The reasons why it makes sense to be vegan or vegetarian are pretty obvious… but they don’t stop at the dinner table. Head into your bathroom, and you’ll probably find plenty of animal-based products that can potentially do everything from clog your pores to — assuming you’re channeling your inner Woody Allen — transmit lethal toxins. Animal fat, for example, has been a key ingredient in soaps, moisturizer and some cosmetics for centuries and is still used today in more than 90 percent of anything foamy you might find in your medicine cabinet and shower caddy.
Vegan bath products often lack the stylish packaging of conventional brands … but not the ones from 100% Pure, a line that includes shower gels, moisturizers and scrubs. The look is cute and classy — think Philosophy meets Crabtree and Evelyn — and they are indeed 100 percent vegan. That means 100 percent free those from nasty ingredients that can potentially cause irritation — like synthetic scents, artificial colorings, alcohol, parabens and emulsifiers.
The packaging may catch your attention, but it’s the addictive scents that will get you hooked. In the case of the Strawberry Lemonade Shower Gel pictured, its heady fragrance comes from an ingredient list that reads like the recipe for a smoothie from Jamba Juice: extracts of blueberries, raspberries, grapefruits, coconuts … and of course strawberries and lemon. (Theoretically, those fruit-based ingredients also provide your skin with some of the antioxidants and vitamins you get when you eat them.)
When it’s in the bottle, the scent is stronger than many other bath products, but it leaves just a slight trace of sweetness on your skin when it’s rinsed off. It actually makes this product ideal for keeping by the kitchen sink as a hand wash. (And when your bottle runs out, it’s easy to replenish: Amazon carries this cleanser, as well as a wide range of 100% Pure’s products, as part of its beauty collection.)
Because it isn’t made with traditional thickeners, the gel has a thinner, more liquid consistency than most body cleansers … a refreshingly light plus on a hot day this summer. But no matter how steamy it gets outside, resist the temptation to take a swig of the stuff; in spite of all the fruit in the bottle and that temptingly sweet scent, this lemonade is for your body only.
100% Pure Strawberry Lemonade Shower Gel. $15, www.amazon.com.