Green Living Tested: Anti-Aging Creams

As autumn's cold, dry weather closes in, I tend to slather my hands and body in rich lotions, creams and butters. But I often neglect an important area: my face. Harsh weather conditions, along with environmental pollutants, can contribute to that horror or horrors, premature aging. If Hollywood and the beauty industry are to be believed, at 28 I should already be concerned about staving off unsightly lines and wrinkles. I'll start worrying when I stop getting carded at night clubs, but in the meantime there's nothing wrong with taking steps to keep my mug smooth and supple.

Anti-aging products are one of the latest to get the green treatment, but before you blow your earnings on a day cream loaded with potentially unsafe ingredients, read on for my reviews of the best and worst.

PICK IT UP
C the Change Ester C Serum by Kiss My Face
With 100% biodegradable and mostly certified-organic ingredients, this potion is a clear winner. A member of Kiss My Face's Potent & Pure line, C the Change is a "powerhouse serum" of antioxidants, such as vitamin ester C, which stimulates collagen production. The lotion is free of phthalates, parabens and sodium laurel sulfates. Vegans can rejoice -- animal ingredients such as collagen, a potential allergen, are left off the list as well. Also missing are artificial fragrances, so the scent is slightly medicinal, but at least you won't be putting a potential irritant on your skin. With all its antioxidant properties, it's somewhat surprising that its pH-balanced formula is so mild and gentle. My face was completely free of redness and itchiness.

Bonus: The size is a selling point -- it comes in a small, light tube that slips easily into a purse. If applying this serum daily is all I have to do to ward off wrinkles, count me in.

kissmyface.com, $23 (1 fl oz/29 mL)

PONDER IT
Naturally Ageless Line Diminishing Day Lotion by Burt's Bees
What makes Naturally Ageless stand out is not so much what it has as what it doesn't have, namely, phthalates, parabens, sulfates or petrochemicals. It boasts of containing 99.96% natural ingredients, but as any seasoned greenie knows, "natural" and "eco-friendly" are not always synonymous. So I took that information with a grain of salt. The featured ingredient is pomegranate extract, which the company says helps fight off skin damage; and, the youthful-look-boosting triple threat is rounded out with para cress (to diminish lines and wrinkles) and Mexican wild yam (to increase firmness). A word of caution to sensitive skin sufferers: the lotion does contain "parfum (fragrance)." But I will say that the scent is light and delicate, not overly perfumed, and the texture is weightless. No nasty adverse skin reactions were observed.

Bonus: Extra points for pretty, and completely recyclable, glass and mixed-source paper packaging -- though they could take their environmental stewardship one step further and use 100 percent recycled source material.

burtsbees.ca, $30 (2 oz/57 g)

PASS IT BY
Nutriganics Smoothing Day Cream by the Body Shop
The Body Shop has taken some heat in the past over its green claims, but the company's new assortment of Nutriganics anti-aging products is a certified organic line (they received the stamp of approval from Ecocert), its first. The cream is packed with natural and organic red grape, plantain, and olive and coconut oil, but it also has its fair share of preservatives and synthetic petrochemicals such as tridecane, which is used to improve texture and is a possible irritant. After reading a negative review on the Green Beauty Guide website, I proceeded hesitantly. I followed the directions and applied the product in an upward circular motion. The scent was certainly the strongest and most artificial-smelling of the three -- no surprise, given the inclusion of "parfum (fragrance)" (in this case an indication of synthetic scents) high up on the list of ingredients. The texture was also heavy and greasy, giving my face an undesirable sheen.

The Clincher: At first I noticed a mild stinging sensation, and when I looked at my face in the mirror, it was bright pink, as if it had been sunburned. Rinsing it off was a relief. Looks like The Body Shop still has some work to do.

thebodyshop.ca, $22 (50 mL)

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