Did you know your SKIN is your biggest organ? While many of us don’t think about it much, all those chemicals in your beauty care products get absorbed and incorporated into your body. Stop and think about that for a minute… would you really want to squirt that facial cleanser into your mouth? Yuck!
(Speaking of putting things in your mouth, have you ever read the back of your toothpaste tube? Does it tell you to call Poison Control if you swallow it? Why on Earth would you put something in your mouth with that warning on it?!)
The “big 7” cosmetics brands like Avon, Estee Lauder, L’oreal, and Unilever are far behind the curve when it comes to safe cosmetics (check out this great rundown by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics). Even many “healthy” beauty brands like Aveeno Baby, Blistex and Garner, and direct-marketing brands like Rodan + Fields are FULL of toxic ingredients.
So I always recommend investigating the ingredients in your skincare on the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database. You might be surprised at how many toxic ingredients make their way into well known brands!
If you want a crazy comprehensive list of ‘questionable’ ingredients to keep an eye out for while reading labels, Mercola has this handy cheat-sheet!
I’m always on the lookout for healthy beauty care brands (and met a ton at the Indie Beauty Expo when it came to LA a few months ago!) There are some great skin care and make up brands I use/love like:
- Eminence (been using them for years!)
- 100% Pure (their eye cream makes this tired mama look rested!)
- Pangea (BEST chapstick EVER!)
- Tata Harper (great line I’ve used for a while too!)
- Au Natural (lovely ladies doing great work who have my FAVORITE lipgloss!)
- Hynt Beauty (most of my pics recently show me wearing Hynt’s products!)
These lines all use healthy organic ingredients which nourish your body and skin while keeping you looking your best!
And my favorite, Young Living, also has some great cleanser/beauty products I love, in addition to the essential oils I use in my facial moisturizer, stretch mark oil, deodorant & more! Every bathroom in my home has plenty of their toxin-free toothpaste, mouthwash & floss, and my medicine cabinets are rainbows of gorgeous, magical little bottle of oils!
I just had to share/regram this post from @organicbunny! This is a great one to read if your friends keep inviting you to join their Rodan + Fields direct-marketing business! For healthy alternatives, she has a great list of exhaustively tested healthy beauty lines on her website. (and yes, I am in love with her name and wish I thought of it!) 🙂
https://www.instagram.com/p/BI05eX6gG4S/
Is the information about Rodan and Fields updated ? A friend told me the ingredients are different than when first introduced to the market.
Much Thanks!
Hi!
I wrote that article about 5 years ago. I don’t go back and rewrite my articles. I have no idea if they have changed their formula since, but it would be great if they improved their line. I haven’t heard anything about them being a clean or safe line through my industry contacts, but I haven’t sought it out either.
As a side note, just having different ingredients may or may not make it “clean” or safe and ‘natural’ is just a marketing buzz word to be aware of. I encourage people to always read the labels on everything … from skin care to food! Whether it goes ON your body or IN your body, your goal should be the same: Do you know all the ingredients? Are they non-toxic?
Although I hope they have changed, I’ve seen more clean and non-toxic beauty lines enter the market than established ones change. (I think because their clientele isn’t aware of the toxicity, or their clientele is resistant to change, or it’s a price situation). OSEA (one of my fave!), DIME (has a lash serum everyone is crazy about) & UMA are a few great skin care lines to try if you are in the market.
I hope that’s helpful!