Lately, as the toxic chemicals in beauty products have been getting more and more attention in the media, I've had several friends approach me to get my recommendations on the products and brands that I've switched to now that I use primarily natural and organic lines (hi Melissa and Aynsley!). For many, the process of switching from beloved, well-known brands to smaller, more obscure (but healthier!) lines can be downright terrifying, and I consistently hear cries of, "But I don't even know where to start!" And that's where today's post comes in. Sure, there's a whole universe of clean, cruelty free, non-toxic beauty products out there to discover, but no one said you have to figure it all out overnight. So here are my top 5 easy tips to starting a non-toxic cosmetics lifestyle and getting on the road to better beauty health!
Tip #1: Choose a category to start with
If you're like most women, you probably have anywhere from 20-50 (or more) beauty and cosmetic products in your household -- everything from bath products to body lotions to hair products, makeup, perfumes, etc. (and we're not even touching the cleaning and household categories). This means the process can quickly get overwhelming if you try to tackle everything all at once.
That said, my number one recommendation is to start your transition slowly. Why do most people fail when they try to "give up" things or take on a new habit? Because they do it too fast and ultimately get frustrated. To prevent this from happening, I say choose a single category to convert -- maybe it's the things in your shower, like your soap, shampoo and body wash; or maybe it's your hair products. Whatever you choose, tackle a small sampling of products at first. You can ALWAYS go back and do more if you're feeling comfortable, but it's hard to rebound once you've exhausted yourself.
Tip #2: Do your research!
I never would have even started on this journey if it weren't for Bulgarian YouTuber Poli's (policosmetics82) video on parabens. Her story about scientists finding paraben particles in the tissue of breast tumors really resonated with me, and got me interested in learning more about that ingredient in particular. Of course, the more I researched parabens, the more I found articles about other harmful ingredients in cosmetics, and voila!, my eyes had been opened to the world of toxic beauty products. Believe it or not, before that fateful day two years ago, I had no idea that there were even harmful things in my cosmetics. Call it naive, but I believed that all of these big brands selling us things would be keeping our health and wellness in mind during product development. Clearly, I was WAY wrong!
So do some research, even if that's making random Google searches about toxicity. Read about different ingredients, their industrial uses, their levels of toxicology and figure out which of them sound the most scary or harmful to you. Remember that this is an individual process and you make the rules, so no one says you have to avoid everything that's even slightly harmful if you don't want to do so. But do figure out which ingredients you care most to avoid -- for me, things like parabens and SLS are absolute deal breakers, but I'll put up with fragrance/parfum. Once you've done your research, make a list and keep it in your wallet. This way when you're looking to buy a new product, you can whip out your list and cross-check against the product's ingredients. Many of the ingredient names are really long and hard to remember, so this will ease the burden on your brain!
Tip #3: Evaluate your collection
Find a span of 30 minutes that you can devote to pulling out all the items in your chosen category and giving the ingredients a good, thorough read. You may notice that some products are great about including all of the ingredients on the packaging, whereas other brands try to hide this information, either by including it only on the external box/plastic that you've probably thrown away by now, or by not listing things at all (this is particularly common on travel or sample sizes, or on products that use "active" ingredients, as those are the only ones they are required to list by law). If you don't see the full list of ingredients, sites like Sephora and Ulta often list the ingredients on their product pages, or you can visit the manufacturer's websites directly. I've even taken to calling some manufacturers who made it ridiculously hard to find their ingredients list to have them sent to me. A few who really wouldn't cooperate just lost my business by that alone. The Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep Cosmetics Database is another great resource. It assigns toxic ratings to more than 70K products and explains which ingredients they find harmful and why.
As you're reviewing the ingredients in your products, you should have your list of those to avoid handy. You may be surprised to see that some products that you already own are healthier than you may have thought, or you may find that some are much more harmful than you imagined. Take stock of what's good and bad in your current collection, and write out a list of product types that you may need to find healthier options for in the future.
Tip #4: Sort your stash
Now that you've got a good grasp of what in your collection is healthy and what is not, divide things into a keep, sell, toss and donate pile. Keep those things that are healthy and decide whether or not you'll keep or purge the unhealthy items. Give yourself some grace here -- if your favorite mascara happens to not be very healthy and you JUST bought it, it's ok to allow yourself to keep it and use it up. Just make the commitment to finding and buying a healthier alternative next time.
Any new, unused and sealed items can be donated to a local women's shelter (some will even take things that are very gently used) or sold on sites like eBay. You could also do a blog sale, sell them in a garage sale or re-gift them. (There's been some criticism of people saying selling or re-gifting these items is hypocritical since they are toxic. Although there is validity to that statement, that's like saying that because I'm a vegan, everyone in the world should or will stop eating animal products. Clearly that's not going to happen, nor would I push my lifestyle on anyone else. Likewise, not everyone is going to care about chemicals in beauty products. So understanding that these things have value to other people, and capitalizing on that, rather than flushing money down the toilet or sending things to a landfill, is just common sense.)
Anything that's almost used up, is old/expired or in just downright poor condition should just be thrown out.
Tip #5: Have fun finding new products!
This is the best part! There are so many amazing companies that sell healthy products, and now that you've got some empty space in your medicine cabinet or under-the-sink cupboard, it's time to replace what you've tossed! Do some Google or YouTube searches on organic and natural products in your category to see what other people have already tried and liked. Read blog reviews or join posting forums with others trying to make the switch. Take advantage of sampling programs and don't be afraid to ask different companies if they give free samples or offer trial kits. Don't be afraid to try a new brand or product just because the name doesn't seem familiar, or because the format is something you're unused to (like a powder foundation or mineral eyeshadow). And remember that most large retailers (Sephora, Ulta and even Whole Foods come to mind) have great return policies that let you try out a product and bring it back for a full refund if it's not something you like. Don't get discouraged if it takes a while to find something you truly love -- great products are out there for you to discover.
Most importantly, make sure you're reading the ingredient list for every product you buy before you fork over any cash. Just because something is labeled natural, organic, or cruelty free doesn't actually mean that it is.
Overall, remember that every baby step you make is a positive change that will contribute to your health and happiness. Have fun with it, and enjoy each step of the journey!
If you've recently switched over your cosmetics and have tips to add, feel free to share them in the comments below. Or, if you have any follow up questions, leave those here as well. Good luck!
Jan 19, 2014
Book Review: Thirteen Reasons Why
I had heard a lot about this book from YouTubers who do book reviews, and had always been tempted to purchase it, but I kept telling myself to stop buying books and just get them from the library (as I already have a personal library that becomes more difficult to find storage for as time passes). However, every once in a while, a book that I've been looking to read will just present itself to me when I've no intention of buying a book and I just can't help myself. That's what happened yesterday at Target when I just so happened to stumble down the book aisle and found this staring at me for a cool 20% off.
Thirteen Reasons Why is the story of Hannah Baker, and as morbid as it sounds, the story of why she committed suicide, as told to her friend Clay through a series of cassette tapes. Now, as I'm nearly 30 I clearly remember the days of cassette tapes, but for the teen set, this may seem like a pretty foreign and outdated concept. Granted, the author is pretty purposeful in his intent with cassette tapes, which he reveals in the book's appendix. His theory is that, given that they are already painfully outdated and that he admits this in the book, the book itself slips past without seeming outdated, despite the passage of time. Quite interesting.
The novel, while not your typical thriller, is written in a suspenseful tone and quickly becomes a page-turner that's too difficult to put down. For as you read each chapter and listen (with your mind's eye) to Hannah's story unfold, it's almost as though you become Clay, become so invested in the details, connections, coincidences that are revealed. The characters that you meet along the way morph and evolve with the stories, and you quickly realize that within every person is a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, a persona that's shown to the outside world, and believed, but which is covering a layer of dark, deep secrets and truths.
And in my opinion, that's the beauty of this book, that inside it's quick-paced writing, enveloping storyline and arresting characters, it's teaching us two lessons. Firstly, the lesson that seeing isn't always believing. That everyone has a story that's hidden beneath the surface, and that everyone has their share of trials, hurts, insecurities, moments they aren't proud of, etc. But secondly, and more importantly, it teaches us that although we may feel like we're one small cog in the wheel of the world, we matter. To someone, or to many people, the things that we do, the things that we say, the little things that happen in passing that we may never give a second thought to, matter. They have a ripple effect, and sometimes without us even being conscious of it, we are playing a part in a bigger story that is meaningful in someone's life. The book teaches us to be mindful of what we say, what we do and how we treat those in our lives. It teaches us to be kind, to stand up for what's right, to be brave even when we're scared, to take chances. And that's a beautiful thing.
Thirteen Reasons Why was written in 2007 and published as a Young Adult novel. And granted, the type is bigger and the vocabulary less worldly than a traditional novel for adults, but the story is ageless. I can't imagine anyone not being moved by it.
If you want to learn more, I found Jay Asher's web site for this novel, so feel free to check it out: http://www.thirteenreasonswhy.com/index.html. And if you've read the book, I'd love to hear your thoughts and feelings in the comments below.
Jan 18, 2014
Review & Comparison: Not Your Mother's Clean Freak dry shampoo versus Batiste Dark & Deep Brown
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Not the look I'm going for.
About 6 months ago I was wandering through Marshall's of all places and saw the Batiste Deep & Dark Brown dry shampoo in the beauty aisle, and after examining the ingredients to check for parabens and other major no-nos, excitedly put it in my cart. It was great to finally find a dry shampoo that actually blended in with my hair!
Of course, I will admit that I don't think ANY dry shampoo is a total miracle worker. For me, I find that they do a decent, if sometimes pretty good, job at absorbing the oil and making my hair look freshly washed. And, as an added benefit, they tend to add some volume and make my somewhat greasy hair at least a little bit easier to style. But frankly, by mid-day, I probably need to be re-applying, for my hair most definitely still falls flat and starts to look greasy as it did before I applied. Probably not much we can do to avoid that, I guess!
Needless to say, I was pretty satisfied with my Batiste until I got my recent Influenster Violet VoxBox, which had a travel size Not Your Mother's Clean Freak Refreshing Dry Shampoo in it. Of all the items I got in my VoxBox, I was most excited to try this one (as the rest were a bit junky, as I mentioned in my previous post). However, I'll admit that I was kind of scared that this would be just like the typical dry shampoos and cause my hair to turn a hideous white! (Thankfully that was not the case!)
At first, I didn't believe it, but it actually seemed as though the NYM dry shampoo was working better than my Batiste! Where the Batiste took a bit longer than I'd like to dry after spraying my hair, the NYM seemed to absorb much more quickly. Where the Batiste sort of made my head itch throughout the day (and when you scratched left a kind of gross brown smudge under your fingernail from the added colorants), the NYM left me feeling much more comfortable. And despite not having any ADDED colorants, the NYM dry shampoo didn't leave even the slightest ounce or tinge of gray or white in my hair.
From a scent perspective, the two products are quite different, with the Batiste smelling sweeter, a bit more flowery, and the NYM smelling much more fresh (as the name claims) with a hint of citrus or grassy notes. I don't care so much about fragrance, so this doesn't make me prefer one product over the other.
What's the only thing I didn't like about the NYM dry shampoo? I think their brand is aimed at girls younger than myself (I'm 29) with their "Not Your Mother's" claim and the way they describe their product on the back: "I know you're busy keeping up with that social life!...Get that perfect hair (and the perfect guy!) before all the other girls, etc. etc." It seems very much geared toward the pre-teen and teen market, which I am certainly well past (although I appreciate that segment of the marketplace very much!). So if anything, the branding makes me feel a wee bit alienated.
This post is getting REALLY long so I want to wrap up my thoughts quickly. After doing some final research, I discovered that the NYM product is not only better, but cheaper! You can get a 7 oz can for $5.99 as compared to a 6.7 oz can of the Batiste for $8.99. And, if you care, the NYM is rated a 6 on the Environmental Working Group's Skin Deep cosmetics database, whereas the Batiste is a 7 (and in retrospect seems to have more harmful ingredients).
Looks like I'll be buying the Not Your Mother's Dry Shampoo the next time I'm in the market!
Do you have a favorite dry shampoo? Tell the Beauty Babble community in the comments below.