One thing holding me back from being vegan is my skin care products- some are vegan, but some aren't. Problem is I have VERY sensitive dry skin, and can't use things with all kinds of fragrances (which I notice a lot of "natural/vegan" products have ). Any advice on sensitive skin stuff would be very appreciated! Things I need are:



the most moisturizing hand cream ever in the world (not an oil please)

very moisturizing body wash (no bar soaps)

a good body lotion

a moisturizing ointment (right now I use Aquaphor which I love, so basically something that is half petroleum and halve moisturizers)

chapstick (actually I was using JASON chapstick which I believe is vegan but they stopped selling it everywhere for some reason, grrr!)



And question- do shaving gels tend to be vegan? Also, random but- what are some decent veg. multivitamins? I just use regular cvs brand ones because all the veg*n ones I've seen are giant horse pills, OR if they're not, they don't have enough iron in them (I need 100% iron, low iron runs in my family).

When you say "vegan," do you mean "no animal ingredients", "no animal testing," or both?



Many shaving creams have glycerin in them. I know that glycerin can come from animal sources, but I don't know if they usually do. Right now I'm using HeadSlick mentholated shave cream which I got from WalGreens and is advertised as "no perfumes, no dyes, cruelty free". It comes in a little yellow bottle. Ostensibly it's a men's shaving cream, but I don't think shaving creams discriminate. It's pretty expensive, though (about $8 a bottle). They also sell shaving soaps at Walgreens (it can be found at other stores as well) that I think are advertised as cruelty free, but I don't know if you're looking specifically for shaving creams aimed at women.

I tend to hate the smell of men's shaving cream, so I'd rather stick with women's. It doesn't have to be perfumed or anything though.

Do you buy products in Canada, the US, UK..?



On the vitamin front, I would suggest looking for a vegan multi and then supplementing with iron separately. A multi isn't the best way to absorb iron. I take an iron supplement in the evening before bed (it's called Spatone) along with a vitamin C tablet to aid absorption (I also have iron difficulties). A lot of people like Floravit as an iron supplement as well.

Yeah, I feel like I already take several pills so I'd rather something that just comes with it already. I take a vitamin C pill with my multi so that helps w/ the absorption. Any multis you'd recommend?

It would help if I knew what continent you were on, for product availability. Btw, the Spatone supplement I take is iron-rich water. I pour a little packet into a glass of water and drink it with the vitamin C pill. Not trying to change your mind, you like what you like, just letting you know it's not a "pill."



I haven't found a lot of iron-rich multivitamins. Deva makes one that might work for you (link).



New Chapter is probably my favorite vitamin line (I worked in a health-food store for a few years) but I don't know if they're available outside of Canada. They have a nice multi with iron (link) and also a multi with more iron but less other stuff (link).



Edit: Oh yeah, and when shopping around for vitamins, ask the staff at the store what their return policy is. A good health food store will allow the return of vitamins if you can't swallow them, have a bad reaction to them, or don't feel like they're doing you any good. Most have a window in which you can return the product with a receipt, or at least exchange it for a new product. Ask!

I live in the US, thanks for the recommendations! Iron water, never heard of that one before, interesting.... I guess I could take the iron seperately at night. The only thing is I take Colace at night, I don't know if that would affect the absorption of it?

That I don't know; you'd have to talk to your doctor. Merry Hempsters makes a nice lip balm, btw.



For moisturizing body/hand cream, have you tried pure shea butter? You should be able to find it in health food stores. It's made of oil, but looks like a solid. My favorite brand has essential oils otherwise I'd recommend it...hmm...you might have the best luck finding more "commercial" brands like Alba or Kiss My Face, both of which make unscented lotions, but although vegan (mostly -- check the label), they have a lot of crap in them too. You might check out Earthsafe, which I recall as being very clean and having an unscented version, but I can't find an ingredients list online.



Sorry, all my favorite brands are Canadian. Good luck with your search!

Thanks!

www.hugonaturals.com



I LOVE their bar soap (I understand you don't want one, though), shower gel, and body butter. Look no further for moisture!

Oh I'll have to check that out next time I go to Whole Foods.

I use St. Ives intensive healing advanced body moisturizer. It is non-irritating, fragrance free, hypo-allergenic and cheap. I also like their oatmeal & shea butter moisturizing body wash.For chap stick type stuff I use Avalon Organics Vitamin C soothing lip balm.