Eco-Heart Product Review

Welcome to Eco-Heart Product Review

2009-12-07T13:12:00.000-08:00

Hello. Welcome to Eco-Heart Product Review, a resource for sensitive ecologically-conscious consumers. As someone who is concerned about the environment and who is also extremely sensitive to smells and chemicals, I have a difficult time finding products that fit my requirements. I need products that are gentle to the earth and also gentle on the senses. My intention for Eco-Heart PR is to promote vegan (meaning does not contain any animal products and is not tested on animals) products from eco-logically and socially responsible, fair-trade companies that also get my "sensitivity stamp of approval."

Please feel free to send me information on, or recommend any gentle, eco-friendly products for review. I welcome feedback!

Dead Sea Magic Mineral products--excellent for sensitive-skin

2009-01-01T15:17:00.000-08:00

With my extremely sensitive "problem" skin, it's hard for me to find products that don't irritate me. So, I was thrilled to discover Dead Sea Magic Mineral Salt Soap. It's 100% natural ingredients are simply : Olive oil, Coconut oil, Palm oil (from a sustainable source), and "the Amazing Dead Sea Salts." The soap is completely unscented, and its high concentration of mineral salt from Israel's Dead Sea is tremendously soothing to the skin. This is the first of their products that I fell in love with. But there's more! Dead Sea Warehouse makes a handful of other high-quality products. All of their products are absolutely UNSCENTED! and sensitive-skin friendly.

I tried their two other wonderful soaps : the Amazing Minerals Mud Intensive Facial Care Bar and the Amazing Minerals Combo Facial Care Bar. These two bars include the same natural oils as the salt soap, but are enhanced with Dead Sea Mineral Mud. The mud draws out toxins and clears pores. Anyone with oily skin should absolutely try the Intensive Facial Care Bar. And for those with drier skin who still want the detoxifying effects of the Mineral Mud--I strongly recommend the Combo Bar.

Aside from their excellent soaps, Dead Sea Warehouse also carries the best Bath Salts I've ever encountered--with a 33% mineral content (while most other bath salts average at 3% mineral content). Ingredients are simply : salts from the Dead Sea.

The Dead Sea Magic Mineral Mud Mask is another of their great offerings. It's ingredients are : Sea Silt (Dead Sea Black Mud) / Sea Water, Organic Jojoba seed oil, Glycerine, Aloe Barbadensis Leaf Juice, Acacia Senegal Gum, Water, Lonicera Caprifolium (honeysuckle) Extract, Squalane, Polyglyceryl-5 Oleate.

I highly recommend trying out some of these great skin-care products--particularly the Salt Soap and the Combo Facial Care Soap. Their prices are reasonable too--Annie, Dead Sea Warehouse's founder emphasizes making her products affordable yet still high quality.

to order : 1-866-696-8088
http://www.DeadSeaWarehouse.com

Theo Fair Trade Chocolate

2008-12-03T13:42:00.000-08:00

I was just introduced to this excellent chocolate. Theo chocolate is made by the only organic and fair-trade chocolate factory in the United States. Their factory is located in Seattle, Washington and they open their doors to the public for daily tours. I can't wait to go visit them.

So far, my favorite flavors are their 70% dark chocolate with mint bar and their 91% cocoa dark chocolate bar.

All ingredients are 100 % organic.

PerioBrite Toothpaste

2008-07-29T14:39:00.000-07:00

PerioBrite : A Natural whitening toothpaste with CoQ10

Ingredients: Calcium carbonate, vegetable glycerin, sodium bicarbonate, U.S.P. purified water, colloidal silica, peppermint oil, xanthan gum, xylitol, lysine, centipeda cunninghamii extract; extracts of echinacea purpurea tops, calendula flower, olive leaf, black walnut green hulls, gotu kola herb, chamomile flower, green tea leaf, prickly ash bark, grapefruit seed; essential oils of oregano, clove, thyme, lavender, cinnamon and eucalyptus; plant saponins, folic acid, coenzyme Q10, aloe vera, chlorophyll.

NEW CHAPTER : TRUE TAMANU OIL

2008-04-03T22:59:00.000-07:00

New Chapter's True Tamanu Oil is an amazing, skin-nourishing oil that can be added to carrier oils or lotions, or used as is for a more concentrated application. It has a slight maple-syrupy scent to it which I find pleasantly invigorating. I'd highly recommend it for scar treatment, anti-aging/wrinkle reduction, and any skin problem and for overall skin health.

True Tamanu Oil comes from the nut of coastal tamanu trees that grow on the island nation of Vanuatu in the South Pacific. The nuts are wild-crafted, hand-cracked, and allowed to dry in the sun. The golden brown nuts are then cold-pressed, without the use of any heat or chemicals. The resulting oil is rich, dark green, and considered the finest tamanu oil in the world. New Chapter and its True Tamanu Oil partners have elected to voluntarily comply with the Convention on Biological Diversity. This treaty, created in 1992, established guidelines for protecting environmental resources and sharing benefits with native people, out of respect for the environment, indigenous biological resources and traditional medicine. Researchers in Asia, Europe and the Pacific Islands have studied tamanu oil since the 1930’s. As early as 1918, French researchers investigated the unique topical benefits of tamanu oil. http://www.medicinehunter.com/tamanu.htm for further info.

New Chapter is an excellent company that carries many other high-quality organic nutritional supplements. Look for their products at your local health food store.

Click on the Website links on this blog : True Tamanu Oil and New Chapter for further information about this wonderful company and its 100% organic products.

VITAMINERAL GREEN by HealthForce Nutritionals

2008-01-17T13:13:00.000-08:00

This green powder is full of excellent 100% Organic or Wildcrafted nutrients :

Whole Leaf Barley Grass
Whole Leaf Wheat Grass
Nettle Leaf
Shavegrass (Horsetail)
Alfalfa Leaf Juice
Dandelion Leaf Juice
Barley grass Juice
Oat Grass Juice
Burdock Root
Broccoli Juice
Kale Juice
Spinach Juice
Parsley Juice
Carob Pod
Ginger Root
Nopal Cactus
Alma Berry
Algaes : Spirulina, Broken Cell Wall Chlorella
Icelandic Kelp
Nova Scotia Dulse
Enzymes : Protease, Amylase, Lipase, Cellulase, Bromelain, Papain, Alpha Galactosidase
Comprehensive Probiotic Mixture including NSO (Natural Soil Organisms) and Implantable Species

This is the most amazing "Green Drink" or nutritional powder, I've found. I would highly recommend it. The suggested dose is a couple of tablespoons a day mixed with water or juice. It's a bit intense with just water, so you may want to throw it into a fruit smoothie or juice. You can also sprinkle it on your morning oats (after not before cooking) or other foods including salad/dressing.

Health Force Nutritionals : Escondido, CA 92025 (800) 357-2717 website :

http://www.HealthForce.com

They carry a number of organic nutritional supplements. All of their products are 100% Vegan.

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps: Activism: Truth and Lies in Organic Personal Care

2008-01-17T13:11:00.000-08:00

Dr. Bronner's Magic Soaps: Activism: Truth and Lies in Organic Personal Care

Dr. Bronner's speaks out against "faux-organic" labeling.

Dr. Bronner's All-One Baby Mild Soap

2008-01-17T13:09:00.000-08:00

My all-purpose soap of choice is Dr. Bronner's All-One, Baby-Mild. This soap is an essential item in my household. Gentle on the skin and hair, I use it in the bathroom, kitchen, and even add it to my laundry. I have tried other Dr. Bronner's soaps as well, and they are nice for those who enjoy natural scents such as peppermint or euchalyptus, but the Baby-Mild is my favorite because it is unscented and 100% sensitive-skin friendly.

Ingredients : saponified organic coconut, palm and olive oils (with retained glycerine), water, organic hemp oil, organic johoba oil, salt, citric acid and vitamin E

their website : http://www.drbronner.com/drb_soapsandingredients.html

Aubrey Organics : Vegecol, and Pure Aloe Vera

2008-01-17T12:00:00.001-08:00

Aubrey Organics : Vegecol Moisturizing Cream with Aloe Vera, is an excellent moisturizing cream for sensitive skin. It has a very mild natural scent to it, but I don't find it at all irritating. I use it as an all-over body moisturizer. Ingredients : Coconut Fatty Acid Cream Base, Organic Aloe Vera, Witch Hazel, Horsetail Extract, Calendula Oil, St. John's Wort Oil, Coltsfoot Extract, Coneflower extract, Panthenol (Vitamin B-5), Linoleic Acid (Vitamin F), Carrot Oil, Organic lemon Peel Oil, Aubrey's Preservative (Citrus Seed Extract, Vitamins A, C and E).

I also recommend Aubrey's Pure Aloe Vera, to sooth sun-exposed skin, or burns, cuts, and just about any skin condition. Aloe Vera is an essential skin care ingredient. Add it to salves or use it as is. Made with 98 % organic ingredients : organic aloe leaf juice, grapefruit seed extract, and tochopherol (vitamin E).

http://www.Aubrey-Organics.com

Maggie's Soap Nuts : the Laundry Soap that Grows on Trees!

2008-01-17T11:30:00.000-08:00

Maggie's Soap Nuts is, just that, a box of nuts! (well berries actually) The soap from these nut-like berries is the most natural you'll find--no processing involved. Soap nuts are the dried fruit of the Chinese Soapberry tree (Sapindus Mukorrosi) related to the Lychee and Rambutan, found primarily in India and Nepal. The nuts are harvested in Indian and Indonesian jungles. In suffering rural economies Soapberry trees are cut down and sold as lumber and firewood. Maggie's Pure Land reserves the Soapberry harvest years in advance, providing families with guaranteed fair income from living trees.

Soap nuts contain saponin, a natural cleaner used for thousands of years to clean clothes, comparable to plants used by Native Americans for washing. Simply put a few soap nuts into the included cotton sack and drop it into your laundry. Throw the used soap nuts in your compost when you're done (you can get 2 or 3 washes out of a few in warm water).
100% Biodegradable. Hypoallergenic. Super for Sensitive-Skin. After finding these, I'll never go back to processed laundry detergents. Our ancient ancestors were way ahead of us in eco-sustainability!

To make a concentrated liquid soap : Boil 4 cups of water. Add one cup of soap nuts. Turn heat down, and let simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Turn heat off, and let cool. When it's cooled, mash the nuts with your hands or with a bean-masher or your tool of choice. Then pour the liquid into a container (mason jar or your choice of bottle) through a fine-mesh strainer or cheesecloth if you have it. And there you have a bottle of ultra-concentrated,
multi-purpose soap. Use it for dishes, windows, floors, plants, bathroom etc. You can boil the nuts again for a less concentrated soap. The apple-cider colored soap is highly concentrated, so dilute it, or it's great for laundry too. I use 1/3 cup for a load.

You can also avoid the heating method and simply soak 1 cup of soap nuts in 4 cups warm water overnight, for a truly Raw Soap. But, this method may require a blender--(liquidify the mixture in the blender the next day). After blending, strain the liquid into the container just as the above method. (I have not tried this method, so I can't vouch for it yet--if you try it, let me know how it works). The liquid soap that I made has an apple-cider look to it. It also smells a bit like apple juice. It's like sudsy apple-juice!

website : http://www.maggiespureland.com (see their FAQ for more thorough info.)