I’m sure you’ve heard the buzz around Beautycounter. Whether you are familiar with them from their Target collaboration a few years ago, or you have a friend who has signed up as a consultant, it’s pretty hard to have not heard about this brand. But in case you haven’t, I’m here to give you the DL.

During my stint as a beauty and wellness buyer, I tested and was introduced to countless beauty, wellness, clean beauty, and personal care products. From natural deodorant paste to charcoal toothpaste…I’ve tried it. I poured myself into researching the next “it” brands and trends. During this time, cleaner, safer beauty, and personal care products were on the rise. I was bombarded with all of the facts about the importance of reading labels ad seeking out cleaner products because your skin is your body’s largest organ. So, whatever you put on your skin is being absorbed (yeah, scary). Obviously, being so close to the industry’s trends, I was familiar with Beautycounter and the work they were doing to bring awareness to cleaner, safer personal care products. However, it wasn’t until recently that I finally tried Beautycounter – and here’s what I think.

What is Beautycounter?

First, for those of you unfamiliar with this brand, I should share a little backstory. Beautycounter is a B Corp beauty and personal care company whose mission is to get safer products into the hands of everyone.

Why Should I Care?

Okay, remember when I said earlier that your skin is the body’s largest organ? Well, did you know that on average 64% of what you put onto your skin is absorbed into your body and bloodstream? Here’s where it gets even more real. More than 80,000 chemicals are on the market today  – many without safety data, especially those chemicals used in the skincare and beauty industry. The FDA allows beauty and skincare companies to use these chemicals that are known to be harmful in products we use everyday. The scary part is, many of us are unaware there are harmful ingredients in our everyday products, which overtime can lead to serious health issues.

Enter, Beautycounter. Beautycounter has what they refer to as a “Never List.”  This list includes more than 1,500 questionable or harmful chemicals they never include as ingredients in products. I know what you’re thinking…”I tried a natural product and it was awful!” Along with their mission to bring safer products into our hands, Beautycounter does not skimp on quality or effectiveness. Beautycounter ensures their products perform and are as “indulgent as any other luxe shampoo, lipstick, or oil in the market.” I can vouch for this. The handful of skincare products I’ve tried from Beautycounter have been extremely effective.

Should I Trust This?

I’ll admit, I was skeptical of Beautycounter at first. Working with so many different beauty brands in the past, and keeping on top of all the “latest beauty trends” makes me no stranger to”greenwashing.” Greenwashing is when a company uses PR tactics to clean up their image, presenting a cleaner look to consumers. For example, a company might change the packaging to position themselves as caring about the environment and put forth a safer image. But, this company is still using known harmful chemicals in their products.  Slap a green label on a bottle of toxins and it looks more appealing if you don’t know any better, right?

Beautycounter has made a commitment to safe ingredients, vs pushing the whole greenwashing image. You won’t see Beautycounter over-pushing buzz words like “organic” or “all-natural.” And truthfully, you should educate yourself on the products you use that do make these claims. Using words like “natural,” “organic,” or “cruelty-free” might make a product sound safer, but the sad reality is these items can still have harmful and toxic ingredients. For example, a company can use 95% organic ingredients in their body cream. If a harmful toxic ingredient makes up 1%, they can still call the item “certified organic.” I’m scratching my head because this does not seem right!

After doing a lot of my own research and reading up on Beautycounter’s ingredients, I’ve actually been very impressed by this company’s transparency. Beautycounter is not 100% organic, nor do they claim to be. They are upfront about their mission to use only non-toxic ingredients. If you read up on their FAQ page, you may be surprised at how much info they do share. Beautycounter is upfront that they do at times use synthetic ingredients, and trace levels of a chemical from the never list could make it’s way into your products. However, they’re passionate in working hard to ensure the synthetics used are safe, noncarcinogenic or harmful to your overall health. Having Beautycounter be upfront about this info, makes me feel 100% confident in trusting them.

What I thought of Beautycounter

I’m a sucker for skincare and constantly striving for effortless glowy skin. I had been experiencing breakouts along my jaw. (If you’ve been following me on Instagram, you know this already and I’m sorry I can’t stop talking about it!)

The Nourishing skincare items were effective and gentle while my skin was breaking out. This line left my skin feeling clean and moisturized.

Next, the No. 3 Balancing items. Yeah, talk about a hero products if I’ve ever seen em. First, the Balancing Facial Mask. This gem of a product uses nutrient-rich kaolin clay activated charcoal to minimize the pores, leaving your skin smooth. The mask also has salicylic acid, which helped in exfoliating and clearing up my skin.

Next up, the The No. 3 Balancing Facial Oil. I’ve been a huge fan of facial oils for quite some time now. I love going to bed with my face all moisturized up, it helps me wake up with brighter, even skin.

This facial oil, has easily surpassed all of my long-time tried and trusted brands. I’m obsessed. The balancing facial oil is lightweight, smooth, and smells ah-may-zing. It’s made up of 7 different natural oils that work together to smooth, clam, and help even skin tone. This oil helped in areas I was breaking out and evened out those pesky dark marks that come with acne.

There you have it! My honest experience with Beautycounter thus far. If there’s one thing you take away from this post, I hope it’s the knowledge of pursuing safer ingredients. Unfortunately, our government does not regulate the ingredients of personal care products to the degree in which they should. We are not being protected from harmful chemicals that have been known to cause health issues. Time to take your health into your own hands. Go after, and research brands like Beautycounter. Start making safer swaps today! If you want to read more about Beautycounter or shop their amazing products please visit www.beautycounter.com.

Other helpful resources:

• Details on Beautycounter’s Never List: https://www.beautycounter.com/the-never-list/
• The Beautycounter Story: https://www.beautycounter.com/our-story
• Beautycounter Ingredient Glossary: https://www.beautycounter.com/ingredient-glossary
• TIME article on the hidden dangers of toxic chemicals in our personal care products: http://time.com/4832688/makeup-shampoo-toxic/