The experts agree: keeping your baby’s bottom clean and dry is the best defense against a diaper rash, especially if you are using plastic diapers.

Plastic diapers trap heat and moisture, which means the likelihood of a nasty nappy rash goes up along with the thermostat. Even the most fastidious parents will eventually open a diaper to find a red rashy bottom. So then what?

Here are some tips that can help keep your baby cool and dry this summer and prevent a firey case of diaper rash from ruining your summer fun.

1. If you haven’t already, switch your baby’s diapers from plastic to eco-friendly or biodegradable diapers. These are generally made of …read more of A Recipe for Staying Rash-free here

During a recent spring cleaning I decided to real be radical and get rid of every last personal care product in my home that wasn’t completely natural.

Most of what I own is free of common toxins but, like most women, I had a basket of old makeup that I just couldn’t bear to part with. A girl never knows when she is going to need shimmery green eyeshadow or a white lipstick, right?

Blessedly I didn’t need those particular items very often, save for Halloween. But I held onto them anyway because, frankly, I didn’t know what to do with them.All of my new makeup is clearly recyclable.  The old stuff, not so much.

So what’s a girl to do? …read more of Origins Tackles Your Old Makeup here

You don’t have to cover your furniture in plastic or ban berries from your home. Life gets messy and clothes, furniture and carpets get stained. If you have a few of the key ingredients, such as baking soda, salt and vinegar in your cupboard, you can prevent a lot of those stains from sticking.

Commercial stain removers can be helpful, but there is no single product on the market that fights all of your stains.  And many contain harsh chemical solvents with toxic ingredients that you wouldn’t want on your clothes and skin.  So why not give your grandma’s tried-and-true solutions a try?  The best first line of defense is water (cold water is usually the safest).  And for those tougher stains, the table below offers solutions for 14 of the most common stains.

Solutions for Specific Stains:

Table from Green Cleaning for Dummies, by Elizabeth B. Goldsmith PhD, Betsy Sheldon. Copyright © 2008 by Wiley Publishing Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana.

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In part two of my investigation into the best healthy lip products, I researched and tested dozens of paraben-, petroleum- and lead-free lipsticks and lip glosses. The good news is that I found a lot of wonderful products on the market.

Companies everywhere are making high-quality, cruelty-free cosmetics that look and feel terrific, without serving up a side of chemicals.

The bad news? Woe is me: With so many beautiful lipsticks in my possession I am even more obsessed with the stuff than I was a few weeks ago. In the scheme of things, it is a nice problem to have.

Drumroll please. In the world of lipstick and lip gloss, here are my very favorites: …read more of Natural Lipsticks here

I have an obsession with lip products. Whether it’s lipstick, lip balm or lip gloss, leaving the house without one or more of these in my bag is akin to walking out of the house sans pants. It just doesn’t happen, and if it does, I feel strangely naked all day long.

There are people whose job it is to taste ice cream for a living, and those who are paid to drink beer to be sure it meets company standards. Fabulous jobs, if that’s what you are into. My job? I test lip balms so that you can choose the right one for you.

All of the lip balms listed here are paraben-, lead- and petroleum-free. Here are my personal favorites: …read more of Natural Lip Balms here