Why Choose Ilumina Organics?

Hair and skin care products are everywhere: in grocery stores, pharmacies, salons, boutiques, online, and door-to-door. But are you choosing the safest, most effective products for your family?

Here are the top 5 reasons why you should buy organic skin care products from Ilumina Organics.

1. We use only high-quality, organic ingredients.

The main ingredients used in Ilumina Organics shampoo, soap, and baby wash were chosen for their gentleness and their unique natural properties.

For our shampoo, we chose decyl glucoside as our key lathering agent. Decyl glucoside is derived from corn; it cleanses, but does so gently. We also include vitamin B and protein in our shampoo to strengthen hair; citric acid to preserve hair and remove excess chemicals; and organic oils of lemon, lime and ginger to help you start your day smiling.

Our soaps are made the old-fashioned way, cured for about 4 to 6 weeks in skin-softening glycerin. We also use saponified organic olive oil, palm oil, and coconut oils; rosemary serves as a natural preservative. Oats and aloe are ideal for very sensitive skin; oats and lavender create a calming and mild antibacterial quality; the organic oils of orange in our citrus bar impart an uplifting feeling.

2. We make organic skin care products and information accessible to consumers.

We offer our products online at www.iluminaorganics.com, and also at amazon.com. Ilumina Organics products have recently become available at Whole Foods in Cupertino, CA, and we are working on getting our products on the shelves in many other stores... hopefully one near you!

In addition, we try to provide as much information as we can on our website about making healthy skin care choices for your family. We welcome our customers' questions and do our best to provide as many answers as we can.

Please see below for detailed answers to some of the most common questions about organic skin care.

3. We design our product line to be safe and soothing for the most sensitive of skin - your baby's.

Our Head to Toe Baby Wash is one of the products we're most proud of. We originally developed our baby wash with the idea that we would offer consumers an extremely gentle alternative to what's on store shelves. We were really looking for a tear-free formula. What we got from our master herbalist was just that and more. Soon after we started selling the baby wash, we started to get calls from people who had tried the product and saw their children's eczema disappear after use.

Based on our research, it appears that what is going on is simply the right combination of soothing herbs with a very gentle cleansing formula that does not remove the natural protective oil layer on the skin. Add to this formula smart parents who have avoided harsh cleansers, lotions and creams. The result is a body wash that is gentle enough for almost anyone, and more effective for eczema that we ever could have imagined.

4. We care about the planet, and continually take steps to run a "greener" business.

Ilumina Organics is built on "green" philosophy: using 100% natural ingredients and packaging that are safe for the body and the planet. We have chosen bottles that are BPA and estrogen free, making our product safer and the landfill less toxic. We use our business and website to inform our customers how to live healthier, greener lives. And we ship with recyclable materials, keeping packaging to a minimum and avoiding the use of plastic.

5. We stand behind our products, with a 100% Money-Back Guarantee.

Our goal is to make our customers healthier and happier. If our products fail to do this, we encourage you to send them back. We are always open to comments and feedback, and always striving to improve our product line in any way we can.

Ilumina Organics FAQs About Organic Skin Care

Q: "Organic" has become a very buzz-worthy topic. Why should I switch to using organic skin care products?

A: Organics are simply safer than what is otherwise available. In the US, the current regulatory philosophy is to basically assume that chemicals are innocent until proven guilty of being harmful. In addition, the manufacturers of skin care products have a lot of say when the standards of safety are being established. This makes for a very challenging environment for the busy consumer. The thinking behind organics is that we are taking at least some of these risks off the table by removing chemicals that are known to be potentially harmful. Basically, if a product is organic, we hope we are getting a product that at the very least has a long history of being consumed with out causing harm. That said, it's always best for consumers to educate themselves as much as possible about all ingredients, both chemical and organic.

Q: Why are the chemicals in most skin care products so harmful?

A: First, our skin is not a raincoat; it absorbs 60% of the products we put on it. Simply put, would you rather have truly organic or chemical ingredients in your bloodstream? The challenge with any skin product is knowing what chemicals the manufacturer is using and why. A great example is baby soap and shampoo. Many baby shampoos and body washes use detergents that in concentrated form would be very effective in degreasing the floor of your local oil change place. Why would we ever knowingly put that on children's skin? Imagine what it might be doing to them.

In addition, fragrance is often added. Most commercially produced fragrance is chemical-based. The hundreds of different chemicals used to create fragrance are often known to mimic estrogen hormones. Finally, the #1 complaint each year to poison control centers is a reaction to fragrance.

Q: Which chemicals make non-organic shampoo a bad choice for my family, and why?

A: Most shampoos and body washes use SLS (ie, sodium lauryl/laureth sulfate or ammonium lauryl sulfate). This is a chemical used to remove oil stains on pavement. These substances are great for lather, but are known skin and eye irritants. Some baby shampoos use these ingredients and then put in another chemical to take away the burning feeling, making it more harmful for children's eyes in the long term.

Methyl/propyl/butyl/ethyl parabens are petroleum-based preserving systems which allow many body care products to have a shelf life of several years, even in high-heat situations. This is good for the manufacturer, but not so great for the body. Once these petroleum-based products are absorbed through the skin, they disrupt hormones and have been linked to cancer.

Colors and dyes in products may make them look pretty, but dyes have also been linked to cancer.

Perfume/Fragrance as stated above is most definitely made from petroleum byproducts, unless it is specified on the label that the fragrance comes from an organic essential oil (from a plant). Although they may smell nice, they could have up to 2,000 chemicals in them. One ingredient that is always included in perfume/fragrance but is never on the label is phthalate. This chemical is a reproductive toxicant.

The list continues...

From the Environmental Working Group (EWG):

Ingredients to avoid always:

Ingredients to avoid when possible:

Q: What should I be looking for when I shop for skin care products?

A: Look for ingredients you can recognize: organic olive oil, organic lavender, etc. Take our list with you when you shop. If you cannot recognize a word, look it up using several sources until you understand what it is and whether you want it on your body. Be suspect of companies who say an ingredient is a proprietary blend, especially on anti-aging lotions as this could mean estrogen. Elevated estrogen has been linked to an increase in breast and other cancers.