Who knew the beauty industry could be so dirty? I did my research and am sharing my findings with you. Discover why I made the switch to clean beauty and am committed to using natural beauty products.
If you’re interested in becoming a consultant too, check out my blog post on how to become a Beautycounter Consultant.
I’m a pretty inquisitive person. For as long as I can remember I’ve been told I ask a lot of questions. While I’m sure this probably drove my dad nuts growing up, my constant need to know why or what or how has always served me well.
My need to know has honestly only gotten stronger as I’ve gotten older. Just today I googled why our lips are made from a different type of skin than the rest of our face. Apparently it has to do with necessary sensations for talking and eating. Who knew?
Asking questions ensures you never stop learning. Learning new things makes you smarter, keeps your brain sharp, and can help you in every aspect of your life. It’s helped me with my career, my relationships, and even my health.
You see, not too long ago, I started to wonder: What’s in my beauty products?
Is all this goop I’m slathering on my skin safe? I wonder how much lipstick women unintentionally eat in their lifetime? With our skin being our largest organ, could any of the health issues people have not be related to what we put in our bodies but what we put on our bodies?
Turns out, I should have been asking these questions a long time ago. <— One scary but seriously eye opening article. If you have a few minutes I highly recommend reading it. Cliffsnotes version:
Can you imagine any other industry not being regulated in almost eighty years? How much pollution would our cars and factories produce? How many drugs would go to market before they’re safe and ready? The food industry is heavily regulated and we still have issues with things like trans fat being considered an acceptable food ingredient and accurate food labeling on our products. While over-regulation can be a problem as well, letting a multi-billion dollar industry run rampant without any regulation at all for nearly a century? That’s dangerous and just plain stupid. Lehman Brothers, anyone?
While America has been turning a blind-eye to our cosmetics industry, the European Union has been testing, regulating, and improving theirs. In the century it’s taken us to ban 11 dangerous ingredients from our beauty products they’ve banned over 1,400. The disparity in that number is absolutely shocking.
Me with no makeup, thanks to an effective (and safe!) skincare routine.
I am generally not an advocate of fear-marketing, but this is an issue that truly does scare me. I use beauty products purely for vanity. They make my skin soft, keep wrinkles at bay, and help me feel pretty. While that superficial confidence is great, it doesn’t cure cancer, improve my health, or extend my life. It’s not worth it to me to endanger my health simply to like my reflection in the mirror a little more. Is it so much to ask for the products that make me feel good on the outside to not harm me on the inside?
My daily Beautycounter skincare routine: Cleanser | Toner | Serum | AM Cream | PM Cream | Eye Cream
Turns out, we do have options. There are some amazing beauty companies out there committed to making products that are both effective and safe for consumers.
One of those companies is Beautycounter. They are committed to clean beauty, with rigorous testing of every ingredient they put in their products and a Never List of over 1,500 harmful skincare ingredients they vow never to use. All of their products are EWG verified. If you ever want to know what all those ingredients listed on your cosmetic bottles are I highly recommend doing some research on the Environmental Working Group’s site.
Knowledge is power, and this knowledge made me a Beautycounter customer. I loved the company’s mission so much I completely overhauled my bathroom counter, replacing almost all my skincare and cosmetic products. I loved the products so much I even became a Beautycounter consultant! (It gets me a discount on products I buy and earns me money on products I help sell.)
I am passionate about spreading the word about the importance of natural beauty products. Know the ingredients in your products, and know what those ingredients do, because there is currently no regulation in place for the products you put on your body and face for cosmetic purposes. Beauty should be clean!
If Beautycounter sounds like a company you’re interested in learning more about I encourage you to visit their website, read their story, and learn more about their products. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions! I want the world to know about these products. No one should be eating dangerous chemicals for the sake of pretty lips.
Want to stay up to date on the latest Beautycounter products and more special promotions like this? Join my Beautycounter Facebook group!
Looking to become a Beautycounter consultant and earn extra money sharing your passion for safer skincare with the world? Email me —> [email protected]
Questions of the Day: Does safer skincare matter to you? Have you heard of Beautycounter before? What’s a product you most want to try?
Connect with me on Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook to continue the conversation! And please SHARE with someone who you think would enjoy this post!
so much YES to all of this.
it’s so crazy to think that the US feels over-regulated in certain aspects, yet allows so many toxic chemicals and linked carcinogens in beauty and skincare. it’s also appalling what they allow in products targeted for babies and children.
i just wish i would have found beautycounter sooner!! my skin feels the best it ever has, and it’s nice to be confident with the products i’m using.
love that you’re doing the free lip shine! the free mascara + lip shine is an awesome deal and a great way to test out some of these awesome products <3
Thanks so much for all your support girl!! <3 I owe finding out about Beautycounter all to you!
Your skin looks amazing! Do you use these products exclusively or do you also have stuff from other brands? Did you use to have any holy grail skincare products that you stopped using because you found out they were harmful? The skincare line looks really cool but how does the makeup line perform? Will you be doing some reviews and tutorials in the future. I’d be really interested! Haha sorry for the plethora of questions!
Hey girl! So sorry for the late reply. This week has been crazy since I announced I started selling Beautycounter, people apparently really want safe skin products as much as I do! haha
I use these products, as well as products from w3ll people and trilogy. They’re both sold at whole foods and clean and safe as well.
I used to use Cera Ve for a skin moisturizer and thought it was amazing but then I actually read the ingredients and couldn’t put it on my face anymore!! Thankfully the beauty counter nourishing skin line is INCREDIBLE and honestly my skin feels even better than it did before. http://www.beautycounter.com/erinfairchild?goto=skin-care.html
The makeup really works, which I know is not always the case with natural skincare. I’ve started sharing live tutorials on my Facebook group page! Lemme know if you can see this! I’m trying to embed it right in the comment from FB.
I hate thinking about the stuff that goes on my skin which is really such a big organ…I need to pull the trigger and realize the cost of these products is worth it! I use VERY minimal makeup and most products are 99% natural but I’ve heard such AMAZING things about these products! Love to talk about parties, blog reviews, etc as many people have thought that I might sell them…I don’t want to but would love to share the love!
I’m pretty minimal too! I’m actually working on wearing makeup MORE because every time I do I get so many compliments. I’m like how bad do I look without makeup?! haha While makeup is awesome, good skincare is most important to me.
I would love to chat with you about hosting an online social or in-person party! It’s a great way for you to spread the word to your friends, family, and readers while also earning some free products at the same time!
Hi! I was intrigued at the title and thought to scroll through. You did offer some awesome statistics, and I do believe that the EU is exceptionally cautious about health. However, could you please tell me if safe skincare also means environmentally-friendly and cruelty-free?
Thank you.
Hey Bivi! These are great questions! While I have to learn more about what being environmentally-friendly means all of Beautycounter’s packaging is recyclable/sustainable (see here:http://www.beautycounter.com/faqs/). And yes, they are 100% cruelty-free! None of their products are tested on animals and they use no animal fats, oils or musks in their products. (see here: http://www.beautycounter.com/faqs/, http://www.allure.com/gallery/best-cruelty-free-brands, http://logicalharmony.net/cruelty-free-vegan-brand-list/) I hope this helps!
Yes! Thank you for the reply!
It’s soothing to know that a safe skincare product doesn’t only mean safe for the people who use them but also safe for the planet and the creatures in it ?
Heck yes! Let me know if you want to try out any of the products!
I have 2 things in my beauty regime … A cleanser and a moisturizer. I don’t do anything else because my skin likes simple. Plus, I am not intelligent in this world of beauty, lol – and I just don’t care enough! LOL!!!
Simple is best! Good for you girl!
Okay, so I began this with some trepidation, Erin, as I knew I was fixing to learn things I didn’t want to know. But I had no idea! No new regulation in 80 YEARS?? Sheesh!
I recently switched to a skin care line from an essential oil company I love, which includes nothing but natural oils. My skin loves it. So now I’m sure feeling better about it all the way around!
Your skin looks fab!
Isn’t it so scary?! I’m glad you found a skincare company that works for you!! If you want to try out any makeup products from Beautycounter just let me know!! I’m hoping we get industry regulation soon! Until then I’m extra thankful for companies like the ones we’ve found!
This is really interesting – especially from an American point for view. I mean I wrote something similar for uni and did it from a UK perspective. I can give you a link if you’d like a read. Send me a tweet. xx
I would love to read it girl!! Do you have a link?
Beautycounter sounds like an awesome brand, Yay for safer skin care! It’s pretty unsettling to think about how unregulated the skin care industry is!
It is so scary!! That’s why I love Beautycounter so much! I don’t have to worry about what’s in their products, I know it’s safe and EWG verified. Let me know if you have any questions about the products! They’re awesome!
This is a great read. I make natural bath and skin products and I really enjoyed reading this. Very informative!
I’m so glad you enjoyed reading this Mariam! Let me know if you have any questions about Beautycounter!
my daughter reacts to a lot of different things in beauty products, so we have to read all of them. it gets really interesting.
It can be so overwhelming! I hope you’re having luck finding good products for her!
I walk the line of natural and what works for anti-aging! I sure wish we’d have the same rules Europe does with this!!!
A really good read , was interesting . We don’t usually look into what our products include other than the beneficial ingredients ! Thanks for that
You’re so welcome Naira! It’s amazing how eye opening it can be once you start researching the beauty industry!
Totally agree with you on all of this: I never really thought about it until lately but clean beauty products with things that are good for us are the way ahead for definitely. The skin is our biggest organ and sucks up all we put into it!
Yes! It’s so important we treat our skin right! It’s the only body we’ve got!
Really good well done x
Thank you Emily!
I agree with Jessica, your skin looks amazing. I have never used Cera Ve but I’ll have to consider it!