With the New Year finally here, a lot of us are ready to leave all things bad behind - including our bad habits. Many consumers are looking into switching up their routines and products and taking up a cleaner route. While it may seem like a daunting task, the important thing to remember is that all we need to do is start.
Breaking bad habits can be difficult especially when the conventional products we use are both convenient and effective. But these products can be toxic and harmful in the long run. While overhauling your entire routine to make way for a clean, safe, and non-toxic one seems like too much work, it can be done and the results are completely worth it!
Here are 5 things to know before you jump right into the switch.
1. Understand the movement
Before entering blindly into the world of clean beauty, a good idea is to get to know what it is all about. Gone are the days where clean beauty was a less-effective, safer alternative. Now, it is just as effective as the conventional products you are used to. The beautiful thing is that they are made without all the bad stuff we want you to avoid.
Clean beauty has no universal definition, but the two most important characteristics are:
Non-toxic ingredients
Transparency
Sounds promising, doesn’t it? The ingredients are the most important part. Clean brands make sure every ingredient makes sense without causing any harm such as hormonal disruption, cancer, skin irritation, and a lot more.
Brands also make sure to keep their consumers in the know, having all those ingredients front and center. In a perfect world, all brands would avoid toxic ingredients or have the same standards. Unfortunately, it is up to the consumer to distinguish toxic from non-toxic.
2. Become a Label Reader
Many people are already looking out for labels like paraben-free, preservative-free, natural, organic, etc. While these are helpful, they are most often than not deceiving.The highly unregulated industry allows brands to label their products without any accountability.
A great idea is to start turning over bottles and skimming through the ingredients list. Familiarize yourself with the harmful ones and their negative effects. To start off, here are the top 10 toxic ingredients to look out for:
Parabens like Propylparaben and Iosbutylparaben
Fragrance
Chemical UV filters Octinoxate and Oxybenzone
Diethanolamine (DEA)
Triclosan
Phthalates like Dibutyl phthalate
Sodium laureth sulfate (SLS)
Formaldehyde
Polyethylene (PEGs) like PEG-10 laurate
Butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA)
To read a detailed description of each ingredient check out our blog post here.
3. Follow Clean Brands You trust
A lot of the clean brands out there are eager to educate and inform rather than just sell. An easy way to switch up your routine would be to find a few clean brands you learn to trust and stick to their products. Take advantage of all the information they put out there.
4. Get Familiar With Your Skin
Switching up your routine gives you the perfect opportunity to learn more about your skin or maybe even relearn! Pay close attention to the changes to your skin as you apply clean formulae. Make sure you note what’s working, and what’s not. Not every clean product will give you the glowing skin you want. Some might not even suit you! Each brand and formula will work differently from one person to the next, so be patient.
Tip: Remember to test products on a patch of skin before you start using them.
5. Swap Slow and One At a Time
After finding out about the harmful effects of certain ingredients it can be tempting to throw out every product you own. Don’t start dumping them out yet! We would recommend starting slow by prioritizing products you use daily like deodorant, moisturizer, etc. The next step would be to turn to those products that might contain the most harmful ingredients.
Not sure where to start? Here are a few swaps we recommend you to start with:
Deodorant
Sunscreen
Mascara
Shampoo and conditioner
Moisturizer
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Foundation
Your journey towards a completely clean routine will start with just one product. It will take time, research and maybe a few fails. But all of it is worth it.