Switching To Clean Beauty - Tay Meets World

Switching To Clean Beauty

9:51:00 AM

Since my mid-twenties, I have been very passionate about environmentalism. Sustainability, recycling, avoiding plastics, etc., have been on the forefront of my passion. I must preface this with - I can do so much better than I am. Recycling, using metals straws, avoiding or reducing plastic usage, and cleaning up my neighborhood regularly are all great but there is so much more I can do to reduce my carbon footprint. There are other aspects in my life where I can make cleaner decisions - like the household cleaning products I use, starting a compost, and switching to clean beauty are some of my priorities. 
What is clean beauty? 
Clean beauty is defined by products that are mindfully created and produced without any toxic chemicals. They are safer for our body, safer for the environment and produced around sustainability. 

Why am I switching to clean beauty? 
My journey with my skin has been an on-going battle. In high school, contrary to most teens, I had flawless skin. Pre high-school I definitely battled acne but high school was great. When I graduated, I went to Alaska for four weeks and suffered a horrific skin infection. I say horrific because it was just that. It was the most painful thing I ever experienced, I had huge cystic acne all on my cheeks. After topical and oral treatments as well as trying any and every skincare line I have finally gotten my skin to a place where it's fairly consistent. What I have now is acne scarring, hormonal breakouts, and oily  yet combination skin. I can't help but wonder if my skin just cannot handle all the environmental factors, hormone changes during the month, and a variety of harsh products that I'm using on my skin. 
More importantly, the beauty industry is very much un-regulated. This means that companies are essentially allowed to use whatever they want without government oversight. There is an extensive list of products that are harmful to you and the environment that the beauty industry uses in its products. Substances such as carcinogens and known endocrine disruptors are used - these substances have extreme and adverse health effects. This also means that there is no oversight on marketing "green or eco-friendly" and most consistently these branded terms that companies use do not match the back of their label with products. Did you know that the European Union has a list of around 1,800 substances that can not be used by the beauty industry? We unfortunately, do not have such a list here in America so all of those toxic substances that the European Union rules out is free game for our beauty industry providers here. 

What clean beauty products am I looking into? 
I have looked extensively into Beautycounter and have tried five of their products thus far - and love them. I have also looked into Saie, RMS Beauty, Herbivore, Rahua, Ilia, Goop, Dae, and more! 

Will clean beauty work the same? 
Two reasons as to my answer 'yes.' 
  1. Imagine we didn't live in 2020, that we lived before most of the beauty industry was developed. All that women and men had to use is what was naturally sourced in nature. Technology has advanced as has the beauty industry but along the way women were looking for problems to be solved and instead of sourcing natural ingredients - we created them. While this creation is incredibly advanced, it doesn't mean that it's the best for you.
  2. I've used the Beautycounter products for four days now and my skin looks better than it has in 10 years. Will it stick? I'm not sure! That's why I'm bringing you on this journey with me. 
Why is this something we should be concerned about? 
In my opinion, if you care about our planet than this goes hand-in-hand - there is just the additional element of caring for yourself too. I live an active and healthy lifestyle and I want to make sure that in addition to how I'm taking care of my body and what I'm feeding it, that I'm also putting products on it that are free of heavy metals and toxic substances. 

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