3 Tips to Transition to a Natural Makeup Routine
“The Only Thing Worse Than a Toxic Relationship is a Toxic Beauty Routine” -Unknown
As women, we want to feel beautiful, and with feeling beautiful comes looking beautiful. That’s why we invest the time, energy, effort, and funds into developing beauty routines for our hair, make up, skin, and nails.
However, no amount of beauty is worth slathering our hair, eyelashes, lips, and skin with products that are loaded with harmful, toxic, or cancer causing chemicals.
Fortunately, as the dangers associated with chemical-laden products becomes more widely known, safer high-quality alternatives are continually being developed and pushed to the forefront of the beauty industry.
Making the transition to a more natural makeup routine can be tough, so here are 3 tips to make the process as seamless as possible.
Learn about ingredients to avoid
SafeCosmetics.org has developed a “red list” featuring the top ingredients to avoid in all beauty routine products.
A quick glance at the ingredient list before you purchase can save your skin and your health much trouble down the road. Here are 5 of the major makeup related ingredients you want to avoid.
Butylated Compounds aka BHA or BHT can lead to organ-system toxicity and endocrine disruption. The concerns about this chemical are so significant that the European Union has banned EU based companies from using them in cosmetics.
Carbon black is a powder pigment used in eyeliner, mascara, and lipstick and has been linked to cancer.
Carcinogens including formaldehyde, mineral oils, silica, tar, benzene, and others have been linked to cancer, developmental and reproductive toxicity, and endocrine disruption.
Ethanolamine Compounds aka MEA, DEA, and TEA, are often found in mascara, eye shadow, blush, and foundation. They are linked to cancer and organ system toxicity.
Lead and Heavy Metals are found in lip products, eyeliner, foundation, blush, and concealer. These metals can lead to cancer, developmental and reproductive toxicity, and organ toxicity. Some of the top ingredients to look for are lead acetate, chromium, and thimerosal.
Gradually Phase Out Harmful Products
If you review your makeup collection and find that 90% of your products contain harmful cancer causing-chemicals, it can be difficult to throw everything out at one time. Makeup is an investment, and getting rid of the products you’ve grown to love over time can be difficult.
Instead of throwing everything away at once, gradually phase out your items one product at a time. This can be done by finishing a product then replacing it, replacing it right away, or even waiting until you find a suitable replacement for it before you stop using it.
Using this method can make replacing your harmful makeup products with safer options less of a shock and easier on your budget.
Find Brands You Love and Trust
Quite often we purchase based on the brand because it has a track record of producing high-quality products that improve our beauty routine. Just as we learned to love the brands that use toxic chemicals, we can learn do the same for brands that won’t increase our chance of developmental and reproductive toxicity.
This starts by doing a little research. Watch a few YouTube videos and read beauty blogs, then make a list of product lines you’d be interested in trying.
If it’s a higher end product, you can go to Sephora, Ulta, or your department store and test out the products before you purchase them. If they’re drugstore products, just start experimenting. The great thing about makeup is if you don’t like it, you can always return it or gift it to someone else.
A few natural makeup brands we recommend are:
Do you have other #cleanbeauty recommendations? Share your go-to favorites below.
NOURISH TIP: Step out of your comfort zone and try a new lip color. Feeling bold? Try a red that is suitable for your skin tone. By simply wearing a red lipstick, you can immediately boost your confidence and make yourself feel more empowered.