I consider myself pretty well versed when it comes to natural living / crunchy momma / wanna-be hippy stuff.
But recently, finding good, genuine, natural, wholesome and healthy skin food has been a bit of a challenge.
See, for the longest time I was relying on our local Grocery Outlet and Marshalls to “hunt” for the organic, clean, natural good stuff. I would spend countless hours picking up anything that said “natural” or “organic” and would slave over the ingredients, reaching each item and line to look out for the bad stuff. It was actually kind of fun. I felt like some primal hunter or wild warrior woman, hunting for skin sustenance, stalking my green living prey to nourish my hungry skin. (I told you guys, my mind is a weird place.)
This was working for me, for the most part. I got the thrill of finding fun new products, and they were bargain prices to boot. Of course, the downside was that I couldn’t always find what I was looking for, and if I found a brand I LOVED, tough luck, it would almost never show up again. But as I said, overall, it was working for me.
But then… kids happened. Those lovely, evil, adorable, disastrous, miraculous, wonderful and monstrous little angels of mine. Seriously, I love my children more than my own breath. BUT. Spending hours in an outlet store browsing tiny fine print on a thousand bottles of product with two toddlers and a newborn in tow??? HA!!!
So what’s an earthy mamma gal to do?!
DON’T BUY ANYTHING ONLINE WITHOUT FIRST CHECKING THE EWG SKIN DEEP DATABASE!!!
We all know that some companies use ingredients that may cause cancer or that are associated with developmental problems. Many (actually most – if not ALL) cosmetics ingredients penetrate the skin. People ingest those used on lips and hands and inhale sprays and powders. When risky and unstudied chemicals are used in cosmetics, the stakes are high.
Instead of searching and perusing and exhausting yourself trying to find a TRULY green and natural product, why not just go straight to the best, and cut out all the headache of wadding knee deep in parabens, phthalates and petroleum based ingredients? Checking the EWG Skin Deep Database (CLICK HERE to visit!) is seriously THE BEST concentrated collection of beauty and self care products out there, making you shopping much more meaningful – and time efficient!
HOW THE EWG SKIN DEEP DATABASE WORKS
EWG’s Skin Deep is an online safety guide for cosmetics and personal care products, launched in 2004 to help people find safer products, with fewer ingredients that are hazardous or that haven’t been thoroughly tested. Skin Deep combines product ingredient lists with information in more than 50 standard toxicity and regulatory databases. The database provides easy-to-navigate safety ratings for tens of thousands of personal care products.
Find great items is stupid easy. Each product receives a hazard score, on a 1-10 scale from low to high hazard, reflecting known and suspected hazards. A product’s hazard rating can be higher than the sum of its parts, if, for example, the product contains chemicals called “penetration enhancers” that increase the amounts of ingredients that soak through the skin.
To find transparent and natural brands, simply go to the product type you are looking for (for instance, facial toner) and then check out all the brands that are EWG certified, or rated 1 – the absolute safest ratings possible!
SIGN UP TO EWG NEWSLETTER FOR A FREE PRODUCT GUIDE
EWG offers a PDF guide:Quick Tips for Choosing Safer Personal Care Productsfor new subscribers. This guide is chock-full of tips on how to read personal care product labels, how to shop smart and other invaluable information. You’ll also receive EWG’s exclusive email updates, action alerts, promotions to support our work and environmental tips. You can opt-out at any time.
RECEIVE A FREE SAMPLE KIT FROM LUMINANCE SKINCARE
One of the amazingly clean, natural and wholesome brands I located through the EWG Skin Deep database is Luminance Skincare (CLICK HERE to visit the website!)
Luminance Skincare is rated a 1 by the EWG (the best score possible), and they have an absolutely drool worthy line of luxury skincare products. By signing up for their newsletter, you will receive a free sample kit that includes their facial cleaner, rosewater toner and facial moisturizer. All you have to do is cover shipping!
For a closer peek at the caliber of ingredients Luminance offers, let’s check out the samples themselves:
The Delicate Facial Cleanser (CLICK HERE to view / buy) is hand formulated without synthetic foaming agentsor toxic thickeners and contains:
Coconut Oil
Macadamia Oil
Almond Oil
Avocado Oil
Grape Seed Oil
Borage Oil
Sun Flower Oil
Grape Seed Oil
Jojoba Oil
Almond Oil
Rosemary Seed Oil
RO Filtered Water
Tangerine Essential Oil (Just a touch for scent)
I’ve been using this little sample kit all week and my face feels AMAZING! I love how gently sudsy the facial cleaner gets and how soft my skin and complexion gets immediately. I have had people remark on my skin tone after just two days of regular use! The perfectly pH balanced organic facial cleanserFacial also acts a moisturizer.. as Luminance states on their website:
Your skin will begently cleansed, deeply moisturized and properly nourished. Never dry or stripped of it’s natural oils.
The Facial Toner (CLICK HERE to view / buy)has just one pristine ingredient:
100% Pure RO Filtered Rose Water
Toner should be apH adjustment, and rosewater is perfect for balancing your facial pH. The folks at Luminance say, “If your makeup isn’t blending well (we all have those days) spray some rose water toner on after you’ve put on your powder and it will become seamless with your skin ;)”
Maybe simple is better, but while I love all the Luminance products I have tried, this one is by far and hands down my absolute favorite. I have been using it every morning and ever night and my tiny sample bottle is almost empty. Payday can’t come fast enough for me to button mash the “BUY” button and stock up on some more!
The Deep Hydration Organic Moisturizer (CLICK HERE to view / buy) features these ingredients:
FloralAnti-Oxidants
Apricot Kernel
Grape Seed
Tamanu
Meadow Foam
Borage
Jojoba
Avocado
Sunflower Seed
Sweet Almond
Olivem
Lavender Water
RO Filtered Water
Sea Buckthorn
Red Radish Root
SERIOUSLY! Hand-crafted, organic and all natural with the most nourishing and hydrating ingredients in the world. Nothing synthetic, toxic or in anyway harmful. Vegan and raw. Can it get any better? It’s like Disneyland for the crunchy at heart!
Luminance has many other offerings, so do pop on over to their site and check them out. I am also enjoying their foot cream (this is a special heaving in and of itself, tingly, fragrant and leaves your feet super soft!) and their skin lotion.. yummmmmmm.
And remember, whatever you do, and whatever you buy… CHECK THE INGREDIENTS OUT WITH EWG SKIN DEEP!!! You might be amazed (or disgusted??) with what you have been putting into / onto your body.
Do you seek to avoid harmful chemicals in beauty and self care products? What do you do to find the best products for your skin? Share below!
[Disclaimer: There are no affiliate links in this review. I am an independent product reviewer. I only review products I am truly interested in. I don’t accept payment for reviews. The products I take the time to jabber on about are either items I have personally purchased, or the product has been provided for review after I initiatedcontact and incessantly nagged for a sample. All of my reviews are unbiased regardless of how the item wasobtained.]
