Eat more vegetables, exercise more and meditate daily. Check, check and check. You’re healthy and you’re doing all you can. Right?
What if I told you that no matter how many toxins you stop yourself from eating, there are still thousands of chemicals making their way into your body? When was the last time you went through your makeup or health and beauty products, and checked the ingredient labels?
The David Suzuki Foundation did a survey on Canadian’s cosmetics and found that 80% of products had at least one ingredient from their Dirty Dozen list for Health & Beauty products. Not only that, but more than half had multiple ingredients from the list.
How do I make sure I’m buying safe health and beauty products?
The Dirty Dozen chemicals list is a great resource to have. It identifies 12 popular ingredients in health and beauty products that people should avoid. What you need to know is that they are all chemicals, many of which are carcinogens, and some can even that mess up your hormones. You wouldn’t eat it, so why put it on your body? Remember, your skin soaks it in.
When you go shopping, steer clear from any of these 12 ingredients. The best thing to do is look for natural or organic beauty products and start there. Familiarize yourself with this list, and double-check to make sure any products you pick up don’t contain these chemicals. Be very cautious of anyone calling their products “natural.” It is an unregulated term in the industry and only means that ingredients were derived from something that was once natural. It doesn’t mean that the product is less toxic than conventional products on the market. When it doubt, compare its ingredients to the Dirty Dozen list.
How do I know “natural” products work as well as what I have now?
That’s the beauty of the internet. Use google and research. There aren’t as many reviews on organic health and beauty products, but you will find some if you look! Check out the brand’s website, or even distributors’ websites and often you will find people’s reviews of the products.
Another option is to find natural beauty bloggers and follow their posts for a while. Bloggers like Organic Beauty Talk make it their mission to teach you what’s in your makeup and provide recommendations for good organic beauty brands out there. I’m sure you are able to find many other bloggers who do the same thing, so plan some time to do a bit of research.
From personal experience, I am in love with my natural beauty products and don’t miss my chemical-laden products at all. Yes, some brands don’t work as well as others (natural deodorant is hard to nail down) but isn’t that the case with conventional health and beauty products? We all have different favourites.
Where can I get “natural” products?
Check out local health stores: You’d be surprised to see what kinds of products these places can carry. They may just have a health and beauty section. It’s especially helpful when they have sales reps who can help answer any of your questions about the products, or help you read the ingredient label.
Go online: you can find SO many organic beauty brands online. Some brands allow you to shop directly from them (like 100% Pure, and others can be found through large distributors (like Vitacost.) These websites sometimes have reviews, so you can see how others have rated the product. No matter what you do, remember to always check the ingredients. Even if you’re buying from an organic supplier, make sure to review the contents first.
Also, you can expect to pay a little bit more for organic alternatives. The processes are different and the ingredients are different. Plus, your health is worth it. If you don’t have your health, what do you have?
Now go on and take back your health. Clear out that makeup drawer. Throw out that old shampoo. You’re doing everything else well, so why should you stop there? There’s always room for improvement, so own your health and beauty. Rid yourself of toxins. Go natural.
What healthy beauty products do you use? Any recommendations?
