When I moved to Sydney, Australia I was introduced to a number of different lifestyle choices that I carried with me and practice to this day. I became addicted to reformer Pilates while living Down Under; it totally transformed my body. As spaces are small and so much time is spent outdoors, I grew accustomed to living with less and minimizing my personal possessions. And with fresh seafood, fruit in abundance and no preservatives added to food, I often shopped daily in specialty markets and ate so healthily. 

One lifestyle change that I did not adopt while living there but now have since is the use of non-toxic, "green" skincare and make-up products. In most other developed countries (Australia included), skin care, make-up, etc. are regulated by government and thus contain far fewer toxic ingredients and chemicals than ours do here in the U.S. (Did you know that the FDA has no role in the lotions, makeup, soaps, household cleaners that you use?) In addition, countries in the EU, Asia and Africa have so many products that are made with all-natural, oftentimes vegan, ingredients that perform as well if not better than traditional products.  And now the U.S. does too.

How did I get into this? Why did I make the move? Why am I now so passionate about this? Well, first, I am a huge animal lover. So my first real motivation was to find health and beauty products that are cruelty-free.  Here I learned that even smaller brands that are cruelty-free may be owned by - and are thus funding - larger brands that do not adopt the same approach.  In addition, products sold in China REQUIRE animal testing. So if your U.S.-made product is sold in China, it tests on animals. These discoveries alone led me to small-batch brands that also tend to be non-toxic.

Second, as I started to educate myself about the new-to-me products, I kept reading article after article about the proven negative effects of the chemicals and toxins used in our everyday beauty products. I was shocked! Did you know that skin is our largest organ? And we place carcinogens such as talc or parabens on our skin and allow them to be absorbed into our body. Every day. Common ingredients in common products are actually dangerous for us. It was actually quite shocking for me to learn just how toxic the ingredients in our everyday products are. If you want to learn more, I think one of the best sources is  MADE SAFE , an independent non-profit organization that helps consumers and retailers understand toxic ingredients and how to make the switch to non-toxic. 

Lastly, I meaningfully began to switch to natural, non-toxic products as my old products ran out. It took about 6 months but my skincare, soap, toothpaste, make-up, deodorant, shampoo + conditioner, etc. are all now converted. And I couldn't be happier with the quality, performance and value of my new products.

In case you are interested in making the switch, here are the top 5 things I learned as I worked through it myself.

1. There is SO MUCH variety out there with new brands and formulations popping up every year. I thought I would have limited choices and would have to just live with whatever one product was available. Not the case at all. 
2. Start small. With make-up, I started with things that I like to have a lot of color choices in -  lipsticks. It scared me to know I swallow gallons of the stuff during my lifetime! I then moved to eye shadows, then blush, then mascara and lastly, foundation and powder. With skincare, I began with a daily moisturizer containg zinc as the sun protector, then toner, cleansers, moisturizers and finally masks and powders.
3. At first, prices may seem high for the amount of product you are getting. I have found that all-natural products are more concentrated, thus you use less product each day. What I buy lasts and ends up costing me the same as mainstream brands do because of more frequent replacements.
4.  Performance of the products is equal to if not better than mainstream products. My skin has never felt or looked better. That's saying a lot for a 42-year old former sun worshipper.
5. The "Dirty Dozen" is a list of common toxins used in makeup and skin care products that I keep in the Notes app on my phone. These are the very worst of the worst ingredients you should avoid if at all possible. I now check ingredients for anything I put on my skin and just will not buy products that contain them. Common ingredients you may be using today are:
   • Formaldehyde: yep, used to preserve corpses, clean toilet bowls and preserve your make-up products
   • Parabens: a preservative that mimics estrogen and may lead to breast cancer
   • BHA/BHT: a preservative used in lipsticks and moisturizers that has been banned by the EU as a possible human carcinogen
   • Coal Tar Dye (often seen on labels as FD&C or D&C): used widely. Is a mix of chemicals derived from coal tar, a known carcinogen

The thing is that there are so many clean alternatives now that I really cannot come up with any reason why one would use products with toxins in them. This was certainly a process for me. But once I started, I couldn't stop. And now, I am on a mission to help more people make the switch.

If you'd like to learn more about the products I use for skincare, click here.