Happy Friday!  I really enjoy writing Bare Beauty Swaps posts, and it seems like you like reading them, so let’s do it!  Today, we will replace a few products that have cult followings (but not-so-great ingredient lists) with some gems that you will love even more from Ayla Beauty.

Spirit Demerson, one of the first pioneers of modern-day Green Beauty, has called Cetaphil Gentle Skin Cleanser “the equivalent of toxic sludge”.  It sounds harsh, I know, but she’s right.  The ingredients in Cetaphil may not irritate the skin, but they don’t do much to improve or nourish it, either.  On the contrary, some of them are confirmed carcinogens and endocrine disruptors (propylene glycol, sodium lauryl sulfate and three different parabens).  We deserve better than that.  S5 Neutralise Cleanser is the perfect replacement.  Just like Cetaphil, it doesn’t lather and doesn’t disrupt the skin’s barrier layer, so it’s great for those with combination/balanced/oily skin that is prone to sensitivity.  This cleanser is very soothing and helps calm down any redness in the complexion.  I’ve turned a lot of friends on to this product, and they have all loved it.

Everyone loves Aquaphor Healing Ointment.  While it does work well on minor cuts and burns, cracked skin and other skin irritations, it’s main ingredient is petrolatum.  I prefer to avoid the entire petrochemical family; petrolatum is a cheap, non-renewable (like one day, we will run out) emollient that doesn’t do much for our skin other than create a barrier.  On the other hand, Pommade Divine is a formula that has been around for over 200 years.  It’s been used on soldiers, babies and beauty queens, alike.  It provides all the same benefits that Aquaphor does, except that it also has natural anti-inflammatory and antibacterial ingredients.  The ladies at Ayla sent me a sample of this a few months back and I just reordered.  Our whole family uses it regularly.  (Annabel loves it so much, she asks for it daily for her nonexistent boo-boos.)  The base of shea butter, lanolin, (extracted humanely, in this case) and other plant-based oils soothes dry, rough skin; repairs ragged cuticles and chapped lips; calms insect bites, burns, bruises, and scrapes; relieves eczema, psoriasis, and dermatitis; and makes an excellent diaper cream in addition to soothing babies’ cradle cap.  Divine!

A creamy lotion that can be used as a primer, makeup remover or moisturizer, Embryolisse Lait Creme Concentré is another cult favorite among makeup artists and celebrities.  Unfortunately, its main ingredient is Paraffinum Liquidum, which is basically Petrolatum; see above.  It also contains Triethanolamine, which has been proven to be an allergen, irritant and toxin to animals due to its high alkalinity.   We talked about Laxmi Nilotica Facila Creme in Wednesday’s post (see here).  Laxmi uses a sustainably sourced, higher quality shea butter than that in Embryolisse, and instead of filling up on cheap Petrolatum, it contains other ingredients that actually nourish skin, like skin-firming, pore-shrinking organic Kigelia from South Africa; protective and purifying Mongongo oil from Zambia; antioxidant-rich organic Yangu oil from Kenya; nourishing beeswax from Ghana; and anti-blemish organic Tea Tree oil from Mozambique.  This cream gives a hard-to-describe matte-glow to skin, and it’s Clean enough to eat.  I already want another jar, and I’m not even finished with my first.

What other swaps are you looking for?  Put me to work!

Have a great weekend.

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