With mounting pressure from environmental groups to rid American beauty products of toxic ingredients, some of the biggest companies in the business have started moving in a greener direction. The latest wave in beauty—for the entire family, including Fluffy and Rover—pairs the best of nature with cutting-edge science.
A case in point is Grassroots, a lineup of head-to-toe potions sold at Kohl's. With monikers like Baby Your Belly (a stretch-mark cream laced with organic ginger) and Pet Project (a pooch shampoo infused with cedar and orange), the label is aimed squarely at an increasingly chemical-phobic public. (For information on harmful ingredients found in cosmetics, go to ewg.org .)
Despite the healthy bent, in no way is Grassroots positioning itself as chemical-free. "We describe this line as 'naturally sourced,'" says brand head Debbie Druker. "We're trying to be very honest with the customer, and you can't have completely natural products that sit on shelves. Products have to have some type of preservatives so you don't have to store them in the refrigerator and then throw them out in two weeks."
Health guru Andrew Weil—whose latest book, Healthy Aging: A Lifelong Guide to Your Physical and Spiritual Well-Being, is an ode to growing old gracefully—has partnered with Origins on a line of skin-care products and supplements that tap the power of mushrooms and Asian herbs and spices. The Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins products aim to short-circuit what he considers a key factor in age-related illness: inflammation. While it's a normal healing response to minor woes like a bruised knee, chronic inflammation—triggered by poor diets, inactivity, and stress—has been linked to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
Another line, Carol's Daughter, actually does recommend refrigeration for two of its handcrafted skin-care items. But while the Avocado & Almond Face Scrub and Strawberry & Lavender Clay Face Scrub are perishable and shipped in ice, the rest of the products derive stability from low-tech preservatives. Think grapefruit-seed extract and antioxidant vitamins rather than demonized stabilizers like parabens.
