For Part 2 of our Greenify Your Life series, I’ll be giving you guidance on how to find yourself a safer foundation. I have listed ingredients found in both powder and liquid foundation so we can kill two birds with one stone.

Alexami's Mineral Foundation Powder

What ingredients should I be looking to avoid in my foundation?

Fragrance (6-methylcoumarin, parfum) – Now, fragrance is a hard one because it is the one product that gets a free pass in the ingredients list. The manufacturer is not required to list the actual ingredients in the perfume, rather, they are allowed to simply clump it all into the one ingredient: ‘Parfum’ (or other such word). This means that you have no clue if this is a safe product for your skin which is worrying as some fragrance ingredients are proven to cause photosensitivity but you’d never know what was the causal ingredient! Best to keep an eye out for products that list essential oils as their fragrance or are up front about what goes into their fragrance.

Silicone Emollients – These are found in approximately 80% of all concealers, primers and foundations. The silicone allows for smoother application but it also creates a layer on top of the skin, causing the skin to be suffocated of oxygen. Over time, this can cause certain skin reactions, breakouts and a duller complexion.

Petroleum based products (Paraffin, mineral oil, petrolatum) - These petroleum products are also found in the majority of skin products and, too, suffocate the skin and clogs the pores causing the same issues as silicone. This goes for your ‘timeless’ Vaseline too (We recommend using paw paw ointment instead!). These products have also been under heavy scrutiny due to the fact they are the cause of many serious health ailments.

Parabens (Propyl, Butyl, Methyl, Isobutyl, Ethyl etc) - Parabens are used to stop fungus and bacteria from growing in your makeup. They are found in almost every beauty product for both males and females. There is research done to suggest they may be linked to the cause of breast cancer due to the fact that they mimic estrogen within the body. The jury is still out on whether these man-made chemicals are bad for the body but have a read of both sides of the argument to form your own opinion. To be safe, I would say opt for products that have parabens near the bottom of the ingredient list rather than the top.

There are a million other ingredients that we could also list here, but we’ll start with these common ingredients for now.

So, how do you Greenify?

Phase 1.) Read the ingredients label of your foundations. Any foundations with the aforementioned near the top of the list, get rid of them ASAP.

Phase 2.) Research online or in stores for highly reviewed foundations that do not contain huge amounts of the above products. They do not have to be from an organic brand, necessarily, just slightly more safe on the skin. Naturally, we would guide you towards Alexami’s Mineral Foundation Powder, which is free of these ingredients.

During this product transition, if you have been using products with heavy amounts of silicone etc, your skin may go through phases of drying or over-oiling. This is a natural occurrence as your skin begins to normalize to your new product.

Phase 3.) Once your new safer product is empty, try your best to convert to a completely natural and/or certified organic product free of all the nasty ingredients. Or better yet, perhaps your skin will heal itself and you’ll be able to go out with barely any foundation at all!

As an afterword, please know that some people get iffy about whether certain ingredients are actual harmful or not. I have gone off personal experience and research but please understand people react differently to different products. For example, I know people who prefer silicone in their foundation routine, and don’t believe there’s any harm in using it. Remember, there is no firmer knowledge than through your own personal experience and broad research so I suggest that you use this as a starting guide and go from there.

Converting to a more natural and organic lifestyle can be quite a hard task especially in this economic climate amidst our busy lives. In response, I’d like to welcome you to this new series called Greenify Your Life. Over the next few weeks, I will present to you some simple steps that you can make in specific parts of your life to make the ‘Green’ conversion a little bit easier on you.

Image via wiseshe.com

In this first post, I present to you Greenify Your: Shampoo.

Firstly, you may ask what’s wrong with the common* shampoos?

Well, if you see in the ingredients list something called Sodium Lauryl Sulfate (SLS) and/or Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) then your hair is in trouble. SLS is a very cheap frothing agent and is the reason that your shampoo and body soap foams at the touch. But don’t be fooled into thinking these bubbles are good for your hair. The SLS/SLES strips the hair shaft of all oil and grease including the natural good oils that your body produces. In turn, this causes more split ends, fading of color and tangling. To compensate for this damage, we end up forking out more money on conditioners, relaxers, frizz serums and the endless other amounts of products that fill our shelves.

Along with the excess and unnecessary damage being caused, these ingredients are also highly toxic and should not be swallowed which makes you wonder why we allow it into our bodies through our skin

So, how do you Greenify?

Phase 1.) Read the ingredients label of your shampoo. If it contains SLS/SLES then throw it away.

Phase 2.) Find a shampoo without SLS/SLES. It does not have to be an organic or natural brand, just make sure it is sulfate free. Use until the bottle is empty.

Your hair may freak out for a little bit when you stop using products with SLS as the scalp will over-compensate with oil production but it will stabilize after a few weeks. Patience with this process is key and will mean better health and vitality in your hair in the future.

Phase 3.) Do some research on organic hair product brands and find one that you think will suit your hair type. If your whole family uses the same bottle, opt for a bottle for a normal hair type.

And that’s all there is to it. Pretty simple, no?

*By common we mean the more common store bought and, generally, cheaper brands of shampoo that contain SLS/SLES.

With the recent influx of new information on the dangers of most mainstream cosmetics, it is no wonder that PR and marketing firms for those companies are having to alter their approach to how they market their products to the customer. This begs the question – Are you being greenwashed?

Image via svtea.com

What is Greenwashing exactly?

Greenwashing is a spin technique used by companies to make their products appear like they are environmentally friendly, organic and/or natural. I’m sure you have all seen the labels with the pretty images of leaves and green colors or the use of matte, papery product labels that even tell you they are ‘Organic’ or ‘All Natural’ despite the ingredients list being practically made of ALL the chemicals to avoid and the packing being anything BUT biodegradable.

How are they allowed to lie to the customer?

Unfortunately, it is not illegal to promote on the label that their product is ‘Natural’, ‘Green’ or ‘Organic’ even if it isn’t. So, the marketing masters of the business disguise their chemical filled products with aesthetically pleasing labels in the hope that you’ll trust them. What they can’t hide, however, is the need to list ingredients right on the bottle and also the fact they can’t legally put a ‘Certified Organic’ label on their packaging.

Australia does have a policy that say they will punish companies that provide misleading information on their labels but some still manage to slip through the cracks.

How do I avoid being Greenwashed?

Despite the pretty labels and the alluring idea that your old favorite makeup brand has listened to their customers and come out with their own “natural” products, you must ALWAYS. READ. THE. INGREDIENTS. Be a smart consumer and don’t always trust the big brands. The ingredients label never lies. If ‘Green Tea Extract’ is the 30th ingredient on the list after a myriad of 10 syllable chemicals you don’t recognize, chances are that you are being fooled.

Also, make sure to look out for the ‘Certified Organic’ label. This doesn’t always make for a ‘greener’ or healthier product but it does help you know if the company is being truthful in their product promotion or not.

Ladies, now’s the time to check your beauty pantry and ask yourself – Are you being greenwashed?

We’d like to extend our gratitude and love to all our Mother’s who brought us into this beautiful world and have continued to support and be there for us.

We love you Mum’s and hope that you feel the warmth and love today from all of us who appreciate you more than anything!

Happy Mother’s Day from Alexami!