, a cuticle oil, a frizz tamer for your hair, and so much more. A great mild cleanser will wash your face, hair, and body. Be creative and don't believe that you need a separate moisturizer for each body part.

3. RECYCLE: reuse the glass packaging to make your own beauty products. Recycle paper boxes, plastic, and aluminum containers diligently.

The ultimate way to save money and still enjoy organic, truly green beauty is to make your own beauty products. This isn't complicated at all. Some of the most effective natural products are right there, in your kitchen. Plain yogurt makes a great exfoliating cleanser. Tablespoon of olive oil mixed with a teaspoon of sugar makes a wonderful face and body scrub, and you can massage it in your hands for an instant manicure. Egg whites make a very nutritious facial lift.

If you need a bit of a special treatment, like a whitening cream or an antiaging serum, you can buy an inexpensive organic baby lotion and add some ready-made active ingredients like coenzyme Q10, liquorice extract, or various antioxidants, and you will make an amazingly effective product for a fraction of a price.

Shopping online is a wonderful way to cut costs on organic beauty because it's cheaper, you can buy in bulk, and it's good for the planet, too, since you don't have to burn gasoline to get to the store.

There are products that give you more for your organic dollar than others. Some products will infuse your skin with more chemicals simply because they sit on your skin for longer facial creams and body lotions, for example. That's why you need to go organic with items that sit on your skin longest such as moisturizers, toners, and topical treatments. If you have a limited amount of money to spend on organic beauty, those would be smart products to buy.

I think that for a lot of people, it's a matter of priorities. If you can afford a few more dollars a month on green beauty products, it would be a really good investment. The benefits are so great, in terms of not just your health, but the health of our planet and the health of the world economy.

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