Before I launch into my review of The DivaWash, I should probably tell you guys what I thought of The DivaCup. Since Danielle already crossed that bridge, I won’t post an entire review of the little guy, but I do need to make it clear that I am completely converted. After experiencing an entire menstrual cycle with the cup, I can honestly say that I’ve never had a more pleasant period. I didn’t feel like I was plugging a leak (as I often did with tampons) or wearing a diaper (like I always do with pads), and I wasn’t at all worried about smelling like a period. Most conveniently of all, I didn’t feel compelled to take frequent trips to the bathroom for mirror checks. What I’m trying to say is that I love my DivaCup, and I love Danielle for getting me a gift that keeps on giving. Unless the circumstances absolutely require it (and I can’t see that happening), I will never again buy a box of overpriced, unbleached, organic cotton tampons.

Ingredients (provided with product packaging)- water, cocamidopropyl betain, decyl polyglucose, sodium cocoyl isethionate, vegetable glycerin, caprylic/capric tryglyceride, tocopherol acetate, ascorbic acid, retinyl palmitate, citrus officinalis, xanthan gum, citric acid, citrus sinensis.

Since I couldn’t locate this product in the Cosmetics Database, I created a preliminary report for my own use. It hasn’t been verified by EWG, so you guys can’t see it, but it gives this product an overall hazard score of 4.  The ingredients with hazard scores above 3 are as follows: cocamidopropyl betain (5), tocopherol acetate (4),  and retinyl palmitate (8). Additionally, there was no data on decyl polyglucose or vegetable glycerin, and I couldn’t find citrus officinalis in the database at all (so the database didn’t take that ingredient into account when I was adding the product).

Some great things about this product:

1.It’s paraben, sulfate, and petrochemical free.

2. There are no animal ingredients or testing.

3. The container is made from #1 plastic and can easily be recycled.

Product Description(provided at divacup.com)- ”We recommend that The DivaWash be used to clean The DivaCup. We have formulated The DivaWash as a botanically-based, all natural cleanser that has been specifically designed to protect the integrity of the silicone material.

It is important to use only a natural, non-fragrance soap with The DivaCup. Many soaps leave a residue. These can leave a film on the cup that may cause irritation.”

Price- around $8.00

Performance- It’s true… this  cleanser is very concentrated, and I like only needing to use a tiny bit to clean my DivaCup. It rinses away quickly without leaving any residue, and I appreciate that. Since my body wash and facial cleanser have better ingredients than The DivaWash, though, I have and will not use this product to wash my face or body (as the bottle and website suggest).

Scent- It has an appropriately mild and refreshing citrus scent.

Rating- 7/10. I subtracted 1 point for each ingredient with a hazard score above a 3.

1) A pouch made to hold soiled, reusable menstrual pads: both useful and adorable. Am I the only one who hates using public restrooms when I’m on my period? This little guy could only help matters.

2) This body wash has a pretty impressive list of ingredients, and I can get behind almost anything that smells like geranium.

3) I love the way my Lotus Garden Soy Candle makes my bedroom smell and feel. Being surrounded by such a lovely scent all day long would be mega dreamy.

4) I’m almost out of my Indian Healing Clay, and Skin has yet to disappoint me with their ingredients and performance.

5) This should come as no surprise, but I’m a sucker for natural sleep aids.  And look at that precious heart infuser spoon!

Sources: Wet Bag, Shower Gel , Solid Perfume, Clay, Sleepy Time Special.

What about you guys? Have any wish lists you’d like to share?

I had a lot of fun online window-shopping for this post. As a result, Five Finds is going to become a regular occurrence on Turby and John. Expect a health and beauty themed Five Finds post at least once every other week! I’m also toying with the idea of devoting Friday’s posts to healthy food-related articles and/or healthy recipes.  It would be appropriately named Foody Friday. We’ll see!

As promised on Friday, below are a couple of articles that might improve the quality of your life.

I’ve heard of phytonutrients (or phytochemicals) before, but this Care2 article about their many health benefits was pretty eye-opening. I had no idea that citrus fruit peels were even edible, and I certainly didn’t know that they could benefit my lungs and liver! I printed out the chart from this article and hung it on our refrigerator to remind us of the foods that we should be eating more often.

Finding  reasonably-priced organic produce can seem impossible at times.  Spinach, onions, and carrots are usually the only vegetables that we consistently buy organic (because we eat them so often that it only seems right). This article about Eating Organic on a Budget offers some pretty sound advice to those of us who don’t want to spend all of our paychecks on avocados and blueberries . Sadly, I couldn’t locate a CSA in or near Lake Charles. There is a pretty sweet farmers’ market that we frequent on Tuesdays, though, and we are already in the first stages of growing a big, wonderful garden.

Have a great Tuesday, guys!

She began with mentioning how she stopped using baby oil after her showers upon discovering that it was unsafe on the Cosmetic Safety Database (with it being a petroleum byproduct and all).  While browsing the CSD, she also discovered that the Summer’s Eve Feminine Wash for Sensitive Skin that her friend had been using had all kinds of awful ingredients that you would never want near your nether regions like synthetic dyes, fragrance, and ammonium laureth sulfate (a harsh surfactant). This made my friend wonder, and I’m quoting here, “What the hell can ladies use that won’t cancer up their lady parts?” I found this question to be a very valid (not to mention wonderfully-worded) one, and one that I’ve never heard addressed, so I took it upon myself to find the answer.

I began my quest on the CSD in the feminine care category, but I was soon disappointed when I learned that they had no feminine cleansers in their database with a hazard score lower than a three. No thanks!

One of the first moderately helpful sites that I found listed several easy solutions to vaginal odor and/or discomfort.  This site suggested using inexpensive products that most people already have lying around like vinegar, aloe vera gel, hydrogen peroxide, and slippery elm bark (well, maybe most people don’t have this one lying around)  to clean down there. I must admit, though, I’d be hesitant to put vinegar and especially hydrogen peroxide around my vagina (the former because it seems like it might cause irritation and the latter because it’s linked to cancer, which is what we’re trying to avoid here).

I checked out the green and natural section of drugstore.com, and I literally found only two natural feminine washes. The first is called DivaWash, and while it’s not specifically sold as a feminine wash (the bottle says that it can be used to wash the face or the body), it was located in the feminine cleansing category.

The positives:  It’s free of parabens (preservatives that mimic estrogen), sulfates (harsh surfactants), and petrochemicals (chemical products derived from petroleum).

The negatives:  The ingredients still aren’t awesome. The second ingredient listed is Cocamidopropyl Betaine, which is a synthetic surfactant that’s associated with skin irritation.

The second natural feminine wash that I found on drugstore.com is Natracare Organic Cotton Intimate Wipes.

The positives: They’re alcohol, paraben, sulfate, chlorine, and synthetic preservative-free. They’re also biodegradable.

The negatives: They come in the form of wipes, which seems a little unnecessarily wasteful…even if they are biodegradable.  Also, very little is known about most of the ingredients (ie: datagaps). One of the ingredients that doesn’t have a huge data gap is Sodium Dehydroacetate, which is a preservative that’s linked to cancer. Bummer!

I also found an entire line of organic feminine care called Pink Kitti. The name makes me cringe a little, but what’s more unnerving is that I cannot find an ingredient list on the entire site. Major ingredients are listed but nothing else. Their site does state that their products are paraben and sulfate-free and that the ingredients are 89% organic. Still, I need a little more information about a product that’s intended to clean my vagina. If you have nothing to hide, then you should list your ingredients on your site. Am I right?

I always feel like I am let down when I try to get to the bottom of something, but maybe I’m just not looking in the right places. Do you guys know of any legitimately natural and safe feminine cleansers?  I’ve consistently used whatever soap I’m currently using as a body wash to clean my lady parts, and I’ve never had any problems with it. But what about the people who feel like they need a little something extra down there? Shouldn’t there be a safe and effective product out there for them?

Image Courtesy or Planetgreen.discovery.com

The Erbaviva Lemon and Sage Organic Deodorant looks particularly dreamy. I love the idea of spraying on my deodorant! It sounds less messy than applying it with my fingers.

It almost seems silly for something that soaks up menstrual blood to be so pretty, but I'm smitten with these reusable pads from Naturally Hip's shop.

This golden netti pot from Page Pottery is way cooler than my plastic one!

Chasing Clouds' Etsy store has plenty of cool stuff that is reasonably priced, but this seaweed mask was one of the first things that caught my eye.

This headband from Tamar's Etsy shop is classy classy. I certainly don't need it, but I want it.

I wish that I had a birthday every month. I’m ridiculous.

Orchids look like vaginas. Get it? (Photo courtesy of audreyjm529)

I discovered that I had cervical dysplasia after my second or third trip to the Gynecologist. My follow-up pap smear was also abnormal.  I have friends who have had to undergo biopsies after repeated abnormal pap smears, and I’ve heard a horror story or two about how painful it can be. Needless to say, I wanted to avoid that.  My sister told me that she read a few things online about natural remedies for cervical dysplasia, and I did some research for myself shortly after that. A lot of the blogs and articles that I found suggested discontinuing the use of bleached tampons. I stopped using tampons altogether almost immediately, and I also began drinking the Female Toner Tea that I posted about a while back. Around this time, I also started taking folic acid after hearing and reading that birth control causes a folic acid deficiency in a disturbingly high number of women.  Although I had no idea at the time that birth control was/is linked to cervical dysplasia and cancer, the knowledge that it was robbing my body of something that it needed persuaded me to stop taking that as well (Not to mention, birth control also made me feel like I was going absolutely crazy).

My most recent gynecological exam was a few weeks ago, and my pap smear results came back normal. I hardly think that’s a coincidence.

I can't believe I left this gem sitting in my cabinet for months!

For those of you who didn’t read my recent post concerning Brazilian waxes, I am/was considering trying  an at-home waxing kit. Fortunately, I found an old and mostly unused Intuition razor while packing up the toiletries in my bathroom cabinet. When I first bought it several months ago, I tried the intuition on my legs and wasn’t super impressed. It did about as good of a job as the disposable razors that I typically use for my legs. I guess I didn’t even bother trying it on any other areas. After rediscovering it and in an act of desperation, I tried shaving my bikini line with the Intuition. After experiencing no razor burn from the initial experiment, I used the Intuition on the entire surrounding area. I’m happy with the results, to say the least. There’s very little stubble or razor burn, and I didn’t just pay someone fifty dollars to look at my ladyparts and cause me physical pain. It’s also great for armpits! I’m smitten, y’all.