Happy August!! As you know, I absolutely love makeup… but recently I’ve been thinking about it a little bit differently.
You may have noticed the inundation of ‘clean beauty’ as the latest trend. I’ve always been curious about the subject, however I never felt the urge to put it on the top of my priority list.
Recently, my interest in clean beauty increased as I started realizing how little effort I think about what toxic and unhealthy chemicals I’m absorbing through the products I use on my face versus the effort I put into making healthy choices when it comes to what I eat.
After diving in deeper and researching this subject, I was also horrified to learn how unregulated the standards are for developing beauty products in the US.
So let's get to it...
What is clean beauty?
At their simplest, clean beauty products are safer, less harmful and non-toxic.
Most clean beauty providers go a step further to make sure their products are cruelty free, chemical/synthetic free and non-endocrine disrupting.
Just like the ‘dirty dozen’ guidelines for navigating organic produce shopping, there are many lists of ‘dirty ingredients’ to avoid in products – consensus is that the worst offenders are parabens, phthalates & sulfates. These ingredients not only pollute the environment, but they also pollute your body and skin!
Why you should care:
If you’re anything like me, you’re probably thinking - clean beauty sounds great in theory, like something I ‘should’ try out. It stayed like that category for me – a ‘to do down the road’ – until a friend explained it to me like this:
Your skin is your biggest organ – so why not choose things that are safer and healthier for you? If you wouldn’t eat toxic chemicals, why put them on your body where they can be absorbed? If you can get the same benefits from cleaner ingredients, why not try them out?
So do you need to throw away everything in your makeup bag and start fresh?
My advice is to start with the products you use every day, and if you need help narrowing it further, start by cleaning up your products that cover the biggest surface area!
Where can you find clean beauty products?
This is just a snapshot of some of my favorites - but there are so many amazing places to buy clean beauty products!
Clean beauty shops: CAP Beauty, Credo, Detox Market, Follain, Goop, Onda
Online: Beautycounter, LeVert, Dermstore
You can also find a selection of clean beauty products at stores like Sephora, Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, Violet Grey, Free People, Anthropologie, Revolve & Net-a-porter!
What products have I tried so far?
Whether you decide to replace your entire medicine cabinet with clean beauty products or not, my hope is that you have at least acquired some knowledge from this post in order to make more informed decisions when purchasing your next set of makeup products!
xx
Carolyn