I have been on a journey to clean up my lifestyle without even fully realizing it at first. I would say this journey started a while back with my food choices and has now evolved into safe beauty choices and even cleaner household products. Once I learned more about the harmful ingredients found in our everyday products and the potential health effects they may have on us – it was something I could not “un-know.” Everyday, the more I learn about safe beauty, better for you ingredients in our food, safer personal care and cleaning products – the more I want to share with everyone. I am so excited to kick off a new blog series and share the different ways I have worked to Clean It Up, from safe beauty to a better for you pantry we’re going to cover the simple swaps you can make for a safer lifestyle.
Let’s Get Personal
Today, let’s get personal…with our personal care that is. Some of the first safe beauty choices I made years ago involve personal care. I would say if you’re going to start cleaning up your products the best place to start are with those staple personal care products you use daily.
- Oral Care
- Deodorant
- Cleanser
- Moisturizer
- Soap, Shampoo + Conditioner
As women we probably use dozens of other products daily, but for me – these are the day in and day out products that no matter what I am putting on my body, so I want to be sure I’m using products that are safe for me. These are also the first products that I really learned more about the dangerous ingredients included in many popular brands, which I found shocking. For example, popular toothpaste brands – even those who claim to be natural, may contain harmful ingredients that have been linked to endocrine disruption, carcinogens, and inflammatory agents. Four popular ingredients in toothpaste to avoid are: fluoride, titanium dioxide, SLS, and Carrageenan.
A favorite, safer toothpaste (and oral care) brand of mine that steers clear of these harmful ingredients is Dr. Brite. This safer oral care brand has a full line of dental products including toothpaste, mouthwash, teeth whitening pens, sprays, and even pet products!
Oral Care Safe Swap Recommendations
Deodorant Safe Swap Recommendations
Deodorant was one of the first products I made the safe swap in. The deodorant brands of our adolescents, and many popular deodorant brands today have an active ingredient of aluminum. Aluminum compounds are found in many leading deodorants – these are the ingredients that clog your pores and prevent sweating. The aluminum compounds can also be absorbed into your skin and have been linked to causing breast cancer, as a result of mimicking estrogen which promotes breast cancer cell growth.
Safe Swaps for Everyday Skincare: Cleanser + Moisturizer
Switching to safe beauty products may seem like a daunting task. I am not suggesting you need to throw out your entire makeup bag or caboodle (remember those?!) – but making a few swaps on beauty products you use everyday, is a great start. For me, some of the first beauty products I switched out were my cleanser and moisturizer. These are skincare staples I use everyday, so it made sense to transition these products to safe beauty products.
Beautycounter’s Nourishing Cream Cleanser has become a staple in my beauty routine. Gentle, yet very nourishing, this safe beauty cleanser washes away dirt and makeup without harmful surfactants or sulfates. The Nourishing Cream Cleanser has witch hazel as an ingredient to tone, and coconut oil to hydrate (yes, please!). Since using this cleanser (and other Beautycounter products), I have noticed a nice glow to my skin.
If there was only one Beautycounter product I could recommend to everyone (which would be nearly impossible….they’re all amazing!) it would be the Countermatch Adaptive Moisture Lotion. I know I shared this in a previous blog post, but I love it so much so you get all the good info again! This stuff is magic. Okay, maybe not magic but the technology behind this product brings it pretty darn near close to magic. The Countermatch Adaptive Moisture Lotion uses Bio-mimic technology to adapt to your skin’s moisture needs throughout the day. I tend to have oily skin around my t-zone, but with this moisturizer, I never feel greasy at the end of the day like I used to. I love this moisturizer and can tell that it has been a game changer for my skin, leaving me with a smoother complexion throughout the day and giving my skin everything it needs.
Safe Beauty In The Shower: Soap, Shampoo + Conditioner
Last, but certainly not least (gotta keep ya squeaky clean and safe) is all of your showering necessities: soap, shampoo + conditioner.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover the Raw Sugar brand at Target. Raw Sugar’s personal cleansing items are formulated using Cold Press Technology, which keeps the integrity of the plant vs. stripping it down (like cold pressed juices). The Raw Sugar items are also clean formulated without harsh chemicals, sulfate free, paraben free, cruelty free, and made with eco-friendly packaging (snaps all around for you Raw Sugar). Not to mention, they are a brand who gives back. For every Raw Sugar item sold, a bar of soap is donated to a family in need. I personally love their bar soap – it lasts forever and smells amazing!
Safe haircare was a little tricky for me to find. I tried several “natural” haircare brands, but never felt like my hair was getting clean. Maybe it’s because I was used to the sulfates stripping down my hair!? I finally found a great match with Beautycounter’s haircare. Beautycounter offers several different haircare options to meet the needs of different hair types. For me, the Volume and Shape Collection is a go-to. Hibiscus plant protein naturally gives my hair a lift (and leaves it smelling ah-may-zing). I also don’t have to worry about that chemical buildup that happens overtime, like I did with other haircare products. Plus, like with any Beautycounter product, a little goes a long way, so I am not replacing my shampoo and conditioner every few weeks, rather – I am investing in a safe beauty product that’s going to give me some serious bang for my buck (and is better for me to use everyday!).
Cleaning it up, can be a daunting task. But, if you choose to make a few safe swaps at first, I really believe the rest will follow naturally. The more you educate yourself about ingredients in your products, the easier it comes. For me, it is now just a way of living. Amazing companies like Beautycounter, who strive to bring us safer products make it easy for me to shop knowing that I am investing in safe beauty and personal care – and they have done all the grunt work in finding the best ingredients. Safe beauty has come a long way in terms of quality. I personally back any of the product recommendations in the blog post and can attest to their quality and effectiveness. Just because it’s safer for you, does not mean you are settling for less effective!
Do you have a favorite safe beauty item? I would love to hear about it!
If you are looking for more information on Beautycounter or any of these products I’ve mentioned, please feel free to reach out. You can also read more about Beautycounter here.
This blog contains affiliate links which means that if you click on the link and make a purchase, I will receive a small percentage. Additionally, items mentioned on this blog may have been provided free of charge. All opinions are entirely my own.*
