Is this your typical day: wash your face, brush your teeth, shower with body wash and maybe use shampoo and conditioner? Then you slather on lotion, face cream with spf, perhaps make-up. You definitely don’t forget antiperspirant, and maybe a little spritz of perfume before you walk out the door.
The average woman uses 12 products with 168 chemicals before she even leaves her house.
Your skin, your largest organ, absorbs, on average, 64% of contaminants from drinking water. Ok, so maybe now you are thinking about taking shorter showers; good idea! But that also means your skin can absorb contaminants from other sources as well. Sadly, it appears that the skin on our faces is even more permeable and our underarms have nearly a 100% absorption rate. Yikes!
Let's support this incredible organ that protects us every second of the day.
Here's the deal; the beauty industry is largely self-regulated and makes claims without much testing at all. Luckily, there are watchdog organizations such as the EWG Clean beauty and Campaign for Safe Cosmetics that can help us to be more informed consumers. Since many of the ingredients have long names that are difficult to remember and understand, you can try to learn the most egregious ones and then rely on places that regulate the cosmetics they sell such as Credo and “Clean” at Sephora and the Think Dirty - Shop Clean app.
Would you like to make some changes?
Most importantly, start small. Finish up the products you are using now and replace them with a safer, non-toxic alternative. Treat yourself to something new from Credo Beauty or another company that makes its own clean products.
Some of our favs...
Ilia mascara (doesn't smudge!)
RMS eyeshadow pots
Juice Beauty CC cream with SPF
RMS lip, RMS eyebrow powder
Kosas concealer
Bite beauty
Josie Maran
A great place to start is switching to a cleaner, safer sunscreen. Look for ones that ONLY use zinc oxide and/or titanium dioxide as the sunblock. We promise, new formulations do not leave your face white, especially the tinted ones. Sharene really likes the CC tinted cream from Juice Beauty.
Another easy switch is changing your lip balm. The petroleum found in Chapstick, Vaseline, Aquaphor and other commercial brands is drying, can be contaminated with other chemicals and is a by-product of the oil industry.
Do you really want to put something on your lips or your body that is similar to what you put in your car?
Look for balms that use plant based oils such as olive, coconut, almond and beeswax. Burt’s Bees is a good one. Sharene likes the Dr. Bronners lip balm. Lisa loves Healthy Jelly as a replacement for petroleum jelly/Aquaphor. It has just four ingredients that are easily recognizable.
And what about the terminology;
Cruelty Free: Not tested on animals.
Vegan: No animal products
Organic: Made with ingredients not treated with herbicides, pesticides and growth hormones
Natural: Made with ingredients found in nature
Green: Uses plant based ingredients that meet certain eco friendly and sustainability standards
These labels sound great but they're simply marketing claims. Any cosmetics with these designations can still be made with harmful chemicals! That said, typically cosmetics that are labeled GREEN or ORGANIC are safer.
Get savvy, read the labels and take care of your skin!
xo Lisa and Sharene
Comentarios