Again, this list is depressingly small. The trick with personal care is, much like household products: what is good for the environment is not always good for you. It also, most of the time, doesn’t work!
Cleansers/Shampoos & Moisturisers, Creams, Lotions
Mother Dirt – for so long this was unavailable in the UK. Then, Functional Self brought us this range of cleanser, moisturiser, shampoo and “mist” but stock was variable… Now, it’s in Whole Food Stores AND at Content Beauty in London, and in their online store.
The USP of Mother Dirt can be read about on their US site. Think ‘bacteria-laden spray continuing GOOD bugs (really!) and a range of cleaning products that work wonders for your skin and don’t remove the bugs from your skin’. Now there is quinoa in some of the cleansers … but this is highly, highly unlikely to be any sort of problem for most. Be aware – the cleaning products DO NOT contain the live bacteria – this is all in their AO+ Mist, but the cleansers preserve the microbiome of your skin, so if you use in combination with the Mist ensure that those good bugs you’ve put on there don’t get washed away…
If you want to read our Paleo In The UK review of the Mother Dirt range, click here.
Organic Trevarno Skincare – another very natural company – utilising lots of high fat oils and butters with very few added ingredients. There are some good products, and a great selection. Some of the cleansers have more emulsifiers than others – and we would caution those who don’t do well with very oily products to be careful. However, from what we have seen we are very impressed with the purity and “Paleo-ness” of these soaps, cleansers and creams/lotions/moisturisers.
Alitura – again Functional Self make natural, effective Paleo living possible – the Alitura range has a fantastic genesis story, fabulous ingredients… and they may be expensive but they really work. Read the founder’s history here, then treat yourself to something luscious. And the best thing about it? All things are unisex. Which means the men can still look cool and the women don’t have to suffer for beauty. Brilliant brand, A+ Rated.
Inika Organic – not everything is entirely pure here – there are acids and some more chemical-based ingredients than other ranges. That said – this company provides huge varieties of makeup in many shades, types and varieties AND they also sell Makeup Remover which is mostly oils, a beautiful cleansing water and facial oils.
Annemarie Borlind – a fabulous whole range of beauty products, cleansers and everything you are looking for for ‘natural beauty’. Most products are completely natural, organic and non-toxic. However, BE WARNED – most products will contain ingredients that the very sensitive will struggle with: maltodextrin, alcohols and things like squalene are in some products. These aren’t, therefore, completely “Paleo” but this doesn’t rule this brand out – they’re one of the best of a bad bunch. Just be careful if you know sensitivity is a real issue for you. However, if you’re just attempting to clear your cleansers of toxins and chemicals, this range (VERY broad) is fabulous.
Toothpastes
Redmond Earthpaste Natural Non-Fluoride – this links to peppermint, but also comes in Lemon (great for kids), Spearmint, Cinnamon and Wintergreen (sort of neutral). This is literally like clay, it’s even a grey colour. It tastes… yeah, pretty vile. But it really is Paleo and it really is safe for use for all ages. And available on Amazon (happy days…)
Grin 100% Natural – contains a few non-Paleo ingredients but tastes much more like proper toothpaste that your kids (and you) will enjoy. Far less toxic than Colgate (but that’s not difficult to do…)
Green People Spearmint – we don’t ordinarily love Green People, but this one’s for the kids (and the parents who need to get kids to brush their teeth). Much more minty but still harmless.