Let’s be honest (you knew that pun was coming) The Honest Company has built their brand on the star power of Founder Jessica Alba but also their commitment to creating eco-friendly products for the whole family at an affordable price. After following Jessica Alba on Instagram for a few months and subsequently being bombarded with adorably designed packaging I decided to give The Honest Company a try. Advertising works!
I decided to try out the Family Essentials kit which is free, except it’s not. It’s advertised as free but you still have to pay the $5.95 shipping. It wasn’t a huge deal since I was looking for more natural everyday products anyway especially for after the baby arrives. The full size Family Essentials monthly kit (5 full size items) is $35.95 USD plus $5.95 shipping and you can mix and match the products you receive. It auto-ships out to you every month.
I tried each of the samples and here are my thoughts!
Honest Shampoo and Body Wash in Sweet Orange Vanilla
Safe for the whole family including infants and those with sensitive skin. It’s tear-Free, hypoallergenic, pediatrically tested, biodegradable, pH balanced
- My favourite item in the bunch. I actually bought the full size version to use for bathing the baby!
- The scent is sweet but very light and it worked well as a body wash and left my hair feeling silky smooth
Honest Face and Body Lotion
This lotion is hypoallergenic, fragrance-free, vegan, biodegradable, pH balanced. It contains organic oils hydrate, chamomile calendula and aloe.
- This was a fail for me. While it was fast absorbing it wasn’t hydrating enough for me. I have dry skin and this just wouldn’t work for me
- It had a weird plastic smell which I hope was just a one-off thing. Maybe it was expired? The smell was pretty off-putting and I only used it once and then tossed it
Honest Healing Balm
The balm is fragrance free and contains organic oils, chamomile and calendula. It’s safe for infants and adults alike!
- I used this on my cuticles and it worked well. It’s heavy duty so it takes a while to soak in but it did leave my skin feeling soft and smooth
- This also had a slightly plastic-y smell. Like I said before, I hope I just got a bad batch.
- There are a lot of other “natural” and organic balms on the market right now and this just didn’t stand out to me
Honest Liquid Hand Soap in Lavender
This soap is hypoallergenic and pH balanced.
- I love the scent of this! It’s quite strong but I love lavender so I didn’t mind at all
- I’m not too picky about hand soap. This one was nice and smelled great! If I saw it at Target I might buy it again
Honest Multi-Surface Cleaner
This multi-purpose cleaner is biodegradable and contains plant-based ingredients. It’s lightly scented with grapefruit essential oil.
- I used this to clean my counters and it worked well
- The scent was very light and it didn’t leave any film behind
- I love that it is biodegradable and for $5.99 I would consider buying it again
In the photo above you can see the long list of things The Honest Company does not include in their products. It’s a long list! If you are looking to make the switch to a more eco-friendly brand it’s worth trying a few things out for yourself. I’ve bought their hand sanitizer from Target and I really like it! My overall experience is that their products can be a bit hit and miss.
If you live in Canada I have some bad news. If you want to subscribe to their monthly boxes or purchase anything from their website you will have to pay an international surcharge of 25%. That’s nuts! However Indigo, Canadian Tire and Bed Bath & Beyond carry this line so you can always purchase the products there.
If you live in the US you can get free shipping for orders over $50, otherwise you just have to pay that pesky $5.95 for each order.
Have you tried anything from The Honest Company? Let me know in the comments!
Courtney says
Give the Organic Healing Balm another try, especially once baby arrives! Maybe you did just have an “off” one because ours doesn’t smell plastic-y at all. Emmett gets super dry cheeks when he is teething and it works wonders! We also use it when he has a diaper rash and it works great for that too!
Megan Joy says
I still have quite a bit left in the sample (and you need such a small amount each time) that I will be able to try it out on baby girl once she is here. Great to hear someone else’s experience! I really do thing it was an old/bad batch!
Tiffany says
I did the exact same thing and had the same exact reactions as you! I just finished up the face and body lotion last night and was so glad…(I have a “I have to use it up if I open it” thing) but I hated it so I’m so glad it’s gone, it didn’t do anything…honestly less than a minute later I was dry again. But I’m obsessed with the baby wash and the healing balm and the lavender hand soap…and those darn cute diapers! I keep trying to buy less expensive ones…this is so dumb, we throw them away! But I love those prints so much! : )
Megan Joy says
We have a bunch of their diapers as well, and the wipes! We are cloth diapering but we are waiting until she is about a month old to start. The Honest Company has such cute diaper patterns like you said 🙂
Chantal says
I didn’t try their body products, but I tried their diapers. They were so cute! They worked ok, but I preferred Pampers. 🙂
Megan Joy says
I’ve heard that from a lot of people. They have super cute patterns and it’s nice they are a bit more “green” but they don’t seem to work as well as Pampers. We are switching to cloth diapers once she is a month old but we have a mix of Pampers and The Honest Company diapers to get us through the first month or so 🙂
Jessica Anna says
I cannot wait to try this range, I saw Jessica’s add for it and it looks awesome! That essentials kit looks really good, I wouldn’t mind paying the postage for such a great starting range. Shame that the lotion wasn’t hydrating enough, I can live with the plastic smell. Do you know if they’re also cruelty free (I’d assume they are, but I’m just making sure)? Great post Megan! x
Megan Joy says
On their website it says that they are a licensee of PETA’s cruelty-free logo so my guess it yes they are cruelty-free 🙂
Angie says
25% surcharge on shipping is insane, you gotta love crappy tire for selling it, I would’ve never guessed! Great read, I wanted to read up on this brand for awhile