Natural Beauty Products at Whole Foods

For a beauty-lover, going into a Whole Foods body section is something akin to frolicking through fresh fields of lavender (hey, it's a major fantasy of ours). You can find everything from raw, unrefined oils to vegan skin care and bath salts. It's a holy grail for curious DIY mixologists and ingredient-conscious moms alike. This April, Earth Month, is the perfect excuse to stock your bathroom with environment-friendly beauty products, and you should start at Whole Foods. The grocery chain carries between 500 and 700 personal care brands across the United States, and there are pretty strict standards for every item that you see for sale.

Global Whole Body director Maren Giuliano broke down the guidelines. "For personal care, we have a baseline standard with a list of about 50 ingredients that we don't allow," she said. "Then we have a second tier, which we call 'premium,' and there are about 400 ingredients that we do not allow in those products." That means that every deodorant is aluminum-free, the fragrances are formulated without phthalates, and environment-killing microbeads are a no-no. Whole Foods also doesn't carry products with artificial color.

"We are very strict around labeling claims, especially organic, because it's not regulated like food," Giuliano said. "We actually have someone whose full-time job is doing scientific research and keeping on the cutting edge of what's out there and what ingredients are safe. We send them all the labels, and they look at all the ingredients." So when you see the word "organic," you can be sure that product has been certified by the USDA or NSF International.

But how does Whole Foods find all these niche natural brands? "We allow buying to happen all the way down to the store level. So we encourage our team members — if they see a local brand they really like — to go through the process of getting that added into the store or into the region," Giuliano said. "It's very important to us to be able to speak to whatever community our store is in." Giuliano shares her favorite beauty brands to shop at your local Whole Foods when you keep reading.