Curious about clean beauty but don’t know where to start? Gay Timmons, our Beauty Ingredient Expert, has the top 5 products you should swap out for cleaner formulas, ASAP.
Before making the clean switch, start thinking like a beauty formulator. Identify how long these products sit on your skin.
There are the “leave-ons” — like lotions, makeups and creams — that sit around and penetrate. Then, there are “rinse-offs.” These are the things that we rub and lather, then get rid of quickly, like shampoos, conditioners, even face cleaners.
There are the “leave-ons” — like lotions, makeups and creams — that sit around and penetrate. Then, there are “rinse-offs.” These are the things that we rub and lather, then get rid of quickly, like shampoos, conditioners, even face cleaners.
Then consider where you’re putting these products on your body. Any areas that provide access to your inner body, like the lips and eyes, or are freshly shaven give a direct opening to your circulatory system (and can cause more damage). Once you know these basics, swapping your products for clean, natural and nontoxic formulas is pretty intuitive. But here’s what I suggest swapping out first, and in this order.
Gay’s Top 5:
- Lipstick or lip balms: Beware of mineral oil and silicones and opt for natural or (better) organic oils and natural pigments. You eat this stuff!
- Eye makeup: Beyond being the window to the soul, your eyes are literally holes in your head. They connect to internal organs! Therefore avoid mineral oils and silicones and opt for organic oils and natural pigments instead.
- Deodorants: Since we shave or wax the underarms, you don’t want a bunch of questionable preservatives, chemicals and other unsafe ingredients applied to broken skin, which provides a direct opening to your circulatory system.
- Lotions: Like the underarms, areas that are newly waxed or shaved on the body have small, sometimes invisible openings in the skin and doesn’t provide the same healthy barrier that smooth, unshaven skin does.
- Shampoo, conditioner and body wash: Hair care and body wash all go down our drains and into our water system, so choose wisely. We don’t want the preservatives in our shampoo to come back in our salad!
Happy clean beauty,
Gay