Why Beautycounter?
I began paying attention to what kind of products I buy and started searching for safer options in 2017. I’d spent over a decade completely unaware of what I was putting on my body when it came to beauty product ingredients. I always assumed that they were safe since they were on the shelves in the stores, right? Wrong. (The FDA has no control over the safety of your personal care products. They cannot mandate a recall). I am here to help you prioritize your products, find safer swaps, and provide tips for reading labels so you can only allow clean products into your home from now on.
So, let’s discuss the state of the beauty industry.
- There hasn’t been an updated federal law in the personal care product industry in the United States since 1938 and that piece of legislation is 1.5 pages long.
- The EU bans 1,400 ingredients.
- Canada bans 600.
- United States bans 30.
We are majorly behind with the safety and regulation of products, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do anything about it. You can use your voice for change! Simply text BETTERBEAUTY to 52886 to urge Congress to pass #betterbeauty / health protective laws.
In exciting news, on Wednesday 3/11/20, the subcommittee of Congress voted YES to move a piece of legislation Beautycounter has been fighting for along to the full committee (then the House, then the Senate!). We are starting to see more action on this issue because of the thousands of people like you using their voice for change!
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I consider swapping personal care products over to safer options to be the low hanging fruit in regards to wellness and cleaning up the toxin exposure in your life. Many of us use personal care products several times every single day. (At least I hope you’re washing your hands and showering? )
According to the EWG, an American woman uses an average of 12 personal care products each day that contain 168 unique chemicals. Men use an average of 6 personal care products that contain 85 chemicals.
There are approximately 85,000 chemicals in the marketplace and only 30 (THIRTY!) are banned in the U.S. This is significantly less than the 600 in Canada or the 1400 in the European Union. Less than 10% of these chemicals in the marketplace have been tested for human safety.
So how can you know if the products that you’re using are safe?
One of the resources I use is the Environmental Working Group. The EWG is a third-party non-profit organization that rates the safety of products that we use every day.
Their EWG VERIFIED™ program goes beyond ingredient labels and drives companies to disclose ingredients that they don’t always list on product labels. This is what we mean by “transparency.”
To receive an EWG VERIFIED™ approval, products cannot contain ingredients with health, toxicity and/or contamination concerns. They must follow the European Union’s requirements for labeling fragrance allergens (because the EU has far more safer laws than the US).
All of the EWG’s data is compiled into their Skin Deep database.
You can use their Healthy Living app, or go to their website. Type in the brands and products that you use to see how it’s rated.
For home cleaning products, they have a separate website.
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At Beautycounter, we’ve put together a list of more than 1,800 ingredients that we promise never to use in our products. We call this “The Never List.”
The Never List not only avoids the 1,400 ingredients that the European Union bans, but also includes more than 400+ additional ingredients that we will not use in our product formulations. You can use this list while shopping or looking at products in your home!
3 Ingredients to Look for + Why:
Fragrance:
Fragrance on an ingredient label may contain up to 300 different fragrance ingredients and there are over 3000 different chemicals manufacturers can choose from, including ones that are known irritants, allergens, endocrine disruptors, and carcinogens.
These fragrance formulations are protected “trade secrets”. Companies are not required to tell you how they made the product smell the way it does, just that it has “fragrance”. Other terms used for fragrance and to avoid are parfum, perfume, or natural fragrance.
Sulfates:
Sulfates, particularly Sodium Laurel Sulfate (SLS) and Sodium Laureth Sulfate (SLES) are two of the ingredients to avoid. Both of these ingredients are used as foaming agents and detergents and what give you great bubbly shampoos and facial cleansers.
Because these two chemicals are detergents, they’re known for stripping away the protective barrier on our skin, which means they are penetration enhancers. They can cause rashes, and contact dermatitis- itchy scalps, dry, flaky skin, etc.
Sodium Laureth Sulfate in particular has its own set of issues. The difference between the two chemicals (SLS and SLES) is that SLES has undergone ethoxylation, a process to make them less harsh. However, in this production process, a byproduct called 1,4 dioxane is formed and it has been researched that 1,4-dioxane is likely to be carcinogenic (causes cancer).
Parabens:
Parabens are widely used in personal care products: between 75-90% of personal care products contain parabens. Parabens are a class of chemicals, not a single chemical.
There are 5 primary parabens that are used in personal care products and will be listed on ingredient labels, look for any word ending in paraben-
Methylparaben
Ethylparaben
Propylparaben
Butylparaben
Isobutylparaben
They’re used as preservatives to prevent the growth of bacteria and microbes. However, exposure to parabens have been linked to cancer, hormone disruption, reproductive toxicity, skin irritation, and neurotoxicity.
Reading Labels:
Tip #1- You must read the ingredients on the back and not fall for marketing claims like: Natural Fragrance, Phthalates Free, Paraben Free, Vegan, etc…This is what I like to call “greenwashing,” where a company markets itself as being “safe”...however they include ingredients harmful to our health.
Tip #2- Look at the ingredient list and look for fragrance, natural fragrance, parfum, or perfume. This is usually included in more products than not. If you spot this, it makes it easier to put back on the shelf and not have to go through all the ingredients. We deserve transparency.
Tip #3- Check the products in your home, become familiar with ingredient labels. When it comes to swapping, rather than throwing everything out right away, when you run out of a specific product you noticed that contained fragrance, sulfates, or parabens, then your next purchase, purchase a safer option.
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Who is Beautycounter?
Beautycounter is a company I partnered with in 2018. They are a disruptive clean beauty and skincare brand. Beautycounter is the leading brand making a difference not only in Washington DC, but in homes across North America.
- They screen every ingredient used in our products for safety on human health.
- They ban the use of over 1,800 questionable or potentially harmful ingredients (the US has only banned 30 to date!)
- Beautycounter is a certified B Corporation, which means they consider people, planet, and profits equally.
- They disclose every ingredient in their products.
They are advocating in Washington DC (and Canada) to fight for tougher regulation of the entire personal care product industry to fulfill their mission of getting safer products into the hands of everyone.
How to Support:
- Simply text BETTERBEAUTY to 52886.
- Vote with your dollars - shop clean beauty. If you need help navigating Beautycounter products, I’m your girl!
- Become a Band of Beauty Member - Beautycounter’s rewards program. If you plan on shopping BC more than 1x, you’ll enjoy the benefits: 10% back in product credit, free shipping over $100, and a free welcome gift over $50 enrollment.
- Become a Consultant! I always welcome passionate, clean beauty women to my team! Reach out to discuss if this would be a good fit for you.
I have samples of each of Beautycounter skincare lines, samples of their foundation, charcoal masks, overnight peel, body wash, etc! I am happy to send some to you to try before you purchase. If you’re ready to shop around their site- click the link in my profile to shop with me as your consultant. Or visit my site here. I am here to help you! ️
