The Cat’s out of the bag. What you put on your face travels through your skin and into your bloodstream- and if what you’re putting on your face is toxic, it can cause hormonal issues, disease, possibly even cancer. Lucky for us makeup enthusiasts, there are new green beauty brands popping up daily. While there are plenty of options, sometimes it’s hard to know where to begin, especially when you’ve been using the same suggestively named Nars blush for the past ten years ;) If you want to clean up your beauty routine, here’s how to start.
To change your purchasing habits, you might need to change where you shop. As of now, most Ultas, Sephoras and department stores stock very few, if any natural makeup brands (sorry Tarte, I love you but you don’t count) But hallelujah, there are now beauty retailers like Credo Beauty and The Detox Market that stock ONLY clean brands!! They have very high standards and many glorious options fit for a professional makeup artist’s kit. Shop with them online if you aren’t near a big city. Or, shop online directly with brands. As a makeup artist, here are some non-toxic beauty brands I love, and my favorite product they make:
100% pure - honestly I have no idea how this lipstick stays put so long
RMS Beauty- the magic luminizer, a cult fav!
Rituel De Fie - The Etherial Veil conceal and Cover simply a m a z i n g.
Antonym - baked blush in Copper (it’s really a bronzer)
Beauty by Earth - the BEST natural sunless tanner
W3LL People - never met a tinted moisturizer I liked better, and the mascara is award-winning!
Another bonus of Green beauty brands- they often package sustainably too, all the more reason to love this organic bronzer.
Now, I’ll admit that sometimes you just need a good waterproof mascara that won’t budge, and this isn’t something our natural beauty chemists have been able to conquer just yet. Until they do, it’s ok to use a conventional product! As long as you are aware of what’s in it- just look for the top 10 dirty ingredients to avoid:
PARABENS -Petroleum based preservative found in everything. Disrupts hormones by mimicking estrogen, potentially linked to breast cancer
MINERAL OIL / PETROLEUM- even though mineral oil sounds natural, and it technically is, our bodies can NOT metabolize it, thus it stays in us forever. Can be found in our fat tissue and breast milk, linked to possible organ toxicity.
SYNTHETIC FRAGRANCE/ PHTHALATES -The FDA allows companies to list “fragrance” as if it’s one ingredient, but it never is. This means there could be 30 other ingredients hiding behind that synthetic “fragrance” curtain. Phthalates are the #1 cause of dermatitis, also possible birth defects, breast cancer, diabetes
SULFATES/ SLS/ SLES- A highly drying and irritating foaming agent found in anything that suds
TALC -Can be laced with asbestos- since it’s not tested and there’s no way to know, it’s best to avoid
TRICLOSAN- Antibacterial agent that allows bacteria to become antibiotic resistant, endocrine disruptor
PROPYLENE GLYCOL- Petroleum derrived, helps a product (and all its ingredients) penetrate faster. Also used in anti freeze and brake fluid
BHA/BHT Synthetic preservatives, possible carcinogen and endocrine disruptor
OXYBENZONE + OCTINOXATE- These extremely common synthetic chemical sunscreens can generate free radicals in the body, endocrine disrupting
ETHANOLAMINES (MEA/DEA/TEA)- ammonia compound that is another hormone disruptor, linked to inhibited fetal brain development
Once you are in the know, it can feel a bit overwhelming. But remember that this can be a gradual change- you don’t have to throw everything out today. As you finish a conventional product, make the switch to a clean one. For further education, check out EWG’s Skin Deep Cosmetic database. This site allows you to search popular products, which are individually scored from 1-10 on a “clean” to “dirty” scale, helping you make a quick and informed decision. If you’re still skeptical that this whole thing is even an issue, head to beautytruth.com and start reading :)
Some good news regarding conventional beauty brands: they are slowly beginning to realize we DO care what goes into our products, and we’re seeing reformulations of products to remove some of the really bad stuff. Nars used to have three forms of Parabens in their blush (Methly, Propyl and butylparabens, all at the top of your do-not-use list) and now its paraben free. It’s still far from organic, but hey, it’s a start!
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from all of my green beauty research, it’s this: the only person who can regulate and care about what’s going into your body is you. Not the government, not the FDA, and not Sephora. We only get one body in this life, and it takes us on an amazing journey. Be kind to it! Here’s to being beautiful and healthy.
Xoxo,
Joelle of Dreamcatcher Artistry
