It feels like not that long ago “clean” beauty was not a big deal and there were only a few brands that made natural/clean beauty products. And we’re not going to lie– the natural products sometimes got overlooked since not that many people used them and were sure if they would even work. But now things couldn’t look more different.
Clean beauty and non-toxic products are everywhere and we expect to have these options–and even the top traditional (i.e. not clean) brands are catching on. Just go to your nearest Sephora or Target and look for the clean beauty labels – this was not the case just a few years ago! Gone are the days that people see clean beauty products as alternative products that don’t really work. Thankfully, there are more options than ever.
So with the shift towards clean beauty, more and more people are learning about the dangers of toxic ingredients in beauty products (like hormone disruption, links to cancer and other probs) and want to clean up their own routine. Some great brands are helping educate people on toxic ingredients like Beautycounter (check out their “Never List“). According to Beautycounter, there are over 1,400 ingredients that are banned from beauty products in Europe due to safety concerns, but the US only bans a few. Beautycounter (and many other clean brands) ban all of those 1,400 ingredients and then some. Another great resource is the Environmental Working Group (EWG) which has an entire database of skincare products and rates them based on the toxicity level. You can even download their app and scan the labels on your products to get a quick rating.
Even with all of this– we get that it can be pretty discouraging when you start trying to clean up your beauty routine since the thought of throwing away your expensive designer makeup seems, well, kinda sad. The good news is, you don’t have to throw away your entire makeup bag in order to clean up your beauty routine. The trick is to try and transition is slowly over time, and educate yourself about the top offenders when it comes to toxic ingredients in beauty products so you know where to start and what to avoid.
Here are some tips for transitioning your routine over time.
Start with lotions and moisturizers.
If you feel overwhelmed about where to start, a good idea is to clean up the products you use the most and cover the most surface area of your body. So that’s not actually makeup when you think about it: it’s your lotions, moisturizers and maybe even your soap or body wash. Your skin is the largest organ in your body and it absorbs everything you put on it. So you can try switching out your lotions first.
Every time you run out of a product, replace it with a clean option.
You don’t need to go and throw away everything in your makeup bag– that feels daunting, sad, and expensive! So try to find clean swaps for your favorite products (read reviews online, clean beauty blogs, and even sites like Well+Good that cover clean beauty). And when your product runs out, try the clean version instead and you may be surprised that the clean products work just as well (or better) than your old go-to.
Download EWG app to check which products have the highest rating and get rid of those first.
The EWG app is a great resource for cleaning up your beauty products. If you’re curious about which products you use that are the top offenders, then start by looking them up in their database to get honest information. This will help you learn about which ingredients are harmful and why, and help you find alternatives. EWG also has a “seal” that they place on approved brands and products, which you can check out here.
Start shopping at clean beauty stores.
Some of our favorite clean beauty stores in New York are Credo Beauty , Cap Beauty, and The Detox Market. These stores are great because you know all of the brands in the store are considered clean and non-toxic. If you don’t live in New York or LA, you still have lots of options (like shopping online!) or even checking out the Clean Beauty seal products at Sephora. Not to mention that Target adds more clean brands what seems like every day!
