by Suzanne Wentley
This article is not sponsored but contains affiliate links.
When I was a freshman studying journalism at New York University, I got hired as an unpaid intern for a now-defunct natural beauty magazine. I remember the first day like it was yesterday.
“We can’t pay you,” the editor said, somewhat sheepishly. “But you can have anything you want from here.”
She then opened the door to a small closet packed full of environmentally friendly body soap, hand soaps, lotions, facial serums, scrubs, body wash, and just about every other clean beauty product you’ve ever seen on a shelf.
I had found my dream job!
Every day, after I’d make follow-up calls to old subscribers or proofread a page, I’d open up that door and help myself.
I soon became an expert in finding brands that consistently impressed me. EO Products was one — and I still love their products.
The EO Mission
Now, I might have remembered that day like it was yesterday, but it certainly was not. EO Products (the initials stand for essential oils, by the way) has been around since 1995. Over these decades, the company has led the way in plant-based and organic body, skin, and hair care products.
The New York Times featured the company a few years ago, and the writer was understandably wowed by the fact that owners Brad Black and Susan Griffin-Black still oversee the business they started even though they divorced in 2007.
It probably helps that core company values include kindness and respect — for each other, the community, and the planet.
The idea from the start was to create botanically derived products as alternatives to items filled with ingredients that are unpronounceable and even sometimes linked scientifically to cancer and other diseases. EO Products got noticed by Whole Foods in 2000, the same year I was 18 and discovered their amazing products.
They’re still a relatively small company, despite being in stores throughout the world and online with the EO Products Amazon store.
Unlike so many of the other brands I tried from that closet, they never sold out to big corporate giants. (I started passing over Burt’s Bees, for example, once it was bought by Clorox.)
What Sets EO Products Apart
Back when I was in college, the idea of using essential oils as a foundational part of a clean beauty routine was novel. I mean, my mother encouraged me to wash my face with Noxzema, which is a weird mix of camphor, soybean oil, gelatin, stearic acid, linseed oil, and unknown fragrances. (Maybe now you can see why I was so excited to be paid in natural beauty products.)
Now in a world of Young Living and doTerra oils, EO Products is in good company using the power of aromatherapy.
They remain different by being completely transparent with their ingredients. With every bottle, you know what you’re putting on your skin — and it’s all-natural. These products are free of aluminum, synthetic fragrances, and propylene glycol.
They also practice sustainable manufacturing, meaning they’re 100% zero waste.
Their offices are located in the same building as their research and development department, their testing facilities, and the laboratories where they blend, bottle, and ship their products. When everything is under one roof, it’s easier to ensure the highest quality work.
Their budget-friendly spin-off collection is called Everyone for Every Body. Their sustainable products are certified cruelty-free and gluten-free, and they’re verified by the Environmental Working Group.
EO Products is a certified B Corporation, and all the bottles are made completely from recycled materials. You don’t have to take their word for it when there are so many third-party organizations to double-check that they’re walking their walk.
EO Products: An Overview
Before I share my favorite EO Products, let’s talk about the difference between natural and synthetic fragrances.
You might think that it’s a matter of scent and cost, and both are true. You don’t need a well-trained nose to tell the difference between natural lavender and the fake stuff. And yes, that fake stuff will likely be cheaper.
But it’s more than that.
Synthetic fragrances have been the subject of research recently, as people are reporting allergic reactions, headaches, and other health concerns associated with the soup of chemicals used to reproduce a poor man’s version of natural oil. I’m no expert, but I definitely prefer any non-toxic alternative.
Here are some of the EO Products I have personally used and loved:
EO Intensive Repair Hand Cream in French Lavender
Orianna wrote to me, “I love their French Lavender everything,” and I couldn’t agree more. I’ve sniffed many different kinds of lavender over the years, and their EO Intensive Repair Hand Cream in French Lavender has one of the most luxurious scents. The essential oil is rich with grassy and floral notes, which are perfect for all beauty products but especially hand cream.
I love how I can take a break to apply hand cream and enjoy the calming experience of lavender aromatherapy. Their cream includes a blend of calendula, aloe vera, and chamomile, too, which they’ve blended into mango seed, jojoba, and coconut butters and oils. It doesn’t take much to be transported away from stress with this cream.
EO Shampoo and Conditioner in Grapefruit Mint
Ever since I got Dr. Bronner’s Peppermint soap in my eye (don’t ever do this), I’m gun shy about showering with anything mint. But I’ll make an exception for EO Shampoo and Conditioner in Grapefruit Mint. Not only does it have a pleasantly invigorating scent, but it makes my hair soft and manageable.
Also, did you know that studies show that women who smell like grapefruit seem six years younger than they are? I’ll get my ID ready if you want to card me.
For an added Earth-friendly bonus, you can save on plastics and buy this shampoo in bulk. They sell it in one-gallon jugs, which you can use to refill other bottles that look prettier in your shower.
EO Liquid Hand Soap in Lemon and Eucalyptus
While I admit that I, too, will choose the French Lavender scent almost all the time, I like EO’s Liquid Hand Soap in Lemon and Eucalyptus, too. This environmentally friendly hand soap is refreshing and bright with natural botanical extracts and mild cleansers. It’s also paraben-free and sulfate-free, as well as free of triclosan, synthetic fragrances, and gluten. It’s also cruelty-free.
Adding aromatherapy to your hand soap serves a similar purpose to applying hand cream. With its lovely scent, you’re all but forced to breathe deeply and be in the moment every time you wash your hands. It’s easy to plow through life, but not when you can enjoy the fresh, invigorating scents using sustainably farmed ingredients.
EO Shower Gel in Orange Blossom and Vanilla
Although I tend to be a solid soap bar kind of girl, the EO Shower Gel in Orange Blossom and Vanilla is too sweet to pass up. The gel is made with gentle coconut cleansers and organic botanical extracts to keep you clean and feeling great after your shower.
Want a bubble bath?
The EO shower gel can work, but you may want to check out the Everyone 3-in-1 Soap in Coconut Lemon.
I haven’t tested it out yet, but there’s something wonderfully minimalist about environmentally friendly body soap that can be used as a body wash, bubble bath, and shampoo.
It feels like the kind of present my boyfriend might like for the holidays.
EO Products: A True Eco-Friendly Brand
Really, you can’t go wrong with any EO Product fragrance and product. Ever since I poked my head into that magazine closet chock-a-block with clean beauty products, I’ve loved this brand.
The French Lavender fragrance is the show-stealer, but nothing by EO Products disappoints.
That’s probably the most important thing about choosing an eco-friendly brand. If you buy it and don’t like it, you’ve wasted money and whatever resources the company took to make it.
With EO Products, you’re more likely to find me squeezing out the last drop rather than leaving the bottle to linger half-used at the back of my cabinet.
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