You only need to walk into your local pharmacy to see the enormous assortment of personal care and skincare products available. Numerous companies try to outcompete each other through various scents, formulas, colors, and features.
Ultimately, however, almost every commercial personal product out there today should not be put on our bodies. Naturally, these companies would have you believing otherwise, as their main interest is to sell their products. And thus, millions of dollars get poured into marketing each year to make you somehow feel “inadequate without their product“, trying to solve your “skin issues” from the outside in, and needing the latest and greatest to somehow “fit in“.
For many years, like most people out there, I didn’t know any better and lathered myself with all these products “thinking I needed them“, just like everyone else. Not many of us realize or would even consider that the everyday products that are advertised for us could somehow be “toxic” to us, and yet most of them are. There are chemicals in most everyday personal products that generally fall into one of these three groups: proven dangerous, not tested for their safety, safe on their own but not tested in combination with other chemicals.
Based on this, I was stirred to learn as much as I could about the products that I was putting on my skin, hair, and into my mouth. My journey led me to abandon all commercial personal care products and begin a search for some top-quality natural products.
Many people over the years have found themselves in the same predicament, as it becomes more and more common knowledge that what we put on our skin has a great effect on our overall health. Your skin absorbs so much of what you put on it that it all goes into your body. This leaves many chemicals circulating in the bloodstream, leaving your liver with some heavy-duty work to do, not to mention chemicals that act as hormone or DNA disruptors.
Thus, more and more we see natural product companies springing up each day. Unfortunately, some are not much better than the typical companies and are only trying to jump on the “natural” bandwagon, not really for your health.
This is where my search over the past couple of years has brought me to a company that I would like to share with you in this article called The Green Beaver Company.
Discovering Green Beaver
I first discovered Green Beaver at my local health food store when I was looking for a natural toothpaste that was fluoride-free, SLS-free, and free of any artificial colors, flavors, and preservatives. Amidst the many brands, Green Beaver stood out as the best for me for several reasons. I went home and decided to research this new company I found and was really pleased with what I learned.
The company was started by Karen Clark and her husband Alain Ménard through inspiration from their baby, Joshua. They both had science degrees and started to research the products that they were using on their baby, only to find that most of them were full of chemical dyes, fragrances, and preservatives. Thus, they started formulating their own products for their family, and this led to the small company they have today called Green Beaver.
They know that many of the products today have chemicals that have never been tested by themselves, never mind together with other chemicals in synergistic reactions. This is why they have formulated products that are safe for the whole family, including babies. I encourage you to read the following fact sheet they put together on the chemicals in our lives.
Their products do not contain any of the following and are not tested on animals.
- Paraben or hydantoin preservatives
- Sulfate detergents
- Artificial aromas
- Fragrances or dyes
- Phthalates
- Quaternium
- EDTA
- Propylene glycol or petrolatum
- Fluoride
- Artificial flavors or aromas
- Dyes
- Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS)
- Chemical whiteners
- Propylene glycol
- Artificial preservatives
I have had experience with Green Beaver products now for about a year and a half, and to date have no complaints about them, and no plans to change to other products.
Just to also let you know, I personally have no stakes or affiliations with Green Beaver. Since I researched and enjoy their products personally, I also want to share this info to help others as well know that there is a brand out there that they can trust where personal care is concerned.
Why Green Beaver is a Great Choice
For me Green Beaver makes sense for a number of reasons:
It is a Canadian company and they use almost all Canadian-derived ingredients in their products, which are made in Canada. More and more, I love supporting the local economy, and it not only feels right, but really good to buy their stuff. In fact, I am in Ontario and their company is also situated in Ontario, which works out even better for going local.
They use mostly certified organic ingredients in their products. This is a huge bonus as that means that the plant products that they use in their formulas are coming in without the heavy loads of pesticides.
Their products are 100% natural, biodegradable, vegan and gluten-free. Hence, I love their foundations and what they stand for. It really resonates with me to use “wholesome, healthy personal care products that are safe and effective for the whole family and our environment.”
The products work well. They do what I would expect them to do – nothing less, nothing more.
The products are reasonably priced for being a small company, natural and organic.
The products are easy to purchase. They can easily be found in health food stores in Canada and several online stores.
The products are safe for the whole family. There are only a couple of baby products, and only for oil massage purposes, because all the products can be safely used by the whole family. Green Beaver stands for the fact that if you can’t eat it, you shouldn’t be putting it on your body either.
If you also reside in Canada like me, I encourage you to check out Green Beaver and enjoy contributing to your local economy while you are supporting a small, family-owned company that cares about your health and the environment and has great personal care products.
If you live outside of Canada, you can still take advantage of Green Beaver’s wonderful products, but I would encourage you to look into some small, local companies in your area that are trying to provide a similar level of service, where they genuinely care about your health and the environment.
Green Beaver Line of Skincare Products
Green Beaver offers the following products:
Hair Care: various types of shampoo and conditioner
Oral Care: various types of toothpastes for adults and children, mouthwashes, and dental floss
Facial Care: facial moisturizers, face creams, eye makeup remover, blemish mousse, facial scrub, facial cleanser, and exfoliant
Skin Care: various types of hand and body lotions and body balms
Bath Care: body wash, bath products, and various soaps
Baby & Child Care: massage butter, nursing balms, and soaps
Lip Care: various lip balms and lip shimmers
Deodorants: various aluminum-free deodorants
Mineral Sunscreen: various types
As you can see, the company caters to all the major needs any of us would have. The goal, however, is to reduce your chemical load and decrease your dependence on personal care products altogether. Thus, it is wise not only to switch from chemical personal care products to more natural ones, but to reduce the amount of products one uses, period.
Often we put way more products on ourselves than our bodies need, out of an obsession with cleanliness in our modern society today. When it comes to personal care, we really need to start embracing that less is actually more and understand that good health comes from within. Thus, most of our investment should be in our diets to build us great hair and skin, and products like these can then be used for general hygiene.
Where To Buy Green Beaver
Green Beaver is available in most physical and online health food stores in Canada. The products are also available on Amazon.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I am so glad that a company like this exists and I get to take advantage of their fantastic skincare products that I can feel good about using. Today we have a choice in what we put on our bodies and when natural and safer options exist, it is worth our time, effort, and money to invest in them. Are they perfect? Perhaps not, depending on your definition of perfect when it comes to personal care products, health, and the environment. However, products like those from Green Beaver provide us with one of the best choices out there today.