Beauty With No Strings Attached - Making the switch to clean beauty
From a young age, make-up always fascinated me. I always remember wanting to put on my mum's make up, and I was so excited the day she finally let me buy my own.
Little did she or I know how many chemicals I was about to put onto my skin... on a daily basis.
Last year I went on a rampage and threw out 2 garbage bags full of chemical ridden toxic make-up, a whole bag full of beauty and personal care products. I started with everything in my make-up bag (no matter how much it cost me to buy), all of it went into the bin.
Since then I have swapped the deodorant I use, shampoo, moisturizer, tooth paste, soaps, dish washing liquid, laundry liquid and all of my cleaning products. You may be wondering what prompted me to go on this chemical overhaul! (and may be thinking I've gone a little crazy!).
But as I learnt more about the toxins we put on our skin, and in our homes EVERY SINGLE DAY, I could not unlearn the information I learnt and I had to make a change.
The average women puts 500 plus chemicals on her skin each day.
Everything you put on your skin literally sinks in, and goes straight into your blood stream. If you wouldn't eat it, don't use it.
Our skin is our largest organ, and I believe it is just as important as nourishing your body with nutritious foods, as it is to use organic and natural products on your skin. Everything you put on your skin and in your environment adds up. By reducing your toxic chemical load, by even just swapping your moisturizer, is taking a step in the right direction.
My views towards beauty products have changed (I have become a bit of a chemical free advocate!), and like food, I now have a similar approach. Every now and then I will 'indulge' in a normal shampoo, or some eye shadow or make-up that isn't organic, if I have a special event on. I believe it's completely ok to have a balanced approach towards beauty products. The first step to changing is by being mindful of the chemicals in these products and aware how often you are putting them on your skin.
All of the products I use contain natural ingredients, are chemical free and I try to go for organic foundation and lotions if I know it is something going directly on my skin and face.
I firmly believe that this plays a part in the development of disease in our bodies. Being exposed to a cocktail of chemicals 365 days per year, every year of your life surely adds up. Since the chemical revolution in the 70's, our society has been exposed to an extensive amount of chemical toxins, which in the majority of cases are considered safe until proven otherwise. We do not know the long term affects of these chemicals and my best advice is to go back to nature and make the switch.
There is a wonderful app and book called 'The Chemical Maze', so all the hard work has been done for you! Have a look on the back of your personal care products and type the ingredients into the search bar to see how they may be affecting your health. If you're not ready to go on a complete rampage like I did, then I suggest you keep your normal make-up and save it for special occasions or a night out, and use the organic/natural products day to day.
A great film to watch if you are hungry for more information is 'The Human Experiment' - subjects in this film experience the effects of chemicals on fertility and PCOS.
Here is a list of my top 11, favourite chemical free brands:
Inika - they have the best foundation and eyeliner!
Eye of Horus - I love their mascara
Ere Perez - a less pricey alternative for good mascara and foundation.
Weleda - for moisturiser, lip balm and body butter.
Kora Organics - cleanser and lip balm
Abode Healthy Home Products - I love their dish washing liquid and spray and wipe.
Springfields - shampoo
Rosehip Plus - I love their night cream
Kimberly Sayer of London- lucky last and my all time favourite, Organic Antioxidant Daily Moisturizing Cream SPF 30, I use this as a base under my make-up every day. Their Restore Anti-ageing cream is also good too.
Feel free to comment below, I would love to know if there are any brands you recommend or your views on this topic!
