Have you ever considered what your makeup or skincare is doing to your body? Other than making your skin less prone to breaking out, or enhancing your features.
As my wellness journey continues I’ve learned that clean beauty is equally as important as clean eating.
Our skin is our largest organ and soaks up everything like a sponge. Let me ask, do you know what ingredients are in the products you’re using let alone the effects, I know I didn’t for the longest. Using unsafe beauty products every day allows your body to soak up toxins left and right, causing more harm than good to your health.
My goal in this post is to spread awareness about what clean beauty is and how to clean your beauty routine!
Here is what we will cover:
- Why is clean beauty important
- What is clean beauty
- How to clean up your beauty routine
- Where to find trusted clean beauty products
If you want to save this post for later, feel free to PIN it!
Why is clean beauty important?
Truth is at first I didn’t believe the hype about clean beauty. I thought it was unnecessary since the products I was using seemed to be working. I always went by the store labels, you know the labels claiming the products to be “natural”, “organic”, and “green” (which are completely unregulated by the way in the beauty industry), while not knowing what in the world the ingredients on the back meant.
After realizing the sad truth of the beauty industry and researching some of the ingredients in some of my favorite beauty products I knew I had to make a change.
I didn’t want to act like the products I loved for so long weren’t causing harm to my health. Harm such as increasing my risk for cancer, skin allergies, birth defects, endocrine disruption, and skin aging to name some.
If we wouldn’t want to eat toxic chemicals why would we want to put them on our bodies? Why not feel good from the inside out?
What is clean beauty?
Let me start by saying “clean beauty” is an unregulated term created because of the zero regulation in the beauty industry and by consumers and companies who want a better alternative. Clean beauty products are those made without ingredients that compromise health for results while keeping our planet in mind.
Think of ingredients you can recognize and pronounce. While there’s often a focus on natural ingredients like plant extracts, safe lab-made ingredients can also make the clean beauty ingredient list.
Common ingredients to avoid:
Parabens | Disrupts the endocrine system (hormones), and increases the risk of breast cancer. Ex) Cosmetics, Hair Products |
Formaldehyde | A carcinogen found in tobacco that can irritate the skin, eyes, nose, and throat. Ex) Hair Products |
Sodium lauryl sulfate (SLS) / Sodium laureth sulfate (SLES) | Skin, lung, and eye irritants. It can also potentially interact with other chemicals to form nitrosamines, a carcinogen. This leads to kidney and respiratory damage. Exs) Soap, Shampoo, Toothpaste |
Phthalates | Endocrine disruptors that may cause early puberty in girls and boys, and reduces sperm count in men. Exs) Deodorant, Nail Polish, Perfumes |
Heavy Metals | Metals such as lead are linked to cancer and reproductive toxicity. Ex) Cosmetics |
Oxybenzone | It generates free radicals in the body that destroys DNA. May also disrupt hormones. Ex) Sunscreen |
Hydroquinone | It can cause severe skin redness, burning, stinging, dryness, cracking, bleeding, blisters, oozing and blue or black discoloration of the skin. Ex) Skin Lightning Products |
Triclosan | Thyroid and reproductive hormone disrupter, skin irritant, and contributes to making bacteria antibiotic-resistant. Exs) Soap, Mouthwash, Toothpaste |
Fragrance | Umbrella for thousands of untested chemicals. Triggers asthma, allergies and linked to hormone disruption. |
Often, these ingredients are added to products to make them more delightful, whether to provide a certain scent, create a luxurious lather or give them a longer shelf life. Unfortunately, our bodies don’t know how to process them.
The simple truth:
Only 11 ingredients are banned in the cosmetics industry by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (F.D.A). In comparison to the European Union Regulation (E.U.R.) there are over 1,300 banned ingredients in cosmetic products.
Not to mention, the last time Congress passed a law regulating the cosmetics industry was in 1938— legit well before my grandma was even born.
Crazy, huh! With the rise of birth defects, autoimmune conditions, hormonal imbalances, fertility issues, and other serious health concerns, I knew my research was bringing things to life. There is no way I could sit back and not share my thoughts. I want to help get clean beauty products in as many hands as possible.
“BE GOOD TO YOUR SKIN. YOU’LL WEAR IT EVERY DAY FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE.”
How to clean up your beauty routine?
Here are some tips that have helped me switch to the clean beauty lifestyle.
- Download the app “THINK DIRTY” for free: Truly a lifesaver! Simply scan or look up a beauty product you are looking to purchase or a product you already have in your home. The app will rate the toxicity level of the product from 0-10. Zero is non-toxic and ten is a toxic danger zone. If your products are harmful the app provides options to clean products, which is a nice touch!
- Switch out your products gradually: Switching out your products takes time. You don’t have to throw away every toxic product you own because you’ll find yourself looking for beauty products the next morning, or putting a dent in your wallet by purchasing all new items!
- Start with your MOST used products: To make it easy on yourself start with what you buy most often. Whether it’s mascara, deodorant, or face cleansers start with swapping those products out first!
- Multi-purpose products are your friend: I love a good two-in-one duo. For example, I use the ILIA Multi-Stick which functions as a lip and cheek tint.
- Let clean beauty stores do the work for you: There are dedicated stores that are passionate about only selling clean beauty and wellness products. These stores are great resources because they take the guesswork out.
Where can you find trusted clean beauty products?
Credo Beauty:
Credo Beauty has both an online site and conventional stores. Their mission is to discover the best, cleanest luxury brands around, and they carry the largest collection of clean beauty products.
Aillea Beauty:
Aillea Beauty has both an online store and conventional stores. Aillea is all about empowering everyone to make healthy choices about the products they put on their body. They are actually 20 min up the road from me in Raleigh and I enjoy attending events, getting facials, and discussing all things clean beauty with the Aillea team. I have a great experience every time, and I def recommend them!
The Detox Market:
The Detox Market has an online site as well as conventional stores. Before brands can partner with them they must fit their standards and pass their approval process. With the hundreds of submissions, they receive each year only 2% make the cut.
Current clean beauty favs:
Final Thoughts
Switching to clean beauty products has by far been a no brainer. As my wellness journey continues I want to continue to put my health first.
All I have left to say is dueces to toxic beauty and hello to clean beauty.
I would love to hear from you!
Leave me a comment below and share your thoughts, results, or challenges with switching to clean beauty products!
And if this post helped you learn something new or inspired you, please share!
Leave a Reply