Seeking safe cosmetics you can actually eat

This month has been a lot of fun for me. I set out to test whether you can affect your health and your natural beauty by changing what you put on, and in, yourself. There’s been a lot of testing going on in the background over here at the Curious Giraffe! Lots of crazy stuff has been tried – some great, some rash-inducing, and a couple just brilliant finds that I am happy-dancing-amazed by!

A great litmus test to use if you’re trying to decide whether to buy something that is labelled a ‘natural beauty product’ is to ask yourself: “would I feel comfortable eating it?” Personally since I discovered that beauty product ingredients pass through your skin and linger in the body with the potential to do some serious damage, I feel compelled to ask this question before opening my wallet.

In case you have any doubts and want to prove to yourself that the ingredients in your own beauty products contain harmful ingredients (they do), you can check out your products on the EWG website where they have rated more than 73,000 beauty products. Here’s a short summary they’ve created to debunk some of the myths surrounding the cosmetic industry:

  • Cosmetics companies may use any ingredient or raw material in their products without government review or approval.
  • Products labeled natural or organic often contain synthetic chemicals, and even truly natural or organic ingredients are not necessarily risk-free.
  • The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the USA has no authority to require companies to test cosmetics products for safety.
  • The agency does not review or approve the vast majority of products or ingredients before they go on the market.
  • The FDA has no authority to require recalls of harmful cosmetics.
  • Manufacturers are not required to report cosmetics-related injuries to the agency.

So if most products are harmful, what can I use?

The good news is there are many products available from health-conscious, natural beauty companies. When you leave the confines of the local drug store, you’ll find the best ones using the latest science to create body-friendly products full of skin nourishing high-quality ingredients (and if you’re lucky there may even be a dash of love thrown in!) There are more responsible beauty companies starting every year. Triple yay. (And I must add, I have nothing to do with these companies – I just love using their stuff because they work without the annoying side effect of poisoning me slowly over time.)

I will share my natural beauty product finds, and I bet you have your favorites too that we all really need to hear about. It’s important to share this information, as it’s a health resource for our  friends and family. We need to spread the word with the people we love that cosmetics can truly harm them (and make them look years OLDER!) Please comment below if you have found a natural product or two that you want us all to check out.

Besides products, some of the most amazing research from the last couple of years is partially pointing the way back to grandma’s kitchen remedies for beauty. I was amazed to realise that extraordinary things can truly be achieved by 1. Eating beauty foods and 2. Doing simple little beauty routines at home to feed your skin.

Things I used to write off as antiquated and ineffective, have now come full circle via the latest in skin research. Basic masks, oils, baths, facial and hair treatments that contain things like turmeric, spirulina, natural oils, and papaya often do the same, or better, job than their store bought equivalents.

I am so thrilled by what I’ve found this month and truly excited to continue testing these easy, natural habits for greater health and beauty all through the rest of this year.  I can’t wait to share more of these habits with you.

p.s. If you just can’t stand the thought of homemade or DIY remedies (or feel a burning need to splash out with your cash), don’t worry because we’ll also look at natural beauty products you can purchase. Everything we’ll look at are products that are not harmful and fit nicely into the critical 4 step routine for amazing skin that is  required nowadays to get around the problem that beauty creams are mostly useless. 

Natural Beauty Tip No. 11: If you wouldn’t feel comfortable eating it, that beauty product probably needs a swift kick to the curb.

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