Why Is It Time We Start Caring About Our Beauty Products?

The statistics are disturbing…

~1 in 5 women will struggle with fertility issues when trying to become pregnant

~1 in 10 women struggle with PCOS

~1 in 8 women will develop thyroid issues at some point in their lifetimes

~1 in 8 women will have breast cancer

The average woman also happens to put, on average, 168 chemicals on her body each day.

When we know better we can do better.

The toxins we are slathering on our skin or spraying in our hair can disrupt everything from our hormones to how our brains function. Many of the chemicals found in some of our favorite beauty products are carcinogenic, meaning there is research showing they promote cancer in the body!

I don’t share this with you to create a panic or fear but rather empower you. Each of us has the opportunity to choose better products for not only ourselves but for generations to come. Did you know that the chemicals found in a mother’s bloodstream are passed to her babies in utero? We can be upset with companies. We can be pissed at the systems. We can be afraid an panic. Or we can use the tools available to us to make informed decisions and create a ripple of change. Each time we purchase a product we are essentially voting with our dollars. Personally I am all for giving my money to companies that care about my wellbeing.

If you’re on a journey to clean up your beauty and cleaning products here are five tips I’ve found helpful on this journey of cleaning up my beauty products and home.

1. Scan beauty or cleaning products on either the EWG or Think Dirty App

Each time I’m purchasing a new shampoo, lotion, makeup or other product I’ll bring my phone with to the store and scan the products on the shelves until I find one rated in the “green”. The green on these apps indicates that it has minimal of the carcinogenic or hormone disrupting ingredients.

I’ll also use these apps to search for specific products. For example I might type mascara in the search bar and often it will suggest products that are highly rated and clean for me. Then I’ll pop over to amazon or the company website to order!

2. Don’t assume that a product that is marketed as clean really is!

I was on a trip with a friend just last week and we popped into CVS to grab some lotion. We were in Phoenix and we feeling quite ashy. She picked up Native’s brand of lotion and before we checked out I gave it a quick scan. It was rated an 8 out of 10 for toxicity meaning that it was one of the highest toxin levels! I’ve also picked up shampoos and conditioners in Target that were marketing as “clean or natural ingredients” only to scan them and find out they are just as toxic as all the other shampoo and conditioners out there. Scanning will save you not only from the toxins but from paying the extra money for a products marketing.

3. Replace Your Products As They Run Out

You can absolutely do an overhaul of your whole makeup line all at once but if you’re on a budget it might be helpful to choose one product at a time to replace. If your foundation is getting low what better time to research some options and find a cleaner product to replace it with.

4. Learn From What Others Are Using

There are many clean beauty influencers out there who have already figured out what products are clean and what products actually work. You don’t always have to do all the research on your own. I review clean beauty products as I purchase them over on my TikTok and also have linked products I use on my Amazon Storefront. Just remember before you purchase to double check with the app to see if the products really are clean. Sometime product ratings change based on new information that comes to the surface and sometimes the influencers are assuming the product is clean without checking the apps themselves.

5. When You Can Make Your Own

When it come to household cleaners, body wash, laundry detergent there are a ton of recipes available about there that contain not only super simple and clean ingredients but that are also extremely affordable. I’ll be sharing some of my favorites here on the Clean Products Blog so definitely follow along here for the resources!