Making the Switch to Natural Skincare

I’ve gotten so much wonderful feedback from people who have enjoyed my natural skincare recipes and I really enjoy sharing these beauty secrets with you. I have many simple tips and tricks to share with you, as well as more fun recipes for you to slather all over yourself. But before that, I thought I’d write a little bit about why I think it’s so important to make the switch to natural alternatives and how you can start the transition without getting overwhelmed or breaking the bank.

When it comes to the why of natural skincare, the long and short of it is: your skin is your body’s largest organ and it’s porous. In other words, anything you put on your body ends up inside of it.

With that in mind, studies showing that the average woman uses 14 skincare/cosmetics products containing over 100 chemicals (many of which are carcinogenic) before breakfast is downright scary, because it’s all being absorbed into your body.

But without a degree in chemistry to decipher the labels on beauty products and no government regulations requiring companies to even declare everything they pack into those enticing little tubes (let alone make sure it’s safe for us to use!), what’s a girl to do?

Okay, deep breath.

Take it slow. Keep it simple. Don’t worry, you don’t need to toss out your carefully curated collections of make-your-eyes-pop shadows and perfect-for-you lipsticks. Try implementing one step from my natural skincare routine every week for a month. When you run out of a product, try replacing it with a more natural alternative or see if it’s something  you can make at home. Taking baby steps toward a more natural skincare routine can help prevent you from feeling too overwhelmed or thinking it’s too expensive to make the switch. Even if you never give up your favourite Mac lipstick (I still haven’t!), you’re still drastically reducing the toxic load on your body.

Make it fun. Put on loud music and sip on a glass of your favourite bevvy while you bop around the kitchen while you whip up a batch of poison-free deodorant. Slather a chocolate face mask and eat bonbons while you watch a sappy movie. Gather a group of gal pals and have a spa day before going out for a nice dinner together. Adding a sense of occasion and luxury is an enticing way to give these “hippy-dippy” ideas a try. ;)

Arm yourself with information. It can be overwhelming to weed through all of the competing claims about what’s “natural” and safe for our skin. Luckily, the Environmental Working Group’s SkinDeep database allows you to search for a product to learn about the health impacts of its ingredients and they have a 1-10 scale to determine the safety of a product. If you’re still in doubt, Nadine Artemis’s article on Deciphering Cosmetic Codes is a must-read before hitting up the cosmetic counter.

Have you incorporated any natural skincare in your routine? Do you have any tips for making the switch?