Making The Switch To Clean Beauty Products
If you ask me, I feel like 2020 is going to be the year of not only eco-friendly things, but also clean skincare and make up. I feel like every YouTube video I watch, and all of the articles that I’m reading lately are talking about trying & using clean products. I’ve definitely talked about clean skincare and make up here before on my blog, but if you’ve never heard of clean cosmetics before, the Clean at Sephora definition is described as follows: The beauty you want, minus the ingredients you might not. To get it just right, we scoured the scene, met with brand founders and experts, and asked you exactly what you're looking for in clean beauty. When you spot our Clean seal, you can be sure this brand's products exclude the ingredients you'd most like to do without. It's a curation of beauty bursting with innovation, big results, and powerful ingredients. And it doesn't stop there—as our clean movement grows, we'll continue to add exciting new brands and identify even more chemicals to reduce and eliminate.
Essentially, clean beauty has 1% or less of synthetic ingredients, meaning it’s a lot better for you, and your overall health. In today’s post, I want to break down exactly what led to me choosing clean skincare & make up, some clean products I recommend based on what’s worked well for me and why I believe more people need to educate themselves on what they’re putting on their skin.
If I’m being perfectly honest, I never really knew what clean make up meant. I figured “okay, yeah it’s obviously more natural, but who cares? This stuff is tested and regulated by the government, so what’s there to worry about?” And honestly, when you have an intolerance to a ton of different ingredients, the last thing you really want to do is start testing a whole new range of skincare & make up that could cause your face to break out in hives, a rash or who knows what else. If you wear make up, you already know that it’s really difficult to go through the trial-and-error motions of finding products that work for your skin type, even without having allergies, an intolerance or other issues. This being said, the skincare line that I have been using for a few years now, and works really well for me, OLEHENRIKSEN, falls under the Clean at Sephora label, so I figured hey, at least something in my routine is clean!
It wasn’t until my mom actually watched a documentary that discussed the make up industry, and how many chemicals are actually in the skincare & make up products that are sold. The information she told me she saw in this documentary not only shocked me, but definitely set off an alarm in my head about the products I was purchasing and how they really were not good for not only my skin, but maybe even my health, or potential in the future to have children! (Yes, you read that right - scientists are now looking to see if there’s a correlation between hormone issues & troubles or inabilities to conceive) Not that I’m someone who necessarily is thinking about that right now, but plenty of people do, and never say never is my go-to motto.
Products that are not considered to be clean beauty.
One thing that particularly stuck out to me is one ingredient - talc. We’ve all heard about the lawsuit a few years ago against Johnson & Johnson were the plaintiffs claimed that Johnson & Johnson Baby Powder caused them to develop ovarian cancer. Well, turns out that contaminated talc, can do exactly that. And why is that, you may wonder - because talc is actually found in the same place as asbestos. But, I always thought “I don’t use baby powder, so what is there to worry about? Turns out, there’s a lot to worry about. As I started to look into the products I was using, I discovered talc is in almost everything. It was in my foundation, concealer, powder, bronzer, blush, highlighter, brow gel, every eye shadow palette I was using. So to say I was alarmed, is an understatement.
The thing about talc is it’s actually completely safe to use, unless it’s been contaminated. The problem is that you can’t tell unless it’s been tested, and things that are regulated and approved to be sold, aren’t tested unless there’s already been an issue that’s been brought to the surface. You may now understand why exactly I believe we all need to do more research into what exactly we’re putting into our bodies via placing those products on our skin, because it’s easy to forget that your skin absorbs everything that is put on it, and that includes your skincare & make up, and even your shower & hair car products. We all must hold companies accountable, and put our money behind brands that are doing good things for us & our health.
The Products
Clean (+ Cruelty-Free!) Skincare
Alright, so let’s talk about some products that are clean, cruelty-free and have worked super well with my skin. I’ve definitely discussed these products on my post My Skincare Routine, so I may sound like a broken record at this point, but if you haven’t had a chance to check out that blog post, I’m here to break it all down for you again.
* Note: My skin type is definitely combination/oily, so these products may not work as perfectly for you as they do for me. I highly recommend checking out the OLEHENRIKSEN Skincare Finder on their website to find out what products will work best for you, or visit your local Sephora.
1. OLEHENRIKSEN Find Your Balance™ Oil Control Cleanser.
2. OLEHENRIKSEN Balancing Force™ Oil Control Toner.
3. OLEHENRIKSEN Banana Bright Eye Crème.
4. FIRST AID BEAUTY Ultra Repair Cream Intense Hydration.
Clean (+ Cruelty-Free!) Make Up
This is the area in my daily routine that has been changed up the most since making my change to not only cruelty-free, but also clean make up. If you were to look back on my Cruelty-Free Cosmetics post from way back in September when I first started my blog, almost every single product in that post had talc in it. Kind of scary, if you really think about it. I’ve done a huge overhaul of my make up in a very short amount of time since I wanted to make this change as quickly as possible:
1. Tarte SEA Quench Hydrating Primer, originally using the FENTY BEAUTY BY RIHANNA, Pro Filt’r Instant Retouch Primer.
2. Cover FX Power Play Foundation, originally using the FENTY BEAUTY BY RIHANNA, Pro Filt'r Soft Matte Longwear Foundation.
3. Tarte SEA Aquacealer Concealer, originally using FENTY BEAUTY BY RIHANNA, Pro Instant Retouch Concealer.
4. Cover FX Perfect Setting Powder, originally using Too Faced Peach Perfect Mattifying Setting Powder.
5. Cover FX Gold Bar Highlighting Palette, originally using Too Faced, Love Light Prismatic Highlighter.
6. Cover FX Matte Finish Bronzer, originally using Too Faced, Chocolate Soleil Matte Bronzer.
7. Lawless The Little One Eyeshadow Palette.
8. Tarte SEA Surfer Curl Mascara, originally using Hourglass, Caution Extreme Lash Mascara.
9. Coola Mineral Liplux Organic Tinted Lip Balm Sunscreen SPF 30.
* Note: Tarte SEA items are all cruelty-free & under the Clean at Sephora label. See more of the Tarte SEA products here.
I hope this post helped everyone to see just how important it is to make sure we know what we’re putting on our skin and our bodies, in general. Drop a comment below if you already use clean cosmetics, if you’re in the process of switching or if this post inspired you to switch up your routine! See you guys again next week for a new post, that I promise will be a lot lighter, haha. Xo.
* Note: Some links above are commissionable affiliate links.
