Please, crunchy beauties, welcome Charmaine from Glamology! She’s put together this entertaining, informative, and just flat-out incredibly professional video (with the text below, for extra credit) for us here. Be sure to check out her YouTube channel for even more ecobeauty tips, too.
If you’ve ever, ever wondered what to do in place of your “traditional” store-bought beauty products, Ms. Glamology has the answers for you now:
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We all love beauty and skincare products. They keep our skin looking great but have you ever taken time to read what’s in your favorite products? Far too often they contain all kinds of harmful synthetic chemicals and preservatives. The good news is that you can reduce the amount of chemicals you are exposed to and still look fantastic by making easy substitutions.
Consider making some of these natural beauty swaps!
Face Cleanser
The cleanser is the foundation of all beauty routines that keeps us clean and clear. In an effort to manufacture products cheaper and have a longer shelf life, many cleansers contain all kinds of harsh chemicals like BHA, PEG, Parabens, Salicylic Acid, and Triclosan. Consider swapping out your conventional face wash for safer chemical-free cleansers or simply dab a cotton ball with lemon juice or apple cider vinegar and massage gently over your face; it’s is a very good natural cleanser to eliminate dirt and oil.
Face & Body Moisturizer
Moisturizers are vital to keep our skin soft, happy and balanced. One wonders then why so many contain all kinds of eyebrow raising ingredients like Hydroquinone, Triethanolamine, DMDM Hydantoin, Fragrance, and Alumina. Keep yourself healthy and hydrated by applying a little jojoba or coconut oil to your face and body after showering; these oils are light, absorb fast and won’t clog your pores.
Eye Makeup Remover
While working great to remove waterproof mascara after a long day of work or a late night partying; most conventional pads or gel eye makeup remover is full of synthetic chemicals like Benzyl Alcohol, Propylene Glycol, and Tetrasodium EDTA. Next time put a few drop of coconut or olive oil on a cotton ball and smooth over closed eyes to clean them without irritation.
Cuticle Softener
Hydrated cuticles are important for healthy hands and nails. Unfortunately, many cuticle creams and gels contain stuff like Linalool, Limonene, Propylparaben, and Ethanol. You can achieve soft cuticles naturally by simply placing your fingers in a bowl of warm olive oil for a few minutes a few times a week.
Eye Cream
Hydrating the delicate skin around the eyes is important to prevent fine lines, wrinkles and dark circles. It’s a shame that so many anti-age eye creams and serums are made with harmful ingredients like Coumarin, Oxybenzone, PEG, and Methylparaben. Try swapping the expensive creams for sweet almond or argan oil, just massage a little around the eyes each night before bed.
Got your own secret beauty substitutions? Share it by posting in the comments below!
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Charmaine is an organic esthetician with a deep passion for beauty and living a natural lifestyle. She hosts the popular video blog Glamology and is the founder of Mint & Berry an online eco-beauty boutique. She’s an activist for safe cosmetics and helps educate others on the toxic nature of the beauty industry. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube.
i love coconut oil ^_____^ i use it as a mask prior to washing my face
Here’s another site that lists coconut oil among comedogens:
http://www.soapnuts.com/noncomo.html
“Coconut oil will not clog your pores”–not true. Having had a few major breakouts after using it on my face, I now know better. I love it on hair, though, and jojoba is indeed fine for the face.
I am a coconut oil freak! I put Coconut oil in my hair once or twice a week at night before bed. Its really good for hair growth and incredibly moisturizing. I also got in a pretty bad dirt bike accident and it left my arm pretty scarred. I have been putting coconut oil on my scars everyday for almost a month now and the difference is amazing! They don’t look half bad anymore 🙂
great post…thanks for sharing, I will definitely follow Charmaine now too. It’s definitely the time of year when my skin is just drying out…argan oil, olive oil, etc…here I come!
I love olive oil for everything. I’m going to go soak my cuticles right now. Great tips and great vlog!
I’ve been using rosehip oil as a moisturiser becuase it contains vitamin A and E. (And can be used on my burns scar. I ascribe to the notion that if it’s good enough for my fragile burn scar, then it’s good for my face.)
Defs excited about trying lemon as a cleanser. I’ve also heard that a grape cut in half, rubbed over your face is a natural cleanser. I haven’t tried it yet because I’m lazy like that.
I’ve been using apple cider vinegar as toner and olive oil as eye makeup remover and therapy for my dry, cracked winter hands for a while now. It’s inexpensive and good for me 🙂
baking soda is my face wash. simple as that, mix a teaspoon with several drops of water to make a paste and gently massage it into my face, sometimes when my face is dry i replace water with honey
if I put almond oil around my eyes, promise me I will look just like Charmaine.
and I’ll do it. I swear.