When it comes to living a healthier lifestyle, eating clean (and organic) are pretty obvious things we can do – but what about products we use daily? It’s something a lot of us don’t think about, though we really should. The mainstream beauty items a lot of us use are filled with tons of toxic chemicals, which can be pretty scary to think about. And what’s worse is that there aren’t many laws in place to stop brands from putting dangerous things (like parabens) in our beauty products. Clean beauty just means products that don’t include any toxic chemicals that could disrupt our hormones and hurt our health. Personally, I decided to become more intentional when it comes to my beauty routine because of the strong link between mainstream beauty products and hormone disruption.
I’m not using 100% clean beauty products – just not there yet. But it’s about progress, not perfection. Clean beauty has come a long way – from the sheer amount of brands with cleaner products, to the quality of the products themselves. One thing I always try to think about is the impact switching to specific cleaner products has on my overall health.
If you want to start moving towards cleaner beauty products, but you’re not sure where to start, I’ve got you. Here are 3 areas to start incorporating clean beauty to improve your overall health:
Body lotion and body wash
Our skin is our largest organ, and whatever we put on it gets soaked up by our body pretty quickly, so that’s important to think about. Since body lotion and wash obviously covers a vast area, it’s an easy and effective swap in terms of soaking up fewer toxins. Josie Maran makes a good Argan Oil Body Butter if you prefer the texture of a lotion. As for body washes, this one is nice.
Shampoo and conditioner
The most important ingredients to steer clear of in shampoo and conditioner are sulfates, parabens, and phosphates. Unfortunately, a lot of mainstream brands include all of these ingredients…which soak directly into our head. Since natural beauty has been taking off lately, it hasn’t necessarily been hard to find non-toxic haircare – but it has been difficult to find ones that work well. Some that have excellent reviews: dae and Playa.
Deodorant
This one is TOUGH. I’ll be the first to say that most “natural” deodorants don’t really work. The active ingredient in mainstream deodorants is aluminum, which literally blocks your pores from releasing sweat. This is actually really bad for us. Our bodies don’t have a ton of ways to release toxins, and sweating is one of the main ways it does this. Mainstream deodorants are preventing our bodies from actually getting rid of these toxins, which can wreak havoc on our hormones and cause bigger health problems down the line. But I get it, none of us want to smell all day long, so finding something that actually works is important. I’ve really been loving Native lately – it’s been getting the job done.
One thing to note: with most clean deodorant, you’re going to sweat. That’s actually a good thing since the body is naturally releasing toxins, but it definitely takes getting used to. The smell isn’t there with a good product, but the moisture is. Reapply more often than you usually would and that should help.
Oh, and before I go, I know it can be nearly IMPOSSIBLE to know what’s truly clean vs. confusing marketing. Words like “natural” are labeled on nearly everything these days but that doesn’t actually mean much. You can either look directly at the ingredients or shop from places like Credo Beauty or Sephora’s Clean Label. They do the hard work for you!
Have you made the switch to cleaner beauty products yet? I’d LOVE to hear your favorites.
