Newly Afraid of Your Make-Up?

A few weeks ago, I, like many other newsreaders and blogfans woke up to some shocking articles and info about how terrible American market make-up and toiletries are. Among the top offenders? Deodorant, shampoo, and anything that goes near your eyes. Accompanying these long lists of all of the terrible ways trying to look good may have the total opposite effect in the long run (not to mention hike up our internal toxicity levels), are long and often expensive lists of how to purify.

Let's get real. Most of us aren't millionaires. Importing actually organic shampoo from Australia is just not an option. Additionally, a lot of them are really time consuming and make the presumption that we spend very little time actually interacting with people who care how we look. Now, I am a huge advocate for self-love, not giving a crap what other people think, etc. I also know how unrealistic it is to tell you not to shampoo for a week while you're job hunting. So here are my natural beauty tips for real women, with real lives, on real budgets.

1) Drink lots of water. Toxins taken in in any way will be pumped out if you are genuinely hydrated.
2) Aluminum-free deodorant. I like Lush's Sandalwood and Lemon. It's more expensive than your speed-stick, and comes in a weird brick that you just rub on yourself but it's worth it. It works, and the sandalwood is more calming than baby-powder or whatever you buy in the drug store.
3)Sea Salt water spray as a multi-purpose (skin, hair, etc.) moisturizer. Stores will seriously try to sell you expensive, fancy bottles of it...but all you really need to do is grind up some sea salt in water, and put in a BPA-free spray bottle.
4) Read the ingredients. I went through my medicine cabinet, and a lot of stuff was already chemical-free enough that I felt fine using it. Just like food, know what you're putting on your pores.
5) Use less. Conditioner and mascara should be for the ends of your hair and lashes only. If they never touch your skin or eyes...the aren't doing very much harm. Shampoo (even with long hair)is best with a nickel-sized and then lather it up as much as humanly possible. RINSE THOROUGHLY.
6) If you use a lot of make-up, wash your face every single night...but your face wash is maybe where you should splurge on something chemical free. I have a friend who gave me a scent-free exfoliating all-natural soap...so I use it...and I only use a little bit...and my face looks better than it ever has.
7) Eat right. Your don't need stuff to make your hair or fingernails shiny if you're getting enough Vitamin E. You don't need a ton of make-up if you're getting enough water. Etc. Etc. (There are exceptions, but for the most part these things are true).
8) Use a washcloth/loofah/etc. that's going to slough away dead skin (which is where a lot of the toxins end up).

SO there you go...pretty simple, and actually cheaper than your current beauty regime. Let me know your best tips for keeping your epidermis toxin-free!

Peace, passion, and love.