Top Six Safer Summer Beauty Tips
Posted June 14th, 2011 by Claire MoshenbergTis the season for summer beauty. Warmer days mean more sunscreen applications, different makeup routines, and more showers to make up for chlorine soaked hair or sweaty days outdoors. Unfortunately, many of the products about to enter your summer beauty routines are more than trendy: They might also be toxic.
Women use an average of 12 products containing more than 125 unique chemicals daily. Only 11% of chemicals in personal care products in the US have been assessed for safety by the industry’s self-policing panel. “Companies say, ‘We do a lot of testing.’ But they’re looking for short-term effects like a rash,” said Stacy Malkan, co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics. “They’re not looking at long-term health effects like cancer risk.”
Make your summer a little safer! Use these six safer summer beauty tips as you update your beauty routines for the season.
Soft skin in seconds: Incorporate exfoliation into your summer beauty routine with this insanely easy and inexpensive nontoxic homemade sugar scrub. Combine half a cup of olive oil to one cup of sugar. Add a splash of an essential oil for an additional scent. And that’s it! You can also replace the sugar with salt for a salt scrub. For DIY cosmetics recipe, visit the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics for their handy list of homemade cosmetics recipes.
SPF Savvy: Think before you rely on SPF infused cosmetics. Even high SPF levels in cosmetics are weakened due to the relatively small surface area makeup covers and the small amount that is used. If you’re using makeup with an SPF, make sure you’re continuing to use sunscreen, and that you’re reapplying throughout the day.
Not so natural: All natural. Green. What do these terms have in common? They have no legal definition. It’s called greenwashing, a ploy used by cosmetics companies to make products appear safer, even though they’ve made no actual changes to improve the safety of their products. Cosmetics companies are able to use these terms without meeting any requirements. Don’t be fooled! Learn more about greenwashing, and make sure you’re not a greenwashing victim, by looking up cosmetics on the Skin Deep database before making a purchase.
Check the Label: You’ve probably heard before how important it is to check the labels on your food products. But did you know that the same rule applies to cosmetics? Labels on cosmetics are a bit more difficult to decipher. Use handy resources like the Skin Deep database, or this portable card from the National Healthy Nail Salon Alliance, which shows you how to make healthy choices when selecting a nail polish.
Less is more: It’s not always financially possible to overhaul all of the cosmetic products in your life (and because of faulty legislation, it’s hard to find products that are completely non-toxic). But, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. Start with small changes that work for you. Streamline your routine. Find places in your cosmetics life that can be edited, where products can be used less or not at all. Focus on switching the products you use the most (like daily use products) over to non-toxic options. The Campaign for Safe Cosmetics recommends that if you are attached to a particular fragrance, that you limit your exposure to fragrance in other cosmetic items to compensate for that exposure.
Check out a blockbuster: Summer movie season is here in all of it’s giant summer blockbuster glory. Celebrate the season by taking a few minutes to watch “The Story of Cosmetics.” This short video by the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and the creators of The Story of Stuff takes a serious look at the cosmetics industry and offers practical tips and legislative solutions for our current toxic cosmetics landscape.
Additional Resources:
- Beauty Care Do’s and Don’ts, from Cancer Schmancer: http://www.cancerschmancer.org/prevention/beauty-care-dos-and-donts
- Tips for Prevention: Choose Safe Cosmetics, from the Breast Cancer Fund: http://www.breastcancerfund.org/reduce-your-risk/tips/choose-safe-cosmetics/
- Not So Sexy: The Health Risks of Secret Chemicals in Fragrance, from the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics: http://safecosmetics.org/article.php?id=644
Do you have any tips for making your summer beauty routine a little less toxic? Leave them in the comments, or visit our Facebook page and share them with the MomsRising community.
8 Comments
August 30, 2011 at 10:13 pm by Sandi ArbolinoThank you so much for discussing this very topic. Ava Anderson owner of Ava Anderson Non-Toxic is also actively pursuing this issue and hopes to reach Congress on this very topic. She has worked very hard to create a quality product that is safe for the entire family. As we tell our customers, make sure know what is on your “backside” ingredients before you use your products. Major red flag is when no ingredients are listed.
Happy to share what I have learned and hope to continue empowering America to make safe choices.
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June 30, 2011 at 6:54 am by nagendranthis is great article about the Top Six Safer Summer Beauty Tips, thanks about take this issue.
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June 28, 2011 at 10:28 pm by MarySugar as an exfoliator can be rough on the skin, particularly for the face. Something I’ve found to work much better is organic brown rice flour. It’s much finer and leaves my skin really smooth and soft! I keep a small waterproof container in the shower and mix it with my Shaklee shower gel or face cleanser, and it works wonderfully.
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Claire Moshenberg Reply:
June 29th, 2011 at 10:03 pm
@Mary, Thanks for the tip!
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So good to hear that somone is speaking up about this. I have changes my cosmetic line and became a consultant to a company that uses all natural ingredients just for this reason. My skin is amazing and I’ve never felt better. For those of you out there that are listening and worried about this go to Arbonne.com and you’ll find a whole line of truly amazing products. Use my name to order. Sherry Brendle Personal consultant.You won’t believe the difference it will make in your skin.
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June 27, 2011 at 12:34 pm by Kathie PezziTHANK YOU for taking on this major health issue. I was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 43, with 2 young daughters, aged 10 and 2. I had no family history or KNOWN exposure to cancer causing agents, and was very careful to eat and live “naturally” as much as I could afford.
I survived my initial diagnosis, but at a pretty big cost (bilateral mastectomies and chemotherapy that in itself put me at risk of developing other cancers/health issues, not to mention A major financial setback for costs that my insurance didn’t cover). I have wondered nearly every day since then what I have been exposing myself to that could have caused my cancer and might ultimately cause a recurrence or secondary cancer to develop.
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Claire Moshenberg Reply:
June 29th, 2011 at 10:06 pm
@Kathie Pezzi, thank you so much for your sharing your story. This is such an important issue, and we really appreciate your feedback. There’s actually legislation that came out last week that addresses toxic chemicals in cosmetics called the Safe Cosmetics Act of 2011. This blog has more info on the legislation, and links to contact your House Representatives to take action: http://www.momsrising.org/blog/125-chemicals-before-you-walk-out-the-door/
Thanks again for your thoughtful response!
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EWG are actively pursuing this issue also. They have had some luck in Congress but not nearly enough.
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