Boulder has long staked its claim as an environmentally friendly and motivated college town, but what are the eco-friendly stop-offs to check when you are visiting the Flatirons? We took a tour of Boulder to give you the inside scoop on which businesses are contributing to Boulder’s green reputation.

From speaking with the founder of Pangea Organics, Joshua Onysko, to shopping the upscale second hand fashions at Common Threads, this guide has it all!

Watch the video below to take the tour!

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You know the times you’ve run a fingernail down the side of your face and small bits of face have rolled off with it? The ick factor is huge, right? And most of that ick is dead skin.

Sure, you can moisturize with the best organic lotions out there. (And for the best green lotions to use, click here.) But those dead skin cells have to absorb the lotion before it can penetrate the skin underneath.

No amount of organic skin lotion is going to raise your skin cells from the dead. But before you conduct a green funeral for your face, try sloughing off with your best tool of choice – a scrub.

Bringing out the healthy, alive layers of skin on your face will improve your skin immensely. You’ll be less prone to break outs. Your skin will be smoother and have a healthier glow.

Pick a scrub that can make best friendsies with your skin. It is possible to over-exfoliate so be forewarned! If you over scrub, you can sand paper away the natural, protective barrier of your skin.

For sensitive skin, you’ll want a gentle exfoliating scrub. If your skin can take a sand blasting, go for the deep pore scrub. Depending on age and sensitivity, some people scrub daily, some only once or twice a week.

Best Scrub to Lessen Your Carbon Footprint:

Pangea Organics Facial Scrub ($32.00)
This gentle scrub is organic and, even better, fair trade. It contains Egyptian geranium with adzuki bean and cranberry. The smell is interesting – a combination of mud with bits of fruit buried in it. It’s light enough to use daily but strong enough to feel like you’re getting a good exfoliation. It is free of parabens, sulfates and any synthetic preservatives.

Best Scrub to Brighten Your Face:

John Masters Organics Jojoba and Ginseng Exfoliating Cleanser ($28.00)
This fantastic product contains certified organic jojoba beads (to exfoliate!) and ginseng (to revitalize!). And the best part? It will leave your face noticeably brightened. It seems to contain almost light-reflective properties that sit atop your skin and make it glow.

Best Scrub to Pretend You’re at the Beach:

Juice Beauty Exfoliating Cleanser ($22.00)
This is another gentle cleanser/scrub that has a rich pineapple base. The fresh fruity scent will bring you back to the beachy memories of childhood or that vacation you once went on where you blacked out from pineapple margaritas. It also contains certified organic extracts of white grape and aloe vera.

Best Scrub for Your Buck:

Noah’s Naturals Face Scrub with Jojoba Beads ($7.99)
This is a great, all-around scrub. You’ll feel like you’re getting a good wash while scrubbing out the baddies. It gives off a pleasant, old-school scent that’s almost floral, without being perfumey. It contains no parabens or sodium lauryl sulfate. It’s not organic, but it’s a good choice if you want an affordable, natural cleanser.

Best Scrub to Love Your Sensitive Skin:

Avalon Organics Exfoliating Enzyme Scrub ($16.95)
This product offers up a light, lavender scent. I used it daily for about a week and my skin did feel smoother after a couple of days. It’s free of parabens and preservatives. It is 100% vegetarian, and contains certified organic ingredients.

Best Scrub to Blast Your Skin:

Burt’s Bees Peach and Willowbark Deep Pore Scrub ($7.99)
If you’re looking for a scrub to really tear it up, this is the product for you. It has a fresh, peachy smell but it does leave a bit of a waxy, leftover feeling. It’s made from ground peach stone to exfoliate and also contains willowbark, a natural source of salicylic acid. 98.45% natural, it is free of sodium lauryl/laureth sulfates, parabens and phthalates.

Best Scrub to Use Daily:

Aveda Tourmaline Charged Exfoliating Cleanser ($29.00)
This product works really well as a cleanser, but if you want a vigorous scrub, look elsewhere. It is not organic but it does contain “naturally-derived” exfoliating beads and certified organic lavender and geranium oils. And it’s tourmaline charged. What, pray tell, is tourmaline charged? Tourmaline apparently “acts as a conductor for the plant energy and the crystalline energy, while energizing the skin and boosting it with moisture and vitamins.”

Best Scrub to Simply Wash Your Face:

Exfoliating Wash by Kiss My Face ($15.00)
This scrub”¦er, wash got high marks for smell. It reminds me of lime and mint, and really makes me want a Mojito. It’s clean and refreshing, but doesn’t feel like a scrub.  It works more like a gel and feels gentle on your face. It’s not organic, but does contain several “certified natural” ingredients.

The post Re-New Your Skin: 8 Best Organic and Natural Scrubs appeared first on EcoSalon.

I just love when I’m checking out the ingredients of a skincare product and find that it’s practically edible. Yum, I think. It means my skin is gonna eat this stuff up!

Enter Pangea Organics, a line of utterly luscious bodycare products that will make your skin rejoice. Check out Egyptian Geranium with Adzuki Bean and Cranberry Scrub (3.8 oz for $33) or Japanese Matcha Tea with Acai and Goji Berry Mask (2 oz for $40). Like I said, oh yum!

Pangea has gift sets for convenient holiday shopping and, for the distinct pleasure of that beloved treehugger in your life, the gift boxes have spruce seeds embedded in the fibers. I hope this starts a new trend: plant yourself a Christmas tree instead of cutting one down.

And feed your skin the finest!

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