What most of our families at Living the Science have found is that this really is the one area where buying via the internet has helped us make safer choices more automatic because it has SAVED US MONEY. So many of the organic products on the grocery shelves and at specialty markets like Whole Foods are REALLY expensive. This doesn't mean we don't buy them at regular stores maybe 25-50% of the time but really just about every time we do we regret it.

Consider making some of your own comparisons - you may find (like we have) that if you identify an internet site for buying many of your organic personal products that you are able to switch to a more natural lifestyle without it costing you more and in many instances going this route can actually be the more convenient choice.

Both Amazon.com and Drugstore.com have most of the organic and natural personal care products we get like shampoos, conditioners, lotions, diapers, baby wipes, toothpaste, and tampons (we also use them a lot for buying non-toxic/natural cleaning products - but that's for another installment). We are big fans of brands like Avalon Organics, Nature's Gate, Tom's of Maine, Burt's Bees, Seventh Generation, and Nature's Baby Organics.

It is worth mentioning that some items are harder to buy online than others. Most of tehm women in our office agree that the hardest thing thing to go all natural and organic on has been hair products and cosmetics. Still there are a few good brands out there and more and more are popping up (see discussion of Origins Organics below).

Origins Organics - the REALLY good stuff

For hair gels, pomades, and cosmetics we have recently moved to getting most things from Origins Organics (also a sponsor of the site after we asked them to be). Origins Organics is the first full line of higher-end skin, body and hair care products to be certified by the USDA National Organic Program and honestly, for those of you who are accustomed to brands like Clinique and Lancome, you give up nothing by moving to Origins (except all of those really icky toxins (some are worse than others and are discussed in our "Steps for Redoing Your Personal Care Routine" segment)). They have really great hair products and all kinds of cosmetics and skin care products

Ready for an Overhaul?

For those of you who are ready for a complete overhaul of your personal care routine (and that of your family), we provide eight steps for accomplishing it (this is certainly the going cold-turkey route). For those not quite ready for such an overhaul consider making some simple changes - like buying organic the next time you purchase something you are out of or making a commitment to buy the things that make a big difference online if you are having difficulty finding them in stores (like buying organic feminine hygiene products). Remember that each small change could make a big difference with respect to chemical exposures. For those of you not quite ready for an overhaul, you may want to take a look at some recommendations for further reading and resources for finding non-toxic products.