As many of you already know when I’m not obsessing over design details in my home or working with e-design clients I head up the The Safer Beauty Tribe. My love of all things beauty related, and specifically red lipstick, began when I was just two years old. Don’t believe me? Ask my mom about my red lipstick adventure and her beloved blue velvet chair. These days I’m more enthusiastic about helping women detox their beauty routines than I am about using a tube of red lipstick like Harold used his purple crayon.
As the Chief of The Safer Beauty Tribe the number one question I field from people is – where should I start?
With October being Breast Cancer Awareness month………
and switching to safer beauty products being one way to reduce your risk, I thought now would be a good time to share 5 simple ways to get started on your safe beauty journey.
*If you’re only here for the diy and design talk, I’ll be back tomorrow with an update on my One Room Challenge project!
Safe Beauty – Start Here
1. Antiperspirants and Deodorants
Switching to something safer is really easy. There are lots of safe options on the market now. Of all the brands I’ve tried Native is my favorite. It contains natural ingredients, keeps me smelling safe 😉 and feeling dry. It’s on the price-y side, but one stick lasts twice as long as the typical drug-store brand. Ongoing debate over whether the aluminum found in antiperspirants is linked to breast cancer and Alzheimer’s is what initially sparked my decision to switch to something safer. Although parabens which are also found in many drug-store brands have been shown to disrupt hormones. And are worth steering clear of as well.
*An easy way to check the safety of what you’re currently using is to download the free Healthy Living App created by the Environmental Working Group. The app makes it a breeze to take inventory of what you’re using.
2. Coconut Oil
It can and should be your favorite beauty product. It’s an all-natural solution that is loaded with vitamins E and A. For mature skin, it’s an antioxidant powerhouse. However, it’s also great for treating acne, eczema, dermatitis and psoriasis. I use it daily: to remove makeup, to shave my legs, as a body moisturizer, on my cuticles…..I mix it with coarse salt to make at home body scrubs and have even used it as a hair mask. You could probably replace a number of the products you’re currently using simply by buying some organic virgin coconut oil.
*Those individual sized packets (pictured above) make it easy to take on trips.
3. Water
It hydrates the skin from the inside out. Ditching plastic bottles and switching to glass, stainless steel or boxed water is a safer way to hydrate.
4. Safe Sunscreen
When we think about sunscreen we often think about planned outings at the beach or pool. But most of us use moisturizers and makeups with an SPF because we’ve heard for years that we should be wearing sunscreen every day. The issue is not all sunscreens are the same. Since we’re using it daily I think it’s a great place to start when you’re switching to a safer beauty routine. Chemical sunscreen ingredients aren’t as safe as those that are physical. I use Beautycounter’s Dew Skin Tinted Moisturizer SPF 20 which protects my skin from the sun with the safe, physical sunscreens Titanium Dioxide and Zinc Oxide. Check your products to see how they measure up.
5. Lipsticks and Glosses
Most of us apply it more than a couple times in a day, so I always think it’s a good product to swap for something safer. Lipsticks from many well known brands contain heavy metals. Maybe you remember seeing all the news stories from a few years ago when the FDA tested a bunch of popular brands and found that 400 contained a fairly high level of lead.
*Little tip – Lipsticks marketed as “long-lasting” are typically not in the safe zone. Ways to avoid toxins in lipsticks and glosses? Look for companies like Beautycounter that have processes in place to avoid contamination.
Join The Tribe
Making those 5 simple changes and product switches is a great place to start! The real key is in starting. Maybe it’s just one change or one product swap. It doesn’t have to be an all or nothing, all at one time, type of change. Unless of course you want it to be like that. One change is better than no change.
If you’re interested in learning more about which ingredients you should avoid and which are safe to use and if you like hearing about all-natural solutions that really work, you should totally join The Safer Beauty Tribe! It costs nothing and doesn’t overload your inbox. What you get is an informative monthly newsletter that is filled with safe beauty tips and tricks.
In this month’s newsletter I shared a really great sunscreen infographic that ranked ingredients from really toxic to totally safe. It also included an all-natural 2 ingredient face mask recipe that is totally amazing, especially at this time of year! Join the tribe by clicking here.
There is no better time of year to get started than right now! Beautycounter is my favorite beauty brand because they’re the only company in the industry working to do more than just sell products. They are actively working to affect change in this country to get safe products into the hands of everyone.
It may be too soon for you to think about, but their Holiday Gift Sets just arrived! And they are without a doubt the best bang for the buck. Seriously, these sets are a great way to try lots of different products! You totally need to gift yourself one or two! 😉 I’ve got my eyes on these:
I absolutely LOVE Native deo. I have a lot of skin issues and conventional deo makes me itch so much that I look like a scratching chimpanzee. But, I digress (and apologize for the TMI). So glad others love it too! My favorite laundry detergent and all purpose cleaner is Charlie’s Soap which is allergy and environmentally friendly.