Natural Facial Moisturizers

Natural moisturizers lessen exposure to chemicals

Natural skin-care products continue to grow in popularity and availability, but it's still hard to find a lot of quality reviews for them. Experts also point out that it's hard to find skin-care products that are 100 percent natural due to the inclusion of preservatives in most of these products.

Jason Natural Ester-C Lotion Anti-Oxidant Regenerating Moisturizer (*Est. $16 for 4 oz.) gets a good review from Paula Begoun for its high antioxidant content. The Environmental Working Group (EWG), a consumer advocate group that tends to be more critical of typical skin-care ingredients, says that this moisturizer poses a moderate risk because of its inclusion of fragrance, but it doesn't contain any parabens and most of the ingredients are natural. It should be noted, however, that some users at MakeupAlley.com complain about the smell of the Ester-C Lotion.

Pangea Organics Facial Cream (*Est. $33 for 2 oz.), available in several varieties, gets a relatively low hazard rating from the EWG and is all-natural. The creams do contain several plant oils, though, which Begoun claims can be irritating to the skin. Several users report on the Egyptian Calendula and Blood Orange version at Amazon.com. Although they all wanted to like it, two say it didn't work well for them and made their faces look oily.

Desert Essence 100% Pure Jojoba Oil (*Est. $12 for 4 oz.) gets high ratings from hundreds of consumers at MakeupAlley.com for being versatile. Several claim to use it on their face and body and even their scalp and hair. Experts say that jojoba oil is similar to the skin's natural oils and does a good job of making skin look and feel better. Indeed, several users claim that the oil is soothing to their dry, irritated skin. The EWG says that Desert Essence 100% Pure Jojoba Oil is completely safe for the skin and the environment and gives it their lowest hazard score of zero.