Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links which means I receive a small commission if you make a purchase from one of the links. Obviously all opinions are my own! I only share products that I use and truly love! 🙂
Happy Sunday! Over the past month or so I have really taken an interest in learning about clean beauty/skincare products and the ingredients in them. Not going to lie, what actually got me into clean beauty and using non-toxic products was Kourtney Kardashian. She recently came out with her own lifestyle blog and brand called Poosh. I will link it here if anyone wants to check it out where she talks about all things healthy lifestyle: non-toxic beauty and skincare, healthy recipes that are still delicious, work out hacks, home decor tips and fashion. I love it!
I was reading a post of hers called Clean Beauty Products Kourt Uses Every Day, and she talked about an app she uses called EWG’s Skin Deep. This app allows you to scan or type in your beauty or skincare products (you can also search food as well) to see how toxic or harmful they are. EWG ranks products on a scale from 1 to 10, 1 being a product that has the least concern and 10 being a product with the most concern. The app also lists out each individual ingredient that makes up the product and its ranking, so you can see which ingredients are the most harmful. Here’s another post that talks a little more about the EWG database and why you should be using it!
Obviously after hearing about this app, I downloaded it immediately to see how my products ranked. I was honestly shocked! A majority of my products were over a 5 on the spectrum.
Before downloading this app, I really knew nothing about the ingredients that made up my beauty and skincare products. It just never occurred to me that the products I was using could be that harmful.
It also never crossed my mind that I actually need to be looking at what ingredients are in my beauty products.
I mean, how many of you are reading the ingredients that are in a foundation when you go to the store to buy a new one? Probably not many.
I can guarantee you, the majority of people are looking at the packaging design, what the product claims it will do or maybe reading reviews online, but hardly anyone is actually looking at what ingredients make up the product.
There are a number of ingredients/harmful chemicals that are currently in beauty and skincare products that we need to stay away from. Here are just a few: Phthalates, Parabens, Formaldehyde, Triclosan, PEG’s, Fragrance, Oxybenzone, Sodium Laureth Sulfate and Sodium Lauryl Sulfate.
A number of these chemicals listed above that make up our skin and beauty products are hormone disruptors, allergens, carcinogens, or are linked to cancer or infertility.
Quick Fact about Fragrance
The word “Fragrance” or “Perfume” is found on MANY bottles of our favorite products. However, there are a number of secret chemicals that companies add into the product that collectively make up the “fragrance” label that the company doesn’t have to individually list out for consumers to see.
So, typically it is best practice to just avoid products that contain “fragrance” in them altogether.
If you’re interested in learning more about this, there are some fascinating articles that talk about the many hidden chemicals that are found in fragrance.
A Few more Facts
Did you know that the U.S. only bans 30 ingredients from cosmetics, while the European Union bans more than 1,300?
Or did you know that the U.S. hasn’t updated a major federal law regulating our cosmetic industry since 1938? Guys.. 1938. That’s 81 years. Just think about that.
As a country, our beauty laws and regulations are severely lacking.
So basically what this means is it’s up to us as consumers to read packaging labels and ingredients to ensure that the products we are using on our skin isn’t toxic or harmful to our body.
Why I am Making the Switch to Cleaner products
Hearing and reading about the state of our cosmetics industry is extremely upsetting to me, which is why I am choosing to consciously make a change in the beauty and household products that I buy and use. If I can limit my exposure to harmful chemicals in my every day products, I’m going to do the best I can to do so.
As well as limiting my exposure to these ingredients, I also want to advocate for more regulations within our beauty industry! We should not have to read the ingredients label on a product to know that it won’t be harmful to our bodies. Chemicals that have any harmful effects to us should not be used to make our products.
I am a huge beauty lover and if there was so much information that I didn’t know about the beauty industry in the U.S., I’m sure there’s plenty of people that are in the same boat!
How I am making the Switch!
Switching over all your beauty, skincare, cleaning, and household products to more clean and sustainable options can be expensive, so I am taking my time and slowly transitioning my products to safer alternatives. When one of my products runs out and I need to buy another one, I am looking for products that are more environmentally friendly and are made with safe ingredients. Because if I am buying a new foundation, moisturizer, or eye cream any way then I might as well opt for the cleaner and safer version of those products!
When I buy products at Target, I now look for the Target Clean label on them. You can even filter your search on their website to only view the products that have that label on them. Sephora also has a similar label for their clean products. You can filter your search online by typing in Clean at Sephora.
This is a great start to finding cleaner beauty products for your every day use!
I love that there are actually a lot of companies and brands that are linking arms in this “clean beauty movement” and are making a true effort to make every day products safer for us. 🙂
Do you want to make the switch to Clean Beauty!?
If you want to make the switch now to cleaner products, Target just launched a new environmentally friendly private brand called Everspring that is extremely affordable and has the cutest packaging! They have all-purpose cleaners made with 100% recyclable bottles, USDA certified hand soaps, tons of not-toxic and cruelty-free glass cleaners, laundry detergents, dish soap, cleaning wipes, essential oils, candles, and more. This entire product line ranges in price from $2.79-$11.99!! SOO affordable!
Another great website that I have been using is called Credo Beauty. I’ll link the website here. It’s basically a one-stop shop for all your clean beauty needs! All of the brands and products listed on this site are clean, non-toxic, cruelty-free, made without ingredients on the Dirty List. This is a great site to use to ensure that all the products you are using are clean!
If you made it to the end of this post, thank you!! It was a bit longer than usual, but I just had so much information to share! My main goal for you after reading this is for you to be more conscious about the ingredients in the products you are using. Next time you go to the store, scan your item in the EWG app, look at the ingredients, or check to see if the item has a clean icon on it. I challenge you to swap out at least one of your most used beauty items for a cleaner alternative!
And don’t forget to share this information with your friends and family! Let’s all advocate for safer beauty and household products!
For those of you who are already on board with the clean beauty movement, what are some of your favorite clean beauty products?
**Coming to the blog in May, I will be sharing a list of my favorite clean and cruelty-free beauty, skincare and household cleaning brands!
Have an amazing week everyone! Here’s to Safer beauty for all!
XO
Cassie
