ShopEatSleep

I’m always searching for the best beauty products for my oily skin and hair, and I’ve gone through nearly every product at Trader Joe’s on this quest, so I thought I would share my experiences with you, dear readers.

Now you may be thinking, Really? Trader Joe’s for beauty products? Well, I figure if I like the grocery chain’s food, I might like its soaps and shampoos as well. After many tries of various TJ products, I think I’ve found some that I like best.

In terms of lotions, I like TJ’s Moisturizing Cream, which comes in a pump bottle. Right now I’m using the Extra Dry formula, but the regular lotion is good, too. It moisturizes without greasiness, and it’s unscented, which I prefer over scented lotions. This was an easy choice as Trader Joe’s doesn’t carry many lotions; good thing I liked it!

For shower gel, I like TJ’s Refresh Citrus Body Wash. While I don’t like the shampoo or conditioner from the Refresh line (all the same citrus scent) because the shampoo doesn’t seem to rinse cleanly enough and the conditioner doesn’t seem to moisturize enough, the body wash actually does both nicely. Go figure. Its citrus scent is also light and, as the name suggests, refreshing.

As I just said, I didn’t like the Refresh shampoo. But I do like the Tea Tree Tingle shampoo, which not only rinses well while moisturizing but also gives a tingling sensation with the inclusion of tea tree and eucalyptus oils. At first the tingling freaked me out, but it quickly goes away when you rinse it out, so do not fear lasting side effects.

And my favorite product — Desert Essence Thoroughly Clean Face Wash. I know this isn’t a Trader Joe’s brand product, but it is sold at its stores, so I’m including it here. This is a vegan face wash, which means no glycerin. That’s the stuff that makes soaps, lotions, lipsticks, etc. creamy and can come from either plant or animal sources. Yes, there may very well be animal fat in many of your beauty products. Because this wash is glycerin-free, it’s watery, but I got used to that pretty quickly. This face wash also contains tea tree oil, a natural antiseptic, which helps clear up blemishes, and awapuhi, or wild ginger, which helps moisturize.