PRODUCT REVIEW: Alba Botanica, Giovanni, and Burt's Bees Hair & Bath Products

About a year ago, I had to go see my dermatologist due to what appeared to be a rash on my scalp.  Turns out it was dermatitis.  The doctor made it seem like I would have to use a scalp spray and prescription shampoo on and off for the rest of my life due to flare ups.  I was not a happy camper.

I decided to give all natural shampoos & conditioners a shot to see if they would require me using the medicated shampoo/spray less.  Turns out, it worked.  It's been months since I've had to use the prescriptions I was given on my scalp.  As a note, I recently went back to using Suave temporarily because all natural products tends to cost a little more and I've already noticed the dermatitis is flaring up again so I'm going to repurchase some all natural goodies.

This is a review of the all natural bath products I've tried to date with my honest opinions.  The first thing I'm going to point out is that I'm from Florida and we have hard water here - so if you see in my notes "did not lather well" or something like that, could be related to the type of water we have here and may not be applicable to you should you wish to give these products a go.

ALBA BOTANICA

Let me start off by saying that if you've ever visited Hawaii, you will LOVE these products.  Every morning in the shower reminded me of our trips over there and brought a goofy smile to my face (you know how they say a sense of smell triggers memories - totally true).

Specific products I used:

Body wash: LOVE this product - it lathered up nice & bubbly and smelled fantastic.  It rinsed cleanly and left a slight hint of tropical passion fruit without smelling like I doused myself in body spray.  Would definitely purchase again.  Only complaint is I felt like I went through it quickly and for $10 I'd like it to last at least a month.

Shampoo: I was kind of meh on this product.  It didn't really lather which made it more difficult to apply and work into the hair in my opinion.  However, after showering my hair looked clean and smelled nice - and my dermatitis did not bother me so overall I feel the product worked effectively.  I think I would have preferred a more cream based shampoo as opposed to this gel (especially since it apparently has coconut milk in it).  Would probably buy again, but mainly because I like the other products so much.

Conditioner: the conditioner was great - it was a nice thick cream and I didn't need to use a lot.  It smelled wonderful and left my hair shiny and feeling great throughout the day with a slight hint of coconut (again, it was a nice smell, not an overly perfumey smell).  I brush my hair right out of the shower when it's still wet and I did not have a lot of issues with tangles.  Would definitely buy again.

Facial cleanser: this is one of those cleansers that wakes you up in the morning due to the infusion of pineapple (smells great!).  This product gently exfoliates due to the acid in the fruit it's infused with - so you get the exfoliation without the harsh scrubbers that you find in some cleansers.  I really did not notice a huge change in my skin from using this product - it just maintained the status quo.  My face did feel clean and refreshed after using and my skin did not dry out (as sometimes happens with overly chemicaly cleansers).  Overall, this product basically broke even for me - it did what I expected it to do, but I wasn't in love with in.  I would probably purchase again because finding a good all-natural face cleanser is difficult.

GIOVANNI HAIR PRODUCTS

These products remind of the Aveda products I used to use (but cost much less).  I LOVE this shampoo/conditioner combo and would definitely recommend.

Specific products I used:

Shampoo: Root 66 Max Volume - this shampoo lathered wonderfully (even in my hard water!).  I could actually feel it working in my roots (I have notoriously thin hair).  This product has been great on scalp and rinses cleanly - I love LOVE these products and would definitely purchase again.

Conditioner: Tea Tree Triple Treat - this conditioner smells heavenly and feels great in my hair and on my scalp (yes, it's got mint as an ingredient and who doesn't love that fun scalp tingle?).  It's a thick cream that coats hair and moisturizes.  Rinses cleanly and I'm able to brush my hair right out of the shower.  LOVE this stuff - would definitely purchase again.

BURT'S BEES

I was not impressed with the Burt's Bees product I tried.  I know the company is owned by Clorox and I feel like their "all natural" goods have perhaps taken a hit due to cost savings measures.  Who knows?  I do know that the body wash product I tried did not deliver like I hoped it would.

Specific products I used:

Body wash: This body wash is specifically marketed as an exfoliating body wash.  Personally, I got none of that out of it.  The body wash consistency seems to be halfway between a gel and a cream wash.  Due to the royal jelly (I'm assuming), it doesn't have an overly pleasant smell.  I used the same amount I use with other products, however this body wash did not lather hardly at all - I got some light bubbles for the top half of my body and it felt like I was using my loofah with nothing on it by the time I hit my legs.  I did use the whole thing because I'm not a huge fan of waste, but this is not something I will be purchasing again. 

If you're interested in trying these (or other) all natural bath products - Soap.com has a great selection of all natural products that are sometimes hard to find in stores.  They also ship for free if you order over $35.  You can buy all your household goods there (I get my all natural laundry soap from them as well).

Do you use any all natural products in your house?  Which ones do you love or dislike?  Share below.

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Disclaimer: I was not requested to review, nor was I compensated in any way.  The thoughts expressed above are mine and were observed firsthand.  

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PRODUCT REVIEW: Leapfrog Tag

For Christmas my husband & I purchased the Tag for our son Bryce (13 months at time of Christmas).  After watching Bryce figure it out (he's still putting two and two together that to hear the words/sounds from the book you have to tap it with the pen), I must say - I am thoroughly impressed by this product.

It's easy to use.  You load it kind of like you would an iPod or Kindle, you go to Leapfrog's website and download Tag software onto your PC, then "load" books onto the Tag.  There is a space limit, but we have yet to reach it and you can swap the books on & off should that ever occur.  Honestly, I have no idea how the "pen" differentiates between books, but it is very cool - you tap the words on a page and the Tag reads it to you.  You can also tap all the characters or objects and they will make some sort of sound or talk - it's very interactive.  Another nice thing is that - if you wanted - you can just read the books like normal books.  So it's nice to know that if you ever forget your Tag, yet have the books handy, you can still use them as a form of entertainment.

The various Tag books feature a variety of characters from Disney, Nickelodeon, etc.  We are currently using the Tag Junior books as that is the level my son is at.  The books all have different learning elements, which are clearly stated on the cover, such as letter recognition, counting, etc.  The Tag Junior books are board books and cost about the same as a traditional board book - approx. $8 a book.  In my personal opinion, they don't skimp on the content either, which is nice when compared to other board books like The Very Hungry Caterpillar (a classic to be sure, but other parents know, light on content).  The Tag books will run you a little more, but are also longer - more like a traditional children's book (approx. $11-$12 each).

My biggest peeve about this product isn't actually about the product itself.  As I stated above, my son was only 13 months old at Christmas and as you can see from the picture the Tag is designed for children ages 4-8.  Initially, I purchased the Tag Junior (picture below).  As you can see, the Tag Junior is designed for children ages 1-4 (the category my son falls in).  The Tag Junior works the same way as the Tag, however has an easier device for small hands to hold - it's shaped like Scout (the Leapfrog puppy).  I mentioned in passing to a co-worker that I had picked one up for my son for Christmas and she told me to return it and buy the Tag.  The Tag Junior retails for $30 and the Tag retails for $32.50; however the Tag will "read" both Tag Junior and regular Tag books (Leapfrog has a progressive reading system); whereas the Tag Junior will ONLY work with Tag Junior books.  Ergo if you started with the Tag Junior, you would eventually have to purchase the Tag to progress to a higher level of books (assuming your child loved the Tag system and you wanted to continue using it).  You will also be able to verify this on the box (and the books) that the Tag works with both kinds of books, whereas the Tag Junior only works with Tag Junior books.

That being said, all in all I LOVE this product.  While I know he's young now, I already see that my son likes the "interaction" with the book that the Tag creates.  It's the same as me reading to him, but he gets to control everything - it's also helpful that he can play with it on his own, when I'm busy cooking dinner for example.  We own several Leapfrog learning products and I think they make learning fun & easy - it also helps that they're not incredibly annoying given the fact they produce sounds.  I would highly recommend this product, but I would recommend you skip the Tag Junior and just go with the Tag - the pen is wide enough that my son does not have issues holding onto it and he already has figured out which end goes on the book.

You can purchase the Tag reading system at any large retailer.  We bought ours from Wal Mart.
Here is a link to Amazon's site:
Amazon: Leapfrog Tag

Does anyone else have the Tag or another type of "reading" toy?  I'd love to hear your comments!

Disclaimer: I was not requested to review, nor was I compensated in any way.  The thoughts expressed above are mine and were observed firsthand.

PRODUCT REVIEW: Infantino Squeeze System & Homemade applesauce recipe (and fruit purees for the toddler)!

A little over a week ago, my friend Shary posted on her blog Atta Mama about using the Infantino Squeeze System to make baby food purees.  Up until this point I had only ever heard of the Baby Bullet which just seemed like a hot mess to me.  I so wish I had the squeeze station when my son, Bryce, was eating baby food - it truly is wonderful.  My son is now 22 months and up until this week I had been giving him Peter Rabbit Organics puree blends.  I love these for him - they're quick, easy, HEALTHY, and relatively mess free (unless your child throws it on the ground and steps on it or turns it upside down and gives it a sturdy shake - yes, I've been there); however they run me an average of $1.40 a pouch.  Ouch when he eats 1-2 a day ...

To better understand the remainder of this post, I highly recommend you read Shary's blog post and watch the Infantino demo video (just click video on the squeeze station button).

Yesterday was my first experimentation with the Squeeze Station and it did not go so well - I mixed blueberries, stawberries & banana however I had to figure out I needed to add water to get to the consistency where I could get it into the pouch.  Basically out of 1/4 cup blueberries, 1/2 cup strawberries and 1/2 a banana I got 2 1/2 pouches - I'll be refining my methods for the next go.  Tonight however I made homemade applesauce using a recipe from All Recipes (my go-to recipe website).  Below are the ingredients to make homemade applesauce (including my modifications to the All Recipes one) as well as my results with the Infantino Squeeze System.

Ingredients:

• 4 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/8 cup white sugar
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon

In a saucepan, combine the apples, water, sugar and cinnamon and heat over medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until apples are soft.  After cooling, mash with fork (or mashed potato masher if you have one).

You can find the secret to peeling apples here.  This is the way I did it and I was able to peel 4 apples in about 5 minutes.

After cooling, I put mine in the food processor which also got it to a good consistency - though I was purposely pureeing to use the Squeeze Station.

One lesson I learned from my failed berry pouches was that I shouldn't 100% trust the measurement lines on the squeeze station tubes as I had overfilled a pouch and it had oozed back out (and basically squirted my son in the face when he went to eat it), so I used my measuring cup tonight and measured 4 oz before transferring to the squeeze tubs (each pouch holds 4 oz).

The main lesson I learned tonight is that if you have excess liquid in the squeeze tube, when you apply pressure using the plunger - it may/will leak out around the pouch valve.  This wasn't a huge deal for me because the squeeze station has a bottom that caught the excess fluid and I was able to easily rinse it before I started on my next pouch - it was just an unintended side effect and a learning lesson for the next time I make pouches.  You need the right consistency to make it liquid enough to squeeze into the pouches, but not too much liquid or you may make a slight mess.

See pictures below demonstrating my progress.  All in all, I love this product - it's easy to use, I made a very minimal mess and it's kind of like using a blender, if you rinse everything right away there isn't much cleanup involved.

Disclaimer: I was not requested to review, nor was I compensated in any way.  The thoughts expressed above are mine and were observed firsthand.