Why Make The Swap
Natural, organic, green, clean - whatever you want to call it - we are all getting at the same thing: when it comes to skincare and beauty, it's a collective effort to not put toxic ingredients directly onto our skin and out into the environment. In talking with people hesitant or looking to make the swap, they generally fall into 2 camps:
1. Natural beauty is crunchy - it may be healthy, but I need stuff that works and I have my staples.
2. Natural beauty is too expensive and I can't find an entry point.
Both of these are valid and there's everything in between - including affordable, luxurious products that you can either buy or make that yield ah-mazing results. That window is where the majority of my content will focus and from there I encourage you to go down the rabbit hole of making or buying new products to see what works for you.
The nitty gritty
Despite being a bajillion dollar industry, the cosmetics industry is mostly unregulated. In 1938, the FDA passed a law allowing personal care companies to self-police and there has been little as far as checks and balances to see what they are actually doing since. The FDA has had little to no role in green-lighting cosmetics products. On top of that, not all synthetic ingredients are harmful and not all natural ingredients are safe, so how do we know what's what. I personally never gave my products a second thought until I had an unexplained health scare that made me examine what I was using on my body and you will find most natural beauty founders have similar stories themselves. I encourage you to read this article that goes into some detail about the current state of cosmetic ingredient regulation. If you know nothing else, keep in mind that the US currently bans only 11 cosmetic chemicals from being in our products, where the EU (who has far more checks and balances in place) has ban over 1300 chemicals. Eek.
The latest
The Personal Care Products Safety Act was introduced last year by Sen. Feinstein that gives the FDA some authority over what is allowed in beauty products before they can be sold. Some big brands - L'Oreal and Unilever, for example - have already shown their support. This bill would be a big step in the right direction for consumers if it passes.
Why make the swap
It's all good news from here - rather than waiting for regulation, many founders and indie stores have taken it upon themselves to follow EU regulation either with their own products or what they stock and, in turn, have contributed to the natural beauty "boom" that has gotten heightened attention in the last few years. Health and wellness is more of a mainstream priority and why shouldn't our skin and beauty routines be a part of that? If you are looking to make the swap now, you are looking at the right time!
Recommendation
#1 is don't try to flip your whole routine. As you run out of a product, swap it for a clean version and go from there. And also please remember, as with all products, test a small skin patch before jumping all in. Enjoy!
Resources
EWG's (Environmental Working Group) Cosmetic Database
Campaign for Safe Cosmetics - Current Regulations US vs International
