Guest Post: Junk Free Beauty's Top Four Back- to- School Beauty Picks

If you follow along on my IG stories, you'll know that I love hanging out with the ladies from Junk Free Beauty! The Brooklyn- based store, which opened up this year, has introduced me to a bunch of new and exciting non- toxic personal care products! Here are Junk Free Beauty's top Back to School Picks in 4 categories- Hand Sanitizer, Hand Lotion, Lip Balm and Hand Soap.

1) Hand Sanitizer- Important for when kids don’t get a chance to wash their hands with soap and water (which is always more ideal). Stay away from Triclosan, which is a common anti-bacterial but also an endocrine disrupter.

Our top recommendations are:

a. Kosmatology’s spray hand sanitizier. This one uses organic ethanol as an anti-bacterial but also has essential oils leaving your hands smelling delicious and moisturized. Some people find this feeling to be a bit sticky, but it is better than the dry, cracked feeling of typical sanitizers. It comes in a variety of scents and made with organic ingredients. We carry 3 flavors.

b. Cleanwell- this brand uses thyme oil to kill germs instead of alcohol. Its safe for sensitive skin and comes in one fresh scent. Comes in a pocket spray. It can be found on Amazon or the cleanwell website

2) Hand Lotion- After all that hand-washing and hand sanitizing, you’re going to definitely need a hand lotion. It is important to keep hands clean in school when germs are ubiquitious, especially after recess and before and after eating. You’ll need to replenish that moisture to use those hands for note-writing and project making!

Our top recommendations are:

a. We at Junk Free Beauty created small bottle sized lotions out of Attitude’s hand and body lotion. This has the regular cream consistency and moisturizes well.

b. Graham Gardens hard lotion bar is an excellent choice and Junk Fee fave. This one ounce bar is made of beeswax, coconut butter and a bunch of oils. You rub the dry bar all over your hands and rub it in. This stuff gets to the depths of hand cracks, lasts very long, and smells like chocolate.

c. Other options for full-size bottles: Acure and Erba Viva.

3) Lip Balm- As a teacher, I’ve seen one too many students with cracked, bleeding lips. Lip Balm is necessary for protecting thin lips from the dry air of heavily air-conditioned or heated classrooms. Being in school for so many hours doesn’t help the situation, and constant lip care is necessary.

Our go to lip balms are:

a. Badger Lip Balm- this is a Junk Free favorite. We like the chubby ones as they are more fun to apply and harder to misplace. These are cocoa butter based and come in many flavors. JFB will be carrying them very soon!

b. SW Basics and Hurraw, available on Amazon.

4) Hand Soap- Ordinary hand soaps are filled with No-No ingredients. The constant washing means a substantial exposure to these sulfates, phthalates and other nasties. If your kid is up for it, you can bring along a mini bottle of soap to use on your hands and to wash out your containers after lunch:

a. Dr. Bronners makes this adorable 2oz bottle of their castile soap that you can find online or in Target or Whole Foods!

b. If your child is in early childhood classes, you can bring a nontoxic soap as the shared supplies. Cleanwell makes a great foaming soap that lasts a long time and smells great! Kosmotology also has a hand soap, and Dr.Jacobs makes a thick casitle soap in a pump bottle that would work as well. If anyone would like to order these soaps in bulk, contact JFB and we can accommodate you!

Junk Free Beauty is a boutique retail space that curates nontoxic goods for the whole family. Located in Brooklyn, New York, the staff at Junk Free Beauty seeks out the best in nontoxic baby care, skincare, makeup, haircare, and other personal care products. With high standards for performance and ingredient purity, Junk Free takes the stress out of shopping and their engaging staff can help guide your individual needs.

Check out their blog at www.junkfreebeauty.com and follow on instagram @junkfreebeauty for daily store hours, products updates, and promotions.