Hamadi Healing Serum

I've been wanting to bid adieu to shine serums and other styling products that contain silicones, e.g. dimethicone and cyclomethicone. While they smooth the hair shaft to create shine, silicones can build up over time and weigh down the hair. I loved Simply Organic's Heat-Activated Shine Complex but wanted something more moisturizing for the summer, when the plentiful sunshine tends to fry 'n' dry my locks.

Enter Hamadi Healing Serum. This serum uses a luxe blend of plant oils to moisturize, repair and defrizz. Spray just once onto the palms of your hands, rub them quickly together, run through your ends and voila! Glossy, de-frizzed, healthy-looking locks—naturally.

Pretty factor: Antioxidants in sunflower seed oil protect the hair from the sun and extend color or highlights. Fatty acid-packed avocado and olive oils repair and leave locks soft. Organic essentials oils of ylang-ylang, vanilla and bergamont lend an enticing fragrance.

Tip: For a deep conditioning treatment, spray onto hair before bed, put it in a ponytail and leave on overnight. Your locks will feel like silk the next morning in the shower. Promise.

Eco factor: Organic ingredients and no parabens, petrochemicals, harsh surfactants (sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate), or synthetic colors and fragrances. Hamadi Beauty's tag line is "tested on actresses, never on animals." (Founder Jamal Hamadi is close friends with supermodel Linda Evangelista.

To buy: $24 at beauty.com

Ingredients

Eco-Friendly Body Bronzers for Summer

The season of shorts, skirts and breezy dresses has arrived. And with it, so comes the need to give the legs a lil' extra love—namely, shaving more and, for those of us who refuse tanning beds and baking like rotisserie chicken on the beach, use a bronzing body lotion.

Two superb, less chemical bronzers are Nature's Gate Happy Glow Lucky Bronzing Creme and Tarte's Glam Gams Bronzing Leg Stick. Both are infused with healthy ingredients and give a shimmery, natural-looking glow.

Pretty factor: Happy Glow Lucky contains ultra moisturizing borage seed oil plus extracts of elder fruit and hibiscus, which are soothing and emollient. The deodorant-like Tarte stick is infused with the company's antioxidant-packed T5 Super Fruit Complex™ of goji, acai, maracuja, acerola and pomegranate.

Eco factor: No parabens, phthalates, propylene glycol or petroleum or mineral oil in either product

To buy: $15 for Happy Glow Lucky cream at drugstore.com and Whole Foods; $30 for Glam Gams at sephora.com

Clinque Acne Solutions Cleansing Foam: No Sulfates or Parabens Plus Botanicals!

Well, the cows have come home and the moon is blue: I'm using and loving a Clinique product.

I've been anti-Clinique for years. I've watched girlfriends stick with the mediocre line despite it doing nada for them—or causing more break outs. That puke yellow "Dramatically Different" Moisturizing Lotion? Might as well slather Vaseline-brand lotion on your face because both contain petroleum and mineral oil.

However, there's always room for redemption. During a recent visit to Chicago, I noticed Clinique's Acne Solutions Cleansing Foam in my friend's shower. It belonged to her roommate, who has flawless skin. I skimmed its ingredient list, ready to shake my head; instead, I did a double-take: no harsh detergents or paraben preservatives, 2% salicylic acid, plus tons of botanicals!

Because of extra stress the past two months, I was breaking out around my chin. Maybe this cleanser would clear 'em up. I bought some from Sephora and have been using it just at night for two weeks—and my skin has almost completely cleared with no dryness. I've vowed to use a cleanser and/or moisturizer with salicylic acid until I'm 40. And to Clinique: Congrats on a great product.

Pretty factor: 2% salicylic acid effectively cleans oil and grim from pores to prevent and clear zits. Peppermint extract further detoxifies. Algae extract provides nutrients to the skin. Caffeine perks it up and reduces inflammation, and glycerin and sodium hyaluronate inject moisture.

Eco factor: No sulfates, parabens, or petroleum

To buy: $17.50 at department stores and Sephora (Final praise: It's about 6 bucks cheaper than the Whole Foods cleansers I've been using!)

John Masters Deep Follicle Treatment & Volumizer for Thinning Hair

According to the American Academy of Dermatology, female hair loss is on the rise and it's affecting younger women. Poor, processed diets and increased stress levels—also thought to be the culprit for the boom in adult acne—are mostly to blame. As a result, major hair care companies have rapidly developed lines that address thinning hair in the past couple years.

However, to reduce hair loss, you must get to the root of the problem—literally. John Masters Deep Follicle Treatment does. And it seems to be working for me so far.

Pretty factor: This spray bathes your scalp in organic plant extracts, vitamins and essential oils, which stimulate circulation, balance sebum production and eliminate free radicals, "resulting in optimal scalp and hair health." Perhaps most importantly, the spray contains a large amount of panthenol (vitamin B), which strengthens and plumps the hair shaft.

I've been spraying this on slightly damp hair after showering every other day for three weeks and have noticed a spurt in baby hair growth around my forehead.

Eco factor: John Masters products are 75 to 100% organic and contain wild-crafted, ECOCERT^® ingredients. (ECOCERT^® is an European organic certification organization.) No parabens, sulfates, petrochemicals, artificial colors, fragrances or fillers. The NYC salon is powered completely by wind energy!

To buy: $21 at Whole Foods and beauty.com

Ingredients

NEW Jane Iredale Dream Tint SPF 15

It's finally happened. I've been hoping for a while that it would. About six months ago, I posted a comment on Jane Iredale's blog telling her how much I like her line (it's the crème de la crème of mineral makeup) and how I'd love for her to develop a tinted moisturizer with sunscreen. Well, she has.

Dream Tint SPF 15—which has a lovely, mousse-like texture—comes in five gorgeous shades plus a peach brightener (for pigmentation problems), lilac brightener (for sallow complexions) and a warm bronzer (for a sun-kissed glow).

Pretty factor: Lightweight shea butter, jojoba seed oil, and sunflower seed oil moisturize and give a fresh, dewy look without slight greasiness. Dimethicone (a main ingredient in face primers) fills in fine lines and large pores, creating a smooth, flawless canvas. White tea and titanium dioxide protect against free radical and sun damage, respectively.

Ideal for: all skin types, truly.

Eco factor: No talc, parabens, phthalates, bismuth oxychloride, or chemical dyes or fragrance. Jane Iredale recently instated a Green Team to help environmentalize the company and is building a new LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) office building!

To buy: $36 at janeiredaledirect.com and skinbotanica.com

The Best Lightweight Summer Moisturizers

As I was about to begin this post, I spotted this news story about chemical sunscreens' harmful effect on aquatic life. What this means for you: Look for sunscreen and moisturizers with SPF that contain zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide. They're physical, as opposed to chemical, sunscreens and are healthier for you (especially those with sensitive skin) and the planet. And both zinc oxide and titanium dioxide offer protection against UVA and UVB rays.

After researching lightweight, natural moisturizers with sunscreen the past few weeks, I've come to my top two: Juice Beauty Green Apple Moisturizer SPF 15 and Kimberly Sayer Ultra Light Facial Moisturizer SPF 25. Both contain titanium dioxide.

Pretty factor: Kimberly Sayer Ultra Light Facial Moisturizer SPF 25 ($32) contains glycerin and shea butter—which beautifully moisturizes and sinks into the skin with zero comedogenicity—plus antioxidant vitamins A, C and E, soothing aloe, and purifying lemon oil.

I can't get enough of Juice Beauty's Green Apple Moisturizer SPF 15 ($38). To start, its fresh, citrus scent is amazing—it contains organic lemon juice to lightly exfoliate, purify and brighten. (After a few weeks, your skin should glow like Cate Blanchett's!) Other skin-healthy nutrients that its packed with include organic aloe, green tea, rosehip seed, evening primrose, and jojoba oils. Despite the plant oils, it quickly absorbs into the skin.

The Benefits of Sticking with a Skincare Regime?

The past week, I'd been thinking about hunkering down and sticking to a skin care regime when I spotted this amusing post on Lucky's beauty blog about...hunkering down and sticking to a skincare regime.

I’m constantly hunting for and trying the new, best product. I’ve been especially Swap Central lately—this scrub one day, another one the next—and am wondering if it’s the reason for a little increase in ruddiness and breakouts. Dermatologists say that you need to allow time for your skin to adjust to a new product, then for it to do its job.

So, it’s going to be like me fighting myself, but I’m going to stick to a basic regime for the next two months—no changing! My regime will consist of:

Evan Healy Tea Tree Gel Cleanser. Best. Cleanser. Ever. I’ve been using this daily for two entire months and love it. It's soap-free and foaming with gentle surfactants, bacteria-killing tea tree and lavender oils, and soothing chamomile and calendula blossom extracts. Evan Healy products are super pure and high-quality (though not well publicized) and are available at some Whole Foods.

DDF Pumice Acne Scrub (twice weekly). This stuff is the skincare equivalent of Suave’s best-selling Daily Clarifying Shampoo—it's not natural but, used once or twice a week, it thoroughly removes grit and leaves skin smooth and clear.

Juice Beauty Green Apple SPF 15 Moisturizer. I love the purifying, exfoliating properties and uplifting scent of the organic lemon juice in this moisturizer. It also contains AHA in the form of organic apple juice, plus skin-nutritious ingredients like green tea, aloe, and rosehip seed oil.

I've been on the regime for just 5 days but already notice a reduction in ruddiness. Have you found that your skin looks best when you stick to a regime?