Organic Beauty: 20 Things You Need to Know Part 2

#5: Know all the Good Databases

If you're concerned about the safety of the hair dye, nail polish or deodorant you're using, or if you're just concerned about your health, period, Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep database is all you need to find out what beauty products are safe, and which ones get a poor rating.

#6: Look for Sulfate-free Shampoos

Sulfates, the ingredients in shampoo that causes it to lather, are highly controversial. Many natural health experts recommend avoiding any shampoos with the foaming agents sodium laureth sulfate and ammonium laureth sulfate as main ingredients. Why? Laboratory studies show that products that end in "eth" (such as sodium laureth sulphate, polyethylene glycol, oleth, myreth and ceteareth) all test positive for 1,4-Dioxane, a proven cancer-causing petrochemical.

Whether there's enough of these petrochemicals in shampoos to cause long-term effects is what's up for debate. But if you want to be safe and not sorry, go the sulfate-free route. I include a list of the most popular ones in Best Sulfate-free Shampoos.

#7: The Best Moisturizers are Oils

I advise organic lovers to keep it simple when it comes to moisturizing and stick to oils. Extra virgin coconut oil, jojoba oil, almond oil, olive oil and really, any sort of oil, work great to hydrate skin both on your face and body.

#8: How to Safely Color Your Hair

If you want to stay safe at the hair salon, consider an organic vegetable-based dye.

Kate Middleton (er, the Duchess of Cambridge, excuse me) reportedly gets her hair colored with dyes followed with subtle highlights applied at the Richard Ward Hair and Metrospa in London's Chelsea neighborhood. The UK's Daily Mail reports the dye is meant to cover up the occasional gray hairs that Kate has found to her horror (her friends jokingly call them, "stress highlights.")

#9: Soaps for the Shower, Cleansers for Your Face

Many soaps will actually strip skin of its moisture. Stick to natural soaps made of super moisturizing ingredients including goat milk, shea butter, clear glycerin, liquid castile or olive oil. For the shower, you can't go wrong with Dr. Bronner's castille soaps. They are biodegradable, vegetable-based (derived from hemp), organic, USDA-certified and fair-trade certified.

Most of us have some sort of skin sensitivity, whether is dry skin, eczema, oily skin that causes pimples or rosacea. Opt for the most basic cleanser possible. Dermalogica makes good facial cleansers and many organic beauty experts swear by Dr. Hauschka Cleansing Cream. Do-it-yourselfers might try organic milk (full fat, please), half and half or Greek yogurt as a cleanser.

You can also mix honey with milk if you have dry skin and salt with warmed milk if you have oily skin.