We all like to get pampered now and again. Wouldn't it be nice to indulge in spa services while being a little gentler on the environment? If you're in the Boston area, here are four spas that operate a little greener:

1. Roffi Salon & Day Spa

134 Newbury Street
Boston, MA
617-536-9600
www.roffisalon.com
info@michaelroffi.com

The Roffi Salon is located right on Boston's enchanting Newbury Street. Not only does the spa offer eco-friendly products, but it also addresses other earthly concerns such as energy conservation, eliminating waste and supporting free trade products.

Services:

Other Green Features: (taken directly from the website)

• Operate on 100% on wind-generated energy
• Recycle newspapers, cardboard, magazines, plastic, paper & metal
• Recycle hair coloring materials such as color tubes, canisters & foils
• Energy efficient washer, dryer, dishwasher
• Eco-friendly cleaning products and filtered water (not bottled)
• Electric hand dryers instead of paper towels
• Energy saving light bulbs & low voltage fluorescent lights
• Serve 100% free trade coffee
• Glasses and porcelain mugs for water & coffee

Products:

Aquage, Bio.Ionic, Minardi, Davines, Dr. Hauschka, JOICO, Goldwell

2. Daryl Christopher Wellness Salon and Day Spa

840 Winter Street
Waltham, MA
781-890-9211
www.dchristopher.com
office@dchristopher.com

Situated about 30 minutes west of Boston, Daryl Christopher Wellness Salon and Day Spa offers an array of services for the hair, face, hands and feet. Their green services include but are not limited to natural Keratin treatments, paper hair highlighting (rather than foil), and organic hair facials.

Services:

Products:

302 Skincare

3. Skin Innovations

1149 Walnut Street
Newton, MA
617-332-SKIN
www.skininnovations.com
info@skininnovations.com

Located about 20 minutes west of Boston in Newton, MA, Skin Innovations partnered up with various eco-friendly products including Jane Iredale makeup (participants of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics), and Pevonia Botanica.

Services:

Products:

Pevonia Botanica, Jane Iredale

4. Four Elements Salon and Spa

627 College Highway (Rt.10)
Ryan's Professional Center, Southwick, MA 01077
413-569-4004
www.4elementssalon.com
natural@4elementssalon.com

Four Elements Salon and Spa is dedicated to providing its clients with family and environmentally friendly salon by using only certified organic products and by promoting patronage of local businesses.

Services:

Products:

Organic Salon Systems (certified organic ingredients, no ammonia, parabens, formaldehyde, plastics, SLS, or thioglycolates, 100% vegan friendly, fair trade) Earthly Body, Simply Organic

All of the above spas offer different services and boast their eco-friendliness by offering green beauty products and/or operating their facilities conservatively. Do you patronize eco-friendly salons or spas? Tell us about them!

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I recently received some complimentary samples from Jess' Bee Natural, and started on my mission to test them out. I received 3 flavors of Natural Lip Balm and a sample of Shea Butter Lotion. I was excited to give them a try because: 1) I'm always on the look out for the best moisturizing lip balm and 2) my hands were super dry this winter - the skin was actually flaking right off!

I've been using Jess' Bee Natural Lip Balm and Shea Butter Lotion for just over 6 weeks now and am happily impressed. I'm also impressed that all of the ingredients used in Jess' Bee Natural products are pure and natural, chosen for their healing and moisturizing properties; they are produced in small batches and are hand poured to ensure their quality; and all of their 18 products scored in range from 0-1 in the Skin Deep Cosmetic Safety Database.

Shea Butter Lotion

I started my testing by exfoliating my hands with some turbinado sugar and water to remove the dead skin, and while my hands were still moist with water, I applied the Shea Butter Lotion. Because the lotion is more of a salve or balm consistency, I found that applying the lotion to moist hands after washing really helps it absorb into my hands much better. The first few days I needed to apply the lotion after every hand washing – then after about a week the dry, peeling, flaking skin on my hands appeared healed and moist. Now I just apply twice a day, and my hands are soft - no flaky dry skin.

Natural Lip Balm

I had just run out of my current lip balm, so I was happy to get started on the three flavors of Jess' Bee Natural Lip Balm - Grapefruit, Peppermint and Natural. All three use the same simple, natural base of ingredients - sweet almond oil, beeswax, soybean oil, shea butter and vitamin E - which goes on smooth and softens fairly well. I use the Natural every night right before bed and it keeps my lips from drying out before morning. The Grapefruit offers a sweet, fresh scent that adds a little brightness to a winter day, but I think my favorite is the Peppermint. The Peppermint has a slight tingle when applied and a clean, cool scent which reminds me of minty toothpaste - I know this sounds weird but I really like it!

My Conclusions

Shea Butter Lotion - rating: * * * *

Although the Shea Butter Lotion isn't the typical creamy moisturizer that we have all been trained to expect, I really love the results I got from using it. The formula only includes sweet almond oil, raw shea butter, vitamin E - no water - which results in a balm-like lotion that creates a moisture barrier on the skin. On the same note, my only negative would be that when applied to dry hands it seems to sort of sit on the surface of your skin leaving a greasy layer. But its easy enough to just wet your hands right before applying, in order for it to work great. I would highly recommend this as a dry skin treatment. I rate the Shea butter lotion 4 out of 5 because it doesn't apply well to dry skin.

Natural Lip Balm - rating: * * * *

The Natural Lip Balm is a perfectly effective daily lip moisturizer. It applies easily and keeps lips hydrated for a worthy amount of time. I use lip balm many times a day, so I'm happy that it contains a short and simple list of safe ingredients. I rate the lip balm a 4 out of 5 stars because although it works well, I have used other lip balms that I like just as well.

Safe Cosmetics

Jess' Bee Natural is a signer of the Compact for Safe Cosmetics and are up-to-date on all requirements of a Full Member Status. This means that all of their products are free of the over 1,100 toxic ingredients banned from personal care products by the EU; they disclose all ingredients on product labels and on their website; they engage in at least one Campaign activity annually; and they comply with ingredient prohibitions and restrictions recommended or mandated by national health agencies overseeing cosmetics safety, including the U.S., Canada, the E.U. and Japan, as well as additional ingredient prohibitions and restrictions endorsed by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics.

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I wanted to share with you a new site that launched today, NEWLYMAID.com. They offer a unique way to trade up a bridesmaid dress after a wedding for a new little black dress that can be worn for any occasion. NEWLYMAID is the first service of its kind to offer women a way to enjoy savings, reduce their carbon footprint, help others in need, and get a fabulous dress they can wear for any occasion.

NEWLYMAID accepts bridesmaid dresses and special occasion dresses from ANY designer brand. In return, you get a special 30 - 50% credit value towards a new 'any occasion' black dress. The little black dresses can be styled to work for many occasions from a sophisticated office look to flirty looks fit for a night on the town.

The gently worn bridesmaid and special occasion dresses will either be donated to charity or recycled. Dresses which are suitable for reuse will be donated to Clothes4Souls. Clothes4Souls brings shoes and apparel to people in need around the world. NEWLYMAID will also work with UNIFI to recycle qualifying dresses that are 100% polyester. And, future NEWLYMAID styles offered will include REPREVE (R)- recycled fibers made by Unifi.

If you have an old bridesmaid or special occasion dresses just hanging around in your closet, visit NEWLYMAID and send in your old dress for credit towards a new little black dress perfect for work, brunch, or girl's night out.

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While browsing Etsy for some handcrafted goodies I decided to try out creating a Treasury List for you all, and opted for a theme of Vintage Inspired Weddings because there are just so many amazing vintage and handmade wedding dresses and accessories to choose from. Enjoy!

Twigs & Honey - Handcrafted wedding hair accessories, veils, tiaras and garters.

Chloe & Maddie - Vintage inspired wedding hair accessories, shoe clips and other wedding accessories.

Isadora Clothing - Convertible dresses, for brides and bridesmaids, available in Eco Jersey (organic cotton and bamboo blends).

Primitive Pin Cushion - Antique jewelry and vintage inspired jewelry created with vintage beads and findings.

View all these vintage and vintage inspired wedding dresses and accessories on Etsy.

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Mango Tree offers hand-carved, hand-painted, wood bangle bracelets made from organic Grade A mango trees that are only timbered for use when the tree can no longer yield fruit. Mango Tree believes that every little bit helps, which is why they recycle and use natural materials for their eco-friendly, handmade jewelry. Mango Tree also donates a portion of their proceeds to various charities. Each month a different organization is chosen to donate to - February 2011 is The American Heart Association.

Each Mango Tree bangle bracelet is designed and painted using special techniques and colors. Colors and patterns vary from bangle to bangle, making every bangle bracelet unique. Mango Tree offers their eco-chic bangles in 3 styles, 50 colors and 4 sizes. The multitude of colors guarantees a perfect compliment to any outfit.

Check out Mango Tree's hot color combinations. Or try out their Mix & Match section, designed to allow you to play with endless color and style combinations. They even have an option to select skintone, so you can see what colors will look best on you.

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It seems that sites offering daily deals are smokin' hot these days and Pure Citizen has added a cool twist. They feature daily deals on clothing, jewelry, handbags, makeup, home accessories and even stationery from companies that are making the world a better place. At Pure Citizen you'll find green products at up to 90% off that are organic, fair trade, vegan, sustainable, recycled, natural and handcrafted. Each sale only lasts for 72 hours with limited quantities from eco brands including Nicole Bridger, Good Society, Priti NY, Hovey Lee and more. Each sale can also benefit a non-profit organization of the featured brand's choice, so you can opt to donate a percentage of your savings to that day's non-profit.

You have to join Pure Citizen to access the deals, but such huge savings with the opportunity to give back are more than worth it.

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Ecomodish reader, Brittney, suggested that I take a look at the sustainable, fair-trade jewelry from 31 BITS and I'm so glad she did - their jewelry is contemporary and colorful and their mission is inspiring.

In an effort to provide the means for women to rise above poverty, 31 BITS works with 63 women from Uganda from whom they purchase jewelry on a monthly basis. The fair-trade jewelry is handcrafted into fashion-forward designs from 100% reclaimed paper and local materials. In addition to offering a steady income to these women, 31 BITS also provides English lessons, finance training, business mentoring and health education.

Thanks, Brittney! And thanks to 31 BITS for offering such lovely, sustainable jewelry and helping to lift their talented designers out of poverty and provide them a better life.

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Are you interested in planning a green wedding? If so, The Green Bride Guide is a great resource for finding green wedding vendors and creating a green wedding gift registry.

Their green wedding directory allows you to search your area for green wedding venues, bakeries, florists, photographers and more. And their online shop offers hundreds of green gifts that you can easily save to your gift registry including green goodies for your kitchen, garden, dining, decorating and even your pets. And if you already have everything you need, you can even register for carbon offsets.

Also, if you're in need of some green wedding inspiration check out the real green weddings at the green Bride Guide. And browse their eco chic style blog.

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Ecoist's most popular styles now come in shades of pink to support Breast Cancer Awareness Month. And for the month of October, Ecoist will donate 10 percent of sales of the Pink Hope Collection to support Breast Cancer Causes. View the entire collection.

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The Oeuf Sparrow Collection, in gray, is one of my favorite modern, eco-friendly baby crib furniture collections. The warm gray is soothing and neutral, perfect for a baby boy or girl, and it compliments the light birch panels on the coordinating dresser and wardrobe. The Oeuf Sparrow is a convertible crib and can transform into a toddler bed simply by changing out one panel. It is a great choice for an eco crib being made from solid sustainable birch wood and a non-toxic lacquer finish. And it can be used as a changing table crib with their optional changing station. Available from: BabyEarth, Oompa & Giggle.

The Muu Sam crib is another modern, eco-friendly convertible crib with simple lines and made from sustainable solid maple wood and non-toxic lacquer finish. I love the decorative art panel that comes in your choice of design - from flowers and vines to helicopters and scooters to elephants, whales and butterflies. Available from: Oompa & Giggle.

If space is an issue, there are some cute eco cribs available...

The Alma Mini crib is just what it sounds like, a mini crib. It's a good solution for parents who have limited space or need an extra crib for the grandparent's house. The Alma Mini crib is made from solid sustainable birch wood and easily folds down for storage, when not in use. It comes in an assortment of low VOC colors including a bold gala green (shown above), as well as the standard neutrals. User reviews advise that its best used for newborns until 10-12 months, not 24 months as it is marketed, but they love the quality and ease of use. Available from: Giggle.

The STOKKE Sleepi crib is a compact convertible crib that transitions from newborn up to age 3 with no additional parts and can then be converted to a junior bed for use through age 7, with additional parts. It also can even be configured as two chairs with no additional parts. The STOKKE Sleepi crib is an eco crib option that grows alongside your child and is made from solid sustainable beech wood. Available from: BabyEarth & Giggle.

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