3 Reasons Why You Need Green Beauty in your life!
Of all the topics I cover in the “Healthy Lifestyle” space, beauty seems to be the most popular (duh!!!), and is the icing on my cake for sure. I love a good eco laundry detergent, but in terms of reviewing and blogging, a wrinkle-zapping eye cream wins out in the passion department every time.
I first started talking about green beauty way back in 2006 (Whaaaaaat – TEN years ago??) – yes, started talking about it then because I was one of the first to wake up to the fact that our precious night creams might contain chemicals that are downright unhealthy. At the time it appalled me – the fact that the little pot of cream that I could ill afford contained little more than a slew of pretty toxic ingredients. And, that at best is was useless, and at worst, might cause anything from skin inflammation to hormone disruption (which I could well do without!) I wrote all my findings down in my first book, Gorgeously Green, which made it onto Oprah, and the rest is history.
Since then I have tested and reviewed thousands of beauty products. I’ve seen the entire space blow up with innovations that I never imagined possible. I’ve seen the field of green chemistry slowly grow, and I’m beyond excited to see what’s coming down the pike over the next few years.
However, the rise of “dirty dozen” lists and data bases that give products hazard ratings, can be confusing and at times scaremongering. It’s hard for the regular consumer to navigate his/her way through the beauty aisle at Whole Foods, never mind whip out a magnifying glass to read complicated ingredient lists. Besides, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all. Where some women with highly sensitive skin may want a 4-ingredient formulation of recognizable plant oils, others may want a sophisticated formulation that harnesses the science of green chemistry. Keep in mind that everything that’s made in a lab isn’t bad. Hello, one of the most powerful anti-aging ingredient is L-Ascorbic Acid, and yes my friends, it’s totally synthetic!
I wish I could say there is a simple list of rules to follow in terms of ingredients to look for and ingredients to avoid, but there isn’t. Besides, much of this scaremongering has played right into the greedy hands of companies that are all too ready to whip out their green washing paint brushes. What we have to do, as consumers, is to stay level-leaded, and employ as much commonsense as we can. BTW – there is a detailed beauty ingredient information in my newest book, Gorgeous For Good. After reading that baby, you’ll be way more in the know about what to look for, and how to use it.
The good news is that almost all the smaller Indie brands that I know and love, have a story. This story is born out of the founder/formulator’s passion for creating a product that is both safe and effective. A prime example of a company with a story is Tata Harper. Her story is one of a gorgeous women who started her brand based on her passion for growing botanicals locally (on her farm in Vermont), and then whipping them up into the most luxurious skin care formulations on the planet. Another example is Annemarie Gianni, who realized that the beauty products in her bathroom cabinet weren’t up to scratch (to say the least of things), and so she and her trusty team set out to source ingredients for the most effective ingredients they could find – hence her line of wild-crafted skin care was born. You can try a sample of her line, which I highly recommend you do!
Skin care is like food, you have to use good ingredients to get an outstanding result. If you have quality ingredients, you don’t need to use so much. For example most drugstore (and department store) brands are filled with water, fillers, dyes, and synthetic perfumes. Yep – that’s what you’re paying for, and you need to use a lot of the product because you don’t see results. On the other hand, a few drops of a precious facial serum from Tata, Annemarie, Juice Beauty, and all the other amazing brands that I love, will deeply nourish your skin, and give you the results you are looking for.
Here are my 3 Reasons Why You Need Green Beauty Products In Your Life:
- You get better quality (for the most part.) You actually pay for what’s in the bottle, rather than marketing and packaging.
- You take care of your health by choosing to use ingredients that nourish your skin, rather than harm your health.
- You purchase from brands that care: about your skin looking gorgeous, about you staying healthy, and about taking care of the planet.
So, a couple of announcements about beauty this week!
My Beauty Box, which contains a collection of beautiful anti-aging, and yummy products is now available. There are only a few left – so move fast to grab yours. These are flash sales as I only have a very limited number of boxes – totally a first-come-first-served deal!
Facebook Livestreaming: This is my new obsession because I feel that I can connect with you on a more personal basis. I have started doing 2 or 3 a week, and this week there’s a lot of beauty going on. Monday 5/2 I took participants shopping with me to The Detox Market in Los Angeles. Loads of prizes and beauty giveaways were given out. So don’t miss the next one!
