Natural Beauty Products Should Be Ubiquitous
I used to be a makeup consultant when I was young and naïve. After a few years of selling products that I realized were full of toxic chemicals, I had an awakening. I couldn’t sell them anymore. I wanted to give the gift of confidence and natural beauty, not the gift of future cancer. So, I took a financial hit and threw all of my inventory away. And I started looking up every ingredient that was listed on beauty products. It was an education in complex-sounding ingredients, such as parabens, and I’m happy that more people have become wary of mainstream beauty products and their toxic ingredients. It’s not worth the risk of long-term health damage to have the latest beauty product on your skin.
Glowing, Colorful Natural Look
In my opinion, the most beautiful people have a clean, fresh face that glows with health and a bright smile. My mother also believes that wearing lots of color helps your natural beauty shine through, and I have to agree with her. After looking at my closet, I find that I own a lot of brown, grey, and black clothes. Now that I’m in my mid-30s, I think that beautiful colors and patterns in clothing are a nice addition to my natural beauty routine. Luckily, there are also lots of lovely patterns out there, even in eco-friendly clothing and organic fabrics.
I’ve made a short video showing my simple daily beauty routine. Let me know what you think!
Which Skin Care Brands Are Pure and Natural?
How does someone learn which companies make pure healthy beauty products? It can be daunting and confusing, especially with an already busy life.
Start simple and buy only 100 percent Certified Organic products. Beyond that, try to get to know the beauty company, where the products are made, and what standards they have. There are many local makeup and beauty businesses popping up. Even Amazon sells some handmade products. But it’s best to check in your local health food store and ask if there are any local beauty companies selling there.
In my e-book Rosemary’s All-Natural Cosmetics Guide, I share all the natural beauty products that meet my high purity standards. I’m not an affiliate of any of the companies. I also used EWG’s (Environmental Working Group) rating system as a reference point. EWG is a nonprofit organization that tests thousands of products for all types of chemicals and ranks them in terms of toxicity. Use its database to look up the products you normally use, if you’re curious. But my beauty guide is complete and simple, and will take all of the guesswork out of which products are pure and which aren’t. As an added bonus, I tried to pick products that are affordable for most people. Most people can’t afford to spend $50 on a daily moisturizer or cleanser! Some of my tips that are spread throughout the guide are intended for you to simplify your beauty routine. It will also lower your risk of overloading your body with toxins and cancer-causing chemicals.
Make Your Own Homemade Lip Balm
On our homestead, my 8-year-old and I make lip balm and fill up our old lip balm containers with pure, wholesome salve for lips! It’s a really fun activity for older kids (who can be trusted to be patient and very careful when pouring), and the result is many months of natural lip balm. It’s full of organic essential oils and beeswax. Here’s my recipe, which has totally simple and pure ingredients. Certified Organic lip balm can cost as much as $8 for a small tube, so making your own can save you a surprising amount of money! Play around with it, and try mixing a small bit of lipstick in there for a colorful lip balm.
Rosemary’s Natural Lip Balm Recipe
Ingredients
• 5 tbsp Cocoa butter or Shea butter
• 1 tbsp Beeswax/beeswax pellets
• 2 tsp honey
• 20 drops peppermint essential oil
• 5 drops tea tree essential oil (optional – will help heal cracks)
• 5 drops Tamanu nut oil (optional)
• A pea-sized amount of lipstick of your favorite color (optional)
Directions
1. Melt butter (cocoa or shea) with beeswax in a double boiler on low.
2. Stir with a popsicle stick or silicone spatula.
3. Turn off the heat and add honey, essential oils, and optional lipstick.
4. Stir again.
5. Then, immediately pour into lip balm pots or sticks.
6. Each time you fill a lip balm pot, immediately cool in the fridge so the ingredients don’t separate. Enjoy your lip balm!
Rosemary Hansen is an author, homesteading mama, and a chef. She has spent the last 10 years “homesteading” in the city. She and her family have just started their off-grid homestead in rural British Columbia, Canada. Her books,Grow a Salad In Your City Apartment and Rosemary’s Natural Cosmetic Guide, are a great way to ease into a healthy, pure lifestyle. You can connect with Rosemary at her website or on her YouTube channel. Read all of Rosemary’s MOTHER EARTH NEWS posts here.
NATURAL BEAUTY FOR ALL SEASONS, 2ND EDITION
Seasons change and your skin care routine can, too. In Natural Beauty for All Seasons, natural beauty expert Janice Cox walks readers through 250 body, bath, and hair care recipes that they can make on their own during each season! Not one of the recipes calls for any more skill than being able to boil water. And an introductory section reveals what equipment is necessary and where needed ingredients can easily be found. Order from the MOTHER EARTH NEWS Store or by calling 800-234-3368.
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