Tag: clean beauty

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National Lipstick Day – July 29th

It’s #nationallipstickday friends!

?Did you know that ONE in THREE lipstick brands contain more lead than the FDA’s acceptable limit? FYI, lead and other heavy metals ??are commonly found in colored cosmetics – they are naturally occurring with the colorants. While they may be naturally occurring, they are not safe and they are easily absorbed through cosmetics.

The US FDA has issued some limits for metals as intentional colorants, but there are no limits for heavy metals as contaminants. The EU bans the intentional use of certain heavy metals, but currently does not mandate regulatory concentration limits for trace levels in cosmetic products. To date, Canada has the most health-protective regulations in place regarding allowable heavy metal levels, including trace contaminants, for cosmetics sold in Canada.

Did you know that the average women consumes FOUR pounds of lipstick in their lifetime? That can add up to a whole lot of heavy metals. And currently, laws do not require that heavy metal contaminants be disclosed by cosmetics companies or listed on cosmetic ingredients labels because they are not intentional ingredients.

There are plenty of places to shop for safer lipsticks. Right now, I currently shop at Crunchi (save $10 with that link) and at a local shop THAT ALSO SHIPS Poppy Avenue Clean Beauty Bar.

Lipstick, so tell me:

Reds or pinks?

Sheer or intense?

Gloss or lipstick?

My answers: pinks (sometimes reds), intense, and lipstick!

XOXO

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Essential Oils + Body Wash

After deciding to add essential oils to my unscented body lotion [recipe located here], the next step to upping my skincare routine was reevaluating my body wash, hand soap, and shave cream (and dishsoap too!).

Again, part of the reason why I’m using essential oils is to limit the amount of toxins that I’m exposed to everyday by choosing more natural alternatives to support my health. There are things out of my control (like the air I breathe), but there are things within my control that I can improve (like the foods I eat and what I put on my body). Because your skin is your largest organ and because it absorbs what we put on it, I needed to change the products that I use in my skincare routine each and every day. Artificial fragrances are on the top of my chopping block. In addition to avoiding the artificial junk, I wanted to start trying out oils that can support healthy skin.

I know many people like to just buy ready made body wash, hand soap, and shave cream. Other “oily folks” prefer to make it all from homemade ingredients. For me, I wanted something in the “Goldliocks” zone, not too much work and not too expensive. Dr. Bronner’s seemed like a great place to start. I’ve seen this this very wordy bottle of soap in health food stores for years and just never tried it out. A friend finally convinced me. 🙂

Here are the main reasons I like it: 1) It’s been made in the good ol’ USA since 1948 by a family of soapmakers that has been making soap since 1858. 2) There are 9 ingredients and they are regular old ingredients (hemp oil, jojoba oil, water, etc.). 3) They use organic and fair trade ingredients (although not all of the ingredients are both organic and fair trade). 4) It’s economical. 5) It’s multi-use. They claim 18 uses; I’m currently using it for 4 things.

Here’s what I’ve been trying out:

  1. For a full bottle of Dr. Bronner’s Castille soap, I add about 10-15 drops each of lavender, geranium, tea tree, and frankincense. Then shake like crazy to mix!
  2.  The options for fragrance combinations are endless. I choose oils that are good for skin and antimicrobial/antibacterial. Some other options would be lemon/citrus*, purification, thyme, thieves, melissa, and cinnamon bark.

* Citrus oils can begin to deteriorate plastics, so if using lemon or citrus oils, be sure that the soap is not being stored in a plastic container.

I would recommend testing oils and the soap first before using this all over.

Let me know if you try adding essential oils to your bodywash and how you like it.

Hugs & Health <3,
Katie

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Essential Oils + Body Lotion

Hey Oily friends!

If you’re like me, one of the reasons why you decided to try essential oils was to reduce the toxins that you are exposed to in your everyday life. For me, that means reevaluating the products I use in my skincare routine each and every day. And artificial fragrances are on the top of my chopping block. In addition to avoiding the artificial junk, I wanted to start trying out oils that can support healthy skin.

I know many people like to just buy ready made body lotions. Others prefer to make it all from homemade ingredients. For me, I wanted something in the “Goldliocks” zone, not too much work and not too expensive. Here’s what I’ve been trying out:

1. For a full bottle of lotion, I add about 10-15 drops each of lavender, geranium, and frankincense. Then shake like crazy to mix!

2. Here’s a new recipe I’m trying: For a full bottle of lotion: 10-15 drops of lavender, geranium, and frankincense, and then 5-10 drops of peppermint, tea tree, and rosemary. Again, shake like crazy to mix!


I like this lotion because it’s fair trade, lightweight, and paraben free, but I’m sure you could add these oils to other lotions that work well for you. I would recommend only using oils that agree with you before you lather it on. 🙂

Let me know if you try an essential oil blend in your lotion and how you like it.

Hugs & Health <3,
Katie