The beginners guide to clean beauty + My top picks

So you’re a newbie when it comes to clean beauty products. Awesome! At least you’re here.

You might want to grab a snack or a nice big cup of coffee because this is going to be a long post.

I’m going to be covering the benefits of clean beauty, what ingredients to watch out for and some of my top picks that I think are absolutely stellar in the natural beauty realm.

This post contains affiliate links meaning I may earn a commission (at no extra cost to you) when you make a purchase using these links. I only recommend products I truly love. To see my full disclosure, click here.

The benefits of clean beauty products

We’ve all heard about the dangers of chemicals. So why do we keep some locked up and away from children, pets, etc? But yet smear others all over our face and body?

I think it comes down to a lack of information. This topic is taboo. In a funny way. It’s like we know about it, but as long as we don’t think too much about it, it can’t really hurt, right??

Wrong. 

We’re doing ourselves more damage than good by choosing to stay in the dark and ignore the lingering dangers that lurk right in front of (or on) our faces.

We’re so used to these products and the chemicals and toxins inside of them that we don’t even know what they’re doing to our body.

Some of the side effects from toxic products (that we don’t even notice) are things like inflammation, brain fog, organ issues, hormonal imbalances, skin irritations, immune deficiency,  and on the more serious side, risk of cancer.

Most of these things we don’t think to be anything. And most of the time they’re not. But there are studies that link beauty product toxins to things like cancer.

Plus you wouldn’t believe the difference you would see if you switched to a more natural beauty regime.

These changes would include things like better skin, better immune system, organ function, hormone balance, more energy, clarity, and the list goes on and on.

There are endless benefits to using natural, clean beauty products but there can be really scary and dangerous impacts of using non-clean products.

So what chemicals should you avoid in a beauty product?

The most dangerous toxins have shown to be things like fragrances, propylene glycol, formaldehyde, toluene (Or, petroleum) parabens, phthalates, and sulfates.

You should also avoid most traditional sunscreens that contain things like carcinogens that have been proven to directly link to cancer.

So if you haven’t been reading the labels and ingredients before, it’s time to start getting used to it.

Ingredients, most importantly. You can’t always trust the labels.

Beauty products are so much different than food products, who need government approval to use words like ‘organic’ where are beauty products do not. Companies are free to use that word are they please making their products highly deceptive.

Other labels you can’t trust are things like Natural, green, eco or non-toxic. These words are meaningless to companies, who know they mean a lot to you.

Some of these products were even tested by the campaign for safe cosmetics and were found to contain traces of lead, among other toxins. These are the companies that boast their “non-toxic” or “natural” labels.

So if we can’t trust labels, what can we trust?

Research, for starters. Always do your research. If you’re serious about making the change, always research the brand and company to see their history, standards, and conduct. This is a great way to be prepared beforehand.

But if you’re already out and shopping and don’t have time to research, then always, always, always, read the ingredients. Yup, it’s a pain but so are nasty chemicals so you choose.

I’ll reiterate the list of chemicals to avoid so you can save this and have it with you wherever you go.

Ingredients in beauty products to avoid:

• Fragrances
• propylene glycol
• formaldehyde
• toluene (Or, petroleum)
• parabens
• phthalates
• sulfates

And I know what you’re thinking. Clean beauty is probably a lot more expensive. I won’t sugar coat it, it is more. But it’s no more than what we’re used to spending at high-end places like Sephora or Ulta. In fact, you can get a lot of these products at Sephora! It’s all about shifting our perspective.

Now let’s jump into some of the fun stuff. Shop some of my favourite clean beauty products below!

Like this post? Don’t forget to check out this other natural beauty post!

Natural deodorants worth raving about

 

Thank you for reading! Please don’t forget to share this post and follow me on Instagram for daily inspiration!