You read magazines, peruse the products at the grocery store, maybe head to MAC or the Body Shop for specific items. You spend a fortune on a new skin care line, and then can’t use any of it because the ingredients in the product don’t agree with your skin.

Enter natural/organic, ethical products. You ask questions and do your research. Finally after years of going without, you find a skin product that works and doesn’t give you a painful reaction.

And the best part? You feel great. Nothing like coming home on a regular day wearing mascara and your partner thinks you’re celebrating something.

We can’t even count how many times we’ve heard this story. We know exactly what’s in our products and it’s definitely not the toxic chemicals that run rampant in many mainstream brands.

Putting Products To The Test

There are a few ways to really put your products to the test.

• Read the labels. Do you recognize the ingredients? If not, look them up.
• Check it out on The Environmental Working Group’s website called Skin Deep
• Skin Deep is a database with over 64 thousand products. You plug in your product, or a chemical from the label, and Skin Deep will give a rating between 0 and 10. 0 is low risk, 10 is high risk, high toxicity.
• Ask around. Is anyone else using it? What do they think?
• Ask us! We test and research a lot of products before carrying them in the store; we’ll know if it’s good for your body or not. And if we don’t know, we’ll find out for you.

What About Those Silent Toxins?

There’s a chance you’ve never had a reaction to your skin products or makeup. Many of us don’t, otherwise we’d all avoid them.

There are still tonnes of chemicals in many mainstream products ranking between 7-10 on the Skin Deep scale.

Most people forget that the skin is the largest organ in the body. Anything applied to this organ starts penetrating your skin within seconds and ends up in your bloodstream in minutes.

The toxins are in your body before you have a chance to read through them on the back of the bottle.

These are the top culprits we find in most mainstream products. You’ll never find these on our store shelves.

• Lead — Still found in over 60% of lipsticks
• Chlorine bleach — Found in feminine hygiene products giving them that clean white look
• Talc — Main ingredient in baby powder and women’s eye shadows (and trust me, when you read how harmful talc is, you will never sprinkle that on your baby again!)

Products That Won’t Break The Bank

We know buying organic and natural can get pricey. Products are developed from low-yield crops, with ethical labour processes, and are designed to last, so they simply cost more.

But when it comes to makeup and skin care products, the opposite is true. Natural skin care and makeup products are better for you and they cost less! Major department store brand names can cost 2-3 times more than their organic equivalent.

If you’re looking for somewhere to start, start here. Your skin, and your wallet, will thank you.