I first tried Avalon Organics about three years ago. Of course, it was cleanser that first drew me in (favorite product). I’m also a big fan of Vitamin C use on the skin so when I saw their Vitamin C Refreshing Cleansing Gel I got very excited. (Y’all didn’t have to hear about me getting “very excited” about a cleanser to know how much of a nerd I am about products, did you?)

Here’s how I use it:
– 1/2 pump [yes! I love pumps and I love measured doses (and spreadsheets and organizing – it all falls in the same nerdy category to me)] massaged into wet skin in the morning and evening. I use it over my eyes and it works great at getting eye makeup off without irritating my sensitive eyes.

The upsides:
The Scent
– I’ve used products in the past that look like they’re going to smell like one thing, but they smell totally different and this bothers me, a lot. However, this one looks like it’s going to smell citrusy and it does! And it does because it’s got Orange Essential Oil – not “fragrance.” Yay!

Ease of Use
– This cleanser is effective without being too drying. It works well for me and my combination skin and so far, it’s my dry skinned boyfriend’s favorite cleanser out of all of the ones I’ve made him use. I consider it such an excellent cleanser for combination/oily and normal skin that I recommend it to many of my esthetic clients who are looking for an easy to find, affordable cleanser. If someone is using bar soap or an inexpensive drug store cleanser with sub par ingredients (most of the cleansers at drug stores fall into this category), I usually point them to a natural food store to find this product. If they’re super sensitive and dry, I’ll recommend the creamy version: Hydrating Cleansing Milk.

The Price Point
– On their website, it’s $10.95 and if you purchase enough items, the shipping is negligible. Otherwise, it’s about $12 at many local natural food stores. I’ve sold cleansers that cost $25 or $30 and know that they work well for clients but I also am sensitive to budgetary issues and feel that if you’re going to save money on your cleanser, you might spend the extra on a good sunscreen, eye cream or serum, which are the three products where I feel it’s worth spending the dough.

The Company Commitment
– Their Consciousness in Cosmetics program is really inspiring:

Consciousness in Cosmetics is the guiding principle behind everything we do at Avalon Organics. It reflects our commitment to creating an extraordinary, unprecedented range of new and reformulated products that are inherently pure and safe, while expanding the efficacy and vibrantly healthy benefits of natural body care. It is our mission and our passion.

The not-so-upsides:
– It’s unusual for me to have nothing to say on the not-so-upside but that’s where I am right now.
I could say it’s a challenge to purchase a new plastic bottle every time I need new cleanser but this cleanser isn’t one you need to use a lot of so it will last a long time. Plus, MOST product lines come in plastic. The ones in glass cost significantly more usually and are much fewer in number and options.
The only way to really stop the purchase of plastic for your skincare products is to suck it up and pay a ton for glass packaging or make your own. If you do that, tell me all about it because I find that kind of thing fascinating. And, to be honest, the few people I know that have told me they do that, don’t have the kind of skin I want to have, or had, at their ages. To be fair, they’re probably not doing all they can to make their skin soft, smooth and supple with home based ingredients, just like someone who might be using a drug store products that don’t have the right ingredients for his/her skin.

– Oh, I thought of one. The speil that they use about Vitamin C being an effective antioxidant for the skin is rubbish when you’re talking about a cleanser. Some ingredients help the skin on a cellular level: eradicating antioxidants, stimulating collagen and elastin, etc. The only time those kinds of ingredients can actually do that is when they’re actually applied to the skin on a cellular level. That’s usually in the form of a serum or moisturizer, not a cleanser that’s rubbed on the surface of the skin for probably less than a minute twice a day. That doesn’t diminish my love of it as a cleanser, however.

This is the cleanser I know I can go back to if I’m having trouble with my obsessive testing of cleanser and need to take a break. It’s my go-to cleanser for clients who need something effective, natural and affordable. I love it and highly recommend it for just about everyone.